I have never read a Michael Robotham book that I didn't love. Lying Beside You is no exception.

As a boy, Cyrus Haven survived a family massacre and slowly pieced his life back together. Now, after almost twenty years, his brother is applying to be released from a secure psychiatric hospital—and Cyrus is expected to forgive Elias and welcome him home.

Overall, this book is FANTASTIC! I hope Michael Robotham writes dozens of sequels! The series absolutely ADDICTIVE and best thing I’ve read lately!

This is the 3rd book in the Cyrus Haven series and his best yet! I enjoyed learning more about Cyrus's brother and how he interacted with Evie. If you read the first two you definitely need to read this one and if you haven't read any you definitely need to read this one.

Great read! Another in the Cyrus Haven/Evie Cormac series. The story gets better with each installment!
Thanks to Scribner for the opportunity to read the galley!

I was so excited to get to read this book. It's so good. Cyrus and Evie are 2 of my most favorite characters from a book. The story is great and I didn't want to put it down until finished.

Robotham is three for three with his Cyrus Haven/Evie Cormac series. Razor-sharp insights, brilliant plotting, and gorgeous prose, this book has it all.. Dare I say, it's the best in the series.

A very compelling third installment in the Cyrus Haven psychological thriller series.

As forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven deals with the upcoming homecoming of his brother, Elias, he’s also helping the police with an investigation into a missing woman. Elias has been held and treated at a secure psychiatric facility since he murdered their parents and twin sisters over 20 years ago. Both Cyrus and his lodger, Evie Cormac, are a bit worried and concerned about Elias coming to live with them.

I love the characters that this author creates. Cyrus and Evie are so well-developed and complex, each having struggled with horrific pasts that add incredible depth and emotional resonance to this story. There is always so much going on within the pages of these books that keeps the reader glued to the pages.

I could say more about the complicated plot, but would suggest that you don’t read this as a standalone. I really like this author’s writing style and can highly recommend the entire series. I look forward to reading more about these characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for this e-book ARC to read and review.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

REVIEW TO FOLLOW.

Lying Beside You
By Michael Robotham
Review and Rating 3⭐️

I enjoyed reading Lying Beside You by Michael Robotham but didn’t realize when I started that this was the third installment in a series. This left me feeling a little lost in the background of the lives of Cyrus and Evie and it took some time to understand the dynamic.
Lying Beside You is the story of Cyrus Haven a psychologist and police profiler who shares his home with Evie Cormac, a gifted teenage who can tell when someone is lying. Evie has gone back to school and now has a part-time job at a bar but continues to struggle. Cyrus continues to help her out of situations she finds herself in.
Cyrus, who survived a family massacre by none other than his own brother twenty years ago, is now helping his brother Elias gain release from the psychiatric hospital and providing him a place to stay after his release.
Meanwhile, a man is murdered and his daughter disappears, drugged and driven away from the same bar where Evie works. Soon, another woman goes missing and Evie is the last to see the getaway driver. Both Cyrus and Evie become involved in the mystery and investigation while dealing with Elias and their own struggles.
Going in I expected this book to be more about Cyrus and his brother Elias, and while that was a storyline, it wasn’t the main one at all. Also, as I mentioned earlier I didn’t realize this was a series and while this book worked as a standalone, I wished I had read the others in the series first for background. However, overall it ended up being a good mystery, and I enjoyed it, I will definitely give another book in this series a chance! 3⭐️⭐️⭐️
I want to thank Michael Robotham, Scribner, and #NetGalley for an eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.



Book Rating Key
⭐️ Not Recommended
⭐️⭐️ Readable Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Good Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Excellent Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Near Perfect Book
***Note*** I seldom give ⭐️or ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ratings. If I feel a book is a ⭐️sometimes I just prefer to not finish reading it and not rate it. As for 5 ⭐️books, I think of those as books I would want to take with me to a deserted island 🏝️, and this means I read a whole lot of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️star books. Happy Reading!

