Nicola Rayner is the author
of The Girl Before You, a psychological thriller published by Avon Books this summer, which was runner-up in the Cheltenham First Novel Competition in 2018 and picked by the Observer as a debut to look out for in 2019. Nicola was born in Abergavenny, south Wales, and works as a freelance journalist, specialising in dance and travel. She lives in London with her husband and
Jack Russell, Chota.

Photograph by Joseph Paxton