What You Need to Know About Right Behind You by Gail Giles
Gail Giles wrote gothic romance novels in the UK, and Right Behind You is one of her titles from the late 1990s. It follows the standard formula she was known for — isolated setting, brooding male lead, a heroine with secrets, the whole thing. If you've read any of her other books, you already know what to expect. The book is out of print in hardcover and paperback from the original publisher. Your options are basically Kindle, used physical copies, or library borrowing. The Kindle version runs through Amazon's platform, and pricing varies depending on whether it's listed as a new release or through her backlist catalog. Used copies on eBay or AbeBooks typically go for between two and eight dollars depending on condition. I picked up a used paperback back in 2018 at a bookstore clearance bin for three bucks. The binding was already cracked on mine. Reading it on Kindle works fine, but the text formatting is basic — no special layout or illustrations. Nothing fancy, just the raw text.
How the book actually plays out
The story centers on a woman who moves into a large, somewhat rundown house and gradually realizes someone or something is following her. Giles leans into the atmospheric tension more than the romantic subplot, which is unusual for her work. Most of her books balance the two equally, but this one tips toward the thriller side. The pacing drags in the middle section. I noticed it on the first read and confirmed it on the second. Chapters six through ten basically consist of the protagonist investigating strange occurrences without much progress. Giles stretches these scenes out longer than she needs to. A tighter edit would have saved about forty pages. The romance element exists but takes a backseat until the final third. If you're coming to this for the gothic atmosphere, that payoff comes through by the end. If you want a strong romantic lead throughout, you might feel short-changed.
Common issues readers run into
One thing I encountered that other reviewers rarely mention is the timeline inconsistency in the middle chapters. The narrator references events happening over what should be roughly two weeks, but the weather descriptions and character routines suggest a longer span — possibly three or four. It doesn't break the story, but it's noticeable if you're tracking details closely. I just accepted it as a minor continuity slip and moved on. Another problem is the Kindle edition's chapter headings. They don't always separate cleanly on older e-readers. If you're reading on a device that's more than a few years old, you might find yourself accidentally skipping past a chapter break. Updating your firmware or switching to a different app fixed it for me.
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Is it worth reading?
If you enjoy 1990s gothic romance and don't mind slower middle sections, this is a reasonable entry point into Giles' catalog. It's not her best work, but it's competent and stays within the genre conventions throughout. Her later books tend to be tighter, and some of her earlier ones are more atmospheric. This sits somewhere in the middle — adequate premise, uneven execution, memorable ending. For comparison, if you read this and want something similar but better paced, her novel Shadow Dancer covers related ground with less padding. If you prefer the gothic thriller angle over the romance, you might also look at Patricia Marshall, who wrote in a similar vein during the same era. The book runs approximately 380 pages in most editions. Expect to spend around four to five hours reading it at a normal pace, though the middle section will test your patience if you're not invested in the mystery thread.