WOW! I really love this series and I think this one may be the best entry so far. That's really saying something as all three books are GREAT! I love the Cyrus/Evie dynamics and have really enjoyed watching them both grow and change throughout their journey. Evie is now working and going to school, but still has her issues. Cyrus is struggling with his brothers' release from prison and grappling with a very heavy past. Then a murder mystery drops into their laps. This story just had so many points to it, and I loved every one! Suspense, family relationships, trying to make peace with the past, trust, friendship and mental illness just to name a few. The story can be read as a standalone, but please do yourself a favor and read the series. You're welcome. I definitely saw an ending with hope for a fourth installment! Fingers crossed!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Michael Robotham and Scribner for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This is the third book of a trilogy and I loved it! Mystery, tension, love, friendship all play a role in the story. I am also excited that the Erie story line was left open for future books!

Cyrus and Evie are back for the third installment of the series. I enjoyed this one, but not as much as the 2 previous novels. It felt a little rushed, and too many story lines were introduced. I did love Evie's growth and also Elias's plot line. I hope to see more of these characters!
Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the ARC.

International bestselling Australian Crime Writer Michael Robotham (a favorite) returns following with his popular Cyrus Haven Series, When She Was Good (#2), Good Girl, Bad Girl (#1), with his latest multi-layered emotionally charged gripping thriller— LYING BESIDE YOU (#3)

Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac are back in one of the BEST in the series, solidifying Robotham's position as the "King of crime fiction."

Cyrus is now a successful forensic psychologist, working with the police and sharing his house with Evie Cormac, a damaged and gifted teenager who can tell when someone is lying.

It has been twenty years since the brutal murder of his parents and little twin sisters. Now Cyrus (age 33) faces the prospect of welcoming home the schizophrenic brother, Elias (age 39), who committed the crime—now being released from custody.

Elias was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and has been incarcerated at Rampton Secure Psychiatric Hospital for the last 20 years. It has now been assessed that Elias can safely return to the community and be trusted to manage himself and his mandatory drug regime. But can he?

At the same time, Cyrus is also involved in investigating a double murder that will affect the lives of those closest to him.

The author rewinds to take readers back to the time of the murders that left Cyrus orphaned and traumatized. Elias was 19, and Cyrus was 13. He has spent years in a psychiatric hospital and is being released.

Cyrus is unsure he can trust his older brother but wants to keep him close to protect others. He said the voices inside his head made him do it. Does he feel remorse?

If he brings him into his home, he also has to worry about Evie, who lives with him in the household. She is also emotionally damaged and troubled. Can either of them live with a psychotic killer?

Evie becomes involved in helping Cyrus with the double murder of an elderly father, and his daughter, Maya, and other young women go missing. Evie's intuitive skills prove helpful. Mental illness plays a big part in the novel as well as forgiveness, courage, and compassion.

I have read all the author's books and have been an avid fan for many years. He is the best crime writer out today!

The author has a way of expertly blending the past and present with heart and soul. His complex psychological crime thrillers are insightful, suspenseful, emotional, and heartfelt, yet full of action and a perfect blending of tragedy and humor. They are packed with suspense and tension. Readers will see some growth in Evie's progress since Book #1 as she makes her way in the world.

The well-drawn characters are strong yet vulnerable and come alive on the page. I enjoy the relationship between Cyrus and Evie, and fans will love this latest installment LYING BESIDE YOU and hoping for a #4!

While this can be read as a standalone, I recommend you read the first two books in the series to fully enjoy your reading experience. Robotham is one of my favorite authors, and I anxiously await his next. I sure miss Joseph O'Loughlin!

Highly recommend!

Thanks to #Scribner and #NetGalley for a gifted e-ARC.

Blog Review Posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars +
Pub Date: Feb 14, 2023
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Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac are back in another gripping, tense and hard to put down installment in the Cyrus Haven series!!!!!

Woohoo!

