Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Book Review: Lying In Wait

Author: Liz Nugent
Publication Date: June 12, 2018
Publisher: Gallery

“An extraordinary novel. Lying in Wait crackles and snaps like a bonfire on a winter’s night; you shudder even as you draw closer to it. Spellbinding.” —A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

From the international bestselling author of Unraveling Oliver, an “unputdownable psychological thriller with an ending that lingers long after turning the final page” (The Irish Times) about a Dublin family whose dark secrets and twisted relationships are suddenly revealed.

My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.

On the surface, Lydia Fitzsimons has the perfect life—wife of a respected, successful judge, mother to a beloved son, mistress of a beautiful house in Dublin. That beautiful house, however, holds a secret. And when Lydia’s son, Laurence, discovers its secret, wheels are set in motion that lead to an increasingly claustrophobic and devastatingly dark climax.




Read this book is you can stand it! Yes, that is a dare. The first words on the first page from our main protagonist Lydia Fitzsimmons are as follows, “My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.” OMG! The book is told in alternating viewpoints, starting with Lydia and followed by the victim’s sister, Karen. Lydia and Andrew’s son, Laurence, also gets to share his voice as well. Each chapter reveals more and more about the characters and the scenario that was described so well for readers in the very first chapter. Lydia’s voice is chilling and her character is downright cold-hearted and unreadable at times, which makes the twists and turns all the more questionable.

I waited for her to shout at me and complain to Daddy about how awful I was. I knew it would take her a very long time to forgive me this time. But she still wasn’t moving. Had I gone too far?

“Right now nobody knows she is dead. Nobody knows she is missing. We need to keep it like this.”

I did the girl a kindness, like putting an injured bird out of its misery. She did not deserve such kindness.

The characters are complex, the writing is dark and disturbing, and the story is just flat out creepy. This is the first novel I have read by Liz Nugent, but she is a mystery/thriller author that should be added to everyone’s shelves. Nugent wrote a book that I got through in one sitting – I just could not stop reading. I HAD to know why Andrew Fitzsimmons murdered Annie Doyle and I HAD to know why Annie Doyle deserved to die. This was an invigorating story – I needed a book like this and this is perfect for anyone wanting to beat the heat of hot summer’s day by reading a book in doors.

***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Gallery in exchange for my honest review***

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