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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Gytha Lodge has written what I believe is one of the best books I’ve read all year. I’m stunned that this is her first novel. It is so amazing I fangirled all over her FB page to let her know I loved it. That’s not usually something I do.
The story was simple, on the face of it, but then you add in donkey’s years having passed and people’s memories get fuzzy even if they weren’t drunk or stoned when an event occurred.
I was very interested in the police involvement in this story, especially because one was hiding something. The discovery of Aurora’s body certainly stirred up a lot of people and I found myself wanting to read faster so I could find out what happened, yet also not wanting the book to end.
The author layers all these characters and their stories together quite well, leaving me to wonder just what happened until the end where I was quite surprised. I hope Ms. Lodge is writing quickly because I could read another book by her tomorrow!
Thank you to the author, the publishers and Netgalley for allowing me an ARC.
Trying to clear up a murder 30 years after the fact.
The same policemen that got involved in the missing girl investigation as a young cop dealing with a bunch of teenagers now tries the solve the murder case when the body is found. Instead of dealing with six teenagers he is now having to deal with the adult version 30 years later. On top of it he has some of his own memories that he is afraid will come to light. The author gave a very good character study both on the teenagers and the adults. How the original event has shaped their lives over the years. Both time lines are told as in present time so you get the feel of the teenagers including the murder victim as they were (in a lot of ways typical teenagers, maybe we can see a bit of ourselves at that time of our lives). The story is very believable with a lot of twist and turns. I hope to be able to read more about Jonah Sheens and his police force department in the future.
4 stars
DCI Jonah Sheens is the inspector on the case. He was called in on his day off and was picked up by a very talkative DC Hanson. The report was one of “aged bones.” The pathologist gave Sheens a wide range of time during which the young girl could have died there. Sheens knows that it was thirty years earlier and these were the bones of Aurora Jackson who was one of seven teens who came to party, but only six came back: JoJo, Brett, Connor, Topaz (Aurora’s elder sister), Benner and Coralie.
Interestingly, Jonah went to school with these people. Jonah and Hanson and the balance of his team, DS Domnall O’Malley and DS Ben Lightman interview the teens who walked out of the camp that day, now thirty years later. They get a mixture of truth and lies, each seeming to put particular emphasis on someone else’s behavior.
And then there is the mysterious Mr. MacKenzie’s story.
The book is interspersed with small vignettes told from Aurora’s point of view in 1983. They are very interesting in highlighting the differences between what the adults are telling the police and what happened from Aurora’s viewpoint.
After an exciting chase, the police arrest not only the killer of Aurora, but also an arsonist and the killer of another person as well.
This book is the story of a time-consuming police investigation. People are lying. How to tell what the truth is? It raises interesting questions and viewpoints that would not have occurred to me. It speaks of the psychology behind the murders and the various motives, needs and wants of the different individuals. What makes a person need or want something specific? To what lengths will they go to achieve it? I liked DCI Sheens, although at times he doubted himself too much and seemed to go off in a fog. It got a little irritating how many times he would zone off. I liked Hanson, but her former boyfriend; wow, what a loser! O’Malley and Lightman were great. They each added to the investigation in their own ways. I liked that they seemed to have complimentary areas of “specialization.” Very well done, Ms. Lodge. What an excellent debut novel. I look for more of her writing in the future. I’ll certainly read it!
I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Random House/Random House for forwarding to me a copy of this great debut book to me so that I may read, enjoy and review it.
This is a very good whodunnit kind of novel, flowing back & forth over thirty years to the disappearance & subsequent discovery of Aurora, a murdered schoolgirl. The police procedures are portrayed in great depth & are very accurate, with a superb rapport between the officers as they unravel the clues. I found this to be akin to a jigsaw, with all the pieces & clues slotting together one after the other. I look forward to discovering more by this author.
A young girl at the campgrounds with her family, trying to stay hidden because her dad keeps hollering for her to come on, don’t get dirty, stay out of this or that, nagging. Trying her best not to be seen she climbs into the hollow part of an old tree, ends up getting her shorts snagged as she sits down into the hollowed-out part, something starts poking at her leg, she assumes it’s the tree roots until she looks down and finds a human finger in her hands. BAM! DCI Jonah Sheens has himself a crime scene.
