A promising debut novel from Gytha Lodge. Thirty years ago a teenage girl Aurora, went missing during a camping trip with her older sister and five of her friends. Despite an extensive search she was not found until a chance discovery after three decades. A murder enquiry was launched, headed by DCI Jonah Sheens. A local man, he recalled the incident as a young constable and had always wondered what had happened to Aurora. The six remaining campers are all suspects and the story unravels to discover exactly what went on during that fateful night. The six, now mainly successful with very different lives had stayed in touch which did seem rather unlikely. A slow, detailed reveal rather than a fast paced page turner, this story was well written but I felt it was slightly lacking in shock and suspense. More could have been made of the threats and fear instilled to make it into a true thriller but a good start to what I assume will be the first featuring this detective.

She Lies In Wait is a good introduction to a new police procedural series featuring DCI Jonah Sheens. Thirty years after the disappearance of Aurora Jackson, her body is discovered close to where she went missing three decades earlier. Her discovery is about to bring back together the people she was with, at the time she disappeared, in a big way. One of them could be responsible for her murder. Are they, at last, going to find out who killed her?

Just picture it, you’re out walking in the woods, and you kneel down to pull what you think is a root from the undergrowth, and you grasp what is actually a human finger. This is the opening scene that we are faced with when the body of a young girl missing for thirty years is found.

I love reading a crime novel where we are faced with a small group of suspects who all know each other. You’re never sure who you can trust in the group, and you can’t tell who is lying or telling the truth. What will happen to them all when it finally comes out? I think if you enjoy crime novels with a literary edge, then this is definitely the book for you. Don’t expect a pacy read from this book. While Gytha Lodge’s writing is very immersive and is very easy to get into I wouldn’t call it a quick read, but there is a cast of intriguing characters. I found the lead detective DCI Jonah Sheens, particularly interesting who is already connected to this case as he knew Aurora and the group of friends who she hung out with from school. We have Topaz, Aurora’s older sister, who now lives in Scotland, Daniel, now a politician, Connor, Jojo and Coralie; risk-taker and star athlete, Brett. I think many readers may find it easy to point to the person responsible for the crime, but for me, it was the reasons why they did it that had me gripped, and it was what I wanted to find out.

The story here takes time to build as the police re-open the investigation into Aurora Jackson’s disappearance. There is a painstaking task ahead of them as they have to go over old ground, but all these years’ later new pieces of information begin to come to light which could finally shed light on what happened to Aurora in 1983.
I think the flashback scenes were the parts of this novel that I was most intrigued by. Gytha Lodge gradually begins to reveal to us the build-up to Aurora’s disappearance, and we start to see a picture develop of the type of people who her friends actually were and what they are capable of.

I thought the ending of this book was very satisfying, and I think it is an ending that will haunt the reader for a while, I keep thinking back to those final lines. Overall I found this an enjoyable read; it is an immersive page-turner that I’m sure will have fans looking out for more from this author. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advance review copy of the book to read.

I enjoyed this book. It did seem a very long book and the end took a long time coming. The friends relationships took a great deal of unravelling. However it was a different kind of story, much along the lines of Donna Tart's Secret History many years ago. That book was groundbreaking and everyone loved it. However I am not sure that I would feel the same about this one.

I did find it interesting though but to me it was not a totally absorbing book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Im afraid this wasn’t the book for me. The premise was intriguing enough - a girl and her father find a dead body in the woods, who is discovered to be Aurora who went missing 30 years ago. The DI on the case was the same age as Aurora and grew up together although they weren’t friends. The book has flashbacks to the past leading up to the climax. I think, personally, for me the problem was that I found the characters too contrived and generic, especially the flashbacks scenes which in my opinion contained too many characters that weren’t fleshed out enough. I just didn’t find the characters emotionally engaging enough to sustain my interest. I’m afraid it’s 2.5/5

This was a slow read for me but worth it. Such a sad tale in so many ways. I would totally recommend it

An excellently constructed whodunnit.
This is an easy but gripping read and one that I was loathe to put down.
The two timelines worked well and information is slowly drip fed in a series of revelations that really work.
Loved the writing style overall and the conclusion left no loose ends.
Will look forward to the next novel by this talented writer.

Enjoyed this book and changed my mind a few times about the killer. It was interesting to get first person narratives from the victim as the night progressed, which ultimately lead to the revelation. It's a fast paced read with well fleshed out characters. Looking forward to more from the author in the future!

