The Girl Before

***This excerpt is from an advance uncorrected copy proof***

Copyright © 2016 Rena Olsen



 

 

 

Now

I am brushing Daisy s hair at the kitchen table when the front door crashes open. The sound of gunfire and men shouting and children screaming comes in a tidal wave through the open door. Dropping the brush, I grab Daisy s hand and pull her into the nearest closet, fumbling for the lever that will open the false back. We huddle in the small space together, and Daisy trembles in my arms.

Daisy cries as the door to the closet opens. I put a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. Our hiding spot is clever, but not clever enough. Someone taps on the wall. This is hollow! he shouts, and his hands make shuffling sounds as they grope for a way in. It only takes a few minutes before the latch is discovered and we are revealed. Daisy screams and buries her face in my chest. I shield my eyes from the sudden brightness, swinging out with my other arm and coming into contact with hard flesh.

Whoa, there, a gentle voice says. I peek at the source, and see a man with kind eyes. I know it is a trick. How could he be kind when he has broken into our home? I lash out again, and he catches my arm. A little help here! he calls over his shoulder. His grip is firm, and I cannot retrieve my arm from his grasp. I wrap my other arm tightly around a sobbing Daisy and glare up at him.

The man is dressed in black from head to toe, a large gun strapped across his back. A woman pops up behind the man, her hair pulled back in a tight bun. She does not look as kind as he does, but she speaks in a quiet voice, holding her hands out in front of her.

We re not going to hurt you, sweetheart, she coos, and I roll my eyes. I am nobody s sweetheart. Just come out here so we can talk.

I want to protest, but I don t have many options. The man with the kind eyes tugs on my arm, and

Rena Olsen grew up moving around every few years, following her minister father from church to church, and her exposure to so many different people and environments sparked an interest in human nature. She earned a bachelor s degree in psychology and a master s degree in marriage and family therapy. A licensed therapist, she works in Des Moines, Iowa.

Praise for The Girl Before

Gripping...A powerful, moving debut by therapist Olsen in which cruelty is counterbalanced by compassion and love. Booklist (starred review)

Easily the most disturbing and unsettling book I have read this year....As in the best suspense novels, there are mysteries within mysteries, and all is not what it seems not to Clara, and definitely not to the reader. BookPage, A Best Mystery of 2016

[A] thoughtful look at victims and perpetrators and the difficulties that arise for someone who is both at once....[The Girl Before] moves at the pace of a mystery, but the novel is strongest when it allows Clara to unpack her past and consider who she will be going forward. A moving story of recovery and responsibility. Kirkus Reviews

I couldn't put it down. The novel is compelling, perplexing, and ultimately uplifting! The unusual structure is a perfect match for the magnetic voice of the central character. I predict this daring debut will make Rena Olsen the girl ahead among psychological suspense authors. Karen Harper, New York Times bestselling author of Upon a Winter s Night

A disturbing story, haunting and important. Alexandra Burt, author of Remember Mia

Daring, harrowing and absolutely riveting. Sandra Block, author of Little Black Lies