The Four Before Me

by E.H. Night

It's 1988, and four women have gone missing from a small town. When one of the bodies is discovered in a shallow grave by the lake, Alice Foster goes to dangerous lengths to find out who is responsible. After all, she's next on his list.

In search of closure after her grandmother's mysterious death, Alice moves to Wintersburg, completely unaware of the missing women. While shopping at the local grocery store, she sees a Missing Person’s poster on a bulletin board. She examines the photographs and names of the four women listed, but one thing in particular stands out — they all look eerily similar to each other, and to her.

431 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 11, 2019

About the author

E. H. Night is a fan of Mysteries and Thrillers, which are both reflected in her writing. A lover of humor, she tries to find light in even the darkest of situations. Aside from writing, she can often be found painting, cooking, or spending time with her family.

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the plot line was interesting, I could not get on board with this book at all. The writing style was extremely juvenile, which put me off a lot. There were also a lot of mistakes that could have been easily avoided if the book had been proofread properly before publication.

2 stars. Unfortunately, for me, it just did not hit the spot.

[Dawn Hosmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this twisted, dark psychological thriller by EH Night about 4 missing women from the same town and the effort to figure out what happened to them. I had several different suspects along the way and while I did figure out part of the plot, I didn't anticipate the dark, twisted reasons behind the actions. Look forward to reading more by this author.

[Desiree Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Everything tied together at the end. The chapters were well written and lengthy with clever titles. The suspense was built, attention grabbing and held until the revelations and questions were answered. The characters and small town setting were excellent. I enjoyed this read so much. Great job, E. This book did not disappoint, I look forward to your future titles!!!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars. If you really enjoy Lifetime thrillers then I think you will like this book. If you are someone who is into a lot of true crime this will not be something you will think is that great. While the plot was an interesting concept I felt that the author didn't commit much time to research. I say this due to a very awkward scene near the start of the book. In a town where a few women have come up missing you mean to tell me that some lady is just gonna take a midnight stroll into the woods???? If that was not all, but she manages to stumble on one of the first few victims who disappeared a few years prior and there are apparently flies still working on her decomposing corpse....flies buzzing at NIGHT!?! She would have been bones by that time and flies DO NOT fly around when it's dark. But that's the true crime person in me nitpicking. I can see how the author might have thought this would be a great reveal to get the story moving and don't get me wrong it was well written but it was just obvious no research went into the scene. The pacing was super fast too, and I feel like this should have been way more developed than it was. A great crime thriller would be Chiefs by Stuart Woods. I think this book was rushed and not developed enough. The author has potential if she put the effort in I think. But like I said if you just want a short thriller that isn't accurate and strictly entertainment than this should do it for ya.

[Lee Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

'While some monsters are born, others are created..’

Upon picking up this book I was instantly immersed into the words and descriptive style E.H Night brings to what is a chilling and mystery shrouded story. By the 8th chapter I’ll admit I couldn’t put it down.

The Four Before Me leans a little towards cliche but it works in an original way that keeps readers guessing throughout. It’s the late 80’s and Alice our main character; moves to small town ‘Wintersburg’ in search of a new start from the big city and to perhaps be closer to her now deceased Grandmother’s roots. Soon after her arrival she learns that four women are currently missing and that’s when the chilling coincidences begin. I say coincidence but that’s only if you believe in such things and for Alice this starts to play on her mind which in turn becomes psychological – the true strength of this story. She cannot help but think of the many similarities she and the missing women have, in particular ‘Sarah’ who was in fact the previous tenant in Alice’s new place.

As the story unfolds we meet a cast of three dimensional characters all of which serve purpose and depth to the story such as likable law enforcement officer ‘Blake Darrow’ and neighbor ‘Tiffany’ which Alice befriends. Of course there are the less savory characters such as ‘Benji’ or the town renowned ‘Wonderbread Will’. Can they be trusted when so many people are missing in this small town?

There were some instances that my mind was blown by the amount of twists and turns this story had. With elements of crime, mystery, suspense and even some chilling horror you could compare this book with the early works of Stephen King although the voice in this story is fresh and new. Whether it’s the sights or smells, emotions or feelings, this book captures everything including a little nostalgia.