I hate giving this book a four; it is truly riveting! I could not put it down! I read through the night, wanting very much to know who killed her, and why? I knew from the beginning who did it; the Author does a great job of making you doubt yourself. However, I have read many books over the years, remember precisely what it was like to be that young, not do drugs, be a bookworm, when all of your friends were partying. I knew immediately due to the strange behavior of the murderer! This is an incredible book, will make an excellent movie, the kind only the British can do! I did not like the constant profanity used, I have never liked it; I grew up during this period, all of their behavior made me ill then, it still does! The characters are not likable, not even her sister; especially not her sister, I have one just like her! Which means I did not like the ending! It should have that in there; yet it should have ended with the scene in Jonah's office, remembering the beautiful young girl that he worked thirty years to find! Just my opinion. Officers are all likable, especially DCI Jonah! They will make a great series, which I hope the Author considers, human yes, perfect no. Great in-depth characterization of everyone, great mystery, you feel such gut-wrenching anxiety, knowing she is going to die, and you cannot stop it! Incredible writing, incredible, but entirely believable story! Awesome!
I highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley!

Our friends are usually people we trust implicitly. But what if those who you have known for years and confided in actually become suspects in your sister's disappearance and death, her murder, as it turns out to be? How do you know who to trust now?

Such is the dilemma for Topaz Jackson when her younger sister Aurora’s body is discovered 30 years after her disappearance, at the very same campsite where she herself had spent a few wild, intoxicated hours with her friends. Then she had been irritated by the annoying presence of her naive and gauche 14 year old sister, but determined to party on as planned.

It falls to DCI Jonah Sheen, a flawed but likeable cop with links to this group of friends from the past, to unravel the truth and discover who is culpable or not. Lies and secrets abound as suspicion shifts, making it challenging to get to the root of what really happened at the campsite.

The friends' account of that night fluctuates but details eventually emerge. A substantial stash of Dexedrine was brought with them. A tiny percentage was used and the rest hastily concealed, in an effort to foil the cops who initially investigated Aurora's disappearance. Drink flowed freely, jealousy was rife, sexual activity took place and hurt feelings simmered under the surface.

Aurora appeared to have been more of a cautious onlooker than anything else, an innocent sitting on the sidelines, sensing her own immaturity and swinging between a desperate desire to fit in and be perceived as cool as her sister was, and a natural aversion to all that was going on before her.

This is a compelling and captivating read with an eclectic mix of characters, plenty of twists and turns and surprises enough to keep you guessing to the end. The various backstories alone would make for an intriguing sequel. A convincing and gripping page-turner and a stunning debut novel I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

I was a little sceptical when I started reading, as I'm not usually that keen on cold case books. However, I was very quickly pulled in by the twists, turns and characterisation of this book. I normally pride myself on being able to guess who the culprit is very early on, but I had no idea until the reveal on this one. With so many possible suspects, so many red herrings... I have to admit I had it all wrong!

This is a well written, quality book that has clearly been well researched. I can see this as a crime drama series, and I'd definitely watch it if it was. I

I'd strongly recommend this to anyone who enjoys crime fiction without the predicatability.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book. I really enjoyed it.

Firstly my thanks to netgalley and Penguin for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.
Six teenagers on an overnight camping trip in the New Forest, add in a cocktail of alcohol and drugs and you’ve got a recipe for tragedy as one of them goes missing. Skip forward thirty years to the discovery of a body and there’s an interesting police procedural novel to read. I wondered how accurately the relationships were portrayed, recognising the teenage ones but wondering what impact Aurora’s death actually would have had amongst the group who surely must have questioned the role and potential responsibility of the others in the group. This was a well written story although I struggled a little with the pace, the reader was given information that seemed to me unnecessary if this is to be a standalone work. It may be that there will be a series of novels with Jonah Sheen and his team in which case this is building knowledge that may feed into further stories. For me this novel took some disciplined reading, it was always easy to put down and harder to pick up again.

A good thriller. The characters are well written and there are a few twists however, I was able to guess the killer quite early on.

This book had me gripped from the beginning with the easy writing style which leads you into the story about six friends and what happened in 1983 to Topaz's sister. The book has you guessing who the killer is and makes you marvel at the painful fragility of life and death and the choices we make and what those consequences can mean. I really enjoyed this thriller because of the strong voices of the characters. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

This is a great mystery that will have you changing your mind as to what happened throughout the book.

