Michael Robotham is one of my favourite 'must read asap' authors, I've loved his standalones and the Joe O'Loughlin series. I couldn't wait to read this, the third in the Dr Cyrus Haven series...

...But not for the obvious reasons, I haven't quite gelled with this series so far and read every new book in the hope I will fall in love.

Told from the perspectives of psychologist Dr Cyrus Haven, and Evie, the mysterious survivor with a protected identity the characterisation is deep and brilliant. The dialogue between them sparkles, and even their introspective dark moments grab you and don't let go.

I felt the first two books were filling in the blanks with these mysterious characters, honestly I've never read a series that has put so much time and effort into building characters.

This level of detail inevitably slows down the plot, and while I love the character writing, I wish for a just a little more pace in the story.

This is definitely my favourite of the three books so far, there are plenty of moments of brilliance. I'm still not in love with this series, but will eagerly await book four.


Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Psychologist Cyrus is working with the police investigating the disappearance of a woman and the murder of her father. Meanwhile, he has Evie, a 21 year old girl with a difficult past, who can detect when people are lying living with him. On top of that, his older brother Elias, who has been in a psychiatric hospital for 20 years, after killing their parents and 2 sisters, is possibly going to be released.

This was another good one in this series. I like Cyrus and Evie. They both are flawed and have a lot of baggage which makes for an interesting backstory. I thought the mystery was also interesting. Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I look forward to continuing with this series.

Lying Beside You is the third book in Michael Robotham's Cyrus Haven/Evie Cormac series.As a long term fan of Michael's books who has read all of his previous books I found the first book in the series a big change and not a little strange but it grew on me and I'm a great fan of the odd couple now. Actually most of the characters in this series have issues,flaws or quirks.

I'd strongly suggest that anyone who has not read the previous 2 books in this series does so before reading this one. It can be read as a standalone but without knowing the rather complex backgrounds of the main characters , as detailed in the previous books, a lot of their behaviour and thought processes will be a mystery.

The book begins with Cyrus concerned about the release of his brother Elias from the secure psychiatric unit where he has been held for 20 since killing their parents and twin sisters. He's distracted by a call to the scene of the murder of a man and the disappearance of his daughter. With Evie as ever offering further distractions as she crashes through life she excels herself by inadvertently implicating Cyrus in a police investigation. Trying to take amends she tries to please Cyrus and ends up being the sole witness to the disappearance of another woman.

I suspect Michael Robotham has great fun writing these books with their cast of "off the wall" characters. In this one Evie's behaviour verges on "too much", even by her standards but thankfully as the tale proceeds it gets toned a bit . As ever this is a very entertaining read,laugh out loud humour, a clever and complex plot and of course the "it's complicated" relationship between Cyrus and Evie, just one of several complex relationships in this book.
I think I picked up a hint as to which direction the next book in the series will take, whether I'm right or wrong I can't wait for it.

Cyrus and Evie are one of my favourite duo's, so I was thrilled to get my hands on an ARC of Lying Beside You, the 3rd book in the series. You can read this as a standalone, but I do think you'll miss a lot of the back story which is critical in understanding the dynamic between Cyrus and Evie. That being said, I felt like this book actually had the least amount of focus on Evie's past and her relationship with Cyrus, so you probably wouldn't know what you missed if you skip the first 2 books and it wouldn't have to bother you.

A man has been murdered and his daughter is now missing...Cyrus needs to determine if she's a suspect or a victim. He also needs to deal with the reality of his brother being released from a mental facility after 20yrs, for murdering their parents and sisters.

The plot for Lying Beside You was pretty well thought out. Michael writes page turners, so it's no surprise that I went to bed at 11pm and then promptly woke at 3am, so I could finish this book. I needed to have this mystery solved. It was action packed, fast paced, and I do enjoy the characters.

I couldn't figure out whodunnit, even thought Michael actually gives the readers a connection to the case pretty early on, but the main characters are not privy to this connection....so it was quite exciting reading and wondering when Cyrus would find out what we know and then obviously solve the crime for us.

Entertaining read, fantastic writing, great plot....I just wanted more of Evie to be utilised vs her involvement being incidental....so that's the only reason I'm docking 1 star.

I couldn't get enough of Good Girl, Bad Girl and When She Was Good.
So when I seen Michael Robotham new up coming release Lying Beside You I have to try and get it.

