Oh I really enjoyed this one and couldn’t put it down! What on earth had happened to Lark and was her stepfather, who disappeared at the same time, to blame? Her sister Amelia is heading back to the scene of the crime with her father, brother and his carer to search for clues on the anniversary of her suspected abduction. I was convinced that I knew EXACTLY what had happened to Lark but sadly I was so far away from the shocking truth that I’m ashamed to call myself a crime fiction fan!

Told in two timelines from a year ago and the present day, I Lie in Wait gradually introduces the suspects from the previous years devastation and then reintroduces them in the present day. Sadly, Lark and Amelias mother has since passed away without knowing the fate of her youngest child so it’s an extra difficult return to the beautiful Scottish Highlands for her family and friends as the memories return. But present day events start to overtake Larks abduction when another girl goes missing and it becomes clear that a murderer is on the loose…

I Lie in Wait is a twisty, edge of your seat thriller that had me hooked from the opening prologue. The themes of family and loss are unexpectedly poignant for a psychological thriller and I found the descriptions of Amelias relationships with the various members of her family very realistic and often moving. I loved searching both timelines (and that of a third narrative!) for clues as to what happened to Lark as everyone seemed to be hiding some very dark secrets of their own! I found it a very “visually” told book and could see the snowy highlands and the cottages where they were staying quite clearly in my mind which made me conclude that this storyline would transfer perfectly into a tv drama. I’d love to see it played out on the small screen-the creepy masks especially would make for some great scary moments for the audience to jump out of their skins!!

Fans of CL Taylor and Ruth Ware should hopefully have discovered Amanda Brittany by now but if not treat yourself to I Lie In Wait. I’ve enjoyed all her books in the past but this one is definitely top of my favourites now!

Amelia is depressed following a failed pregnancy and break up with her partner. She needs comfort and support from her family, but discovers that they are revisiting the lodge where her sister Lark disappeared a year ago, and decides to go with them.
The setting is Drummondale Lodge in the snow-bound highlands of Scotland, and this is a chilling, atmospheric thriller. Strange things start to happen, someone is murdered and another disappears. Fearfully, the family decide to return home. However, with roads blocked, electric lines down and no internet connection, they are stuck at the lodge. Each character in the book is well described by the author. Ruth (the woman who runs the lodge), her son Ryan, and family members all have their story to tell giving insight and depth.
Chapters are short and told by several characters – Amelia tells the main story, with Ruth and others giving their viewpoint. Narration flips between present time and a year ago when Lark mysteriously disappeared. The pace increases as the story unfolds, although it does seem to lose its way a little at times, the sense of threat keeps you absorbed in this gripping thriller.
A rollercoaster ride, with an unexpected twist at the end.

It wasn’t really my cup of tea although it was well written I couldn’t wait to finish it as some chapters were a bit tedious and skipped a few and thought for goodness sake get on with it I must say I never guessed the ending which was very good.

This was a slow starter and a bit annoying in the first chapter. Yet again we have a female with secrets whose life has been a bit messy and who doesn't do obvious things that might help but instead continues on a downward spiral. There are multitudes of the same sort of character in numerous novels these days. I did think it strange that Amelia didn't let her widowed father know she was pregnant and subsequently had a miscarriage at five months and also didn't phone ahead to tell him that she was arriving for a visit, especially as Berwick on Tweed is a long journey from London in case he wasn't in. This was a man with a vusy social life. It was also a very bizarre occasion when her late mother, along with the mother's younger American boyfriend, Amelia's father, sister and brother all went on holiday together to Scotland. This was a sort of last holiday for the mother who was dying of cancer, but still strange. Along with them we had Rosamond, a close friend of Amelia's mother and her husband and step daughter. Moving much further on to a year later, we have Amelia, her father, brother, and his carer going back to the Scottish complex where their sister and Mother's boyfriend disappeared, and guess who, Rosamond comes too with her step daughter. I did think it equally strange that on the fist night Rosamond went over to the main hotel building for dinner leaving Elise, her step daughter behind, equally so at breakfast the next day. Having finished the book I can see why this was written in this way although it's far from true life. It also seemed strange to me that guests were staying in self catering cottages so why would you go over to the main hotel for breakfast at 8.00am when you are on holiday, maybe it's just me. Once Amelia was back in Berwick on Tweed who should she bump into but Julia, who lives in the Scottish town where they stayed and also Rosamond, did everyone live there and go on holiday to the same resort?I did scan quite a few pages and even though the ending was a classic denouement I was a bit past caring at this point. It wasn't a bad book, pretty good in some places but overall hard to believe.

