The Girl Before

Jane Cavendish is a sleek, organized woman who has recently left her career in financial PR to work part-time for a nonprofit after experiencing a traumatic stillbirth. When she moves into One Folgate Street, she feels “utterly content” in the space’s “spare, empty austerity” (51). Almost immediately after moving in, Jane begins finding strange connections to the previous tenant, Emma, who looked exactly like her and whose ex-boyfriend keeps leaving lilies on the doorstep.

Jane’s composure doesn’t break as she begins working to get justice from the hospital where she had her stillbirth while simultaneously investigating Emma’s death and dating Edward Monkford. Jane’s motivation to solve Emma’s murder follows a similar emotional trajectory to her process of dealing with the hospital and then finding out she is pregnant again: first, she gathers information; next, she struggles to figure out what to do; finally, she makes a clear decision and moves forward. Her relationship with Edward challenges this cautious, calculated mode of being. For instance, when he takes her to an architectural opening and engages in intimate behavior with her in the middle of the crowded space, she thinks to herself, “I don’t do things like this” (110). Yet Jane doesn’t lose herself to Edward, as Emma does; instead, Jane flourishes in the structured environment of One Folgate Street, finding her life “becoming more considered, more beautiful” (163).

Even at three months pregnant, and after Edward breaks up with her, Jane remains calculating in her decisions, moving forward with the “one last piece of housekeeping” (259) she needs to take care of. Later, when she feels frustrated by something, Jane is able to identify her “burst of anger” (281) as irrational. Jane’s capacity for self-awareness is what allows her to confront and escape Simon’s violent, obsessive advances, as well as to have her baby, despite what anyone else thinks. As Edward says in one of his last conversations with her, “All the time I thought I was controlling you, you were actually controlling me” (328). As a character, rather than evolving into a different person, Jane only strengthens the internal resolve and composure that she has at the outset of the novel. 

Edward Monkford is a wealthy architect who, after suffering the loss of his wife and child, throws himself into his work in designing spaces that alter how humans interact with buildings. Described by both Emma and Jane as handsome and charming, Edward follows scripted patterns to develop relationships with both women.

Edward is particularly attached to the Japanese culture’s “emphasis on self-discipline and restraint” (111) as “the highest form of beauty” (111). He expresses this through his controlled personal actions and routines, as well as his carefully-developed relational patterns, where he takes both Emma and Jane to the same kinds of events, architectural sites, and restaurants. Edward is also described as controlled in his intimate behaviors, and Emma says early on that she gets “the feeling he’s holding back” (104). But Edward’s sheen of self-control is disrupted when he isn’t able to keep people from behaving in ways that he doesn’t want, and he erupts in anger at different moments when his perfectly organized life is disrupted by someone else’s desires or actions. 

Simon Wakefield is a magazine writer who works in a “laddish, boozy environment” (20) and tends to give greater respect to men who act “brash” (5). During their relationship, Emma frequently feels angry or critical of Simon’s behavior, and when they are closer to breaking up, Simon acts violently towards her, throwing a coffee cup on one occasion and pushing her away on another.

Later in the novel, Simon’s behaviors, which originally come across as emotional, if not weak, emerge as obsessive and dangerous. When Jane finally discovers that it’s Simon who has been stalking her, videoing her, and causing malfunctions in the house software, he becomes even more violent, and it becomes clear that he was capable of murdering Emma. Primarily, Simon’s violence occurs when he feels rejected by a woman, whether or not he and the woman have an actual relationship. 

Detective Inspector (DI) James Clarke is a kind, well-intentioned police officer who helps Emma with her case. After finding out that she lied, he struggles to be helpful and eventually removes his support. He expresses sadness over the entire scenario when Jane interviews him about Emma’s death, saying that it “still bugs [him], what happened to Emma” (217) and that he hopes Jane will tell him if she finds anything.

Carol Younson is Emma’s therapist and counsels her through processing the break-in and rape. Carol also provides feedback to Emma about her relationships with Simon and Edward. Since Emma frequently lies to Carol as well, Carol develops an incorrect profile of Edward as a narcissistic sociopath, which leads Jane down a divergent investigative path until she rules it out. Jane also goes to Carol both as a therapist and as part of her investigation after Jane finds Carol’s card in the crawlspace with Emma’s other stuff. Carol is helpful to Jane in determining why Emma might have behaved the way she did.

Saul Aksoy is Emma’s coworker and Simon’s close friend. At one point, outside of the timeline of the novel, Saul and Emma sleep together and videotape themselves engaging in a sexual act. When Jane interviews Saul about Emma, she describes him as “an aging lothario” (226) and dismisses him as a real lead in Emma’s case.

Dr. Gifford is both the doctor responsible for not catching that Jane might have a stillbirth and, ironically, the doctor assigned to her when she is pregnant again. When Jane files to potentially sue the hospital, Dr. Gifford takes full responsibility for not ordering the tests that could have avoided the stillbirth. It seems that for this reason, Jane trusts his integrity and believes him safe to deliver her second child, which he does successfully.

Deon Nelson is the man who robs Emma at knifepoint. She accuses him, after some questioning by the police, of also forcing her to engage in oral sex and videotaping it. While the trial against Nelson is underway, Emma experiences two threatening interactions with teenagers who seem to be working for Nelson. Eventually, evidence proves that Nelson didn’t rape Emma and he does not feature prominently in the novel again.