Cyrus is a forensic psychologist working with the police. As a child he survived the night when his parents and twin sisters were killed by his brother, Elias, who was experiencing auditory hallucinations. Now Elias has applied for release from the psychiatric hospital he has been living for the last twenty years. The plan is for him to move in with Cyrus. Evie Cormac is also living with Cyrus as Cyrus calls his “lodger". She can tell when someone is lying, and it has served her well. She came to live with Cyrus after enduring a horrific and sad childhood. She has issues with authority and following rules.

In this book, Cyrus is called in as a profiler after a man has been found murdered and his daughter is missing. Police believe the last place she was seen before she went missing was the bar where Evie works. Then another woman went missing from the same bar where Evie worked, and Evie was the only person to have seen the man who was driving the car which drove away with the woman.

This book has both Cyrus and Evie dealing with a lot of issues in their lives. Evie is attending school and working at a bar. She struggles with her past and with being around people. Cyrus continues to encourage Evie while also cleaning up her messes when she gets in trouble. Plus, his brother is going to be living with him upon release. A brother who killed their family after experiencing hallucination. Cyrus is a psychologist who is an expert on mental illness and has forgiven his brother but living with him won’t be easy.

The investigation into the missing women is interesting, tense, and well thought out. As the book progressed, it became even more riveting and hard to put down. I immensely enjoyed how everything played out. There was never a dull moment in this book. Fans of the series will be very happy with this book. If you have not read this series, what are you waiting for? This is book #3 so it will be easy to go back to the beginning but this would work as a stand-alone, but you will miss a lot of Evie and Cyrus's backstories.

As with the other books in the series, I enjoy the relationship between Evie and Cyrus. They have great back and forth and I love how they both look out for each other. Evie tries her best but often goes about it the wrong way. She tries and is endearing and at times, frustrating. She didn't have a childhood and is emotionally immature in some ways. Cyrus enjoys helping people and has a good heart. He saves others and I can't help but wonder, who will save Cyrus or rather who will Cyrus allow to save him?

This is a fantastic series with wonderfully drawn characters. Both are strong yet vulnerable. There has been character development in each book, and I have enjoyed how the Author has them growing and changing in various ways. As I mentioned, the investigation into the missing women was well thought out and perfectly paced.

I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series.

Pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Robotham is an excellent writer who has a command on the genre like very few I have seen before. Cryus havens brother is being released from prison after murdering their whole family when they were kids-claiming that the voices told him to do it. Elias has spent the past 20 years in a psychiatric facility and is up for release back to Cyrus. At the same time, Cyrus’s former foster daughter evie, witnesses the kidnapping of a young girl and Cyrus is at first the only one who believes her. The two stories begin to dovetail as more disappearances, secrets, suspects, and bodies start to turn up. What I found most refreshing is that robothom keeps it the plot simple. He does not overcomplicate it with messy twists or meta commentary that many authors working in the genre are incorporating into their novels. This is a straight up procedural thriller with added psychological suspense element. The banter and interactions between Cyrus and evie are also often humorous and heart tugging at the same time and add another layer of complexity to the plot. This is a quick and fun thriller that will work for most fans of the genre and a good place to start in the series! Highly recommended

Arc provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

In the 3rd installment of the Cyrus Haven series we get a deeper look into his past. After twenty years in psychiatric hold, Elias is being granted time to spend days and nights with Cyrus. Elias has been locked up for killing their parents and twin sisters in a fit of paranoid schizophrenia. Aside from Elias, Cyrus is continuing to host Evie, a teenager with a horrific past and the uncanny ability to always be able to tell if someone is lying. On top of all this, Cyrus has been called to help the police on a troubling case where a man has been murdered and his adult daughter has gone missing. She was last seen in the bar Evie has been working in, which is strange enough, but when another woman goes missing and Evie sees the getaway car driver, things get even more twisty and complicated.

I read the first two book of the series what feels like forever ago so I was a bit fuzzy on some of the background story. I like how they don't get too far into those details since that can be repetitive to those who have read the first two, but I do wish they filled in a few more of the details.

