Although it is often difficult to read, the straightforward narrative is at its best when it reveals the horror hiding in plain sight, showing readers the raw and gritty aspects of the harrowing tale.

There are no surprises here, no mysteries to unravel early on, readers will know exactly what is happening. The power of the narrative comes from its focus on the “training” of the stolen girls and the process by which these abducted victims are “prepared” for the traffickers who will ultimately purchase them. Readers are likely to ask how anyone could truly be THAT clueless? Nevertheless, throughout most of the story, it is difficult not to feel some degree of sympathy for Clara and for the situation in which she finds herself. Readers will easily intuit the truth one wonders how Clara can be so unbelievably naïve for so long. Having learned to do exactly what her husband asks, Clara keeps silent when men and women come to interrogate her, but eventually she comes to question everything she thought she knew and finds herself forced to face the truth of her life.Alternating between past and present, Clara’s story slowly unfolds as the narrative builds her backstory. As she led away, Glen cautions her to say nothing. When armed men invade Clara Lawson’s home, they separate her from her husband, Glen, and her daughters.

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. We see her now, sequestered in an institution, questioned by men and women who call her a different name-Diana-and who accuse her husband of unspeakable crimes. 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. In chapters that alternate between past and present, the novel slowly unpeels the layers of Clara’s fractured life.

The last thing her husband yells to her is to say nothing. Without warning, her home is invaded by armed men, and she finds herself separated from her beloved husband and daughters. In this powerful psychological suspense debut, when a woman’s life is shattered, she is faced with a devastating question: What if everything she thought was normal and good and true.wasn’t?Ĭlara Lawson is torn from her life in an instant.

The Girl Before by Rena Olsen