I am delighted to share my review today for The Girl Beyond the Gate by Becca Day. This is a tense mystery thriller that I really enjoyed.

My thanks to Embla Books who gave me the opportunity to read this title via NetGalley.

Welcome to Kensington Grove, the safest place to call home….

Jodie Madison can’t think of a better place for a fresh start than the exclusive, gated community of The Grove. But from the moment she passes through the wrought iron gates, she starts to suspect she’s made a mistake.

Despite her vow to keep apart from the other residents, Jodie can’t help but feel drawn to her unnerving neighbour Norah Williams and terminally ill daughter, Lacey. Jodie knows she should stay away, but something draws her in.

When a murder shocks The Grove, Jodie vows to do everything in her power to save Lacey from her mother. But as more secrets emerge from Norah’s shadowy past, Jodie is faced with the unthinkable – Norah’s not so different to herself, and neither woman is innocent.

The past won’t stay hidden forever. And The Grove will be an unforgiving witness.

MY REVIEW

What a brilliantly addictive book this was. A first for me reading anything by this author, I know it will not be the last!

This is a mystery thriller that had me hooked. The synopsis gives a great idea about Jodie Madison moving into a gated community, it is safe and this is something she wants. Quite what she is hiding from or who is unknown until later in the book. There are however tantalising little hints laid like breadcrumbs.

As for wanting to remain apart from everyone and not mixing, well that doesn’t go well. For one there is the formidable Heidi. She organises fundraisers, resident meetings and basically the social side of the community and she doesn’t really take no for an answer. She is polite, but she doesn’t ask for you to attend these things, more she expects you to.

Heidi manages to rope Jodie into interviewing her neighbours, Norah and daughter Lacey. What Jodie doesn’t expect is to form a friendship with Lacey. She also didn’t expect to think things about Norah, but she does!

This is one of those stories that definitely grips the reader. While the idea of a gated community sounds great, it also means that people seem to know what you are doing and as such, there is no real privacy. This kind of goes against what Jodie is looking for and also makes for a very intriguing story.

The full reasons for Jodies’ move do come out over the course of the story, glimpses into her past provide doubts about what she believes is going on with her neighbours. By the end of the story, I was a bit stunned, to say the least, I didn’t expect it to turn out the way it did. It is by the way a real twisted ending and I did not see it coming at all.

Fabulous story and one that is great for those that like a twisted mystery thriller, there is a psychological edge to it and I adored it. I would definitely recommend it. 

Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx