Six friends. One killer. Who do you trust? A teen girl is missing after a night of partying; thirty years later, the discovery of her body reopens a cold case in “a scorching portrait of friendship and its betrayal.” (Nicci French). “This enjoyably chilling suspense tale . . . conveys both the thrills and the dangers of being a teenager on the brink of adult independence.”—The New York Times Book … independence.”—The New York Times Book Review
On a scorching July night in 1983, a group of teenagers goes camping in the forest. When they wake in the morning the youngest of their group, Aurora Jackson, has disappeared. An exhaustive investigation is launched, but no trace of the teenager is ever found.
Thirty years later, Aurora’s body is unearthed in a hideaway that only the six friends knew about, and Jonah Sheens is put in charge of solving the long-cold case. Back in 1983, as a young cop in their small town, he had known the teenagers—including Aurora—personally, even before taking part in the search. Now he’s determined to finally get to the truth of what happened that night. Sheens’s investigation brings the members of the camping party back to the forest, where they will be confronted once again with the events that left one of them dead and all of them profoundly changed forever.
This searing, psychologically captivating novel marks the arrival of a dazzling new talent, and the start of a new series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens.
Praise for She Lies in Wait
“A novel that literally makes you hold your breath then gasp out loud.”—Val McDermid
“She Lies in Wait is an atmospheric, deeply satisfying, well-written mystery whose resolution rings true after lots of false leads and blind alleys. A remarkably adept first novel. One hopes there will be many more to come.”—Daily Herald
“The mystery intrigues and twists, offering enough red herrings and moments of police procedural to please fans of the genre.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“What a marvel! A corkscrew-twisty, knife-sharp thriller—yet it doubles as a tender ode to loss and longing. Prepare to be haunted.”—A. J. Finn, author of the New York Times bestseller The Woman in the Window
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Great mystery about a group of teens who go on a camping trip, only to have one turn up dead the next morning.
A superior crime book . . . I loved it.
A dark, deep, terrific thriller and a scorching portrait of friendship and its betrayal.
She Lies in Wait delivers on just about every level—a killer premise, an absorbing plot that twists and turns at just the right pace, and a lead detective who has hit the page fully formed and instantly likeable. One to watch!
Most enjoyable—Gytha Lodge is a skilled storyteller and she weaves such an intricate plot. The book hooked me early on and kept me up way past my bedtime for several nights! The team of detectives Lodge has put together is top notch. All in all, it’s a very satisfying read.
A novel that literally makes you hold your breath then gasp out loud.
Thirty years ago, 6 teenagers are partying in the forest. Aurora Jackson is the youngest of the bunch and happy to be included in this group. But sometime during the night she disappears and no sign of her was ever found.
Today, 30 years after the fact, Aurora’s body is found in a hideaway that only 5 of her friends knew about. Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens is a small town cop called in to investigate. Back in 1983, as a young cop in their small town, he had known the teenagers—including Aurora—personally, even before taking part in the search. Now he’s determined to finally get to the truth of what happened that night.
Although a tad slow in the beginning, this debut thriller is well written with twists and turns and surprises along the way. There are plenty of suspects for this police procedural to investigate. I look forward to read more of the detective as this is the beginning of a series.
Many thanks to the author / Random House Publishing / Netgalley for this crime fiction/thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Loved this book. Look forward to this author’s next book
If you like this book I highly recommend Long black veil by jennifer boylan
A well-crafted detective thriller from a new author worth keeping an eye on.
Missing persons cold case turned murder investigation. While I wouldn’t consider She Lies in Wait to be quite the ‘psychologically captivating” story that’s promised in the blurb, it does make for an interesting crime thriller/procedural with emphasis on the procedural. Despite several red herrings throughout the story, I was able to figure it out pretty quickly, but that’s not necessarily a deal breaker for me if the book holds my interest, and this one did. I felt like the book barely scraped the surface of DCI Jonah Sheens with so much focus on the many possible murderers being investigated, but what I did get of him, I liked. He’s a bit flawed and has certainly made mistakes in the past that cause him some guilt, but I think he’ll make for an intriguing character to explore as the series progresses. This first in the series does get a little wordy at times and some things are repetitive, but it still kept me interested enough to want to finish it and see how it would all play out. All in all, a solid debut from the author and a good start to a promising series.
Liked the now and past format. Great idea for a story and it was realistic.
A stunner . . . well plotted, brilliant characters, beautifully written: a sure-fire hit.
The body of Aurora, missing for 30 year, is found in the woods, where she was last seen camping by her friends and sister. The question is, who put her in the hole in the ground and why.
The story is told alternating between the present and the past and the reader gradually finds out what happened that night in the woods. I was drawn in from the beginning and kept guessing ’til the end. And when I find out who murdered Aurora and how it all happened it made me sick. Knowing that the person who did it was someone she trusted and initially liked.