Cyrus Is Back!
This was a mind-blowing, heart throbbed, intense story. The plot was tight with fascinating characters. This to me was a fast paced novel.
Very clever storytelling as you start to learn more and more of the truth.
And edge of your seat thriller.
Robotham takes the reader with them on one hell of a ride.
Exhilarating and interesting beyond measure.
I could put my Kindle down. I didnt want to.

If you enjoyed the first two in this series, this is one you don't want to miss out on.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Little, Brown Book & Sphere,
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this eARC.

This is the third book in the Cyrus Haven series by author Michael Robotham. I have read the previous two novels in the series and in my opinion this helps get straight into the novel and understand what is going on. It can be read as a standalone but may have readers wondering what is going on at times.

Cyrus Haven is a forensic psychologist with a dark history. His family were brutally murdered by his brother Elias twenty years ago but somehow he survived. Elias is now about to be release back into society and Cyrus must decide whether he can forgive his brother and welcome back to the family home.

Meanwhile Cyrus is summoned to a crime scene where a man is dead and his daughter, Maya, is missing. This crime is swiftly followed by another one when a second woman is abducted. But this time there is a witness, Evie Cormac, a troubled teenager who Cyrus is fully aware of who has a gift for knowing when people are lying. Evie lodges with Cyrus, taken in by him in an effort to help her when she was having one of her many troubled periods. Evie is trying to please Cyrus and decides to get a job working at a local Nottingham bar to earn her keep. It is while she is working at the bar that the second woman goes missing, the woman works as a nursed and has links to Maya Kirk, the other missing woman.

I really enjoyed this read, great characters, plenty of back stories and exciting plot. I like the love, hate relationship that the two main characters have and feel this really adds to the enjoyment of the story. My one little gripe is that in my opinion not enough is made of Evie’s gift and feel this could be more prominent in the storylines.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I did enjoy this book and liked that the story was told through the two main characters Cyrus and Evie. I liked Cyrus, although I thought he was naive in some ways regarding Evie, and I didn’t like Evie’s character at all. She has a good and interesting background history and I liked her character more in previous books, just not in this one. The book began really well and I was drawn in straightaway. Cyrus is asked to help in a police investigation when a man is found murdered and his daughter is missing. When another woman goes missing and Evie was the last person to see her the story really begins to gain pace. I loved the separate story threads, particularly the ones featuring Elias and Mitchell. They really added depth to the story in my opinion. I think this is a very well written book, it has a good plot line and flowed well. I hadn’t a clue who the murderer was, or why and enjoyed finding out. I liked the twists in the plot and the last quarter of the book was a thrilling read which raced to a very unexpected ending. Overall, a good read which I enjoyed - it didn’t wow me though - and I would recommend this if you’re a fan of crime procedurals with a forensic psychologist’s viewpoint. I’d also suggest you read the series in correct order to have a better understanding of the two main characters and their pasts.

The writing in this book is engaging and easy to follow with a nice flow, the story was gripping and the characters were well developed but at times I hated them - although I think that was the point. Twisty and unpredictable and kept me guessing. An overall enjoyable read.

3.5* rounded up to 4
Lying Beside You is the third instalment of the Cyrus Haven novels and I was super excited to get an advanced copy prior to publication date.

Cyrus Haven is a forensic psychologist who works with the local police assisting in some of the more difficult to solve crimes. He is called to a crime scene where an old man is found beaten to death in his home and his daughter missing.

While Cyrus is trying to help solve this mystery he has to come to terms with the fact that his brother Elias who has been locked in a psychiatric hospital for 20 years after murdering his whole family (except Cyrus) due to schizophrenia is being released and he’s coming to stay - this is daunting to say the least.

While he prepares for the impending homecoming another woman goes missing and the only witness is Evie Cormac the very damaged roommate/friend of Cyrus. Evie has a gift for knowing when people are lying and it seems everyone has a secret in this story.

As I said earlier I was super excited to see the next instalment of this series, I have been waiting for it to come out. It is an easy read told from two POV - Cyrus and Evie.

Now, at this point I do recommend that you read the first two books in the series. While that is not always necessary in this case I feel that you need Evie’s backstory to understand her a bit better (although she behaves like an annoying brat the entire book).

Evie is very troubled and Cyrus was good enough to take take her under his wing, she harbours feelings for him that he does not reciprocate which is a bit weird and kind of creepy but thankfully he keeps her at arms length.

