She lies in wait was a hard story for me to grasp. I really was unable to find the characters likeable and the entire crime scenario irked me. I originally had high hopes for this book, but it didn't do me any justice in being satisfied by reading it. The author, however, is able to weave a grand tale and the writing was superb, but the storyline was not one that I could find myself interested in.

She Lies in Wait sounded like perfect thriller to dive into.......

Aurora Jackson has been missing for over 30 years... until one night a father and child stumble upon scattered bones during a camping trip.

Detective Jonah Sheens is hired onto the scene to investigate what happened to Aurora. After analysis, it is deemed that Aurora was brutally murdered at the campsite.

The story slowly unfolds to reveal what happened to Aurora that fateful night she was murdered. The author slowly leaves bread crumbs to understand the evil mystery.... starting with flashbacks. The author paints a picture of Aurora, her sister Topaz, and Topaz's friends engaging in partying and drinking. But, it appears that Detective Sheens keeps running into dead ends and can't find the answers. Who is covering up this sinister crime and can she help find the answers for Aurora and her loved ones?

So.. unfortunately I'm not going to sugar coat this review at all. This was really bad in all honestly. I felt like this was almost the exact storyline of Riley Sager's Finals Girls but was a hot mess. This story fell completely FLAT for me and was pretty bored. I skimmed maybe the last 40 percent of the book because I was just over it.

I'm not too fond of police procedural novels because they tend to be the SAME storylines but different character/names. I took a break from these types of stories but sadly I remembered why I stopped reading to begin with.

And not to mention... the story was SUPER obvious... I found out the mystery about 30 percent in.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 1/8/19
Published to GR: 9/30/18

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group and Gytha Lodge for an ARC of this novel.

It took me longer than usual to read this book, but it's because I didn't want it to end. It was an intriguing story, and it's definitely not a "oh I know who the killer is" halfway through the book. I really enjoyed it, and will be reading the next book in this series.

She Lies In Wait by Gytha Lodge
Oh my gosh this book had me scrambling trying to figure out who it was and I could never pinpoint it! I usually can figure it out and be able to predict the ending but not with this one! It has me on my toes the entire time!
5 stars

In 1983 a group of teenage girls go camping in the woods. Aurora Jackson is the youngest of the group is happy to able to come along. In the morning Aurora is missing and none of the searches find any sign of her. Thirty years later her body is found in a secret spot only the group of friends knew about. Now they will be faced with one happened that night.

It took me a bit to get into the book, but once I did I had to finish. I wont give any spoilers but if you enjoy thrillers then this book is for you!

How hard would it be to investigate your former classmates - especially when you were hiding a secret yourself? That's what DCI Jonah Sheens is up against in SHE LIES IN WAIT. Six friends go camping in the forest and only 5 come out - and they spend the next 30 years living with the consequences and only one of them knowing what really happened. But as secrets start pushing their way to the surface, the one who knows what happened will do anything to push them back down. Enthralling read. The only thing I didn't like was the title - it seemed a little cheesy for the strength of the story.

Good police procedural mystery. I enjoyed it a lot. There were a lot of characters so I need to remind myself a few times of which one was which but overall a good read. I understand that this will be series so hopefully we learn more about Johah and why he is alone. I was also glad that there were not multiple points of view, only Jonah and Aurora. It did seem a little long but I would read more in this series. 3.5 stars

Thanks NetGalley for the copy!

I could have done without all the police procedural's in this book. Too much behind the scene busy work, other than that the story line was well thought out and intriguing. The characters flaws were a nice touch and the killer remained a mystery for a good part of the story.

I was sitting on an international flight, as I read this book, so I was a captive audience, but the novel was not captivating. Many characters, terribly uninteresting and feckless people. We were provided with snippets of background on each but no real substance. There was no suspense. I understand this will be a series but I will not be reading anything additional about these characters, some of whom, had to have had their lives negatively affected by the investigation into the murder. Not a grabber for me. Thank you Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This is a story about a group of teenagers going camping and by morning one is missing. Thirty years later, the missing girl's body is found near the campsite and the others have stuck to their stories throughout the years. With the finding of the body, the case is looked at again, only this time as a homicide, not a missing person’s case.

Be prepared to keep track of several characters. With a few exceptions, the characters are boring. There are the remaining campers, parents, a brother, other friends, a teacher, a drug dealer and once the teens are grown, their spouses, children, and a boyfriend. Then come the police detectives; one has a mother that he intends on visiting throughout the whole book, then there are the people involved in the other detective’s lives. I am fairly certain I haven't listed them all. Out of all these people, you only hear a little about each of them. I understand that there are more books to come and hopefully these characters will become more developed. As for now, the only one I found interesting was Aurora and she is dead. The story has two timelines. One is of the night of the teens camping trip and the other is the investigation thirty years later. Because of the underdevelopment and number of the many characters, shifting back and forth between timelines and endless pages of explanation and description, I didn't like this book at all.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a lot! It was a lot of words, characters, side plots and details. There was a good story in there and I think things will firm up (hopefully) now that the series groundwork has been laid. I would rather have a layered approach to my series, gradually adding the characters so I get used to them and can differentiate them more easily.

That being said - the writing was solid and plot was interesting. The transition between the timelines was very smooth. Their were some good twists and ending was satisfying. I would be interested in reading more of Jonah’s story.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Random House Publishing Group for a copy in exchange for a review.

The 14 year old has been dead 30 years. Now the girl's case is reopened to find the murderer. So many years of interviews as well as the newer ones are very confusing as the police research everything in depth. A very entertaining story that I just could not out down and could not figure out until the end! Great first novel!! Loved it!

