Anika is a hardworking talented surgeon in London. However, she is overworked and can't remember the last time she had a decent night's sleep. Not ideal for someone with parasomnia, a condition that causes sleepwalking blackouts. When a patient dies on her operating table, people start asking questions and the media soon turns against her.

After being put on suspended leave she knows she needs to escape, and when an all expenses paid housesitting job comes up in Sri Lanka she jumps at it. Despite all the stress, she's excited to return to the place she visited as a child. However, her past in Sri Lanka is just as haunted as her present in London.

This was such an interesting concept, having the main character have no idea of what happened in her past in Sri Lanka. I thought the book was full of twists and turns and I absolutely raced through it. A perfect read for the beach in summer.

I enjoyed this book, iI liked the setting in Sri Lanka, the scenery & the culture. I also liked it that I didnt really know what was coming.
It mixed the past of the main character, Anika, with the present & the current dysfunction of her life.
There was a lot going on at some points, but it was really easy to read.
The very last twist shocked me! Didn't see it coming!
I would definitely read another by this author.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent thriller full of unexpected twist and turns! Three different timelines weave their way seamlessly into the story and it is very clever how they all come together in the end.I loved the backdrop of Sri Lanka as having been there, I could imagine it all so clearly and it is here that Anika escapes to from her nightmare situation at the London hospital where she is a highflier with promising career prospects. Did Anita finally work out her traumas and secrets from the past? A fascinating read!

Anika is an up and coming surgeon at a London hospital. When a surgery goes wrong and a patient dies on the operating table Anika is facing investigation. To make things worse the patient was connected to people in high places, who are pushing for heads to roll. Desperate to escape, Anika takes on a house sitting job in Sri Lanka, a country that holds a lot of memories for her. Unfortunately for Anika the trip isn't the relaxing break she was expecting, and before long secrets of her past are threatening to catch up with her.

There was aspects of this book that I loved, and aspects that I didn't enjoy so much. I think the biggest highlight for me is the setting. Sri Lanka is described beautifully, and I loved how the author used language, food and tradition to help immerse readers in Sri Lankan culture. I enjoy reading about different places and cultures, and this one definitely hit the mark there.

Anika is a complex character. At the start of the book I thought she was a reliable narrator and felt for her in the situation she was facing. As things progressed though I was less sure of how much I could trust her (mainly because she isn't sure she can trust herself). Something about this felt off though, and I had a strong inkling from early on that there was more at play here.

In terms of the plot, that's where Cheshire lost me a little. The start of the book sets the story up to be an interesting medical/legal thriller, and honestly I think that story on its own would have worked brilliantly. Once Anika travels to Sri Lanka things take a very different turn, and I was struggling to see how things would connect back together. In the end they don't really. What happens in Sri Lanka is entirely independant of what happened in London. Whilst I loved the Sri Lankan setting for this story, I feel like there was really 2 books here that were squashed together.

I think there's some great writing here, and I hope that Cheshire keeps writing books with ties to Sri Lanka. It's a country I haven't had the pleasure of reading about previously, and I'd love to learn more

This was a beautiful thriller, love how easy to read it was and fast paced.

A must on your TBR. So many twists and turns to keep you intrigued till the end.

I really enjoyed this book set beautifully in Sri Lanka, a perfect beach read. I loved the main character of Anika and was cheering her on. Dark suspenseful and twisty. A brilliant psychological thriller.

thank you to netgalley for the early copy in return for my review!

i will say, this book was worth the slow start!! half way through plus really had me hooked!

the story has dual POV’s and different timelines which at first don't seem to fit with each other but that's just it...as you continue reading on things start to fall into place and the twist at the end just wraps it in a perfect bow!!

for sure this book is a stick with it, and by the end you will be thanking yourself!!

DNF.

I really wanted to like this book, the premise is somehow different to what I am used to. However, I found it hard to connect with the main character and their behaviour in general. Probably this would work better for me as a TV show rather than in book format.

