This book flowed seamlessly between multiple narrators over the course of 30 years. Everyone wants to know what happened to Aurora Jackson, and it is not until the end of the book that Gytha Lodge's web is finally untangled. I simply could not put this book down!

Thirty years ago, a few teenagers went camping and the youngest was never found. The book alternates chapters between Aurora's last hours on Earth and the hunt for the murderer in present day after her body is found. Besides this mystery, other small mysteries are included along the way.

This book was amazing. I loved the plot flow of this story. I would give it five stars out of five. Highly recommend this to any reader

“””loss does strange things to people””” 1983 (who doesn’t want a look back at the 80’s lol) seven kids go camping. Partying, dancing, fights and couples wandering off. The next morning Aurora is gone. Thirty years later her body is finally found, and a small town cop is out to find out her truth. He knew them all as kids and stops at nothing to seek out her killer. Page turner for sure. This debut novel is fast paced and well written. Can’t wait for the next in this series.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Who killed Aurora Jackson? This is a 30-year old "cold case" that suddenly becomes hot when the skeletal remains of Aurora are found in the woods. The book is a UK police procedural which introduces DCI Jonah Sheens and his team of 3 assistants to the world. It is interesting to see how they react to the case and each other. As a young detective, Sheens was involved in the original investigation and knows, to some extent, all of the key players (i.e., suspects). The newest member of the team, a young woman, not only has to help with the investigation and learn how the team works, but also, whether she can trust her new boss. I look forward to further adventures brought to us by Gytha Lodge.

She Lies in Wait had the potential of a fantastic thriller; 6 friends + 1 little sister go camping in 1983 only to wake up to the sister gone. 30 years later, the body is found right by the campsite and everyone becomes a suspect. First off, the strengths. I liked the premise despite it being a bit redundant from other recent works. There are two or three novels I have read recently with similar storylines. This one was good. Similar but still good. I also liked the style of crime writing which had the focus on the detective and how he was going to solve the case. The strongest part of the plot was the ease in which the author went back and forth in the timeline, explaining the story from the victims point of view.
Some things that weren't the best...the story is long and at times the pacing is slow. It can be chaotic because there are just too many elements of the story that seem to be a big mash of anything and everything "thrilleresque" thrown together. Overall, it was a good easy vacation read for me and although not my favorite thriller, I do look forward to what the author can do next.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41056352-she-lies-in-wait?from_search=true

She Lies in Wait is a psychological thriller told in a past & present storyline. Six friends go camping one night with one of their little sisters tagging along, and she doesn’t come home. Thirty years later her body is uncovered in a spot that only the 6 friends knew about. Is there a killer amongst them?
This book was decent. There was nothing that stood out in either a good or bad way. None of the police characters were developed very well. Their personal lives seemed very awkward to me.

I was very surprised to find out from the author’s acknowledgement at the end of this book that it was her debut novel. This is a very competent police procedural set in the UK, that tells the story of a the discovery of the remains of a 14-year-old girl who had disappeared after a campout with her older sister and a group of high school friends. The detective leading the case is near in age to the older sister, and the young woman’s disappearance was his first case as a young detective 30 years before.

The investigation revolves around the group of campers, who have remained connected throughout the intervening years, and a new member of the investigation team begins to wonder how the chief detective’s knowledge of these people from high school may be impacting his ability to see the truth in this case.

It was well-written and well-paced, and the ultimate resolution was not one that I was able to anticipate early on. I enjoyed it very much, and will definitely be on the lookout for more books by Gotham Lodge.

I received an advanced reading copy from the publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

This story is amazing! I loved it from start to finish, it kept me guessing to the end. What a fabulous debut from Gytha Lodge and a big thank you to #netgalley for the chance to read #sheliesinwait ahead of publication. This police procedural checks off all the boxes-strong police lead, well-developed supporting police personnel, suspenseful story and likeable characters. Read it and keep an eye out for the next book from this author!

In She Lies in Wait author Gytha Lodge tells the story from 30 years ago mixed in with the present. She does an excellent job of meshing the two time lines together and leaving bread crumbs for the reader along the way. Ms Lodge describes the scenery and characters so well the reader feels like they are part of the action. I was given an early copy to review.

This was so much more depressing and darker than I anticipated. Despite the really heavy plot points, I did enjoy reading this. I was expecting more of the fast-paced mysteries I've been so accustomed to reading lately but I was surprised to discover this was, in fact, more of a slow-paced story with only a handful of "whodunit" suspects.

I enjoyed this. I did not LOVE it as it starts off extremely slow for me and was kind of a "lite" mystery. The story does pick up though and is well written in a 'reminiscent of Riley Sayers' novels' kind of way. I will definitely give the next Jonah Sheens book a shot. Thank you #NetGalley for my ARC!
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Good friends forever, well... So many different versions of the truth. Wanting to solve the mystery so bad. Loved the characters and wasn’t certain who did it until the end.

The story revolves around a young girl who goes missing. It's a good plot and had some characters that I could relate to however, it was slow to develop.

Aurora Jackson has been missing for over 30 years, until now. When a young child and her father stumble on bones scattered near their campsite.I was really disappointed in She Lies in Wait , because I felt that the story could have been darker, and less obvious.This novel is not a page-turner, yet I wanted to keep picking it up and visiting the cast of characters. I was intrigued to learn more about their friendships and dig deeper into the past..I’ll be interested in checking out the next DCI Jonah Sheens installment.

This is a 30-year-old cold case that suddenly turns hot when a body is found and causes other deaths to become suspicious. It was well-written, but the plot line had too much going on - almost like there were too many smoke screens trying to prevent the reader from figuring out whodunnit. I was still entertained as I was reading and kept wanting to figure out what happened 30 years ago! I also really liked the back and forth between past and present.

Thanks to Gytha Lodge, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I983. Fourteen year old Aurora Jackson is anticipating a camping outing with her older sister Topaz and her friends. Soon Auroras excitement diminishes as the camping trip takes a deadly turn. Aurora goes missing and after intensive searching her body was not found. All have maintained their innocence. Flashforward 30 years and Aurora’s body is found and DCi Sheens is assigned to the case. The body is found in a location that only a few of the friends were aware of. A once tight group of friends is haunted by that one night and now have to relive the deadly night. Old memories resurface. Old friendships are put to the test. The story has you questioning who the murderer is until the very end. A quick read. I look forward to reading more from Gyntha Lodge.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and will definitely be interested to read more of Jonah Sheens. It wasn't groundbreaking work, but kept me reading and guessing the whole time and I'd recommend it to those who wanted to read an easy police procedural novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of She Lies in Wait.

I'm a big fan of police procedural mysteries so I was interested in reading She Lies in Wait.

** Minor spoilers ahead **

When the dead body of a fourteen year old girl, Aurora Jackson, is discovered 30 years later, DCI Jonah Sheens and his partner, Hanson, are called in to investigate the revived cold case.

As Sheens probes into the lives of Aurora's idiot sister with the inept name of Topaz and her incompetent friends, he must deal with his personal demons, and a secret he is afraid to disclose.

The narrative swings back and forth from the last time Aurora was alive to the present day as Sheen and his competent team pound the pavement, interview losers and suspects and sort through the red herrings, misdirection and a link to a previous case.

Sheens and Hanson aren't terrible detectives; they are competent and determined, but their troubled personal relationships were a bore. It didn't add to the narrative; it didn't move the action or plot forward.

I understand we all have issues that interfere with our professional lives but it didn't make me feel more sympathetic toward Hanson or Sheens. It just annoyed me. I wanted to go back to the story.

Topaz and her friends are unlikable, some are hateable but Topaz is truly despicable. I understand siblings don't always get along and have personal rivalries and jealousies but I can't imagine any sister (or brother) bringing her young, very impressionable sister to a party with older kids and allowing her to be surrounded by drugs, booze and rampant sex. That is deplorable.

I found it difficult to suspend disbelief for that setup right from the beginning, and then the disbelief suspension just kept on coming.

As Jonah's suspect pool grows, so do the subplots; drugs, sexual assault, a possibly creepy teacher (natch!), Jonah's history with Aurora's former BFF, and the sudden death of an experienced rock climber several years ago comes to light when the detective realizes the death may not have been a tragic accident.

Even the reason why this rock climber was targeted and how he discovered the secret that led to his death was so bogus, I laughed and rolled my eyes. At the same time.

Then, there's the unmasking of the villain, that seriously felt like it came out of left field. It felt rushed, phony, as if the author realized she was nearing the end of the book and had to point the finger at somebody and decided...eeny, meeny, miney, moe! You're it!

I was bored. I was bored with the cast of many deceitful characters, I wasn't fond of Sheens and Hanson, though I didn't dislike them. I did end up liking his supporting colleagues better, and as usual, the most interesting character is Aurora, the deceased, naturally a beautiful, whimsical, quirky teen that had her whole life ahead of her...blah blah blah.

Originally, I rated this book two stars but as I wrote this review, I realized many things I didn't like and how much disbelief suspension was required to believe why the characters were acting and behaving the way there were but, long before I reached the end, I no longer cared.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I loved this book. For a debut novel it was fantastic. I did not suspect the real suspect. It kept me guessing until the very end. I really liked the characters, I thought they were very likable. The flow of events was easy to follow. I am glad that Aurora’s POV was included. The book was well written and I’m looking forward to the next in the series. I hope the next one involves the same law enforcement team.