I hate giving this book a four; it is truly riveting! I could not put it down! I read through the night, wanting very much to know who killed her, and why? I knew from the beginning who did it; the Author does a great job of making you doubt yourself. However, I have read many books over the years, remember precisely what it was like to be that young, not do drugs, be a bookworm, when all of your friends were partying. I knew immediately due to the strange behavior of the murderer! This is an incredible book, will make an excellent movie, the kind only the British can do! I did not like the constant profanity used, I have never liked it; I grew up during this period, all of their behavior made me ill then, it still does! The characters are not likable, not even her sister; especially not her sister, I have one just like her! Which means I did not like the ending! It should have that in there; yet it should have ended with the scene in Jonah's office, remembering the beautiful young girl that he worked thirty years to find! Just my opinion. Officers are all likable, especially DCI Jonah! They will make a great series, which I hope the Author considers, human yes, perfect no. Great in-depth characterization of everyone, great mystery, you feel such gut-wrenching anxiety, knowing she is going to die, and you cannot stop it! Incredible writing, incredible, but entirely believable story! Awesome!
I highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley!

Our friends are usually people we trust implicitly. But what if those who you have known for years and confided in actually become suspects in your sister's disappearance and death, her murder, as it turns out to be? How do you know who to trust now?

Such is the dilemma for Topaz Jackson when her younger sister Aurora’s body is discovered 30 years after her disappearance, at the very same campsite where she herself had spent a few wild, intoxicated hours with her friends. Then she had been irritated by the annoying presence of her naive and gauche 14 year old sister, but determined to party on as planned.

It falls to DCI Jonah Sheen, a flawed but likeable cop with links to this group of friends from the past, to unravel the truth and discover who is culpable or not. Lies and secrets abound as suspicion shifts, making it challenging to get to the root of what really happened at the campsite.

The friends' account of that night fluctuates but details eventually emerge. A substantial stash of Dexedrine was brought with them. A tiny percentage was used and the rest hastily concealed, in an effort to foil the cops who initially investigated Aurora's disappearance. Drink flowed freely, jealousy was rife, sexual activity took place and hurt feelings simmered under the surface.

Aurora appeared to have been more of a cautious onlooker than anything else, an innocent sitting on the sidelines, sensing her own immaturity and swinging between a desperate desire to fit in and be perceived as cool as her sister was, and a natural aversion to all that was going on before her.

This is a compelling and captivating read with an eclectic mix of characters, plenty of twists and turns and surprises enough to keep you guessing to the end. The various backstories alone would make for an intriguing sequel. A convincing and gripping page-turner and a stunning debut novel I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

Firstly my thanks to netgalley and Penguin for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.
Six teenagers on an overnight camping trip in the New Forest, add in a cocktail of alcohol and drugs and you’ve got a recipe for tragedy as one of them goes missing. Skip forward thirty years to the discovery of a body and there’s an interesting police procedural novel to read. I wondered how accurately the relationships were portrayed, recognising the teenage ones but wondering what impact Aurora’s death actually would have had amongst the group who surely must have questioned the role and potential responsibility of the others in the group. This was a well written story although I struggled a little with the pace, the reader was given information that seemed to me unnecessary if this is to be a standalone work. It may be that there will be a series of novels with Jonah Sheen and his team in which case this is building knowledge that may feed into further stories. For me this novel took some disciplined reading, it was always easy to put down and harder to pick up again.

A good thriller. The characters are well written and there are a few twists however, I was able to guess the killer quite early on.

This book had me gripped from the beginning with the easy writing style which leads you into the story about six friends and what happened in 1983 to Topaz's sister. The book has you guessing who the killer is and makes you marvel at the painful fragility of life and death and the choices we make and what those consequences can mean. I really enjoyed this thriller because of the strong voices of the characters. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

This is a great mystery that will have you changing your mind as to what happened throughout the book.