[Tory Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Night is a talented writer and weaves a story of small-town life that is compelling and interesting. I wanted to give this book closer to a 4-star rating (maybe 3.8), but that's not an option! There should be something between 3 and 4.

It starts with great promise. It is eerie and has the hallmarks of being a great mystery-thriller. Four young women have gone missing in a town of only 1,000. When Alice arrives in town, a "city girl" moving to the small town where her beloved grandmother died, she immediately discovers the four young women bear a remarkable resemblance to her.

The build-up is good. There is the odd mix of characters that put you on alert. Ms. Night makes a concerted effort to bury information and throw the reader off track. So much so, that the ultimate reveal is not a surprise. And that's where she lost me. In the last chapter, we learn about the missing women, the why (sort-of). And yet, it's told to us rather than revealed in any action. What happens is horrific, but we're outsiders to the horror. We've been outsiders all along.

I don't want to reveal spoilers, but even being told what happens, there were a number of unanswered questions. I'm also not sure whose POV is wrapping up the mystery. It appears to be the Detective, but it's also an omniscient 3rd person. It's not clear if and how the Detective learns what is revealed.

I would recommend this book.

[Brett Milam · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the first time, I’ve read a self-published novel, The Four Before Me by local author E.H. Night. The novel is set in the 1980s, and is about a woman, Alice Foster, who moves to a new town where four women have gone missing. The townsfolk seem to think there’s nothing much ado about it, but then, Tiffany, Alice’s neighbor, finds a body near a lake, confirming what Alice, and Blake Darrow, a local detective, already suspected. That’s one of the best scenes early on is when Tiffany does discover the body and we get the description of “corpse flies” all up in Tiffany’s face. I read that chapter a week ago and I still think about it. It makes my skin crawl.

Night said she was inspired for this novel by B-level horror films, and the whodunit mixed with the horror elements of the novel certainly lend to that inspiration. I could see this novel playing out at a drive-in theater in the 1980s as fog creeps up the big screen. The 1980s setting works well here (in general, I’m a sucker for horror set in any time period prior to cell phones and modern time in general), particularly because of another element that works well here, and wouldn’t quite work if set in 2020: The gossipy hair salon. Alice finds work there, and it’s through the hair salon, that helps create one of the best characters in the novel, the small town of Wintersburg itself.

The reason people gravitate toward Stephen King novels or an episode of NBC’s Dateline is for the character of a small town where things are seedy beneath the small town’s charm veneer. There’s hints of that here, even beyond the fact of four disappearances, with the Sheriff letting Kirt’s Pub operate a bit below the bounds of the law, or that Benji, who is a fantastic red herring for the killer, exists in this town. Or the boys going around town accosting Will, Betty’s (the mother of Sarah, one of the missing girls) brother, who is someone with an intellectual disability. Or even the fact of the women being so dang gossipy and nasty at the salon.

The other characters are drawn out well, too. Alice is an earnest person, but as is mentioned and demonstrated throughout, she’s rather absent-minded and in some ways, a bit too trusting; one might even say naive. On the other hand, Tiffany is more care-free, but assertive. Her murder later on was hard to take, especially because Night did a great job of fooling me. So, the two girls are having a night out at the Pub, then go home to Tiffany’s. But whoops! They’ve forgotten what they need to make sundaes. Being inebriated, Alice decides to walk back to the grocery store leaving Tiffany alone. That’s when you think something is going to happen to Alice. Instead, she runs into Darrow and they have a playful whip cream scene in his car. Then, they both come back to Tiffany’s to find her clinging to life before dying. It’s well-done subversion by Night.

Speaking of Darrow, he is the stoic detective trying to solve the case, but also, there’s cracks in his facade as he falls for Alice. As mentioned, we get the whip cream scene, but before that, we learn that Darrow has a goofy love of funnel cakes. Will is also well-drawn, even if a peripheral character for the first half of the book. We learn that he roams around with a red wagon, loves Elvis (and will lose his mind if you tell him Elvis is actually dead), and also, has a thing for Wonderbread. It’s those sort of details that memorable characters are built upon.

Welp, turns out Will is in fact the killer. I pride myself on being adept at figuring out the whodunit before the author reveals it, and I have to admit, I didn’t suspect Will! I thought he and Eric, a guy Tiffany thinks is suspicious at the diner where she works, and Darrow later learns was cheating on his girlfriend with Jennifer Roberts, one of the missing girls, were both red herrings. Like I said, I also figured Benji was, too. After all, we see pretty early on that Benji drugs Alice (although she never does find out!), but I figured he was just a run-of-the-mill scumbag. It did surprise me later when he tries to kill Alice, and like Will (and Betty) is delusional in thinking Alice is Sarah. That was another one of the I-have-to-read-this-very-fast-to-see-what-happens scenes in the book. Benji was a scary, scary character, even if not the true killer. It’s that unpredictable, crazy menace that scares me.

Everyone is delusional in this town! But honestly, I feel stupid saying this now, but I thought the real killer was going to be Darrow! They always say it’s someone close to the case, and he was also sketchy about having other cops poking around on the case. And also, he would be able to get close to those women without them thinking it’s anything odd.

So, Night got me on that one, and she also surprised me further by, as I teased, having Betty be part of it and covering it all up ostensibly to protect her brother, but I think she’s also a psychopath. It’s all rather creepy. Oh, and disgusting. Betty makes pork sandwiches, and turns out, a lot of the pork was mixed with the dead bodies of the girls, and the town was probably eating human pork sandwiches. YUCK.

The most cinematic, skin-crawling scene is when Will and Betty have captured Alice, and thinking they’ve gotten one over on Darrow, they throw a dance party, and have Alice cosplaying as Sarah dancing around like a “water-logged Raggedy Anne doll.” Eek.

Darrow almost seems to have sympathy for Will because Will was basically trying to recapture and reclaim his mother, Judy, after her death to cancer. So, he sought out women’s hair that looked like his mother’s brown hair, but when the women would cry out, the sound would scare Will, and he’d end up killing them. For starters, Night does a great job layering in Will’s background on top of what I already mentioned for his characterization before, and sometimes less is more when it comes to killers to be horrifying, and sometimes, more is … uh, more, to be horrifying, and this works out to the latter. The more you learn about Will, the creepier it all becomes (like him rocking in that chair in the basement). But I’m not sure I share Darrow’s sympathy or understanding. Will was quite cognizant of luring these women to him, and quite cold once he had killed them. I hold more contempt for Betty because she absolutely knows better, but Will is still worthy of scorn.

And then Night got me further by connecting the dots between Susan, Alice’s grandmother, and Betty and Sarah. It turns out that Betty was Alice’s mom, but Betty gave her up to be raised by Susan. And Susan knew about the killings or at least knew about one of them and kept that secret. Believe it or not, I had actually forgotten about the train prologue scene with Susan at the beginning of the book! Then, when it started being explained, it was like, oh wow, this town really is seedy. So many dark, awful secrets under the surface. Once Susan learns that Sarah has been killed by Will, too, that’s when she walks in front of the train.

There are two lingering thoughts I have: 1.) I don’t believe Roger, who is the other sibling to Will and Betty, didn’t know what was going on with them. Remember, he’s the landlord and he was supposed to fix Alice’s backdoor and apparently, did a poor job of doing so, to the extent that Darrow noticed. I also am not sure I believe Roger’s story about the baseball bat being the reason Will is as he is. Even Alice questions that story; and 2.) What about Tiffany?! When Darrow interrogates Will, who is delusional and acting like his mother Judy, “Judy” makes a point of saying that Will didn’t “kill that redhead,” meaning Tiffany. He was over there the night she died, but got scared and left because of a knocking on the door. So, who killed Tiffany?! Was it Eric, the man she was suspicious of? Is it Roger? Or someone else altogether? I need a sequel!

