num_pages: 314
description: In this powerful psychological suspense debut when a womans life is shattered she is faced with a devastating question: What if everything she thought was normal and good and true . . . wasnt? Clara Lawson is torn from her life in an instant. Without warning her home is invaded by armed men and she finds herself separated from her beloved husband and daughters. The last thing her husband yells to her is to say nothing. In chapters that alternate between past and present the novel slowly unpeels the layers of Claras fractured life. We see her growing up raised with her sisters by the stern Mama and Papa G becoming a poised and educated young woman falling desperately in love with the forbidden son of her adoptive parents. We see her now sequestered in an institution questioned by men and women who call her a different nameDianaand who accuse her husband of unspeakable crimes. As recollections of her past collide with new revelations Clara must question everything she thought she knew to come to terms with the truth of her history and to summon the strength to navigate her future.
language: English
title: The Girl Before
publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons