What a good book. A thriller that deals with a death that is 30 years old.
Enjoyed this story and can’t wait to read more in this series.
This feels different than most other police procedurals I’ve read.
Even though one person is dead you still get the sense of who she was and what her death did the her friends.

Just a good book!

3.5 rounding up to 4. I really enjoyed this book once I got into it, but it took me awhile to do so. I always love a good detective novel, and in the end this one did not disappoint. I think I had trouble keeping up with all the characters, but now that I know the main players, I feel like I will enjoy the rest of the books in this series. I can't wait to read more!

This book drew me in and held me delightfully-captive from beginning to end. The palpable tension held me in thrall. The characters were realistic, likable and identifiable. And, every setting was described in such a way as to make me feel like I was an actual bystander in that scene. Once I started reading this story, I knew this was a book I wasn’t going to be able to put down!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

**Thanks to the publisher for the e-ARC I received via NetGalley before the book came out in 2019, sorry it took me so long to read it.**

**3.5 stars**

She Lies In Wait is Gytha Lodge’s debut novel, and it was a good police procedural. This is also the first novel in the DCI Jonah Sheens series. A body is discovered buried in the woods by a family on vacation, a girl who went missing in 1983 on a camping trip with her older sister and her friends. What happened to Aurora? Read and find out.

I liked that I did not guess the killer ahead of time. The only thing I wish had been improved on was in describing all the characters more. With the exception of Topaz I did not have a clear image of the characters in my mind, especially the lead investigator Jonah Sheens.

I recommend it for any fans of police procedurals especially British detective series. I would read the next in the series.

I thoroughly enjoyed this page-turning mystery. It started off a little slow but it quickly picked up and I stayed up through the night to finish it.

In 1983 seven teenagers go camping in the woods. When everyone wakes up the next morning, they realize that Aurora is missing. There is an investigation but nothing is found.

Thirty years later, Aurora’s bones are found in a place that only the other six knew about. Who is the killer? The cold case is re-opened but it seems everyone is lying. Are the friends behind the murder? Are the detectives covering for the girls or are they involved somehow?

I really enjoyed the switching of times between Aurora and the night she goes missing and then the re-opened investigation thirty years later. It seemed like every chapter convinced you that a different person was somehow responsible for what happened that night. You might think you have this figured out but you will quickly change your mind again and again.

Six teenagers go into the woods on a camping trip, and only five come out... I mean, who can resist?! Character driven read more so than actual thriller. A good detective crime mystery for sure!

Police procedurals can be hit or miss for me because I normally like perspectives from other sources in the story. However, I think Jonah was a good character to have the story told from since he's more than just a detective working the case. He always has connections to those who are suspected of murdering Aurora. I had guesses over who was involved, but I think it came together really great with interesting motivations. I would definitely continue with the series.

I did not realize it was the first in a series, and I think if you enjoy detective series, you’d enjoy this one.🕵️ Not as much action in this one as much as more police desk work and interviewing. The deceptions definitely delivered though.

A slow burner of a mystery, where the police try to solve a 30 year old murder. There was some backstory about Hanson that I wish was explained more but it leads well to future books.

I really like this book it was pretty good easy read definitely recommend
The book grabbed me from the the beginning to the end

Great read! Looking forward to reading more from this author! I highly recommend this book and author to all!

I really liked this book. I will look for more books from this author. Lodge did a good job in character development, and the ending was satifactory, although slightly predictable.

Such a great book. Makes for a wonderful read. I can not wait to read more from this author. I love books like this.

Really enjoyed this book! The ending was somewhat predictable but still kept me guessing. Can’t wait to read more books in this series and by this author!

2.5 stars. Started off a lot stronger than it ended.

DCI Jonah Sheens is leading the case on the discovery of the decomposed body of Aurora, a fourteen-year-old girl who died thirty years prior on a camping trip in the woods. Sheens pulls the group of Aurora’s friends together to be questioned just as they were thirty years ago when she went missing. New details and clues are uncovered that lead in several different directions.

This was an easy and entertaining read that unfolded between two timelines and multiple perspectives. I was curious and invested for the first half of the book, but as it progressed, my interest declined. The novel lacked any draw of suspense or tension. I was confused between characters a few times and found the way their narratives were presented lacked flow at times. The characters themselves weren’t likeable but the mystery of the death did keep me curious until the end.

Many plot aspects were convenient which took away from my investment. People happening to remember important things from 30 years prior did not seem believable to me.

Overall, this was an easy, mindless read which is great when the time is right. I just expected a bit more from it.

Audio rating: 4 stars! I enjoyed the various narrators and what they brought to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy! Thank you to my local library for the loan of the audio.

This was an exciting, hold your breath, and surprise ending book. I couldn't stop reading and really enjoyed it. Highly recommend.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

She Lies in Wait is the first in the series about DI Jonah Sheens and is a very great start and hope that there will be more. Six friends go on a camping trip and in the morning it is discovered that one of those children Aurora Jackson, had disappeared. Thirty years later Auroras body was discovered by a young girl who was on vacation with her family. DI sheens takes on the case and remembers knowing these teenagers as well as searching for Aurora as a young cop. The body was found in a spot that only the teenagers knew about. Do they know more than they are letting on? The book overall was great procedural wise however there were chapters that drug out on subjects not relevant to the book. I enjoyed the premise of the book but wish some of the char were not too overly high strung.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am late to the game reading this one, but just finished and wanted to collect my thoughts before writing the review.

This is my first book by Gytha Lodge and I will say up front, I liked the concept of this book and thought this book was well written. I like that this one was a police procedural, which I am LOVING these days, and was impressed that this was her first novel, DCI Jonah was a likeable, multi-layered character who definitely has promise to remain likeable in future novels.

This was difficult for me to read because I am a mother and the plot unsettled me, I had a really hard time relating to Topaz and was extremely frustrated that she didnt take better care of her sister. Aurora in my opinion was too aloof and this made me dislike her character.

I'll be interested in reading more titles in this series.

I really enjoyed this book! Lately, thrillers have been a bit of a hit or miss for me, but this book was interesting, the pace was great, and I enjoyed the characters. Really liked this one!