Night’s writing really flourishes during the creepier, more horrific scenes. The corpse flies, the dance party, and the human pork sandwiches are going to stick with me for a long time to come. But also, her writing exceeds in a different way when she’s inside Alice’s head, who is an interesting character you’re rooting for despite those naive elements there. You want her to survive, of course, but you also want her to solve the whodunit, too. I’m also impressed by how layered the story ended up being. There’s more going on here than a whodunit. There’s a few false climaxes, where you think, oh okay, that’s it, and then there’s more, and then another false climax, and then more. There’s a lot to unpack here, or as the tagline suggests, a lot to unbox. And one final, small thing, I laughed at the dedication, “To those who cheered me on, even though I specifically said to be quiet so I could write.” Bravo to the silence where the darkness is the loudest and spills onto the page. It spilled well here, and I’m glad to have finally taken a leap, as it were, into reading a self-published novel.

Overall, if you’re into whodunits and horror, then you’re going to want to give this one a whirl through Wintersburg. You won’t regret it, but you may be itching from those corpse flies buzzing around. Also, leave those dang sandwiches alone.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery with a hint of paranormal

Set in the late 80's this is a story of Alice who moves to 'Wintersburg' to start a new life and to be closer to her deceased grandmothers roots.
Having lost her beloved grandmother recently she is looking for closure. Hoping to fill that empty void by being in a town that her grandmother spoke so much about. Alice feels she will begin to heal that pain.What begins with a regular mystery of a pretty girl in a small town goes on to lean towards the cryptic and spookiness of the missing four woman. The town is quaint and everyone knows everyone and their happenings. So the danger that is lurking amidst them is not taken seriously. No one thinks any harm could have beholden those four woman and assume maybe they went off to the bigger towns to sort their lives.
Strangeness continues with the eerie similarity of all those four woman resembling Alice. There's a detective hot on finding out what transpired without disrupting the calmness of the town. A nice little touch of romance as well here and there.
As the story unfolds the build up gets really good. You have a hint of paranormal and a couple of characters that get you tangled in a mystery shrouded with an edginess worth flipping your pages real fast. Some of the scenes have these touch of spookiness that you are unprepared for. 

It held my interest so well with multiple twists and turns however in all of this it started to really get confusing on and off.
Specially the track were the chapters that tried tying up the whole thing. Though the initial part blew my mind and had me riveted, the ending not so much.
I was left looking for logic.
How did the ending really tie up?and the tiny details of the instability of the minds involved?
The Timelines were quite irregular during the tense moments.If Alice happened to be talking about days the very moment you have the detective say hours?
Got pretty confusing in the latter chapters. Proofreading was needed here.
Some instances were also so unnecessary,The descriptions in the end chapters borderline on grotesque.
Wouldn't want to go there and give out any spoilers.Trigger warnings there for the faint heart.
Do pick this book up if you are not looking for logic in the explanations and situations when you shut the book to this psychological thriller.Otherwise it does keep you rooted in the initial chapters pretty well.

[Robert Hayek · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you haven't read this book, slap yourself in the face. Then after you're done doing that, pick it up. Night is a great writer and one I would put on a "Writers to watch" list. Her main character Alice represents the feelings and heart of most mid 20's women and takes you into the tale of what happens when a young woman moves into a town with a deadly secret and how she is connected to the heart of it. I could not put the book down.

[Chasity · Rating 5 out of 5]

FOUR BEFORE ME is a thriller that takes you on a wild ride. A woman named Alice moves to the small down that her recently deceased grandmother was from. When she gets there she sees that four woman are missing and they all look a lot like her. As I read I kept making guesses on who I wanted the bad guy to be, who I didn’t want the bad guy to be. I actually was a bit ticked when I thought that it was one of the characters because he was such an obvious choice. Like any good thriller though, the reveal is the biggest payoff of all. I can say that who ends up being the ‘bad guy’ isn’t who you expect. They weren’t even on my radar of possibilities. That is how well this twist hit me. But it doesn’t end there, the hits just kept on coming.



Read this book. I beg you. It’s a book that you have to pay attention, but it will be so worth it. If you enjoy a mystery, a thriller and a dash of suspense this is the book for you!

[Shannon Rohrer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't a terrible read. It kept my attention fairly well, in fact, because I wanted to know how it ended.

