Good one! I thought I had it figured out pretty early on, but there were enough red herrings to keep me guessing. I liked the detectives and would definitely read more in this series to find out what is going on with their lives. Would recommend. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Great thriller that keeps readers guessing as to what happened. A decades old crime gets reopened when the body of a missing girl is found. Highly recommend!

See - THIS is why I don't go camping. Terrible things always happen! First in the series, so a solid start, albeit a bit predictable. I'll try another in the series.

One night in 1983 , a group of teenagers go camping . When they wake up , the youngest - Aurora Jackson is missing . Thirty years later Aurora's body is found . A clever and wonderfully chilling psychological thriller that is so haunting and memorable that you won't soon forget ! I highly recommend ! Loved this book ! Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review ! #Netgalley #RandomHousePublishing

The body of a teen girl is found 30 years after her death and the friends that were with her are once again under scrutiny--but this time, detective Jonah Sheens, who knew the young girl, is determined that her killer be found.

This was an interesting and engaging mystery with some good twists that moved along well. None of the characters were particularly likeable or easy to connect to, it would have been nice to care about them more but other than that, it was a good read.

I really enjoyed this book. There are intriguing twists and turns throughout. The characters are well developed and the storyline is very well developed. Highly recommended. I received a complimentary copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving this review

It took me forever to read this book, partly because I didn’t have time to read and wasn’t in the mood to read. I didn’t want my mood to affect this review so this weekend I powered through and I glad I did! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There was a lot of mixed reviews so I didn’t know what to expect at first. One thing I really liked was that the story kept going back from the present (when they are trying to solve the murder) to the past (when the six friends are camping). You could get a glimpse of Aurora’s personality and thoughts, it was a nice touch!

What really made the story for me was the Detective Jonah Sheens. I really loved his character and the mystery surrounding him. I’ve learned that this is going to become a series and I’m glad, I will definitely pick up the next one!

The only negative point for me was that the story could have been shorter. At around the 70% mark, I was ready for it to be over. I just felt like we kept hearing the same stories over and over, but after a certain point, the tangled web started to unfold. The ending wasn’t mind-blowing but I didn’t really see it coming and I did enjoy how the author ended the book.

This book!!! What a great debut to an upcoming series! I was constantly on my toes throughout this book and every time I KNEW I had it figured out something would happen and I would realize not everything was quite what it seemed! This kept me wanting to keep going! Looking forward to the next book in this series!

This book started a little slow for me and a bit confusing but a few chapters in I was transferred into everyone’s life and i absolutely loved how involved the author takes you into the police procedures and investigation. July 1983 six teenagers go into the woods and only five make it out. After a night of partying and camping in the woods, fourteen year old Aurora Jackson is missing. She went on a camping trip with her older sister Topaz and her friends. The night consisted of drinking and swimming and campfire and some mild drug use. In the morning in a haze and hungover the friends find Auroras sleeping bag is empty. They start searching wondering if she wandered off and got lost did someone take her. She’s never found. Thirty years later detective Jonah Sheens is called to investigate some remains that were found in the forest. After tests are run the body is confirmed to be Aurora Jackson. Sheen starts to investigate the five teens who were with Aurora the night she went missing including her sister. He knows these people since he went to school with them but he wasn’t part of their close knit group. As he interviews each of them it’s starting to show they were not honest with the police thirty years ago. We’re they just being teens trying to stay out of trouble or is there something more sinister going on which one of them killed Aurora and buried her body? I absolutely loved that the book was told in alternating timelines , Aurora in the past and told by her as the events that led up to her horrible death and the present as detective sheen was investigating . I give this four stars and I look forward to reading more from this author! Thank you so much for the wonderful publishing company @randomhouse and the author @gythalodge for my advanced copy! This book will be available January 8 2019 mark your calendars! #bookphoto #booktography #reading #reading #bookshelf #bookstagram #books #bookish #bookworm #bookhoarder #bookobsessed #bookworms #bibliophile #reading #readers #thriller #mysterybook #penguinrandomhouse

Thirty years ago, fourteen year old Aurora Jackson disappears on a camping trip with a group of fellow teenagers, When her body is discovered, it is evident that only that group could have known about the hiding spot, and the cop who is assigned the case knew the group back when Aurora was still alive. As people come together and fall apart, lies are revealed, memories are discovered, and a killer hides in plain sight.