The book is written in two different time lines and is based around the disappearance of Aurora, a 14 year old girl, that goes missing whilst on a camping trip with her sister and her friends. We follow the investigation into Auroras murder after her body is found in the woods some 30 years after her disappearance. The second timeline is from the night of Auroras disappearance, giving an insight into what happened that fateful night.

This is a true mystery that gives you snippets of information throughout until the final reveal in the last few chapters. I had several theories and found myself changing my mind nearly every time I found some more information. If you love your mystery books then make sure you read this book.

Thank you to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Quite the page turner and you were kept guessing as to who the murderer was right to the end. Easy but enjoyable read. Clever and unusual plot. Would recommend to younger generation.

Seven teenagers go into the New Forest for a night of camping, drinking, drugs, frolics and fun. In the morning one of them, 14-year-old Aurora Jackson, is missing. After an extensive investigation lasting months it becomes a cold case, her fate remaining a mystery that haunts the small town she lived in and those who knew her. Thirty years later a 10-year-old girl is hiding in the woods when she finds a hole that's the perfect spot. She feels a branch in her back and pulls it away only to discover it is infact a human finger. Aurora has been found at long last, close by to where she disappeared. DCI Jonah Sheens is called in to investigate. He was new to the Police Force when Aurora vanished and seems haunted by something that happened at that time that he hopes isn’t discovered. What is he hiding and is it connected to Aurora’s disappearance and death?

As DCI Sheens talks to the others who were there that night they maintain their original claims of innocence despite the fact that only the six of them know about the hideout Aurora’s body was found in. As he digs deeper cracks appear, one time loyal friends start to turn and long held secrets begin to be revealed.

Along with the original six it seems there was another suspect in the woods that day but lead wasn’t followed up correctly, and the more Jonah looks into it, the more it appears that thirty years ago the police just might have let the killer slip from their grasp. When it’s confirmed that Aurora was in fact murdered the pressure is on to wade through the murky subterfuge and find the truth of what really happened that night.
This debut novel is set in Hampshire’s New Forest, something that immediately endeared it to me as I used to live nearby. I love having a personal connection to a book, whether that be in subject matter or geography, and find that it instantly makes the read more enjoyable. The story was in dual timelines: the present day and the night of July 22nd 1983. I liked this style of narration as it gave us a glimpse into that night’s events as they occured, but they slowly unfurled so we didn’t know Aurora’s final moments until the big reveal in the present day also revealed the killer. I think the dual timeline also helped add tension as it connected us to Aurora and we saw her as a person rather than her simply being some bones buried years ago. All the characters camping that night were well written and interesting. I found it harder to connect with Jonah and found him dull at times.

The claim that this is the biggest crime debut of 2019 had me apprehensive as I started reading. Would it live up to the claim or would it fall flat? I think for me it fell in the middle. I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t so gripping that I couldn’t put it down. It seemed to go at a pace you’d expect of a book about a cold case but the hype made you expect something else. The big reveal was an unexpected and brilliantly written so it genuinely takes you by surprise.

Expectations aside, this was a good debut novel and a book I’d recommend if you enjoy crime thrillers.

A tangled web of deceitful stories agreed by a group of friends one fateful night when Aurora went missing from their camp.

DCI Sheens has history with this cold case - he went to school with the students involved. This makes him even more determined to solve this crime; but is he more involved with the victim than he is letting on?

As the book progresses the lies unravel. This is a solid story but it wasn’t a book which I couldn’t put down. It was an intriguing and interesting storyline which delivers a clear ending.

I enjoyed it but didn't love it for some reason. The premise sounds great and I enjoyed the back and forth of past and present but I just couldn't connect to any of the characters especially the Jonah. I also couldn't connect to it being set in England, for some reason I kept imagining it in America - very strange!! Overall, I would try further books from this author so I didn't hate it but not on my favourite list so far this year.

Brilliant! Amazing how the story builds on each of the characters all the way through, without giving anything away until the end. A proper whodunnit.