The book is written in two different time lines and is based around the disappearance of Aurora, a 14 year old girl, that goes missing whilst on a camping trip with her sister and her friends. We follow the investigation into Auroras murder after her body is found in the woods some 30 years after her disappearance. The second timeline is from the night of Auroras disappearance, giving an insight into what happened that fateful night.

This is a true mystery that gives you snippets of information throughout until the final reveal in the last few chapters. I had several theories and found myself changing my mind nearly every time I found some more information. If you love your mystery books then make sure you read this book.

Thank you to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Quite the page turner and you were kept guessing as to who the murderer was right to the end. Easy but enjoyable read. Clever and unusual plot. Would recommend to younger generation.

Seven teenagers go into the New Forest for a night of camping, drinking, drugs, frolics and fun. In the morning one of them, 14-year-old Aurora Jackson, is missing. After an extensive investigation lasting months it becomes a cold case, her fate remaining a mystery that haunts the small town she lived in and those who knew her. Thirty years later a 10-year-old girl is hiding in the woods when she finds a hole that's the perfect spot. She feels a branch in her back and pulls it away only to discover it is infact a human finger. Aurora has been found at long last, close by to where she disappeared. DCI Jonah Sheens is called in to investigate. He was new to the Police Force when Aurora vanished and seems haunted by something that happened at that time that he hopes isn’t discovered. What is he hiding and is it connected to Aurora’s disappearance and death?

As DCI Sheens talks to the others who were there that night they maintain their original claims of innocence despite the fact that only the six of them know about the hideout Aurora’s body was found in. As he digs deeper cracks appear, one time loyal friends start to turn and long held secrets begin to be revealed.

Along with the original six it seems there was another suspect in the woods that day but lead wasn’t followed up correctly, and the more Jonah looks into it, the more it appears that thirty years ago the police just might have let the killer slip from their grasp. When it’s confirmed that Aurora was in fact murdered the pressure is on to wade through the murky subterfuge and find the truth of what really happened that night.
This debut novel is set in Hampshire’s New Forest, something that immediately endeared it to me as I used to live nearby. I love having a personal connection to a book, whether that be in subject matter or geography, and find that it instantly makes the read more enjoyable. The story was in dual timelines: the present day and the night of July 22nd 1983. I liked this style of narration as it gave us a glimpse into that night’s events as they occured, but they slowly unfurled so we didn’t know Aurora’s final moments until the big reveal in the present day also revealed the killer. I think the dual timeline also helped add tension as it connected us to Aurora and we saw her as a person rather than her simply being some bones buried years ago. All the characters camping that night were well written and interesting. I found it harder to connect with Jonah and found him dull at times.

The claim that this is the biggest crime debut of 2019 had me apprehensive as I started reading. Would it live up to the claim or would it fall flat? I think for me it fell in the middle. I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t so gripping that I couldn’t put it down. It seemed to go at a pace you’d expect of a book about a cold case but the hype made you expect something else. The big reveal was an unexpected and brilliantly written so it genuinely takes you by surprise.

Expectations aside, this was a good debut novel and a book I’d recommend if you enjoy crime thrillers.

A tangled web of deceitful stories agreed by a group of friends one fateful night when Aurora went missing from their camp.

DCI Sheens has history with this cold case - he went to school with the students involved. This makes him even more determined to solve this crime; but is he more involved with the victim than he is letting on?

As the book progresses the lies unravel. This is a solid story but it wasn’t a book which I couldn’t put down. It was an intriguing and interesting storyline which delivers a clear ending.

I enjoyed it but didn't love it for some reason. The premise sounds great and I enjoyed the back and forth of past and present but I just couldn't connect to any of the characters especially the Jonah. I also couldn't connect to it being set in England, for some reason I kept imagining it in America - very strange!! Overall, I would try further books from this author so I didn't hate it but not on my favourite list so far this year.

Brilliant! Amazing how the story builds on each of the characters all the way through, without giving anything away until the end. A proper whodunnit.

She Lies In Wait is one of those books that surprises you and whose ending you genuinely didn't see coming. I read this over three or so sittings, thinking about it inbetween and just wanting to get back to it to see what was going to happen. All of the characters are intriguing but flawed and draw you in. This is a fantastic read.