The Woman I Was Before by Kerry Fisher

☆☆☆☆
Kindle Edition, 341 pages
Expected publication: March 22nd 2019 by Bookouture
About the Book:
A new home can be a happy ending. Or a fresh start. Or a hiding place. Kate Jones is running away. She has left her old life behind, changing both her own name and her daughter’s. No-one must ever connect Kate with the mistake that destroyed her life. Starting afresh on Parkview Road – a brand new street full of newly built houses – Kate looks at the other women on the street with envy. They seem to have it all: Gisela with her busy life, full house and successful children, Sally with her exciting spontaneous marriage, her glamorous holidays, her high-flying career. The pictures that Kate's new friends post online confirm their seemingly perfect existence, whilst Kate hides from the world at all costs. Until one day, everything changes. Kate is called to the scene of a devastating accident, which is about to test everything the women thought they knew about each other, and themselves.

The Woman I Was Before focuses on relationships and friendships. Ms. Fisher combines these elements to create a solid contemporary fiction novel. I enjoyed the character development and the interactions of the main characters, both with each other and the secondary characters that are in their lives. Kate, Sally and Gisela are well-developed and multi-faceted characters as are their friendships. Fisher explores the characters and how they change as individuals as each follow their own path in life. She also delves into how their individual challenges impact their friendship.

The result is a compelling and emotionally rich story that illustrates how truth and honesty can heal. Each of Fisher's characters is endearing in her own right, but deeply flawed in ways with which readers will readily empathize. What readers will find in the pages of this book is more of character-driven story of relationships, challenges of life, marriage, motherhood and friendships.

I think all fans of women’s fiction are really going to enjoy this story as it has just enough mystery to keep readers mesmerized with the plot. I enjoyed the book overall and the topics explored did cause me to do some of my own thinking later. I'm going to read this author's other books and I will look forward to each new release. Ultimately, The Woman I Was Before is entertaining, thought-provoking, and will leave readers feeling hopeful and resolute.

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and Kerry Fisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

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