I was very surprised to find out from the author’s acknowledgement at the end of this book that it was her debut novel. This is a very competent police procedural set in the UK, that tells the story of a the discovery of the remains of a 14-year-old girl who had disappeared after a campout with her older sister and a group of high school friends. The detective leading the case is near in age to the older sister, and the young woman’s disappearance was his first case as a young detective 30 years before.

The investigation revolves around the group of campers, who have remained connected throughout the intervening years, and a new member of the investigation team begins to wonder how the chief detective’s knowledge of these people from high school may be impacting his ability to see the truth in this case.

It was well-written and well-paced, and the ultimate resolution was not one that I was able to anticipate early on. I enjoyed it very much, and will definitely be on the lookout for more books by Gotham Lodge.

I received an advanced reading copy from the publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

This story is amazing! I loved it from start to finish, it kept me guessing to the end. What a fabulous debut from Gytha Lodge and a big thank you to #netgalley for the chance to read #sheliesinwait ahead of publication. This police procedural checks off all the boxes-strong police lead, well-developed supporting police personnel, suspenseful story and likeable characters. Read it and keep an eye out for the next book from this author!

In She Lies in Wait author Gytha Lodge tells the story from 30 years ago mixed in with the present. She does an excellent job of meshing the two time lines together and leaving bread crumbs for the reader along the way. Ms Lodge describes the scenery and characters so well the reader feels like they are part of the action. I was given an early copy to review.

This was so much more depressing and darker than I anticipated. Despite the really heavy plot points, I did enjoy reading this. I was expecting more of the fast-paced mysteries I've been so accustomed to reading lately but I was surprised to discover this was, in fact, more of a slow-paced story with only a handful of "whodunit" suspects.

I enjoyed this. I did not LOVE it as it starts off extremely slow for me and was kind of a "lite" mystery. The story does pick up though and is well written in a 'reminiscent of Riley Sayers' novels' kind of way. I will definitely give the next Jonah Sheens book a shot. Thank you #NetGalley for my ARC!
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Good friends forever, well... So many different versions of the truth. Wanting to solve the mystery so bad. Loved the characters and wasn’t certain who did it until the end.

The story revolves around a young girl who goes missing. It's a good plot and had some characters that I could relate to however, it was slow to develop.

This is a 30-year-old cold case that suddenly turns hot when a body is found and causes other deaths to become suspicious. It was well-written, but the plot line had too much going on - almost like there were too many smoke screens trying to prevent the reader from figuring out whodunnit. I was still entertained as I was reading and kept wanting to figure out what happened 30 years ago! I also really liked the back and forth between past and present.

Thanks to Gytha Lodge, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I983. Fourteen year old Aurora Jackson is anticipating a camping outing with her older sister Topaz and her friends. Soon Auroras excitement diminishes as the camping trip takes a deadly turn. Aurora goes missing and after intensive searching her body was not found. All have maintained their innocence. Flashforward 30 years and Aurora’s body is found and DCi Sheens is assigned to the case. The body is found in a location that only a few of the friends were aware of. A once tight group of friends is haunted by that one night and now have to relive the deadly night. Old memories resurface. Old friendships are put to the test. The story has you questioning who the murderer is until the very end. A quick read. I look forward to reading more from Gyntha Lodge.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and will definitely be interested to read more of Jonah Sheens. It wasn't groundbreaking work, but kept me reading and guessing the whole time and I'd recommend it to those who wanted to read an easy police procedural novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of She Lies in Wait.

I'm a big fan of police procedural mysteries so I was interested in reading She Lies in Wait.

** Minor spoilers ahead **

When the dead body of a fourteen year old girl, Aurora Jackson, is discovered 30 years later, DCI Jonah Sheens and his partner, Hanson, are called in to investigate the revived cold case.

As Sheens probes into the lives of Aurora's idiot sister with the inept name of Topaz and her incompetent friends, he must deal with his personal demons, and a secret he is afraid to disclose.

