Gosling is a stylish, sophisticated writer, and we realize that we are following Andy on what amounts to a grand scavenger hunt for the truth. Rain falls relentlessly, and the ensuing floods form an ominous backdrop to a story that becomes darker as it goes along. ? The New York TimesVictoria Gosling has crafted a perfectly balanced literary page-turner filled with evocative detail about rural youth paired with a genuinely thrilling mystery. -- Ben FergussonReading this reminded me of being young and tucked into an Agatha Christie. It granted the same delicious pleasure as I watched the puzzle put back together. -- Rowan Hisayo BuchananFour disaffected teenagers, a deserted manor, an unlimited supply of drugs, and a cache of potentially explosive secrets. What could go right? Before the Ruins, Victoria Gosling's stunner of a debut novel, is rich with mystery and moral disorder. It put me in mind of Edward St. Aubyn and Donna Tart; dark, fierce, and totally addictive. -- Valerie MartinEngrossing, beguiling, and with an undertow of menace, Before the Ruins is a masterly debut from a richly talented author. -- Sarah WatersI don't know the last time I enjoyed a book this much. Unbelievably tense and incredibly smart, Victoria's Gosling's story about four friends playing a truly terrifying game of cat-and-mouse in a deserted manor house is the perfect ménage à trois of superb plotting, haunting characters, and gorgeous, atmospheric prose. Tana French fans will devour this. -- Aimee MolloyA stellar debut... The gorgeous, poetic prose perfectly complements the suspenseful plot. ? Publishers Weekly starred reviewLush and razor-sharp, Before the Ruins is both deliciously gothic and completely contemporary. Every single page is absorbing and surprising. -- Flynn Berry, author of Under the HarrowAtmospheric... Gosling uses her richly ruinous setting as a jumping off point to examine class, innocence, morality, and loss ? LitHub's Most Anticipated Books of 2021A whip-smart debut ? Shelf AwarenessWonderfully sophisticated and beautifully conceived... a captivating and thought-provoking novel ? New York Journal of BooksRichly atmospheric and exquisitely written, Before the Ruins is wistful and haunting, hopeful and beautiful. ? BookPageGosling's atmospheric debut takes a familiar theme - the way the things we do as teenagers reverberate in later life - but treats it with care and empathy... the finely drawn characters, especially the spiky narrator Andrea, linger in the memory ? Mail on Sunday Victoria Gosling grew up in Wiltshire and studied at Manchester University and the University of Amsterdam. She has lived in London, Australia, Brazil, the Czech Republic and Berlin. Victoria is the founder of The Reader Berlin and organises The Berlin Writing Prize. @victoriagosling