I really wanted to like this book so bad. When I read the synopsis, I thought man this is going to be a great read. It felt like 30 years of reading this book to get to the end. I am sorry, I was just not connecting with any particular character except for hearing from the victim herself, as to what she has seen happening those 30 some years ago when they were all drinking and partying at their campground.
Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Terrific start to this police procedural series. Lots of twists and turns in this tale of a group of friends who go camping and spend years dealing with what happens when one goes missing. Lots of twists and turns. Not fast paced but a solid page -turner. Looking forward to next in the series now that the characters have been introduced.
First off, I love the synopsis of She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge. It is so short, and I love that it doesn’t give anything at all away. It was what initially interested me in the book, and I am happy to report that I really, really enjoyed it!
She Lies in Wait is part police procedural and part mystery/thriller, and I loved all of the different viewpoints. The fact that there are so many of them and quite a few different characters may end up confusing some readers, but I was able to keep all of them straight for the most part. I thought it was really impressive that this is a debut since it didn’t read that way to me at all. The plot and characters were complex, and I liked how all the layers were peeled back throughout the book up until the big reveal at the end. My two favorite characters were DCI Sheens and DC Hanson, and I hope to see a lot more of them in future books.
I enjoyed that the book alternated chapters between present characters with chapters from Aurora in the past up until her death. I am a huge fan of when author’s do that and I loved the inclusion of it for this one. I also loved Lodge’s writing style and She Lies in Wait kept me interested the whole time. I think it would be a really quick read for a lot of people. I also didn’t see the ending coming and it completely surprised me. There are definitely some disturbing aspects to the novel but for the most part it was just a steady-paced mystery with a jaw-dropping ending. Highly recommend to lovers of mysteries, thrillers, and police procedurals!
A body is found by a hiker in a wooded area. This awakens the memories of DCI Jonah Sheens. He remembers the disappearance and search for the beautiful young girl. He remembers the young people out partying the night before she goes missing…Somehow, any of them could have been involved, but the real circumstances are unforeseen. Follow the search – twists and turns- that makes you wonder …
My thoughts:
I’d like to give this mystery a 3.5 rating, but Goodreads doesn’t have that function so I’m rounding down to 3 ’s. If you enjoy detective series, it’s worth reading.
**My apologies to Ms. Lodge. I feel that my reading preferences, rather than her book or writing skills influenced review**
This is the author’s debut and the beginning of a series. It’s told in alternating timelines—past (30 years earlier) and present. It was well-written, but not thrilling enough for me. As with most mysteries, there are plenty of secrets. Even the police are keeping some interesting secrets of their own.
A series has to be unputdownable for me to become invested, and this one just didn’t fit that bill. I didn’t relate to any of the characters. And even though it leaves several unanswered questions, it doesn’t bother me to let them stay unanswered.
The story is centered around the discovery of the body (actually the bones) of a teenage girl that went missing 30 years earlier. A group of teenagers went camping. Actually, the camping trip was more of an excuse to party. Aurora is much younger and only allowed to tag along because her big sister is in the group.
There was a fairly large cast of characters, and because I didn’t relate to any of them, I had a hard time keeping them straight. There is also a lot going on with different characters, so that was confusing at times.
But as I said earlier, if detective/crime series are your thing, you should check it out.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this digital ARC, in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #SheLiesInWait
My Rating: 3.5
Published: January 8th 2019 by Random House
Pages: 368
Recommend: If you like detective/crime series.
While this story may be a big hit among young people it just didn’t hold my attention. I struggled through so much of it and finally just had to put it aside. I tried going back to it but it just was not for me.
I would recommend it to a much younger group from what I read. It just didn’t draw me in.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishers for this book in exchange for my honest review.
I give it 3 stars and that is because I think young people will like it.