The narrative swings back and forth from the last time Aurora was alive to the present day as Sheen and his competent team pound the pavement, interview losers and suspects and sort through the red herrings, misdirection and a link to a previous case.

Sheens and Hanson aren't terrible detectives; they are competent and determined, but their troubled personal relationships were a bore. It didn't add to the narrative; it didn't move the action or plot forward.

I understand we all have issues that interfere with our professional lives but it didn't make me feel more sympathetic toward Hanson or Sheens. It just annoyed me. I wanted to go back to the story.

Topaz and her friends are unlikable, some are hateable but Topaz is truly despicable. I understand siblings don't always get along and have personal rivalries and jealousies but I can't imagine any sister (or brother) bringing her young, very impressionable sister to a party with older kids and allowing her to be surrounded by drugs, booze and rampant sex. That is deplorable.

I found it difficult to suspend disbelief for that setup right from the beginning, and then the disbelief suspension just kept on coming.

As Jonah's suspect pool grows, so do the subplots; drugs, sexual assault, a possibly creepy teacher (natch!), Jonah's history with Aurora's former BFF, and the sudden death of an experienced rock climber several years ago comes to light when the detective realizes the death may not have been a tragic accident.

Even the reason why this rock climber was targeted and how he discovered the secret that led to his death was so bogus, I laughed and rolled my eyes. At the same time.

Then, there's the unmasking of the villain, that seriously felt like it came out of left field. It felt rushed, phony, as if the author realized she was nearing the end of the book and had to point the finger at somebody and decided...eeny, meeny, miney, moe! You're it!

I was bored. I was bored with the cast of many deceitful characters, I wasn't fond of Sheens and Hanson, though I didn't dislike them. I did end up liking his supporting colleagues better, and as usual, the most interesting character is Aurora, the deceased, naturally a beautiful, whimsical, quirky teen that had her whole life ahead of her...blah blah blah.

Originally, I rated this book two stars but as I wrote this review, I realized many things I didn't like and how much disbelief suspension was required to believe why the characters were acting and behaving the way there were but, long before I reached the end, I no longer cared.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I loved this book. For a debut novel it was fantastic. I did not suspect the real suspect. It kept me guessing until the very end. I really liked the characters, I thought they were very likable. The flow of events was easy to follow. I am glad that Aurora’s POV was included. The book was well written and I’m looking forward to the next in the series. I hope the next one involves the same law enforcement team.

"Six friends. One killer. Who do you trust? A teen girl goes missing after a night of partying; thirty years later, the discovery of her body reopens a cold case in a gripping thriller for readers of Tana French, The Woman in Cabin 10, and the Lynley series. Who killed Aurora Jackson? Jonah Sheens untangles a web of long-buried secrets in this outstanding debut thriller by the most exciting new voice in upmarket crime fiction."

This was a police procedural and crime mystery, I liked the idea of the story but it was a slow read for me. Aurora went missing 30 years ago. She was only 14 at the time she went missing and was camping with five other friends, including her sister. Now it's up to Jonah Sheens to figure out who killed Aurora. I really enjoyed the switching between Aurora and the night she goes missing. It seemed like every chapter convinced you that a different person was responsible for what happened that night. It was a good first book, a solid 3 stars.

#SheLiesInWait #NetGalley
Pub Date: 08 Jan 2019

3 stars. This book was a good read that kept me guessing until the very end. The story was compelling and the twists and turns kept me coming back for more. There were several story lines that could be expanded for future novels.

See my review on goodreads.com

This murder mystery starts off with a bang. Human remains are found in the woods by a nine year old girl who is camping with her family. The remains belong to Aurora Jackson, a 14 year old girl that went missing 30 years ago. And so begins the story of DCI Jonah Sheens. The timeline alternates between current day and 1983, more specifically the night of that fateful camping trip, the one from which Aurora never returns.

