I don't normally review DNF books on my blog but in this case, due to the many 5 star reviews, I think I am going to write an honest review on it, the idea being to invite debate about books we can't engage with when everyone else seems to love it. I'd love to know what others think. It may even persuade me to give it another go...

Lying in Wait constantly caught me off guard – but in a good way!

It opens with the murder of Annie Doyle and the killer almost immediately starts to lose control of how to manage the predicament that he finds himself in. Step forward Lydia Fitzsimons, the killer’s wife. She will supervise the disposal of the body, arrange an alibi, cover for her husband and keep him “on message”.

But the secret of this terrible deed will take its toll on Lydia, or more specifically on her family. Her husband will not find peace (even when Annie is buried in a safe location). Lydia’s son Laurence has a suspicion that something has happened on the night of the murder. As time goes by his suspicions grow stronger that his father may have some knowledge of the disappearance of local girl Annie Doyle. Laurence becomes obsessed with the “missing girl” collecting newspaper clippings and following the story for updates.

Meanwhile Annie’s family find their own way to cope with the unexpected disappearance of Annie. Most troubled by idea that Annie has vanished is her sister Karen – she turns to the police for help but encounters problems in getting information from them. Karen’s husband is no help as he is more concerned about the public perception of Annie and the rumour she was working as a prostitute.

Lying in Wait is told by several narrators and the story progresses by following Laurence, Lydia and Karen as we learn how they contend with life “after Annie”. We get an insight into how each copes with the challenges which arise as they try to uncover (or cover-up) information. It is wonderfully twisty and several times I caught myself asking “where can it go from here?” The unpredictable turns made for great reading and I can guarantee shocks along the way.

One for the fans of psychological thrillers that love a bit of human drama and torment to spice up a dark tale.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in return for an honest review.

This is a book that grabbed me from the start. It was well written and easy to read. The subject is dark and twisted and the main character of Lydia is a cold, calculating, twisted manipulative bitch. The more I read and learned about her the more I hated her and wanted the other characters in the book to see her for what she truly was, a person that will do anything, and I mean anything, to get her own way.

The opening line: "My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it" was a real attention grabber and to me there was no going back. I had to read more.

This book is fast paced and gives up its secrets as the story slowly unravels.

A great book and one I would happily recommend to others.

How brilliant is this line "My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it."
This is the situation Lydia and Andrew find themselves caught up in. The story is told from their points of view as well as from Karen - Annie's sister.
No-one will ever suspect them, no-one will ever know. But Lawrence their son over hears them talking. Unusure what he has heard, he starts on his own journey to find the truth.
Andrew's life falls apart around him while Lydia remains strong, composed and collected. But then she would - being a bit of a sociopath!
You need to read this to find out what happens - it wont be as you expect that's for sure!

This is the first book I have read by Liz Nugent and I really enjoyed it. I was shocked at how manipulative Lydia is. She controlled everybody round her in so many ways. The twists and turns in the plot were brilliant and kept me reading. I loved the way the story was told by different people. The storyline had loads of surprises right up to the end which made it a really good read.

I loved the blurb for this book straight off, it sounded so different from the other books I’d been reading at the time so I was quite intrigued and keen to read it. I’ve seen comments, there’s one on the book cover itself, about this being ideal for fans of Gone Girl and I will say right now, I’ve no idea if it is or not. I’ve not read Gone Girl, it never appealed to me and this is also the first book I’ve read by this author so it really was a leap in the dark when I started reading it.

This book was amazing, I finished it one night at 2am and was still awake an hour later because of it! It starts off quite shockingly with two perfectly respectable people involved in a murder, quite by accident but still involved. After that the dead girl’s family start to realise something has happened to her and an investigation is launched and then it gets really interesting. Lydia Fitzsimons is obsessed with her social status even though she rarely leaves the house, to her the right house, right clothes, friends, appearances are everything and she refuses to let that go despite the fact that there is now a dead body buried in her garden. As the story progresses Lydia’s own story unfolds and we learn more about her past and see how manipulative and cold-hearted she can be. There was a part in the book where things settled a little and everything was calmer for a while and then BOOM! it wasn’t and I was back on this rollercoaster of a read which had me equal parts horrified and gripped. I made comments, noises of disbelief and even laughed out loud at one part because I was hoping for some sort of payback but the book just kept on going.

I’m not naive or anything, I know about manipulation and how some people can manipulate others until they feel 2 inches tall or are doing everything they’re told regardless of what it is but this book shows just how far it can go. This is a masterclass and insight into the world of a manipulative person. They are so good at what they do that they can deceive so many others and that comes across clearly here, few can see Lydia for what she really is and that includes the reader as what she is capable of becomes clear throughout the book, we get glimpses of it but even with that, somehow it still gets worse.

The descriptions in the book are good, they are more character focused than location but that makes sense given the story and doesn’t detract from it in any way. I wouldn’t necessarily say I liked the characters, some were impossible to like but I did feel the most connected to Laurence and what he was going through throughout the story. While I didn’t agree with everything he said and did I did understand his reasons for it all and that, for me, is important. Even though I disagreed with almost all of them I could even, up to a point, understand Lydia’s reasons for doing what she did.

I’ve been struggling to finish books recently, novellas have been manageable but full length books were tricky. Unsurprisingly with this one I had no such trouble, I read it in two sittings and was so hooked during the first one that I nearly stayed up all night to finish it off. I think this is an excellent read and one I would highly recommend though I would suggest not starting it at night unless you don’t mind still being awake when the sun rises the next morning.

I've already reviewed this not sure why it's saying I haven't?

I did enjoy this book, although the pace was a little slow compared to other books I have read recently. I think the book demonstrated the impact of an enmeshed relationship well and the struggles in early childhood experiences and the lingering impact upon this. i thought all the characters voices were distinct and enjoyed how the story was told from different perspectives. I thought the ending was interesting and reflected the themes from above carrying on.

A monster lurks within these pages, nesting in buried secrets, watching and waiting. Who it is and what monstrous actions they will cause is cleverly woven into this tale of two Irish families and how their lives become connected across the class divide Tense and unsettling, a story of Laurence's childhood evolves into a powerful psychological thriller as the monster claims its victims. Grip lit at its best!