Susan Walter did a fantastic job on Lie by the Pool. Each character was well developed with personalities visible through her words. The manner that the story is laid out keeps you wanting to hear more. She was able to bough back and forth on the timeline without mangling the storyline.

Bree is down on her luck and has really hit bottom. She doesn't even have a place to sleep. Her husband died under mysterious circumstances and she is not looking to be found.
She finds a fancy home where the owner is away and temporarily moves in. Sophie, the owner, returns early and finds Bree.
Rather than banish her, Sophie invites her to a party and offers her a bed in an upstairs guest room.
When Bree wakes up Sophie is dead in the pool. She can't be found there where she is the only overnight guess and theoretical witness. Not with the history of her husband.

It is up to her to discover the killer and save herself in this fast paced thriller

Love Love Love this book! A long time since I read a book so fast, I just couldn't put it down.
I'm already reading Susan Walter other books.
Thank you so much for the copy!

This was my 1st Susan Walter book and she now has me hooked for more. The reader is thrown into the story of our main character who is homeless and alone, but don't be fooled by the early innocence of everyone we meet and those who help her. I loved the multiple povs that took us through both sides of the story and the big reveals I didn't see coming. Definitely recommend checking it out! Thank you NetGalley for my early copy.

Lie by the Pool is a well paced thriller. Some twists and turns are foreshadowed a little too heavily, and the shifting first person narratives all blended into a similar narrative voice for me. But I enjoyed the read.

This book took me a bit to get into but once I was about halfway through I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed the story and the characters and would recommend to others to read

As I began this book I was hoping that it was going to be as good as I was hoping for. The further I read, the better it got. It will pull you in and keep you on your toes until the very end. I will be adding more to my collection.

Lie By The Pool by Susan Walter ARC Review.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of Lie By The Pool!

The first word that comes to mind when I think of this book is “holy sh!t” because I audibly gasped and said exactly that SO many times while reading. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, another twist happened instead and I was left like, wtf just happened!! If you’re looking for a fast paced thriller to keep you guessing, and wreck your heart a little, then Lie By The Pool is your book!

I asked to review “Lie by the Pool” by Susan Walters and glad I did.

Bree has fallen on hard times, sleeping in her car because she had lost her home. When she decides to stay in the pool house of what she believes is an empty home, she is discovered by the owner’s daughter, Sophie. But instead of kicking her out, Sophie invites her to a party. Unfortunately, Sophie is found dead the next morning and Bree fears she will be to blame.

I liked the premise and thought the author did a great job of building suspense. Bree is certainly an unreliable narrator which keeps the reader guessing. The timeline did jump around and I had trouble getting into the different point of views, but overall, I found this a well-written book.

I am new to Susan’s Walter’s writing but am have happy to have found a new author to enjoy.

Three and a half stars.

Many thanks to the author, NetGalley and publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was a fast read and I found myself wanting to keep reading to see what happens with Sophie, Bree and Luke. None of the twists were too shocking but overall an enjoyable read. I look forward to more books from this author. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC of Lie By The Pool by Susan Walker.

This book hooked me from the synopsis and also from the first page.
It is twisty with four first-person POV, with short compelling chapters.

I’m surprised to see this book categorized in NetGalley as Women’s Fiction/Fiction. It is a thriller, and a propulsive one! Who is who and why? I burned through the chapters learning more and then questioning more with each.

I love the private peek into what one must endure when they lack a home. It is my greatest haven, a/my home, and those parts of the story engaged me far more than the considerable criminal forensic accounting procedural details involved in solving federal and international crime had done.

The setting of Beverly Hills interested me as I have visited there often in my recent past. It’s a unique location (to this reader) as a thriller setting. As a character, the location and all the privilege it contains illuminates what ordinary people such as our characters might have to do or become in order to thrive in its elite universe.

All of the characters are sympathetic. The story brings the reader along into hapless, understandable actions in situations that end up changing lives for the worst. Or else into complex executions created with charitable or criminal intent.

The narrative contains a lot of expository foretelling (such as, “As I would soon discover…”), keeping the suspense from becoming overwhelming.

I do love the satisfying wrap-up ending, not always usual for the thriller genre.

Five stars.

Lie by the Pool by Susan Walter is full of surprises.

Masterfully constructed, and totally clever, Lie by the Pool is an absolute killer from Susan Walter.
It has all the pieces required to form an addictive thriller, weaving suspense, secrets, lies, and murder, to keep you on the edge of your seat.
The writing pulled me in from the very first chapter. I found myself transfixed by the storyline and unable to put it down once I got into it. All the characters were well-developed and relatable.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Atmosphere 👍: Cinematic with room for imaginations if you want to.
-The songs and descriptions in the first half of the book allow you to make a reading playlist that enhances the immersive experience.
-Set in Beverly Hills with immersive and sensory writing describing the vibes, weather, and overall experience of the area
-There's an apprehensive tone overall; something more than what is being shown to the reader seems to be brewing but we aren't sure what

Main POVs:
-A contractor that takes pride in their work but ends up in a precarious situation through naivety/justification of a sketchy client and their demands
-A young adult starting out in the family real estate development business. They are eager to do well and responsible, but feel under appreciated and pressured by their family
-A young adult recently graduated that is aiming high for jobs, leaning on their family wealth to wait out that "perfect" opportunity. A little bit spoiled but also empathetic(ish?)
-A riches-to-rags homeless person living out of their car and squatting at a renovated pool house whenever possible. They recently lost their spouse and are grieving while trying to get back on their feet through teaching piano to students part-time.

