
Member Reviews

Talk about your unreliable narrators! LYING NEXT TO ME is told through the eyes of several characters, none of which is telling the whole truth. Three families are staying a lakeside cabins when one morning, while Adam and his daughter Aubrey are our in the dingy, they witness Aubrey's mother being abducted be a strange man. what follows is a slow unraveling of what, how and who was involves in the abduction. Really excellent plotting and a great story. Definitely Olsen's best.

A couple needing an escape from their every day lives, and their rocky marriage, take a vacation with their three year old child. But on the first day of their vacation, Adam sees Sophie grabbed by a total stranger. Out on the water and too far away to help, he watches as his wife is kidnapped. Adam is terrified for his wife’s safety, but at least he knows the investigation is in good hands, with his old friend Lee Husemann leading the investigation. As Lee investigates the abduction, she wonders if there is any connection to the other couple vacationing in a nearby cottage. They claim to have no knowledge of the incident, but Lee wonders. A twisted tale that only goes to show that you never really know the people you trust the most

Another interesting read by Gregg Olsen. It had me hooked from the first chapter, the characters were all very complex and sadly, flawed. I am not one, who likes to read books with multiple points of view, that being said, I wish I had more insight to the wife, and her view of things. So many accusations were thrown around , it would have been nice to hear her side of the story. I believe it would have given more insight into how, the couple ended up in the place they were in the beginning of the story . It left me wondering if she was the least flawed of the group of characters .It left me wondering about people, and you never really truly know someone, and the problems (and personality disorders) they deal with.
I received a free arc of the book, in exchange for my honest opinion of the book.

In true Gregg Olsen fashion, Lying Next to Me twists and turns enough to cause whiplash. When Adam's wife Sophie disappears on vacation and is found deceased, you cannot help but be skeptical of all the witnesses. Lee, one of the main detectives, has known Adam since they were kids and would never believe he could hurt his wife after all he found her after she was abducted. His in-laws want his head on a platter but a witness clears him from the crime. But as the suspects keep crawling out of the woodwork, the truth becomes a well buried secret that will push the detective to her limits to uncover the real murderer. None of the characters are very sympathetic and all are worthy of being suspects. Even if you figure out the whodunnit, the story will still hit you like a bucket of ice water, shocking and unexpected. This book delivers what readers expect from Mr. Olsen and as always entertains. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

I love Gregg Olsen's novels and was excited to read this new one.
This is a clever multilayered mystery thriller which although doesn't have likable characters, yet has a strong gripping plot with engaging character development.
There are lots of twists and turns as the plot unfolds until the end which I didn't expect at all.
Thanks Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the "Read Now" option, I voluntarily reviewed this book.

“Getting away” has multiple meanings in this novel as Sophie disappears in front of Adam’s eyes. As the layers are peeled back artfully by the author, a very clever story comes to light. Character development is strong even if you don’t especially like them.

This book is suspenseful but in the mode of Gone Girl the characters are unlikable and it's difficult to care enough to read about them. Sophie and Adam and their toddler are vacationing when Adam suddenly comes back from the beach with his daughter "to find his wife being attacked and abducted". Kristin and Connor are another couple staying in a cabin nearby. What is the tie between Kristin/Connor and Sohie/Adam. Did the husband commit the attack and murder on his wife? There are no witnesses to Sophie's alleged attack and abduction except for an older partly blind slightly suffering from dementia neighbor. There are a few layers to get through the mystery which makes it interesting but as I mentioned I didn't care for Adam, Sophie, Kristin and Connor.

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.