Before I Let You In: A Novel

Written by Jenny Blackhurst

Narrated by Jennifer Ness

"An astounding and original thriller with a complex relationship between three women at its heart and an explosive conclusion." —B. A. Paris, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors

The next gripping psychological thriller by the author of How I Lost You, Jenny Blackhurst’s #1 international bestseller, about a psychiatrist and patient relationship that turns not only toxic…but deadly.

Karen, Eleanor, and Bea have been best friends since childhood. They know everything about each other’s lives, or at least they think they do. Now in their thirties, though their lives are beginning to diverge: Eleanor is a young wife and mother who is struggling to cope with her many responsibilities; Bea is happy being single—or so she lets people think; and Karen is a psychiatrist who, despite the secrets in her past, considers herself the anchor of the group.

But when she takes on a new patient with issues she just can’t quite put her finger on, she begins to realize she may have put her dearest friends in danger. Because her patient knows more about these three women than anyone outside their circle possible could. Or should…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Apr 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781508254560

Jenny Blackhurst

Jenny Blackhurst grew up in Shropshire where she still lives with her husband and children. Growing up she spent hours reading and talking about crime novels so writing her own seemed like natural progression. She is the author of How I Lost You and Before I Let You In.

Reviews for Before I Let You In

[victoria valledor · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Can’t stand the narrator. Had to stop listening.

[Cheryl Carpenter · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This was just an idiotic plot, the twist was just pure made up drama.

[irenecole · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Karen, Bea, and Eleanor have been the best of friends since they were kids. Karen was always the one Bea and Eleanor could count on, come hell or high water. One day a threat presents itself to this friendship, in the form of a new patient who seems to know far too much about Karen and the lives of her friends. Wanting to protect them as she has always done, Karen struggles with how much information she is able to share since giving away too much would breach patient confidentiality. Tensions mount under the stress of too many secrets that even these best of friends have kept hidden from each other, and the dangers that lurk may threaten not only friendships but lives.
This was a brilliant psychological thriller full of suspense and domestic drama.

I received an advance copy for review.

[purple_pisces22 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well I think this book was even better than Jenny Blackhurst’s first one. I love the friendship between the women and I loved each of their rules. They really did seem like the perfect triangle a friend. Although since it was a mystery/suspense book, I figured at least one of them had to be off a bit. I did not expect some of the things that occurred and I like that I couldn’t guess everything.

[olegalca · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Just gave up due to lack of interest in the characters and how the plot was going to resolve itself. Disappointing because I've loved other Jenny Blackhurst books.

[brokenangelkisses · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When is a patient not a patient?When they have no desire to get better, and every intention of causing you harm…This is Blackhurst’s second novel; it’s a psychological thriller and promises to spin a tense tale of manipulation and madness.-- What’s it about? --Karen is a psychiatrist. She fixes people. That’s what she does, professionally and for her friends.But when Jessica Hamilton arrives in her life and insists, “You can’t fix me”, Karen struggles to maintain her professional persona. Jessica knows things about Karen, about Karen’s friends.Soon, Karen’s friends are in danger, but they’re refusing to listen to her warnings. How will Karen keep them safe if they won’t accept that they’re at risk?-- What’s it like? --Instantly intriguing. The story opens on a therapy session and, contrary to our expectations, it’s Karen receiving the therapy. Why? What happened? And exactly what has an incident that happened when she was four got to do with her new patient, Jessica Hamilton? These snippets of therapy sessions recur throughout the book and gradually your perspective on them changes. (As soon as I reached the end I went back and read them all with a clearer understanding. It’s impressive that these work so well in their initial context but also hold up under the scrutiny of rereading.)Next we join Karen as she meets Jessica and is almost instantly unsettled by her. Jessica seems to know exactly what to say to put Karen on edge, and as we learn more about Karen’s life we see why. Karen has secrets that she doesn’t even tell her best friends, Bea and Eleanor, and as the story progresses we see her start to unravel, even as she tries to help her friends.‘She hadn’t had the dream for three days.’Blackhurst makes effective use of multiple narrative viewpoints to help build a compelling story where danger seems imminent but the readers’ uncertainty over the true source of the danger grows until a startling event occurs. This event is abrupt and came as a shock to me, despite the warning signs previously, but Blackhurst clearly wants to focus our attention on the consequences of this event rather than the initial discovery.The genius of the narrative is the mixture of unsettling detail mixed with mundane domesticity. Eleanor, getting to grips with a new baby, talks nappies and breastmilk, school runs and birthday parties, but it transpires that even the school run can be used to engender fear and provoke madness.Similarly, childfree singleton Bea presents a carefree facade to the outside world as she jokes about dating and her career, but an incident in her past has been keeping her hostage, and now someone is determined to remind her of it, using familiar tools as potent weapons.‘Obsession. It starts slowly, like a train pulling out of a station.’Alongside the third person narration and therapy snippets, Blackhurst introduces an unnamed first person narrator. These short chapters introduce an extra frisson of tension as the obsessive protagonist reveals the extent of their disordered mind and implies the lengths they will go to. Just like the therapy snippets, I felt compelled to reread these after completing the story and they were even more fascinating in light of the story’s conclusion.There are some ambiguities around the ending (to the extent that I’m not completely clear about whether one character lives or dies!) but I loved the direction Blackhurst takes her characters in and felt that everything ultimately made sense from a psychological and a practical perspective.-- Final thoughts --This is a cleverly developed tale of obsession and manipulation, crafted in a way that ensures you always have your doubts but can’t be certain until the dramatic finale.There are a few minor niggles (why does the denouement take place where it does? The setting holds significant meaning for one of the characters…but not for the one who drove there) but overall this is an assured handling of a complex narrative with fully realised and flawed characters.Being a realist, I also appreciated the harshness of some of the realities uncovered in the final few chapters. Life can be brutal, and death is no respecter of misunderstandings.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.