The Ones Before: Book One of the Discovery Trilogy (1)

Product Information

Mark's birthday party for Hannah brings good — and very bad — surprises. Kate digs into Sophia's past. Rebecca plays hardball with James. A dark, gripping psychological thriller with a brilliant twist, The One Before is perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter, Gillian Flynn and Rachel Caine. As things begin to unravel for Madison and Cooper, the tension in this book begins to be wound very tightly, thus making this to be quite a thrilling read. Actually, the story begins to take on a chilling effect as events of the past begin to clash with what is going on currently for the couple. So much so that I was completely thrown off. I loved that Madison did not take things at face value, even if it meant there was the possibility for her to discover things were not as they seemed. Starting with Celia we get a glimpse of the day before she died, then we fast forward to Madison about to move to Whisper Falls with her fiancé Cooper for a fresh start. She’s jobless due to her career as a journalist being destroyed and he comes from a wealthy prominent family and is about to take over the running of The Gazette, the family newspaper.

Not all is as perfect as she expected. Madison runs into an old classmate of Cooper's who tells her that Cooper had a hand in killing Celia Gray ... Cooper's high school sweetheart. It was eventually labeled as an accident ... but people still remember and still say that Cooper "got away with it". I once broke up with a man by giving him a loaf of homemade bread. I also gave him a card, in which I apologised for things not working out. At the bottom, as a PS, I added, “My mum fancies you though, if you’d be interested.” I was, I think it’s fair to say, giving out some weird signals. Told mainly from Madison's viewpoint, Miranda Smith did a superb job planting seeds of doubt in the minds of both Madison and myself. Throughout the story's progression, I found myself thrown off course as I struggled to decide whether or not things were as they seemed. All the while the tension was being ratcheted up as I was taken on a merry-go-round of past and present occurrences.

I found this to be an ok read. Cooper comes from a wealthy family and he brings his fiancée, Madison to his hometown of Whisper Falls to live. There is a mystery as to why Madison wanted to leave her job and friends in the city, but, when the secret is revealed it’s a bit of a let down. In fact, I found the whole book a tad formulaic and the writing style bland. Celia was Cooper’s high school sweetheart, who died in a tragic accident the year they graduated. But some people think it was no accident. That my kind, loving husband is a killer. Madison starts to dig a bit deeper as something doesn’t feel right and unbeknownst to her, there’s someone plotting revenge for the death of Celia. In each iteration, The One is guided by the Oracle and then the Keymaker to a holding room of sorts where The One gains an audience with the Architect. The Architect explains the origin and history of The One to them as well as their purpose, after which he presents The One a choice: enter the door leading to the Source to reload the Matrix by reinserting the Prime Program, or return to the Matrix.

But if she starts asking questions, what other secrets will be revealed? Will she meet the same fate as the woman who came before her? After Neo sacrifices himself and Smith is defeated, the Machines uphold the terms of the truce that Neo proposes, and the Machine War ends, with Zion saved from the brink of destruction, and the Matrix successfully reloaded, thus ensuring survival of both humanity and the Machines. Cooper has a job lined up running things at the family newspaper but Madison has nothing planned, other than the wedding. Madison gets more confused as she learns more about her fiancee’s past and Douglas family’s secrets. Are they capable to bury all the evidence against them? Could Helen tell the truth? Could caring, loving Cooper have another personality that he hides from Madison? Is she in danger by not cancelling her marriage plan? I don’t believe it. But the only way to be sure is to find out what happened to the woman before me…

by Juan José Saer

Mistakes cast ripples; they penetrate your surface, the life you thought you had, and expand onward from there. Upcoming Releases Daily Game Giveaway Xbox Game Prices Xbox Sales Xbox Hardware Prices Hot Xbox Games Xbox Game Pass Games PC Game Pass EA Play Games Ubisoft+ Games