This book is really suspenseful right from the start. It hits the ground running and doesn't stop. There are so many twists and turns that when I thought I knew where the story was going, I would find out a few pages later I was completely wrong.

The characters were really compelling as well. Each was unique, and while they each seemed to fit a stereotype at first, as the book progressed each showed layer after layer. That was what made it seem like any of them could be the killer, and like none of them could be the killer. I also really liked seeing how the main group from the past (seen through flashbacks) was affected by the disappearance and eventual reveal of the murder.

Plus I automatically love the trope of a crime from the past being revealed in the present, and the killer having to be part of a specific group.

There were so many characters that sometimes it was hard to keep track of who was who in relation to everybody else. Even with how unique the characters were, the sheer number just made things tricky sometimes.

This is a really suspenseful mystery that kept me turning pages and kept me on my toes. I would definitely recommend this book.

I love mysteries and I especially love it when I can't figure out 'whodunnit'. I'm not always a fan of police procedurals because they can sometimes come across as dry and boring. Not in this case! Watching this police team track down leads and try to figure out a crime from 30 years ago was fascinating. It was especially intriguing because we knew Jonah had some connection with the people but we didn't know what it was.

The writing is crisp and natural, the characters well drawn and believable. The story kept me interested - and guessing - right up to the end. I hope this book will be followed with others featuring this police team!

This is the first in a series with DCI Jonah Sheens. There are seven teenagers camping. One of the girls Aurora is younger than the other six. But someone kills her during the night. Which person is the killer. Aurora"s body is not found for 30 years. During the years the six have remained friends. DCI Jonah Sheens is put on the case when her body is found beneath a tree.
I liked the setup of the book. We had a chapter in Aurora's view. Then a chapter in one of the six. Then a chapter from someone on the case. Definitely will read more in this series.

My rating: 4.5 Stars

She Lies in Wait is one terrifying novel. Seven teenagers go camping. One of the teens, Aurora is dead. Six come back alive. It is more than obvious that one of the remaining teens is a murderer. This was in 1983 and the case remained unsolved. It is now thirty years later and Aurora's bones are discovered.

It is apparent that only one of the six knew about this place and DCI Jonah Sheens is now in charge of solving this cold case. When Jonah was a young cop back then he knew the teens. Now he must interview each of the five remaining, all now in different walks of life. As this story is told, it is relayed in the past and present, and Jonah excels in ferreting out the correct facts.

It certainly is not black and white. Each of them was profoundly affected by the murder. So, which of them could have done this terrible deed? After all, at the time they were all aged 14-18. As Aurora is the girl that was killed, quite a bit of the story is told from her point of view in the time leading up to her awful death.

Jonah is no-nonsense. He might be just a bit too close to the facts, but he carefully checks out each recollection and any clues that come his way. What Jonah discovers is that pretty much everyone is a liar and that they are all holding secrets very close to the vest. Hopefully, Aurora can truly be laid to rest. It was a complete accident that her bones were discovered. Now all of the other adult lives are called into question.

When the actual interview questions and their corresponding answers, as well as the eye contact and body language Jonah witnesses after he brings the six friends together, he realizes that it is evident that someone is most certainly lying. Also, there must be a cover-up. While it may be true that only one of them is a killer, it is more than clear that someone else knows more than they are saying.

How intriguing! I was kept engaged throughout this story and was right there right along with Jonah as he was investigating this case. I enjoyed the twists and turns and most certainly the shocking conclusion. As a debut author, Gytha Lodge has done a fine job delivering this story. I look forward to her next thriller as I cannot wait to read more cases that Jonah gets to solve.

