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.

This was OK but not great. It was boring in parts, especially all of the interviews, and somewhat repetitive. The characters were quite believable and the truth, when it was revealed, was unepected. But you can't help thinking that the police should have solved this mystery thirty years ago.

Not one of my best reads of year. There is a solid premise of a body discovered thirty years after a girl goes missing and the question of whodunit. In 1983, six friends go camping and one doesn’t come back. It is now up to DCI Jonah Sheens to discover who killed Aurora Jackson. He is aware of the history of the incident having both been at school with the suspects and being part of the initial investigation.

For me, the narrative is a little clunky and the action repetitive. Most of the story surrounds police interviews with the suspects and, quite frankly, I became bored. It isn’t badly written by any means but it is crying out for a serious edit.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. Wow what can I say. This book has to be the best book I’ve read so far this year. The storyline and the characters are brilliant. I didn’t want this story to end, but at the same time I wanted to know who done it. I was way off. There was a lot of names mentioned. Absolutely brilliant book. I will recommend this one to everyone.

Six teenagers go camping in the woods. One of the group, Topaz Jackson, is saddled with her baby sister, Aurora. After a night of drinking they wake up to discover an empty sleeping bag. Aurora Jackson is missing.

Thirty years pass and there still hasn’t been any sign of her, until bones are discovered in the woodland where the teenagers camped. The body is confirmed as that of the missing teen, concealed in a place that only the six of them could have known about. The question is, will DCI Jonah Sheens be able to discover which one was capable of murder?

I really enjoyed the inclusion of flashbacks in this story, learning about things from Aurora’s point of view was an extra dimension. Her chapters were also really well written and engaging.

A slight issue, however, is the characters all being ‘thrown at you’ at the beginning. It took me some time to figure out who was who. Once you’ve sussed it, there’s no problem but just something to watch out for.

The novel is not a page turner by any means. It’s a fairly slow burner, but a worthwhile read all the same. I was intrigued to know ‘whodunnit’!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really liked reading a new series and this was based in Southampton but this was not for me at all. Have read much better.