The characters in this story were GREAT! The storyline was gripping and fast paced which left me not being able to put it down. I can't wait for the next book in this series.

SHE LIES IN WAIT BY Gytha Lodge Thank you Netgally for this book. I really enjoyed this book. Has me guessing till the end. Drugs, Sex and murder. .

Aurora Jackson's body is unearthed after 30 years, forcing the investigation into her disappearance to reopen. The six "friends" she was with that night once again reflect on the events leading up to her disappearance and decide...who was responsible?

I really enjoyed this book as there was just enough against every member to believe that they might have had responsible or an accomplice to Aurora's murder. It is not often that I am unable to predict the way a book will end, so this one will stick out for awhile in my mind. It is a police procedural, so it can be a bit slow at times. Some of the leads they follow up on or the interviews seem frivolous while reading, but I felt like those moments passed rather quickly.

We start the book out knowing Aurora is dead, this isn't a spoiler or shocker in anyway. Throughout the book though, a bond is formed with young Aurora. This stuck out to me, as it's hard to really get attached to a character you know from page one is a goner. That being said, I still felt heartbroken at the events leading up to Aurora's death.

It appears this may turn into a series and if so I will definitely be on the lookout for book 2.

SHE LIES IN WAIT BY Gytha Lodge is is a great suspense novel. I had never read any of Lodge's' novels before but I will be on the hunt to read more from this great author.

Many thanks to NetGalley for my early review of She Lies in Wait in exchange for my honest review.

I am so excited for a new detective/murder/mystery series based out of the UK! Angela Marsons' Kim Stone series is one of my all time favorites, so when I saw that another new detective series was coming out that was also based in the UK, I knew I needed to get reading. Gytha Lodge's She Lies in Wait did not disappoint.

She Lies in Wait is about a group of 7 friends who go camping in 1983; the problem? Only 6 make it out the next morning. For 30 years, the police and Aurora's family wait for answers that they have convinced themselves they will likely never find. Then, one fall day three decades later, a young girl is camping with her family and stumbles across the remains of the girl that authorities have been looking for for 30 years. Throughout the book, we get to know all of the characters that were at the campground that night and try to weave through all of the different stories and timelines that are forced to be relived 30 years after the fact. No one can be trusted and no one can be ruled out. Because the survivors are all still friends, it's an immensely fragile situation to figure out who the killer actually is. That, and, you're waiting to figure out how Jonah Sheens - the lead detective in charge of the case and also a fellow classmate of all 6 remaining campers - is connected to the story and the friend group.

There were so many things I liked about this book - and lots of aspects that surprised me. I have a bad habit of going into cold case novels with a negative attitude, assuming the story will be boring because your characters aren't (likely) in any current, immediate danger. I've had a string of cold case books that have changed my opinion, so I went into this novel with high hopes - I am so glad I was not let down. Even with the team investigating a murder that was 30 years old, She Lies in Wait kept me on my toes, curious, and even a little anxious at times. It was great to see a cold case give me so many feelings!

I also loved getting to know Jonah's team a bit more. I love learning and reading about the dynamics of a team, especially an investigative team, so the insight into Jonah and his colleagues was something that I welcomed. Their stories didn't take away from the case - they enhanced it. The character development didn't go so in depth to bore you, but it did leave you with enough to want to know more - lots more.

Overall, this was an intense, thoughtful and sometimes, very sad read. There were parts that were gritty and a bit shocking, but those elements were never added just for shock factor- the tough topics were brought up with respect to the reader and the characters. I am super excited for the next Jonah Sheens novel!

3.5 stars

I do love when an author gets meta and mentions another book that's reminiscent of the one you are reading. In this case, the murder/drugs/sex/woods scenario had shades of The Secret History (Donna Tartt), which Lodge recognized and had one of her characters mention.

Speaking of characters, there were many - the 6 teenagers in the woods, one of whom did not survive; the police force investigating, of which there were 4 main detectives; a potentially troublesome teacher; and the various other players - family members, significant others, peripheral characters. Some of them were successful as red herrings and some brought out personal details in the lives of our detectives, but many were distracting, where I would have rather heard more about our main players. There were were also story lines that were dangled and left unexplored.

The ending was sad and dark, as you would expect a murder mystery to be, and all in all satisfying. I do think the book lost track of some of the main characters as it went on, only to have us see them again at the end - some tension might have been added if these had stayed at the forefront the entire time.

I do believe readers of Lodge will see this particular police department again as this book is labeled DCI Sheens #1. I would read another book with these characters, especially the lovable O'Malley.

One night in 1983, six school friends go camping in the forest and young Aurora Jackson is so excited to be able to tag along.

Thirty years later, a body is discovered. DCI Sheens is called to the scene, but he already knows what's waiting for him: Aurora Jackson, found at long last. And that's not all. The friends have all maintained their innocence, but the body is found in a hideaway only the six of them knew about.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very hard to put down, with some unexpected twists, and I definitely did not guess who had killed Aurora Jackson, that is for sure. Looking forward to more books from this author.

I really enjoyed this book. It was twisty and fun. The last book I read was more of a psychological book...so I was glad to jump into this as it’s more up my alley. It reminded me a lot of Tana French whom I love. What I’m about to say may sound like I didn’t enjoy this book, but it’s really only constructive criticism. There was a lot of characters in this story which at times did make it hard to really connect to anyone because as soon as you were really getting to know a character, it would jump to someone else and take me out of it a bit. I did really love the murder storyline and the investigation. I would recommend this to people who love Tana French and Ruth Ware in a heartbeat.