Many thanks to Random House and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Cold case story! Suspenseful police procedural - very well detailed and woven seamlessly into the story. I really enjoyed this story of past deeds coming to the light of day. The alternative perspectives added to the intrigue of the book. I was kept guessing until the end. I look forward to many more by this author. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

Thank you Net Galley for my ARC. This book was full of twists and turns and definitely created a lot of intrigue and suspense. I would recommend.

Great mystery! Loved the story going between present and past . Every time I thought I had the suspect figured out another suspect came to mind. Great book if you want to get deep into a police investigation. A great debut and I will be looking to read more by this author in the future.

She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge is a mystery and thriller of epic proportion.

After a body is discovered in the woods, Detective (DCI) Jonah Sheens is in charge of investigating the case. The discovery yields that the body belongs to a teen who went missing in 1983 after a night of drinking with friends and camping in the woods. This discovery turns a disappearance into a murder investigation which is 30 years cold. Jonah will need to investigate the other individuals who were present that night to get to the bottom of what happened to the teen.

Told from different points of view, She Lies in Wait will have you guessing up until the very end. This book has a great plot, with great characterizations and keep my interest from start to finish. There were quite a few characters with backstories that I had to keep track of so I re-read certain sections to ensure accuracy. However, once I had the characters down, I could appreciate the well-developed characterizations of each. I hope this is a series of books because I really want to see how Jonah investigates other crimes.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Synopsis from the Publisher/NetGalley.com
Six friends. One killer. Who do you trust? A teen girl is missing after a night of partying; thirty years later, the discovery of her body reopens a cold case in an absorbing novel featuring a small-town cop determined to finally get to the truth—for fans of Tana French and Kate Atkinson.

On a scorching July night in 1983, a group of teenagers goes camping in the forest. Bright and brilliant, they are destined for great things, and the youngest of the group—Aurora Jackson—is delighted to be allowed to tag along. The evening starts like any other—they drink, they dance, they fight, they kiss. Some of them slip off into the woods in pairs, others are left jealous and heartbroken. But by morning, Aurora has disappeared. Her friends claim that she was safe the last time they saw her, right before she went to sleep. An exhaustive investigation is launched, but no trace of the teenager is ever found.

Thirty years later, Aurora’s body is unearthed in a hideaway that only the six friends knew about, and Jonah Sheens is put in charge of solving the long-cold case. Back in 1983, as a young cop in their small town, he had known the teenagers—including Aurora—personally, even before taking part in the search. Now he’s determined to finally get to the truth of what happened that night. Sheens’s investigation brings the members of the camping party back to the forest, where they will be confronted once again with the events that left one of them dead, and all of them profoundly changed forever.

This searing, psychologically captivating novel marks the arrival of a dazzling new talent, and the start of a new series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens.

Awesome, awesome, awesome. I just couldn't put this book down because I had to know what happened and every time I thought I had it figured out she would twist and turn the plot. Well done Gyntha Lodge. If you like well written stories with a strong plot definitely pick it up. You won't be disappointed. Happy reading!

“She Lies in Wait” by Gytha Lodge is a mystery thriller surrounding the disappearance of 15 year old Aurora Jackson on a camping trip in 1983. The story alternates between ‘83 and present day when her body is found in the woods where she disappeared.

I had a hard time putting this novel down. Though the characters could have been more fleshed out, I enjoyed the pace and was surprised by the end.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was a pretty good detective novel that kept me guessing almost up to the end. Solid storyline and adept detectives that kept me interested and never rolling my eyes. The suspense was a little slow in the beginning, but picked up for me right past the halfway point. I also wanted more background on the detectives, as what was presented seemed slightly random. I'm hoping that comes as the series progresses. Definitely a series I'll keep reading! Thank you to Random House Publishing for the chance to read this ARC!