Rating: 4.5 Stars

Many thanks to Penguin Books (UK) via NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Liz Nugent’s debut Unravelling Oliver was one of my personal favourite books to read last year. It was also a huge hit with my book club. Eagerly awaiting a second book, I didn’t think that the next offering would quite live up to the fantastic debut, they rarely do, but I was so wrong, Lying in Wait most certainly did and then some.

As with Unravelling Oliver, Lying in Wait is a very impressive, skilled and cleverly thought out psychological thriller. Nugent is outstanding with ‘first lines’ which seem to grab the reader by the throat and doesn’t let go until the very last line. From the very first line of this book, I was hooked...'My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.'. I read this book in one sitting as I literally could not put it down until I reached the end. I was totally engrossed with both the story and the characters. Nugent is an excellent writer, creates riveting characters and has an outstanding knack of keeping you turning and turning the pages.

The story centers around the disappearance of Annie Doyle, a young heroin addict and prostitute, a respected judge, his wife Lydia and their young son, Laurence. As the search for Annie by her sister progresses, the story becomes nastier and murkier, with many twists and turns along the way. Nugent is extremely good at creating dark, disturbed and unlikeable characters. I loved the fact that a lot of the story was set in the 1980s as it sparked many memories for me of the way Ireland was during those years. In addition, although not a major character, I loved Helen’s friendship with Laurence and her involvement in the story. I found her to be a great character through her actions and reactions to the various situations and major characters in the story. Lydia, Laurence’s mother, is a deliciously dark character and one that will not be easily forgotten. This story raises the concept of ‘Irish mothers’ and their sons, to a whole new level entirely!

I’m sure this book will be a huge hit in 2016 and I eagerly await any new book from Liz Nugent in the future. I highly recommend Lying in Wait and I think Ireland may just have found its very own Gillian Flynn.