I guess I’ll start off with the good. I was curious enough to finish the book to the end. I did want to know what happened to Aurora. Or maybe I should say, I wanted to know if my theories were correct. I figured out the cause of death almost right away and the killer about half way through or so. I couldn’t believe that I was right about the killer. When I figured it out I second guessed myself, thinking that it would be much too obvious.

I found the writing redundant and it got very tedious at times. For a crime/mystery series there was very little suspense and basically no tension. Again, the thing that kept me reading was basic curiosity. The characters really needed more fleshing out. I had no real connection with any of them, not even Jonah Sheens. This is the first in a series of DCI Jonah Sheens crime/mystery novels yet I have very little connection with this character. There was very little time spent on him and all of the others on his team. I can only assume the team will be present in future books in this series. I think, possibly, the mystery was too adventurous to start off with in the first book. There were so many things going on outside of the actual crime being investigated and I found them very distracting, they added very little to the story. The ending was disappointing, way too contrived.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel, I wish I had enjoyed it more.

Loved the book!! I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to find out what exactly happened to Aurora and who caused her death. I found the book very intriguing and kept me guessing until the end. I knew one or more of the friends had to be involved. They all seemed like they trying to hide something, plus she ended up being found right where they were camping. I would not have wanted any of them as friends, except maybe Jojo. None of them were very likable.

Six friends enter the woods to go camping, more like partying with drugs and alcohol. Topaz brought along her fourteen year old sister, Aurora. Aurora really didn't fit in with the group and wasn't their friend. The next morning no one can find Aurora. She seemed to completely vanish without a trace. None of the friends know what happened to her or so they claim and they all stick to their story. Thirty years later, bones are discovered and the secrets about Aurora's death are finally revealed.

Loved the story, writing style and characters. Loved DCI Jonah Sheens and the members of his team. Can't wait to find out more about Jonah Sheens. The same with Juliette Hanson and her ex-boyfriend issues. I wasn't sure who was behind Aurora's death. At times I thought all the friends killed Aurora and were covering it up. Topaz was the worst, especially since she was Aurora's sister. Not sure why she even brought Aurora with her to the party. I pretty much suspected Topaz from the beginning. I didn't know who to believe, they all lied. When the information about Aleksy is revealed it just adds to the mystery.

Definitely recommend the book. It kept me interested from the first page until the end, when everything is finally revealed. I look forward to reading more books by the author and can't wait for the next book in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group and the author, Gytha Lodge, for a free electronic ARC of this novel.

Seven teenagers go on a camping trip where there is drinking, drugs, sex and jealousy. During the night the youngest of the group goes missing. There is a massive search but Aurora Jackson is never found. Thirty years later her body is found by a family camping in the same area. The cold case is re-examined as the police investigate her death.

This is more of a police procedural rather than a psychological thriller and is relatively slow moving. Part of the story is told through flashbacks from Aurora’s perspective, which was an interesting twist but just didn’t generate enough tension to grab and hold your interest. On the whole, the book wasn’t bad but i didn’t find it engaging enough to be truly enjoyable.

This book was phenomenal. The story drew me in immediately, and I liked the back and forth from past to present. The characters were developed well, and I liked the 'diversions' inserted to detract from who the real killer was. I would highly recommend this book.

Six friends. One killer. Who do you trust? A teen girl goes missing after a night of partying; thirty years later, the discovery of her body reopens a cold case in a gripping thriller for readers of Tana French, The Woman in Cabin 10, and the Lynley series.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. However, there are so many characters that are introduced, laid out, and then either forgotten about or hard to follow with. They were confusing, slow, and I couldn’t keep track of the characters.

The police investigation took over. I’m much more interested in the psychological, sociological, and social consequences from this kind of storyline that are introduced in other novels successfully.

This is politely, an amped up police procedural. I would have liked to see more from people, less characters, better plotting, and better pacing.

Maybe this book is for some people, not for me. Disappointing thriller. I would have liked more from this book.

She Lies in Wait is jam packed with the thrills and I really enjoyed reading it. If you are a fan of books like The Final Girls then this one is right up your alley!