That said, it had its problems. There was a lot of exposition, being told what to think about the characters and their actions, the dialogue was often awkward and felt unnatural, and overall, I felt the characters to be particularly dense. I can see the individual person missing warning signs, but that so many of them missed or ignored these signs? It bordered on ludicrous. Suspension of disbelief only goes so far.

I did think the characters seemed natural and discernible at times, but these times felt few and far between, sadly.

Anyway, like I said--not a terrible book. The writing itself was okay, even if I didn't jive with it completely, and it did hold a great deal of suspense. So it gets a solid 3 stars from me for being a decent read.

[J. Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style of E. H. Night fits perfectly in this story and it's a fun read. The dark and grittiness of the characters—along with the development of characters—makes this book a fun read. Although I had figured things out to a certain extent, there was one small twist I hadn't anticipated, which made the realisation of parts of the theme become more prominent. I enjoyed the development immensely as the mystery delved into sinister concoctions, which was right up my alley. I look forward to reading more of Night's future releases.

[Talena Fuchs · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Spoiler ahead.* It was a tough read for me. Too much effort put into wordy descriptions in almost every sentence and less on the plot line. It was hard to pick up the timeline of the missing girls until a little past when it would have been more helpful. It wasn't a dark book for the most part, but the cannibalism was a HUGE turnoff for me and seemed very unnecessary to story. The author has talent and I can see her works evolving into some really good reads. Great descriptive words and use. Unfortunately I don't think she quite got there with this one.

[Cass Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was well written, and it kept me reading to find out what happened and who did it!
I liked the 80's style, and the mixture of comfort and fear that was found in the small town in the story. The relationships between the characters were interesting and watching some of them develop was really fun within the moments of tension. To be honest, the twists at the end didn't really sit well with me, but it didn't take way from the overall enjoyment of the book.

If you want a thriller with interesting characters that will keep you guessing - this is a great choice!

[Tanweer Dar · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cracking book!

Great build up, wonderfully relatable characters, small-town America in the 80s (with brilliantly named chapters to match) and a dash of very dark horror. Actually, things got very dark by the end indeed! Great little clues and motifs along the way. Very cleverly conceived and beautifully written.

Kept me guessing, kept me reading and turning those pages. Ate it up.

E H Night has really done a fantastic job with this. Thoroughly recommended.

[Kayla 🦇⚰️🪦💅 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was very interested in the story, and what was happening. Sometimes the writing was a little too poetic and metaphorical, which took me out of the story a bit. A little more telling than showing, and I feel like everything kind or wrapped up a little too quickly at the end. I did enjoy the plot. I will definitely read another mystery/thriller/suspense type novel from this author.

[Thor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, man, what an opening! And what an ending! This dark and twisted story kept me intrigued until the very end, where the truths that were revealed left me surprised and slightly unsettled. This story will stay with me for a long, long time.

[Iseult Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting thriller

Alice moves to her grandmothers childhood home after her death, but soon finds that nothing is as safe as she imagined. I liked the chapters being named after 80’s shows and songs (the story is set in the 80’s) and the story was good, but there were a few inconsistencies at the end, and I wish the denouncement had been revealed more subtly than with so much exposition.

[Douglas Falk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid 4 out of 5 from me.

The setting is not remotely original or groundbreaking - but it doesn't have to be. A well-written story crafted by a talented author will often make up for plots that veer into well-known territory, and such is the case with E.H. Night. Young girls are being picked off one by one in a small, dysfunctional town - a serial killer on the loose. It sounds run-of-the-mill, but it isn't. It feels fresh and constantly engaging, with haunting sequences and memorable characters in the mix. When I finished it just now, I thought.... this was like the estranged lovechild of Psycho, Crimson Peak and True Detective. And I mean that in a good way.


Definitely an author that I will have on my radar and will check out her future and past works, in time.

[Aaron Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Normally, I don't read horror thrillers, but this is one that I'm glad I did.

This novel follows the story of Alice, a woman moving to a small town to build a new life. However, a darkness underlies this idyllic setting.

The author writes in a wonderful style that brings the reader perfectly into this cozy environment by creating detailed characters and nailing the nuances and gossip of their interactions. The tension rises with each page turn as more of the haunting secrets of the town are brought to life until Alice collides with the awful truth.

A dark and twisty read!