I haven't read anything by Rebecca before, so I didn't really know what to expect. I was enthralled, entertained and thrilled until the end, and will definitely read more by her in future. Recommended.

This book was a quick easy read, but I really enjoyed this story and would love to read more from this author.

Brilliant writing by a superbly talented author, that I have been fortunate enough to meet. For lovers of Gone Girl and female led thrillers

A Place to Lie is a chilling story set both in the summer of 1990 and in the present day. The story follows two sisters, Joanna and Caroline who are sent to live with the Great Aunt Dora in the village of Witchwood in the Forest of Dean where they’re looking forward to getting away from town life and out into the forests. When the story is picked up in present time, it’s obvious that during that summer, something terrible happened….

This is my first book by this author. The story sounded creepy and intriguing and just the kind of thing I love! Switching between the past and present, the author takes you straight into the heart of the story right from the very beginning. Whilst, some dual timeline books can be confusing, this one wasn’t and was easy to follow despite the switching between the years. What really happened during the summer of 1990 is slowly revealed throughout the book and is truly a shocking and heart-breaking tale. We also get to see the aftermath of what happened right up to present day, and realise that all actions have consequences, whether they be good or bad.

This book definitely had me on the edge of my seat, but in a different way to other books. It wasn’t because it was full of fast paced action, but because it was chilling, unsettling and had me biting by nails in anticipation as to what was happening. The descriptions in the story were fabulous and certainly played a big part in making this book so creepy. No one likes a dark wood surely, but how the author describes it will certainly make me think about taking the long route in future rather than the shortcut through the woods! The characters are all so well written and some left me feeling as uneasy as the forests did.

There are lots of twists within the story and whilst tantalisingly slower through the first half of the book, the second half increases the pace as it heads towards the reveal at the end. A gripping and hypnotising story which will give you goose bumps as you read! Would definitely recommend!

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. A Place To Lie contains everything I love in fiction. A dual time frame with the same characters where events that have happened in the past can cause heartache and tragedy years later.

This book has put me off living in a village for life. There was the violent death of the young girl but there was also the gossiping villagers who were betrayed brilliantly, the sense of being watched by just about every character and the too quick to judge attitude of all of them.

I expected to find the wooded areas spooky but found that what was more intimidating were the hints of the young children being watched and photographed.

The one who was the main suspect, despite being the local bad boy was the one I suspected least, and he was probably the one I had the most sympathy for. But there were many others who I did have my doubts about.

Throughout a lot of this book is an almost overwhelming sense of loneliness and guilt. Not just from Caroline but also Cecilia, Liz in her later years and Dora with her dreams about the younger men in the village and hints of a tragic past.

It’s a strange original novel that had me feeling uneasy a number of times.

I didn't get into this book straight away but once I did, I couldn't put it down. The narrative flips between the present day and a summer in the past. The latter builds slowly, revealing terrible secrets that have been hidden ever since. Meanwhile in the present day, Joanna's desperate hunt to find more about Carrie is gripping and tense. Highly recommended!

Thankyou to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group, Sphere and the author, Rebecca Griffiths, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of A Place To Lie in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.
What can I say, I loved this book. It was a creepy, atmospheric book that keeps you hooked to the end.
Well worth a read.

I expected more of a thriller, but found this to be more of a family suspense drama. While I did enjoy it, and thought it was well written and gripping, I did feel it was a bit slow paced for my preference of reading. It’s one that has some suspense and chills, and a couple twist and turns, but not quite as thrilling as I was hoping for.
Will be letting Chapter Chatter Pub know about it and using it in a challenge.

I chose to read A Place to Lie by Rebecca Griffiths as it is set in The Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire where I spent my formative years. What I didn’t expect was quite such an eerie and dark tale that was frankly unsettling.

The story is set in two time periods, the past which is 1990 and the present day. In the present Jo is coming to terms with the death of her estranged sister, Caroline. It isn’t quite clear why the two were estranged but the loss Jo feels is combined with a measure of regret that the two who shared a close childhood no longer were part of each other’s lives.

In 1990 the two sisters are sent to stay with their Great Aunt Dora in Witchwood, a village in the Forest of Dean. I’m going to come right out and say it – the depiction of this area didn’t match the area as I know it with the style of houses being far more at home in the Cotswolds which although in Gloucestershire is a place of an entirely different nature altogether.! To be blunt a far more gentrified nature. Even the description of the forest itself didn’t quite reflect the sense of darkness from the many evergreen trees above and the thick bracken below. Rather this was a fairy-tale description of a forest with trees to climb and play happily beneath with the sun filtering through the leaves. The author has blended the names of the towns and villages in the area to come up with ‘fictional’ settings but again because my mind was trying to match with reality this is an example where a specific disconnect in a book can interrupt reading enjoyment for me. Of course I know full well would not bother those who don’t know the area intimately at all but perhaps explains to the readers of this review as to why I was unable to fully embrace this story.