I enjoyed this, was an interesting read
I would say an unique story it was a lovely easy read you can put it up and just get stuck straight in
I loved the twists and didn’t see some coming I was completely surprised,
So much information went into this and you could tell was a fab read

Wow. Just wow.
So, slightly slower start but as soon as I was into it was I absolutely into it. I was on edge throughout so much of this book which I absolutely love for a thriller.
I was constantly doubting myself and second guessing all the information I knew. And the way information was now/then really kept me guessing at what had truly happened.
The characterisation was great and I really feel that I got to know them on a deeper level. The interactions between them all were brilliant as well, I enjoyed how everything played out realistically and nothing felt rushed for the sake of it being a thriller.
The ending though, I do have to admit that I had near guessed it by 10% left which took some of the thrill out of the ending. But oh my, the last part, pure perfection. It truly shifted how I viewed everything. Brilliant.
Favourite Quote - It will be okay. It has to be.
Favourite Character - Anika

Loved this book. It would be a perfect beach, summer read.
Book was engaging, chapters were perfect length.
Loved Anika’s character, very likeable but complex.
Great twists and turns.
I really enjoyed the beginning and would have like the hospital scene stretched out a little more but overall really enjoyed this book.

Anika is a surgeon at a London hospital who suffers from parasomnia, a rare condition that causes sleepwalking. When a patient accidentally dies on her operating table people start to ask questions. As an escape she travels to Sri Lanka, near a place she travelled as a child, for a housesitting job. Only things start to take more of a sinister turn and Anika no longer knows if she can trust herself or not.

I really enjoyed this authors first book, Deadly Cure, so was excited to see she had a new one out. I really enjoyed the medical thriller side to this story, however by the half way point this seemed to falter and it became more of your run of the mill thriller. The story is told in different timelines and I liked this, especially the past timeline of Anika.

Anika was an interesting character and I enjoyed watching her develop. I also liked the Sri Lankan setting; the author did a great job at creating an engaging, atmospheric environment. The overall story was a bit of a slow burn and the different storylines were disjointed at times. However I do appreciate that the majority of this was well written and there were some good twists at the end. I hope this author brings out more as I will definitely pick up the next book. 3.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

This book had me hooked right away, its twists and turns were well done and the fast pace kept it exciting.

This book started slow for me and I didn’t gel with it like I hoped I would but I carried on because from the description of the book it sounded like one for me.
By around 25% in it started to pick up and by 50% in I was enjoying it much more.

The opening scenes set around hospital life weren’t as engaging to me but they were necessary to set the story!

Everything in Sri Lanka was great though and the suspense and almost ‘ghost story’ elements had me captivated. There were a few times reading this in the dark where I got a little spooked and that doesn’t happen often!

The story is told over dual POV’s and different timelines and at first they don’t seem to fit alongside each other so it does feel a little disjointed at first but as you go on you discover more and things start to fall into place and the twist at the end wraps this all up and you understand better!

This is definitely a stick with it if you can book rather than a grips you from the start book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harvill Secker for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

from even reading the blurb i was interested in this one. and trying to figure out how it all linked together was a theme throughout. i loved the beauty of sri lanka in this one. it almost felt wrong to love the scene setting of the place when it was surrounded by what our main character was going through. i do worry when these books are set in certain places whether the author goes to the actual places they write about. as some of the descriptions are so vivid.
Anika seemed such a troubled soul. and i felt this was occurring before the events at work that made her leave. or maybe they didnt.
but Anika flees after a incident at work leaves one of her patients dead. everyone suddenly turns against her including the police.
going back to the place of her childhood memories is meant to be a healing space. but things start coming up from the past. things that she hasnt dealt with. and has no choice but to deal with them now.
are all linked to her disorder that leads to sleepwalking. and is all this linked to whats happening at home.
i felt really sorry for Anika. there is certain thriller thrill where the author manages that unsettling feeling woven throughout the book. and this is one of them. add to that Anika not being able to trust her own mind. and who she can trust. or even whats happened or not because of her sleep disorder.
a good book. its not shock horror thrills all the way through.but its got that undercurrent that stirs you up and keeps you concerned.