I was absolutely not a fan of Elias, he was super creepy, that was the point and he played his part perfectly and I was truly worried about what he might or might not do the entire time.

The underlying criminal element mystery of the story is intriguing and complex, a young woman goes missing and it seems like an open and shut case. That is until another one goes missing and it is a race against the clock to find who the perpetrator is before more women go missing, will Cyrus find a link between these disappearances?

Evie behaves badly throughout the entire novel and it is actually hard to feel empathy for her this time as she pushes that envelope hard. I get that she’s troubled, but its as thought she doesn’t even want to try to do well or be a good person. Perhaps she’s doesn’t, perhaps she’s just not that person - either way she comes off very unlikable and immature, which rings true to how she was in the first book but she was much younger then and had no one caring for her…

Overall, I enjoyed it and I am glad to have read it although I don’t feel like it was up to the same standard as book 1 & 2. It was all happening at the ending and it was a little over the top ‘Bam’ and ‘Boom’ action extravaganza. While there were some elements that didn’t quite get there for me it did keep me entertained for the entire time.

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK, NetGalley and the author for giving me and advanced copy of this book for an honest review.

Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

THE PLOT

Cyrus is a forensic psychologist called onto a case of a missing woman and her dead father—then a second woman is abducted and Cyrus' rescue dog of a roommate, Evie, is the only witness.

MY OPINION

Usually I give 3 scores for writing, plot, and ending, but tbh, I phoned it in after the first 25% because of how appalling bad and offensive this book is. I'm not sure what time period this is supposed to take place during—the only one I can see fit in the Prohibition era. I completely understand if characters use rudimentary language in context of the time, but, my understanding was this is a modern day mystery. And therefore, the "protagonist" (Cyrus) referring to characters as "the fat ones" leaves little to be desired. To be frank, Cyrus is just an asshole. He's giving me "where's my hug at vibes" who thinks his humour is "dark" but really he resorts to being condescending and using schoolyard insults in an attempt to be funny and/or witty. Bleak.

Next, we have Evie. I came into this without reading the other books, so perhaps I'm missing a bit of backstory. There was brief mention of her tragic upbringing, but her behaviour and personality is abhorrent. She is 21 but acts like a toddler—snapping at Cyrus when he wants to help her, insulting him despite relying on him for transportation, food, shelter and everything in between, all while boasting how adult she is. She pretends to be blind to avoid paying the bus fare, and feels no remorse when a disabled man and elderly lady (who she lovingly refers to as a "coffin dodger") offer to give up their seats. How are we supposed to empathize with a girl who is so emotionally and intellectually stunted, she legit calls someone a "snowflake" as an insult and refers to the principal as "the truth police" because she was reprimanded for her racism.

Some other highlights of the first 25% are:
- casual racism
- paranoia about technology
- Cyrus asking a therapy client "what do you expect me to do?"
- male gaze writing: Cyrus meets some police lady who hits on him immediately, because, why not? An entire paragraph is dedicated to an insignificant character's hot but "stubbornly single" sister that wears tight clothes...

And then the kicker for me was Cyrus inviting a freshly released sex offender to do odd jobs at his house, including "sort out" Evie's room, without the courtesy of telling Evie his crimes, or thinking this is inappropriate. His reasoning? The man has served his time. Well golly me!!!!! As long as he served his time, it's perfectly okay for this man to go into a young woman's bedroom without her consent or prior knowledge. Sick reasoning, Cyrus.

So at that point, I was done. This book is neither funny nor intelligent. It's typical male writing that reduces every female character to either the "cool girl" type OR a drunk bitching whore. Very one dimensional.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: I made it to 25%

Cons: I made it to 25%

#LyingBesideYou #NetGalley
A FUN read.
Cyrus Haven's family was murdered and only he and his brother survived. Cyrus because he hid. Elias because he was the killer. Now Elias is being released from a secure psychiatric hospital and Cyrus, a forensic psychologist, must decide if he can forgive the man who destroyed his childhood. As he prepares for the homecoming, Cyrus is called to a crime scene in Nottingham. A man is dead and his daughter, Maya, is missing. Then a second woman is abducted. The only witness is Evie Cormac, a troubled teenager with a gift for knowing when people are lying. Both missing women have dark secrets that Cyrus must unravel to find them - and he and Evie know how the past can come back to haunt you
This author is very talented. Again it's a very twisty tale.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Books UK Sphere for giving me an advance copy.