The characters are all suitably grim as fits the fairy-tale setting Rebecca Griffiths has conjured up. The aunt, the neighbours and the shopkeeper are a toned down variety of the worst kinds of adults and the two girls, and the one other child they mix with in the area, are both simultaneously left to their own devices and watched over. The adults themselves have their own version of a witch hunt going on and the girls are for the most part an inconvenience.

In the present Jo returns to the cottage in the woods in Witchwood to search for clues to the mystery in the past and the clues to what happened to her sister. In a way this present section mirrors the trials of the past with Jo unsure who she can trust to really tell her the truth. Reading both sections alongside each other the consequences of the past are bought into relief but in doing so some of the mist slowly clears allowing us, the reader, and eventually Jo to see the truth.

There really was a lot to enjoy in this book with the mysteries, the darkness and the echoes of the scary stories that linger at the edge of our consciousness long after we have left childhood behind. Sadly the disconnect I personally felt meant it fell a little short of expectations for me.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to the publisher Little, Brown Book Group UK who allowed me to read the unsettling tale that is A Place to Lie. This unbiased review is my thanks to them.

Two sisters Joanna and Caroline and a summer of 1990. Something happened which caused the 2 sisters to fall out, and later Jo was called to identify her sister's body. Was it a suicide, if so, why?

Written cleverly by Rebecca Griffiths in the dual timeliness, the present and 1990, the story slowly rolled on, providing me with clues as the pages turned, some of them were just a sleight of the hand to distract me.

What happened in the summer of 1990 with the disappearance of a child and Caroline causing a storm in the village with her flaming words left life as they knew it in shreds. Each went their own way, but a sliver of their old selves were firmly entrenched in the past.

The book was a slow burn read with routine and mystery intertwined. I liked how Joanna started investigating the past to get to the truth. The explosive end made up for the slow release of suspense with a massive secret being revealed in the last page. I enjoyed the last 20%. It was rocking

Overall, an enjoyable story recommended for readers who love a slow uncovering of layers.

I seem to have been waiting FOREVER for this book after loving the debut novel The Primrose Path by Rebecca Griffiths. But I have to say that the wait was worth every single moment of anticipation as A Place to Lie is a wonderfully intriguing and beautifully crafted book from start to finish. There was a darkness here that I felt was reminiscent of those childhood nightmares brought on by grisly folklore tales told by children trying to scare the living daylights out of their friends! The woodland setting and the small village mentality were perfectly brought to life with a creepy atmosphere, so much so that I began to dread having to flashback to that Summer of 1990! The tension built slowly but I was kept thoroughly engaged by this coming of age journey. How did a young girl become so affected by what happened during that visit to her great aunt? And how has it lead to an estrangement from her sister and, ultimately, an extreme act that will change Jo’s life forever?

Jo actually doesn’t return to Witchwood until about 3/4 way through the narrative so there was plenty of natural movement in the characters and a gradual development of the plot during the summer of 1990 with plenty of red herrings to throw the reader off the scent. I have to admit to NOT guessing the “who” or even the “why” which really impressed me because it’s VERY hard to pull the wool over my eyes! And I was gobsmacked by that ending!! So full marks to Rebecca Griffiths for keeping me utterly enthralled for a whole afternoon to the extent that I could not physically put A Place to Lie down! But the fact that she managed to keep me in the dark until the very end with those rather shocking reveals really was the cherry on the top of the cake for me.

This was a brilliant read that could have gone down a more traditional path but instead took the twistier journey, edging along the confines of the plot until that jaw dropping denouement. I couldn’t have picked a better book to spend my Sunday afternoon with and I still get goosebumps whenever I revisit this creepy and devastating storyline in my head.

Highly recommended by me!

A Place To Lie is an atmospheric, eerie story which makes for really addictive reading. Rebecca Griffiths manages to combine a pretty dark subject matter - the horrible and very odd death of Joanna's sister Caroline, a missing child from long ago and other occurances that I won't give away here - with fairytale-style (and, at times, quite whimsical) overtones created by the dark, dark wood and the mysterious happenings deep in the countryside so long ago.

The story combines two main timeframes really well, with Joanna in the present day trying to find out why Caroline did what she did, whilst reminiscing about their days as children spent in Witchwood. Does the key to unlocking what happened to Caroline rest in their past? As the reader you're led between the 1990's and the present day, and I found the entire journey beautifully written and completely addictive. I loved slowly uncovering what happened to Caroline and Joanna as children, and the disturbing secrets that Witchwood and the people living there were keeping. There's plenty of family drama and Rebecca Griffiths avoids tying up every loose thread, which usually infiruriates me but in A Place to Lie just seemed to work. I would love to hear more from these characters and this world, so I have my fingers crossed that there'll be a sequel, but this along with her other book, The Primrose Path, has cemented Griffiths in my mind as an author whose future books I just can't miss!

