This is an intriguing story about the discovery of a body leading to the solving of a 30 year old cold case.

When a group of teens go camping, one of them disappears. With no leads, the case is shelved, but had people only told the truth, the culprit would have been found.

This isn't the best mystery I've ever read but it's not bad. I found the characters all very similar. Had there been stronger character development, this would have been excellent instead of just okay.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

"She Lies in Wait" lacks the pace and suspension that I normally love in mysteries and thrillers, but it seemed to work for this type of novel. Aurora was a strong character, in depth and interesting to learn about, and even Jonah (our lead detective) is three-dimensional and interesting to follow. Highly recommend for fans of great character building.

The difficulty of investigating a decades old crime was complicated by the uncovering of more recent ones. Friendships held together by guilt and the exposure of the killer made this an absorbing read. Would Jonah's guilty secret damage the investigation and his team.?

An interesting take on the police procedural novel with two timelines - one 30 years ago when a girl disappears and present day when a body is found and the original suspects are older and have moved on in their lives. Added to the mix is a detective who was involved with the first investigation and in charge of the second - and is hiding a secret! I found this quite difficult to get into at first, but a good read for a debut adult novel and I will look out for further novels by the author.
Thank you to netgalley and Penguin books for an advance copy of this book

This is the first book by Ms Lodge that I've read, and will not be the last. A crime is investigated, except it was committed more than 30 years ago. The jump between different present and the past were done well, and did not disturb from the story line. Highly recommended.

A great story that twists and turns but also leaves you feeling sorry for the young people involved. Brilliant characters and a great plot make this an excellent debut novel.

Aurora is Topaz's younger sister and has tagged along with Topaz and her school friends for a night out camping. Not only camping but drugs and sex as well. Aurora doesn't want to join in and takes herself off to sleep. The next morning her sleeping bag is empty and she has disappeared. No-one knows what has happened to her but surely someone does?
30 years later a body is found near to where they had been camping. It is Aurora and its DCI Sheens job to find out the truth. Who is keeping a secret and will stop at nothing to prevent the truth being found out.
This is a brilliant book, a real page turner which will keep you guessing to the end.

This was an excellent crime story. I was gripped all the way from the start to finish. 6 friends go camping, no only 5 return, 30 years later, Aurora’s body is found. But who done it.
The author has weaved in the present day police investigations and also from the past. I thought I knew who the killer was but the twist at the end had me shocked. Thoroughly good read and definitely recommend. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I’m not a great fan of police procedural crime thriller but the synopsis for this book drew me in. I was disappointed. One body, several suspects make for an interesting read.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

Six teenagers go camping in the woods...but only five come home... Thirty years later, DCI Jonah Sheens is investigating the case after a body is discovered. The story slowly unfolds as to what happened to young Aurora Jackson, but loyalties and friendships threaten the case - who is hiding something? Who is telling the truth?

This was a fantastic debut - so gripping! I've definitely found a new crime thriller series to follow! It has only been a few years since I got in to crime and psychological thrillers, having read mainly chick lit before, but this is one book I'm so glad I chose to read.

In some books, I find you're one step ahead of the detectives, knowing exactly who the culprit is and waiting for the detectives to catch up, but in this book I found I was on the same level as the invesigation team throughout, working out the clues the whole time with them.

I'm looking forward to what the next installment brings for DCI Jonah Sheens and if it's just as gripping!

There’ve been some cracking new police procedural series of late, and She Lies in Wait is an excellent addition to their ranks, even though the main copper has a weird name (Jonah Sheens). He’s not the only weirdly-monikered character - there’s also a girl with the totally appalling name of Topaz. (Hippyish parents have a lot to answer for.)

The plot concerns the discovery in woodland of the remains of a fourteen year old girl, Aurora (sister of Topaz) who disappeared on a camping trip thirty years earlier. (As the disappearance occurred in 1983 and we’re frequently told that it’s now thirty years later, I assume the story is set in around 2013 rather than 2018/19 - but I’m not sure if we’re ever explicitly told this.) Suspicion inevitably falls on the older teenagers - her sister among them - ranging from fifteen to eighteen years old, with whom the more innocent and naive Aurora was rather inadvisedly camping. It’s fair to say that they got up to some fairly hair-raising antics. The police investigation into these now forty-something adults - among them a prominent politician and a former Olympic athlete - is interspersed with an account, mainly from Aurora’s perspective, of what really happened that night.

I love a good old police investigation and this was a particularly intriguing (and tragic) case for DCI Sheens and his team. I didn’t guess the outcome at all, and there’s a particularly thrilling denouement between the killer and another character which would make a great climactic movie scene.

Incidentally, I liked - because it’s a reversal of what often happens - that Jonah is usually called Jonah in the text whereas his new constable (female), who also plays a major role, is nearly always referred to by her surname with her first name rarely mentioned. A small thing but refreshing.

Fantastic read which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Wow what a great read, 30 years on the body of missing Aurora is found, what happened? 6 potential killer, definitely recommend

Brilliant book. Kept you on your toes all the way through. Thrilling loved it. Intrigue . Loathing of some of the characters

This book was a page turner and throughout I absolutely could not predict what was going to happen. Very sad story for the little girl with such a pointless way for her to die. A book that i would recommend as it kept you hooked until the end.

Cleverly written 'cold' murder that skipped between the two timelines - in the 80s when a young girl went missing, and present day when her remains were found.

The close knit group of friends and drip feed of secrets, interspersed with the events of the night in question meant that there was great pace.

I look forward to the next by this author.

She Lies in Wait is a strong mystery involving seven teenagers going camping and only six return. Thirty years later, a body is recovered bringing up a lot of questions. Flashing between the past and present day, we get to know the characters involved. Filled with plenty of twists, readers will have a hard time putting this down to even get through their basic needs. Highly recommended to readers looking for a strong mystery!

Thank you for the arc of this book. A good read, although I did find the writing a little flat. Too many characters in the book which I found confusing especially with the third person narration. Lots of twists and turns which can be confusing at times. A good read overall. Recommended.

An enjoyable detective drama / thriller about the re-opened investigation of a 30-year-old missing girl case, reignited when they find a body. The story follows the group of teenagers who accompanied the girl on her final night on a camping trip in the woods, and two police officers gradually peel back the lies and misconceptions to reveal who was responsible for the girl's death and exactly what happened that fateful night.

'She Lies in Wait' is an easy read, which keeps you guessing right up to the last few pages. It ends with a great climactic dramatic showdown which is worth the wait.

There was something about this book that makes me think I have read something very similar before, and it may come back to me eventually. However, that said it was a real page-turner, well-constructed with interesting characters who are really brought to life by the author. I have read some reviews which say that they guessed the plot early on, but I cannot agree with that. I was kept guessing until the end and the final outcome was not what I expected. I believe this is the first of a series of books featuring the same detective and I hope this is the case. The fact that he is investigating a crime he remembers well gave a different dimension to the story and the author dealt well with the difficulties this would involve. I look foraward to reading more in the series.

A brilliant read. So many red herrings as to who done it! The places mentioned I know very well, and one place was where I grew up.
Will definitely read more books by this author.