This is a very complicated and absorbing mystery about the death of a young girl several decades before the current action is taking place. There is a little bit of going back in time as the reader is shown what was happening with Aurora the night that she actually died. There are so many different characters, most of them suspects, that at time it was difficult to keep everyone straight. However, the author did a masterful job of weaving the story and telling about the lives of each character and how they interacted with the murdered Aurora. I was delighted to read this book and even happier when I realized that this is the first book in a series. Happy days! DCI Jonah Sheens is a work in progress and I look forward to reading more about his pursuit of justice. Readers of crime fiction and suspense will enjoy this book.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Random House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Six teenagers and one younger sister go camping but during the first night the younger sister disappears. When her body is found thirty years later, the case is reexamined and ultimately solved. No spoilers here, but this was a seriously great read, which is apparently a first installment in a new series featuring DCI Jonah Sheens. Sheens is a local guy who knows the area and its population well. There wasn’t too much personal information revealed about him in this book, but he is an interesting character who, I think, has the potential to make subsequent novels good reads as well. I will be on the lookout for the next one. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a review copy. This is my honest opinion.
I will start off by saying this book is LONG. Some aspects of it seemed forced, and I was left with a few unanswered questions. I do see that this will be a series so maybe it might go back to some of it. That all being said I did enjoy this, especially the last quarter of it. I could not put it down! I was left guessing right until the end. As soon as you thought you had it figured out they would send you in a different direction. Very well done for a debut!
She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge, this is the authors first novel and I must say I will be looking for more from this author! This story had a good storyline I could picture all the characters and came to know them, I also liked how Aurora had her own chapters from her viewpoint. Once involved with this book I did not want to stop till I knew! Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Publishers for allowing me to read this ARC and give you my honest opinion.
An Ambiguous Plot That Works But Not Well
The novel opens with the discovery of a skeleton in some woods. The victim was identified as Aurora Jackson, a 14 year old. She was raped and died 35 years earlier while on camping trip with her older sister and five friends. The book covers states, “Six friends, one killer, who do you trust?” The cast of witnesses and possible suspects isn’t limited to those six. There are a teacher with his current and previous girlfriends, a drug dealer, and spouses of the six who did not marry within the group. To top it off, DCI Jonah Sheens, the lead detective on the case is a contemporary of the six and had interacted with several of them 35 years ago. A death of one of the group’s spouse three years before the time of the novel now becomes important.
Obviously, this is a rich mixture with which to create a marvelous story to draw the readers into the story, to make them think through all the twists and turns, and to try to figure out where the story leads. Unfortunately, it can overload the reader. That is what happened to me. This novel did not set its hooks into my imagination so that I wanted to read this novel over other activities, like sleeping. This novel took me over a month to complete that is two to three times what I usually spend with a novel of this length. Every time I picked it up to read, I had to search names to familiarize myself with who is who and pick up the story where I lead off.
The B-storyline was rich for DCI Jonah Sheens, but for the first novel in a series this level of background is adequate. For DC Juliette Hanson the B-story line was a little thinner. Outside her job, there was only one significant story line about her. At the end of the novel this thread was a loose end. Here, I am assuming that it will continue in the next novel.
As for language, nothing stood out as excessive and unacceptable. In fact after reading the novel, I used the search capability of Kindle and discovered the F-bomb every seven pages. There was an equivalent amount of other less vulgar language. There are not any graphic sex scenes, but the story does cover two rapes and sex among the group on the camping trip. I personally did not find any of these in excess and not a deterrent to reading this novel.
If you are an American as I am, I strongly recommend reading this novel on Kindle or any device that has access to a good dictionary and the Internet. As this is novel set in Britain, there is much use of British informal language that access to the Kindle dictionary was frequently needed. This novel required that I use the Internet much more often for previous British police procedurals to find the meaning of some words and phrases.
Overall, the novel has an ambiguous plot. While the author wrote well and did everything that should have captured my attention and be an enjoyable read, it turned out for me to be a drudgery to continue reading. It was not a bad read, neither was it a good read for me. This is the major reason that I rate this novel with three stars. Some of you may find this novel a page turner, but some may find it to be the exact opposite. You must decide.
I have received a free kindle version of this novel through NetGalley from Random House with a request for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Random House for the opportunity to read this novel early.
When 9-year-old Jessie Miller hides from her father, she discovers bones. The bones are identified as those of 14-year-old Aurora Jackson who disappeared 30 years prior while on a camping trip with 6 other kids, including her younger sister, Topaz. DCS Jonah Sheens, who heads the investigation, had gone to school with the teens involved although he did not run in their circle. There are twists and turns and it is a very good read although I found it confusing in the beginning with all the characters that were introduced all at the same time. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for an honest review.