A really good, fast paced read with an ending that you won’t see coming!

I really enjoyed this book and all of its characters. One of which, I was really intrigued by but sadly they didn’t last long!

Set in a secluded holiday location amidst a snowstorm, strange things are happening. As family and friends come together to find out what really happened the year before. They quickly realise that maybe the past should be left well alone.

This book flips between events that happened a year before and present day. Told from different characters view points it’s like Cluedo in book form!

I admit that I thought the book lost its way slightly just after the midway point. It felt a bit jagged and inconsistent, I particularly disliked the characters ‘putting the kettle on’ not two minutes after a really traumatic event - so British! But then referring to the police as ‘cops’ - but more overseas.

Overall I really liked it and I would happily seek out another by this author. Thank you to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I Lie in Wait by Amanda Brittany has a very clever twisty plot and a great denouement!! I did find Amelia’s character a little bit irritating, wondering what on earth she was wanting from her life and what steps she was taking to try to move out of what seemed to be her self absorption. Without minimising her incredible series of losses -her mum and her sister, a baby and a boyfriend too but you get the sense that she didn’t spend much time with mum or sister when her boyfriend was on the scene? In any case she lines up as somewhat potentially suspect in Lark’s disappearance but then again so do each and every one of the other characters. There definitely is great character development throughout the book. The oddbod Ruth, moody watchful Finn, the brother whose foot is maybe twitching? Why did Dad want to return to the scene yet have no real plan? Etc etc - so much so that the ending was a total surprise. I keep wondering if I missed a vital clue but the downside of reading on the Kindle is the trickiness of going back to search so I might just have to read it all again- that wouldn’t be not too much of an imposition with such a twisty plot. Four star read

Once I got the many and varied characters and relationships straight in my mind this turned out to be a good mystery.
Flashing between the previous year and the present and told by a number of voices the book centres around the disappearance of Lark and her family's continued search for the truth. Their return to the scene of the disappearance and their quest for answers brings a host of strange folk out of the woodwork all of whom are suspicious.
With a nice twist at the end a book well worth reading.

Not sure if it was just me but I,struggled with this book. I found it very confusing and at times wasn’t sure what was going on and who all the characters were.

This story is half flashback to the previous year when a tragedy struck the family and half a revisiting of this tragedy a year on in the present.
The family are still seeking closure after the dramatic event so the previous year and the death of a parent. The story looks back on the previous happenings and eventually solves the tragedy during an Agatha Christie like period where everyone is marooned in the snow and many of the players are killed by a mystery murderer!
I found the central character a bit of a moaner - in spite of the problems that she has to overcome. However, I did want to read on to find the murderer!

I finished this book this morning and I am still confused by it.
Don’t really understand why it is called “ I Lie In Wait” and there are just too many people involved in what becomes two totally separate plots. It started OK but the confusing short chapters changing in timeline and the amount of characters just quickly became extremely confusing. Not one for me I’m afraid.
Thanks to Netgalley and HQ Stories for the ARC copy.

When Amelia returns a year later to Drummondale House with her Dad Robert, brother Thomas and his career, Maddie, they hope to find a clue into the disappearance of their sister, Lark. Instead they find heartbreak, betrayal and deceit. This book is a fabulous whodunnit which is fast paced with a surprising twist at the end. . I thoroughly recommend this book I found it hard to put down.

I was delighted to be given the opportunity to read an advance copy by Netgalley and HQ in return for my honest review.

MY goodness, Amanda Brittany writes a great murder mystery/psychological thriller. I Lie in Wait kept me on the edge of my seat, turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. I have never been disappointed by any of her books and I loved this one too. It is a creepy and atmospheric story that definitely has Agatha Christie vibes.

A year ago Amelia’s sister Lark disappears without a trace. A year later she returns to the remote holiday location in the Scottish highlands with her family to see if they can remember anything else that might help them find Lark. But another girl disappears this time and that is just the beginning of their troubles. Heavy snow and power outages have them all fearing for their lives.

Thanks to HQ and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read.

A fairly good idea for a story, however, it was poorly executed.
Part way through the tale becomes very ridiculous, with lots of un-answered questions, almost luke it was written in a rush.
I do hope that someone is going to proof read this before publication date, as there is a massive inaccuracy regarding family relations.
The best thing about this story is the twist at the end, however, a great twist does not equal a great book.