She Lies In Wait is one of those books that surprises you and whose ending you genuinely didn't see coming. I read this over three or so sittings, thinking about it inbetween and just wanting to get back to it to see what was going to happen. All of the characters are intriguing but flawed and draw you in. This is a fantastic read.

Not really for me, I found it quite boring and repetitive, The story was also similar to one I have read previously.

An excellent detective novel - believable characters and lots of twists and turns. I will definitely look out for other books by this author.

30 years ago Aurora Jackson disappeared, in 1983 she went camping with her sister and her sister's friends. When a body is found DCI Jonah Sheens finds his past returning to haunt his present. The group of friends have remained together but over the years have muddied the water making it difficult for the police to discover the truth.

The plot moves fluidly between past and present. The characters are really believable and you want to spend time with them. I really enjoyed this and could've read it in one sitting. This is a great start to probably a new detective series and I look forward to the next one being published. If you love police procedural, with interesting characters and a great plot then give this a try.

Loved the sound of it, but didn’t keep me as interested as it should have. Not one I will be recommending, but wasn’t awful.

The remains of a body are found and a 30 year cold case investigation is reopened, led by DCI Jonah Sheens.

DCI Sheens went to school with the victim and the 6 suspects, who were with her on the night the she disappeared and are the only people who knew about the hideaway where her body is found. As the investigation deepens, it seems that everyone is harbouring secrets and lies abound.
Despite being set between 2 timelines, the plot is easy to follow and has enough twists and turns to keep it interesting throughout. I look forward to reading the rest of the DCI Sheens series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this. I read a lot of crime/thrillers and this was one of those rare ones where you really feel somehow bereft when you find out the full story of what what happened to the victim - usually once you know who the victim is, the point of the book is just to find out whodunnit but this one was more than that - it really did feel like a personal tragedy as well as a page-turner that sweeps you along so you can find out what really happened - and who really did it. Cleverly done, too, so it's very difficult (if not impossible!) to guess who the killer was.

I've enjoyed reading "She Lies in Wait".

The Plot:
While I won’t say the plot was extraordinary, it was definitely enough to keep me hooked. A mystery unsolved for thirty years? A group of friends who have something to hide? I wanted to know who was telling the truth and who was lying. Apart from that, it was difficult for me to get attached to the murder event itself because we only have brief snippets from the past and not much info about the girl found dead. Everything makes us wonder, which is probably why I’ve liked it so much. Indeed what made the book so interesting for me was the way the story was told, parallel bits being revealed between the two different timelines. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I didn’t think the killer was obvious, and honestly, it could be anyone else. So I liked the suspense and the way the events unfolded.

The Characters:
I didn’t feel much for the characters, I think mostly because of the writing style and PoVs. I was curious to know more about Aurora, and I was disappointed that her chapters were so brief. Jonah’s inquisitive nature was interesting and the way all characters were portrayed was smart, to the point I’ve suspected of every single one of them. It does give you that vibe of “can’t trust anyone”. Hanson character could have been better explored in my opinion. Overall, I felt the characters were simply there to support the mystery solving narrative and unfortunately I didn’t feel much attached to any of them.

The Writing Style:
This was probably what disappointed me the most but I don’t want to be unfair since this was an advanced reader copy. The head-hopping was what frustrated me the most. At one point we were reading from Jonah’s PoV and then suddenly… we were inside Hanson’s head. The best chapters were Aurora’s since we were only hearing from Aurora’s PoV and no one else’s. It’d be such a shame if I’ve given up of this book in the beginning because of this (I was close to) because I’ve ended up enjoying it a lot. Apart from that, the idea of having two different timelines worked really well.

Overall, I felt She Lies in Wait was an enjoyable read, with a great amount of suspense and a good enough plot that made me keep reading it until the very end.

This was on my shelf for a while and I kept thinking about picking it up - but was always drawn to something else.
It was ok - not the best I have read - but it was readable. The charecters were quite annoying at times - and the back and forward made me a bit dizzy!
I am shocked the police took 30 years to solve something that took me 20 minutes! Maybe I am in the wrong job.