Enjoyable read ,loved the setting of Sri Lanka and loved the twists and turns to the book
I did find the beginning a bit protracted but am glad carried on reading
Will read more from this authior

The Lying Guest has a strong premise, and there are plenty of good twists and turns throughout. Unfortunately, for me a couple of them were a little on the predictable side and at times I felt the pace was a touch too slow.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy this book. On the contrary, I did. Cheshire's writing style is easy to follow, and conjures up beautiful imagery of the Sri Lankan setting - somewhere I'm not used to seeing books set, but absolutely loved. I also really liked the different narratives and timelines, and seeing how they were all connected to the overarching plot of the book.

I also have to praise Cheshire for her ability to create interesting, layered characters who really helped to keep me engaged in the story from start to finish.

This might not be a perfect rating from me, but it is still a solid thriller read from a clearly very talented author who I am looking forward to reading more from.

I really enjoyed this one! It's definitely more of a slow burn thriller which I tend to prefer to the more fast paced ones. I loved that such a large part of it was set in Sri Lanka. The mystery surrounding what happened in the town to drive tourism away as well as Anika's own situation and the flashbacks kept me completely hooked!

I was constantly trying to figure out how everything was connected. Guessed some of the twists but the big ones left me blindsided. It was very clever how it all fit!

There was a lot to this story but I would've liked the hospital events to be developed a bit further, as it felt a bit random. That being said, it did tie together at the end!

Would definitely recommend this one and would love to read more by this author!

Mahi Cheshire’s The Lying Guest is a captivating psychological thriller that weaves together themes of guilt, memory, and the weight of the past. Anika, a talented but overworked surgeon in London, is struggling to keep her life together after a patient dies on her operating table. As the media and her colleagues turn on her, she is thrust into a whirlwind of accusations, leaving her professional reputation and future in jeopardy. The pressure of it all is exacerbated by her rare condition, parasomnia, which causes sleepwalking and is worsened by stress.

To escape the chaos and protect her career, Anika takes up a housesitting gig in Sri Lanka, hoping for a peaceful break in a place that holds fond childhood memories. What should have been a restorative beach holiday, however, quickly turns into a descent into a haunted past she thought she had left behind. The tranquil surroundings of Sri Lanka mask a deeper darkness, and Anika finds herself caught in a web of unsettling events that force her to confront long-buried secrets.

Cheshire’s writing is gripping, pulling readers into Anika’s world of tension and turmoil. The layers of mystery build slowly as Anika unravels the truth behind the eerie happenings during her stay. This is a psychological thriller that keeps you guessing, with well-crafted twists and an atmosphere that blurs the line between reality and the supernatural. As Anika faces the shadows of her past, The Lying Guest examines the complexities of memory, guilt, and the personal demons we often try to outrun.

With its rich setting and intriguing plot that keeps the suspense high, The Lying Guest is a compelling read for fans of psychological thrillers and atmospheric mysteries. Anika’s journey from a troubled doctor to someone forced to reckon with her history is both harrowing and engrossing. If you enjoy books that slowly unravel dark secrets, this one is sure to keep you hooked until the very last page.

3.5/5.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

The Lying Guest follows Anika, a talented surgeon working at a hospital in London. She suffers a rare sleeping disorder, which she has kept hidden from her employer. After finishing a long tiring night shift, Anika is asked to help out and stay on to do an operation. Unfortunately, the patient dies on the table, and she now faces the back lash and is blamed for his death.
Unable to cope with being accused of negligence, Anika accepts a job of housesitting a place in her home country of Sri Lanka. Whilst there a murder occurs and old demons start to resurface. Anika starts to question everything and doubts her own mind.

I enjoyed reading this thriller. It was full of mystery and suspense. Split into parts it held my attention, though I did prefer some more than others. I loved the Sri Lanka setting, and it was described beautifully. I also loved how the author wrote parts in the local language and wrote about the culture. I like to learn something about other cultures and found this fascinating insight.

I liked Anika's character. She was very complex. As the story progressed, it showed her in a different light. She became more unhinged and unreliable. I didn't know what was going on. I did work out a few twists, but a couple of big ones towards the end were a shocker. Especially the last one. I did not see that coming..

Overall, I enjoyed this one. Full of lies, family drama, secrets, and it was suspenseful and atmospheric in places with a slight supernatural element in there too.

Thank you, Vintage, for my advanced copy.