Now this is a book and a half and is definitely not to be missed by any readers of murder mystery stories.
I was worried at the start as the main female character is 30 and is on the booze and everything is going wrong so I feared the worst for how the story unfolds. However, she turns out to be pretty strong and impressive
The book embraces 2 disappearances of teenage girls at the same location - 1 year apart although the bulk of the story is naturally on the more recent disappearance,
As usual I made an early assessment on 'whodunnit' and why and as usual I was hopelessly wrong. So I make 2 or 3 more 'intelligent' assessments - all wrong!
The only criticism I have of this superb book is that all the characters do what characters in teen horror films always do - go off on their own when any sane person would stay put in a group. Still these trips off are an integral part of how the story develops.
You wonder if the same person(s) are responsible for both disappearances but you will have to read it to find out. The final revelation is nothing short of breath-taking and was something I never dreamed of.
Worth every star and one not to miss

Overall this was a real edge of the seat thriller. I admit I did feel the first third was a bit slow and the jumping from a year ago to the present felt a bit disjointed but then the tension suddenly moved up to another level. It was really enjoyable to read and held me gripped until the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a preview copy of this book.

I absolutely loved this book. I fab twisty thriller with so many things you did not see coming! And the end is deliciously brilliant #ILieinWait #NetGalley

I Lie In Wait, is the first book I've read from Amanda Brittany - and what a journey this thriller was from the very first page until the very last. A few blindsided twists and a fantastic triumph of an ending. I don't smoke, but even I might have needed a cigarette after that one.

The scene is set in Scotland, from the immediate first few chapters I could easily visualise the locations and the characters with such intricate detail, before long I was living and breathing the suspenseful drama that unfolded. I would say this is a book of two halves, by the second half it really ramped up pace, the murder plot was very, very clever. Every suspect is brought together by the end and then all is revealed. Reminiscent reminders of Agatha Christies style. I LOVED it.

Overall a fast-paced, tense and twisty read that I would definitely recommend.

Wow... I Lie in Wait by Amanda Brittany is an intense murder mystery with a truly stunning ending. When a teenage girl goes missing, the mystery of what happened to her begins and the story is told in present day compared to a year before. There are many twists and turns throughout and it keeps the reader guessing who is good and who is bad. The ending is one I didn’t see coming but was fantastic. Definitely a page turner and a must read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book even though I found it to be a bit slow in parts. More and more books are now written flitting between two or more time periods and the more of them you read the easier it appears to follow. While I thought early on I had sussed out the perpetrator, there were a definite few red herrings along the way. Also, it’s funny the way in which you interpret things but when the truth comes out you wonder how you missed it. Apologies if I am being somewhat cryptic but I don’t want to be revealing any spoilers.

Amelia has had a hard year - first her sister goes missing while on a family holiday and then her beloved mum dies without knowing what has happened to her youngest daughter. These tragedies coupled with losing her unborn child and her partner leaving are enough to send Amelia over the edge and all she wants is to be comforted by her dad.

On arriving home she discovers that her dad, brother and his carer (he is in a wheelchair after an accident) are going back to Scotland to the holiday home they were staying at when her sister disappeared to see if they can find anything new in connection with her disappearance. Amelia reluctantly joins them and they are greeted by the owner and her son (Ruth and Finn). Also joining the ‘party’ are her mother’s best friend and her daughter.

Whilst there the group are cut off from the world due to severe snowstorms. When Amelia hears a scream, it transports her back to a year ago when she heard much the same and when another young girl goes missing it seems to be too much of a coincidence.

A fantastic book spoiled only by the copious amounts of tea and coffee which appear to be being made during a time of crisis. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Where do I start? One of my favourite books of this year so far!

The story is based around Amelia and her family. Her sister went missing a year ago on holiday and still hasn't been found. The father decides to revisit the remote holiday area a year later and Amelia goes with him along with her brother and his carer.

There are strange goings on with masks. Another girl goes missing. There is a murder, or two.

So many twists and turns. Just when you think you have figured the plot, another twist. I certainly didn't see the ending coming!

I have never read anything by this author previously but I will certainly be on the look out for more of her books if this is anything to go on. Well written. I liked the way it went from present day to a year ago and it flowed perfectly.

Thank you so much to netgalley, the publisher and author for this advance reader copy. I feel really lucky to have discovered a new author.

I would highly recommend you buy this book if you enjoy a good thriller which will keep you guessing right up until the end.