Cred Rating 🧐: Not quite sure! I felt like some of the sketchy situations and criminal aspects were OTT (like, is that really how a criminal would recruit someone? Seems risky for the criminal), but it also didn't seem impossible either. Similar situation for the law enforcement angle and how they treat witnesses and criminals - it seems OTT but the author's note acknowledges getting advice on exactly how these situations unfold IRL.

Growls and Howls 🐺:
-Most chapters had a spoiler at the end. I get cliff hangers, but to end a chapter essentially saying what would happen next was a strange choice to me and made me feel like I was re-reading a book sometimes. A non-spoiler example is something like "We fled to this safe area. Except it wasn't safe because the bad guy was already there." Then we read the next chapter where we KNOW what's going to happen!
-The author wasn't tricky with the synopsis but about 60% of the way through it became an action-adventure-survivial and FBI procedural-ish type of thriller and that's my least favourite type. I didn't rate/subtract because of that since it's just personal preference, but some of you may want to know that.
-The homeless character knocked me out of the story a lot. They recognize their car could be stolen/hit/broken into but they park in strange areas and leave all their money and valuables behind (things they could easily take with them into malls/stores etc). They are literally starving to death sometimes and when they come across a bonanza of food they pig out and make zero effort to portion out the less perishable items.

Reading Journey: Watching a movie at the local theatre. Not a bad movie at all, but once the popcorn and soda ran out, I was kinda all looking forward to the end.

Good match if you like:
-cat-and-mouse action
-financial crime thrillers
-"police procedural" energy but from the POV of those adjacent to the investigation
-urban survival thriller (homelessness, starvation, petty theft etc)
-rich people mystery energy

Vibes: 😢😣😓

Content Heads-Up: Gun violence

Fomat: ARC from NetGally and Lake Union Publishing

A twisty thriller told through four different POV's. This was a bit slow for me and slightly confusing, especially at the beginning, with the back and forth. I don't think this was the right fit for me as I didn't mesh with the writing style but I do think a lot of people will love this and give it a high rating as it has a lot to offer.

Four main characters, four POVs and lots of mysteries. How are they connected? To whom really belongs the beautiful house with pool and pool house? Who is dead and who is alive? It takes a while to get some answers and the suspense is building slowly.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
So I ended up being pleasantly surprised by this book. At first it was very back and forth and could be a little confusing following multiple characters and also multiple timelines. However they all merged and they merged well. Bree and Sophie were both very likable characters. Luke and Carter were as well. This book kept me guessing right up to the last couple chapters. I thought I had it figured out and I didn’t at all. Great mystery and drama combo.

The second Susan Walter novel I have read. I very much like her writing style but personally found the narrative to get a little confused in this particular crime novel. Didn’t quite live up to the promising description although was still well written and tidied up at the end.


Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

LIE BY THE POOL was a real page turner! From the first chapter, I knew this book was one I would enjoy. I felt terrible for Bree, as she was living out of her car and trying to survive on what little money she had. I was hoping things would work out for her in the end. I do feel the story wrapped up nicely. If you enjoy books that keep you fully engaged and are hard to put down, you'll enjoy this book. I also want to mention that, I always enjoy reading the author's notes and she definitely did her research to get the details in this story accurate!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Susan Walter, and Lake Union Publishing for my ARC.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) closer to publication date.

This was such a fantastic book! I started reading it on a whim, and was so grateful that I took a chance on it. Because the story grabs the reader from the very first page and never lets up.

Tired of being homeless, and living in her car while she tries to save up enough money to get a place to rent, one-time concert pianist Bree now barely manages to scrape together a living, giving children of dubious talent piano lessons.

One day, she breaks into a Beverly Hills mansion, and takes shelter in the pool house. When she is discovered by the owner of the property, Bree expects to be handed over to the police. But the girl, Sophie, invites her to a party instead.

Unable to turn down the prospect of comfort and free food, Bree accepts - against her better judgement. At the party things go off well, and not only does her piano playing come in useful during a power cut, Bree is also a hit with Sophie's brother.

But when she wakes up the next morning to find Sophie's dead body in the swimming pool, Bree is terrified. Not only because the first person to have been kind to her in a very long time is dead under mysterious circumstances, but because she knows that the finger of suspicion will point firmly towards her as the homeless woman found on the property after a dead girl's body was discovered on the premises...

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel for review purposes.

I just finished this novel and I feel like I need to stretch! The twists in this novel were so numerous and well done.

The story line follows four main characters who are connected in varying degrees. Susan Walter deftly weaves the tales together and leaves no loose ends. I found myself reading "just one more page" until quite late most nights.

As I was reading I felt that the author was "foreshadowing with a sledgehammer" as the characters would say things like "I was soon to find out that...." But as I got more into the story I could see that was not a fair description of the writing and the statements were very much in keeping with the plot.

I will be reading more from this author.