Jonah – a likeable detective with a dubious history – is the main viewpoint character, but we also hear from Aurora. Her sad, haunting last hours are revealed in a strong flashback thread throughout the story.
A well-written police procedural/ literary thriller. I look forward to book 2.
I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the ARC!
This book begins with a young girl finding a skeletal finger out in the woods. This opens a cold case from 30 years earlier. Aurora Jackson was a 14 year old who went on a camping trip with her older sister, Topaz, and a group of Topaz’s friends. She never came home.
Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens is called to investigate the case. He is torn, because he knew the group from school, and had been on the case very early in his career. His ties to the case sometimes cause his judgment into question.
This is a well written psychological thriller, with no clear indication of who the killer is as you read the story. I didn’t think there were any tells along the way, but a lot of red herrings and misdirection to confuse you. It is ultimately a sad story of loss and the aftermath of careless recklessness.
I look forward to reading more by this author, and hope the author also expands the character of DC Hanson more, as she seems like a great character.
#SheLiesInWait #NetGalley #GythaLodge
A nice easy read that feels comfortable to read but that also gets your heart racing. Will keep you on the edge of your seat.
‘She Lies in wait’ Is a police procedure mystery: the first in the series featuring DCI Jonah Sheens.
It explores the cold case of thirty years missing school girl Aurora Jackson who vanished back in 1983 while camping out with her sister and school friends.
So this one is rather close to home for Jonah as though he is not close friends and slightly older than the suspects he did attend school with them all back in the day.
When human remains are found not far from the original campsite that of course turn out to be our missing schoolgirl this cold case is now once again thrust into the current spotlight and DCI Jonah Sheens is determined to crack the case wide and with a very narrow pool of suspects to choose from the net here is certainly poised to catch a killer.
Told in a then and now timeframe this jumps seamlessly from past to present weaving a web of intrigue and mystery.
Told from multiple POV’s the then is mainly our victim’s job to narrate and residing in Aurora’s head I really did feel incredibly close to her and even felt that I got to know and understand her mindset and temperament slightly.
It also made me feel so incredibly sad as I also had a window into her eventual tragic fate at the hands of her unknown assailant.
It assisted me in seeing her as a flesh and blood person: an individual not just as a murder victim.
The now I found to be mostly DCI Jonah Sheens and DC Hanson: There was also one instance each of all six potential murderer’s thoughts which was a nice touch as it helped to showcase each character and brought them to the forefront for scrutiny.
Conner, Benners, Brett, Coralie, JoJo and Topaz and through briefly each got their own moment in that spotlight: there were also some red herrings thrown in for good measure also.
So initially there was an unintentional intricate web of misdirection and conspiracy of silence adopted by the teenagers back in eighty-three.
They were scared of getting into trouble as they had been drinking, taking drugs and hooking up with one another because of this, they omitted a lot effectively rewriting the entire script and unintentionally sabotaging the investigation into Aurora’s disappearance.
So even though the suspect pool was a tad sparse I still was actually stumped at who our predator could be and even when past collides to meet present I was still in the dark scratching my head in mystification.
I am a huge Silent witness and Vera fan and can usually deduce or make an educated guess to who is responsible: here I had nada: if I had to make an overall prediction it would have been a definite stab in the dark from me.
The quality of writing here is superb and I was engrossed from start to finish I really enjoyed myself and read this in one sitting.
I voluntary reviewed an Arc of She Lies in Wait (DCI Jonah Sheens, #1).
All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
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This’s a very exciting, fast paced thriller! It is based in England and I love reading books with British slang words. I have never read this author but I’m certainly going to be reading another book they write! Great job!
Twisty and suspenseful! I loved it.
What could have happened to Aurora? Someone knows but isn’t telling.
Uncovering bones from a thirty-year-old disappearance/murder case wasn’t something the police thought would happen after their very thorough search and investigation back then.
The remains of fourteen-year-old Aurora Jackson was a shock to the six teens that had been with her as well as the town and her parents. Everyone believed she had been kidnapped or had run away not murdered.
SHE LIES IN WAIT goes back and forth from 1983 to the present telling the story of what happened at the campsite, how the investigation was exhaustive and came up with nothing, and moves to present day with the interviewing of the now-adult teens and the re-opening of the case.
Opening the case meant bringing the six friends together at the station for a meeting. Was that a good idea or had there been collaboration beforehand? Are they all only going to try to save themselves? Will one of the friends say things that had not been said before and reveal something that could get that person arrested?
The investigation turned up some facts that had been overlooked and involved a person that was not one of the six friends.
SHE LIES IN WAIT moves smoothly from one chapter to the next and holds your interest because of all the questions about what really happened and who was lying back then and who was still lying now.
If you enjoy being a detective, you will definitely enjoy SHE LIES IN WAIT.
The story line is good and nicely carried out with some twists and of course secrets being kept. 5/5
This book was given to me as an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.