This book was so fast paced I could not put it down! There were so many great twists, but nothing felt too far fetched. I loved the character development of the characters. especially Evie. It is great to see her finally making her way in the world and figuring out her path.

Thank you Netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

I didn’t read the first two books in this series, so most of my frustration with the story (hinting at Evie’s horrible background but offering no details, not explaining how she came to live with Cyrus) can be easily dismissed because of that. That said, the book does very well as a standalone.
There were so many layers to this book - Cyrus’s bother coming home, Evie finding her place in the world, the main murder driving the story, and recently released from prison Mitch. All of these layers work well together.
Elias was such a creepy character, as was the point. Not knowing what he was thinking or how he would react added extra suspense to the story and definitely had me on edge. Losing control of my own mind is one of my biggest fears in life.
This might be controversial, but I couldn’t stand Evie. Sure she’s essentially a kid, barely in her 20s, but I don’t remember being that much of a turd at that age. It’s obvious she’s been through some hard stuff so that probably stunted the development of her emotional maturity.
My heart broke for Mitch.
Who the killer was becomes pretty clear about midway through, but there were enough small twists and turns that I stayed interested.
I’m eager to go back and read the first two books in this series.

A great addition to the Cyrus Haven series. As usual, Robotham writes meticulously, capturing brilliant characterization and intricate storylines. The development and delivery of the complex plot and dark undertones truly sets this novel apart. As the third book of the series, this can be read as a stand-alone, however, the characters arcs cannot be appreciated as much in doing so. Loved it!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the Arc of #LyingBesideYou which was read and reviewed voluntarily.

Forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven and his “charge” Evie Cormac are uneasily adjusting to their new relationship sharing his home. Now older, Evie wishes Cyrus would see her as a capable adult, and maybe a bit romantically. Cyrus wishes Evie would become less impulsive and more responsible in her acts and decisions. The friction and friendship between them is challenged in a dramatic way. Elias, Cyrus’s brother, is to be released from the hospital he has been since murdering their immediate family – parents and twins. He may be deemed well enough to re-enter society, and live with Cyrus and Evie.

Meanwhile, Evie has taken a job in a local bar that may be implicated in several missing women cases. Cyrus is called upon to investigate when a woman goes missing after her father is brutally killed during a supposed burglary. Tension builds on all fronts: their relationship, Evie’s desire to prove herself, Cyrus’s anxiety in seeing his brother and what may now be a serial murderer with a unique agenda.

This series gets better with every book and should not be missed for those who enjoy thriller/ psychological mysteries. Start with the first book, read through this one and hope for #4. Highly recommended. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this title.

I really like this series. This is the third installment. The books are nearly impossible to put down, like you get to the halfway mark and then suddenly (2ish hours later) you haven't moved but the book is over and you want another one.

I love the main characters. I love how they evolve over the course of the series. I also love the individual mysteries that happen in each book. They are deeply compelling. I also like that I don't figure it all out before the author decides that it's time to let me know the answer to the puzzle.

I definitely recommend these. But start with the first one for sure.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Scribner Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by a favorite, Michael Robotham, in exchange for my honest review - 5 stars!

Almost 20 years after Cyrus' brother, Elias, murdered their parents and twin sisters, he is applying for release from the psychiatric facility where he has been living. Elias is not only expected to forgive his brother, but allow him to move in his home. Cyrus also shares his home with Evie, a damaged young woman whom Cyrus helped rescue from a horrible situation. Evie is gifted in that she can tell when someone is lying. Amidst all this, Cyrus is called to help the police find a missing woman whose father was also murdered.

I have been a fan of Robotham for ages and particularly love this series featuring Cyrus and Evie, and this book made me an even bigger fan. The interactions between Cyrus, Elias, and Evie were so intriguing - each of them flawed but doing their best for each other. Add a smart murder case into the mix and you have a fabulous read. This could easily be a stand alone, but these characters are too good not to explore from the beginning., Fingers crossed that there are more books to come!