Right away after beginning this I felt it had a distinctive fairytale vibe about it. The dark woods, young women and the menacing forces that are at work all contributed to that flavour. Witchwood may look beautiful and charming in daylight, but when night falls it is not a place to venture. I loved the unique mix of fairytale-esque darkness, intense atmosphere and immersive writing. It was a haunting experience, and by the end, my nerves were frayed due to the unpredictability and the surprises that continually blindsided me.

It's safe to say I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it difficult to put down, so I read through the night to finish it in a single sitting. But it's not only the plot that is compelling the characters are also superbly developed. This is one of the rare times when the plot and the characters are equally as engaging as one another. Rebecca Griffiths is a hell of a writer. The ending appears to have been left open, and there is certainly potential for a sequel given how it concluded. I really hope there is and that it's as captivating as this was.

Many thanks to Sphere for an ARC.

I’m really not sure how I feel about this book, but I do know that I didn’t enjoy it. I was a little bit surprised by the ending, but because I didn’t enjoy the rest of the book I wasn’t completely shocked because I just wasn’t hooked on it. I really struggled with reading this one and didn’t have much motivation to read it. The writing was good, but there were a few mistakes which meant that some parts didn’t make sense. I found a lot of the characters annoying and didn’t really care about what happened to them. The story was slow going and it was only in the last couple of chapters that the pace picked up. One thing that I did like about this book was the chapters set in 1990 as it was interesting to read about what was happening at that time, and gave you a better understanding of what was happening in the present time and why. However there were also some parts that just didn’t get enough focus. I’m not going to have a long review for this one as I don’t have many positive things to say. Overall, I just didn’t enjoy this one. I rated this one 2 stars, instead of 1, because the writing is of good quality.

I've been looking out for another book by Rebecca Griffiths as I loved The Primrose Path so was more than pleased to be able to read A Place to Lie.
Joanna and her sister Carrie spend the summer of 1990 with their great aunt Dora in the village of Witchwood as their mother is recovering from the sudden death of their father. Witchwood is a village full of mysterious characters and places. But then something happens to the girls and their friend Ellie and their lives are changed forever.
In the present day Joanna is shocked to get the news that her sister Carrie is dead. They haven't spoken in ten years but Joanna goes back to Witchwood to get to the bottom of Carrie's death and the events of the past.
The story flows really well. I love Rebecca's style of writing and can highly recommend this.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just OK. A standard issue thriller - If you like that sort of thing you’ll like this but there’s nothing really to recommend it beyond just the conventions of the genre for its fans.

I loved The Primrose Path so I was looking forward to diving into this and once again I thought it was terrific. 

Rebecca Griffiths has such a great eye for character building and involving you utterly with the story unfolding. Once again this is a brilliantly imagined family drama wrapped
up with psychological thriller elements with an emotional core and that past/present vibe I love. The sense of place and time is evocative and the solution unpredictable .

Yes. Very good indeed. A fuller review nearer publication.

Where do I even start? Excellent book title for one. I was gripped from the first page and I love it when books can do that. I was itching to find out what happened to Ellie so the build up to it was done very well - it could easily have irritatingly dragged on. I'm intrigued to know how the murderer did it so I'm not sure if I would have liked a confession on the details or if I prefer how Rebecca planned it.

I feel like there could be a sequel considering how it ended. I don't think Joanna would leave it at that.

The first chapter here I found slightly puzzling but powerful. I was intrigued. In the summer of 1990 sisters Caroline and Joanna were sent to stay with their great aunt. The somewhat sleepy village was a contrast to their town lives and their great aunt seemed happy for the girls to do what they wanted in the main. Years later Joanna returns to the village and the house. Will there be a resolution to both the issues of the past and of the present day? The story alternates between the two time frames.

It quickly becomes clear that there have been some issues in the girls childhood at the time of their stay with Dora their great aunt. As is often the case the narrative is one of a "gradual reveal" of what happened in the past and its impact on current events.

Some of the narrative worked well for me here. Descriptively the writing is good given a feel of rural childhood and characters in the village. Indeed some of those characters worked well for me too. Dora was interesting and colourful and Mrs Hooper, who taught Joanna piano, struck me as convincing for example.

However some of the scenarios here did strike me as unlikely and unconvincing. There were certainly occasions where I simply felt that it was highly unlikely that what was in the narrative would have happened in the way they were described. Equally I did find other characters struggled to become real for me.

All in all this was not a bad story but I simply didn't find it compelling. Parts of it worked well parts did not.

Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review

The idea of this and the premise was quite enticing but I'm afraid it all felt a bit flat for me. It was clearly meant to be fairytale kind of novel with a nod to Hansel and Gretel and the house in the forest but it didn't work for me. The plot felt vague and the chapters set back in 1990 took a while to get going.

It was an ok read but I admit I've read something very similar recently and that really wrangled the chill from fairytales and the dark wood image so this felt a bit flat in comparison.