would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

my second book by this author and i wasnt disappointed....

zoe is everybodies friend, their loyal companion, one all her friends can turn to when their lives are turned upside down, she is their rock and will go to them when they need her...

but someone sneaks into her flat one night.....
the police thinks its suicide but one man who saw the whole thing tries to tell them someone else was there

and so begins the life of zoe and who could have turned against her...it couldnt possibly be one of her friends...could it...
so many red herrings and when the killer is revealed its a kerching moment...

will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors work

If you have not read "She Lies In Wait" before picking up this book, I would urge you to do that first. This series is as much about the dynamics of the police team that investigate the cases as it is about the case itself. The team has its own idiosyncrasies which are interesting to read and never fall into the cliche, typical of the genre, of backstabbing, career hungry, hard-drinking police officers with a dubious grip on morality. Instead, the team all bring strengths to the unit and have interesting backstories that I hope will be developed in future books.
This time the crime is an unusual one, in that the team have to first track down whether there is a victim. This is the first indication that all is not as it seems. Cleverly alternating between 20 months previously and the present day, we learn more about Zoe and her friends and family. This means that just as I thought I had a grip on who the killer was, something would be revealed that would make me reassess the situation. Just as with the first book in the series, the satisfaction of finding out who the killer is is almost secondary to the enjoyment of reading about the different characters and really getting inside their heads.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I was looking forward to reading this after enjoying She Lies in Wait. I found it rather slow in parts and couldn't quite make out where it was going. However I did enjoy reading it though not as much as the author's first book. Good twist at the end which I didn't guess.

What do we have here? A nice twisting turning mystery? Tell me more. A sequel to a book I read and enjoyed? Great news!

So, the sequel part. As a two-book series, it's not like you need to worry about coming too far in and being lost, but it's definitely a case that a couple of the characters have fairly deep continuations from She Lies In Wait, even if only briefly. So, you won't be lost, but I'd still recommend starting from the beginning. Oddly, my biggest issue with this book is the opening passages that felt too much like they were trying to form a connection to the earlier book, yet it was a couple of the very minor details a little later that made the real connections flood back to me. Why? Lodge created some interesting characters, and although this may be a Jonah Sheens book officially, and he no doubt offers a great anchor around which his team operate, for me Hanson is one of the most interesting investigators around. She is far too complex to just be a random supporting character, and she brings a much-needed dynamic to the investigation team who can be a little bland in a realistic way. And that's what makes the whole lt work well - it's not about superhero cops, their humanity comes through even more this time and that everydayness becomes more interesting.

But enough about them, we have a crime to solve, or do we? Lodge gives us a wonderfully twisted mystery that explores a surprisingly large scope of human behaviour - often from more than one angle. It's clever the way the story explores differences and similarities between certain traits and actions. Seeing two very different character explaining their own behaviours so differently, despite the aching similarities to an external perspective, is fascinating, and a theme repeated multiple times. And it all adds to the puzzle - do we find the same things equally suspicious in each character? Of course not, we want evidence that supports our latest theory even if it's contradictory to the previous page.

But it's a gloriously complex mystery. I had to go back and reread various parts just to see that yes, the details had all been there in plain sight. A massive clue that was totally missed, a whole section that changes based on what you understand and how you read it. It's subtly with a healthy dose of confidence and it really pays off. We flip between the investigation and the build-up - a period of almost 2 years in total. It all builds into a riveting story.

If you like a good puzzle then pick it up. But leave it on your TBR pile until you've read She Lies In Wait if you haven't already. It's a better starting point.

It should have been the perfect murder; a quiet street late at night, a victim living alone, a perpetrator no one realised had a key, able to slip in and out unnoticed ... or were they? A laptop open on Zoe's desk meant her boyfriend, Aiden, already waiting for her on Skype while she took a bath, sees nothing but hears everything, what will he do?

DCI Jonah Sheens has a team he trusts, a workload which includes a complex blackmail case and a message about a murder which might or might not have happened. It soon becomes apparent that not only was Zoe killed but also that she had a ragtag group of friends, along with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, any of whom could have struck the fatal blow. Jonah finds clues in short supply but doggedly works towards finding the culprit who killed the one person in the group holding everyone together.

While I thoroughly enjoyed this second book in Gytha Lodge's series, especially the police procedural aspects, the flashback chapters from Zoe's viewpoint were a little distracting given that she was now dead! Most of her recollections could have been told from another perspective without hampering the story in any way.

There are at least two progressing threads only hinted at in this story which hopefully means there will be at least one more book to look forward to. I really like Jonah, he is quiet and unassuming but dogged in his search for the truth. His team are also fun, with different lives and backstories which, I think, are about to merge very satisfyingly indeed. There are no spoilers and this can be read as a successful standalone.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good British crime series, who read the previous book or is just looking for a good story as this is all those things and more.

This drew me in from the outset with it's engaging story and interesting characters. It was a constant guessing game trying to work out who was responsible. An absorbing read.

A well written story leaving you through most of the book wondering who done it if anyone did it! In some respects it is quite obvious however you flit through every other possible scenario while reading.

Watching from the Dark is a phenomenal second book in the series featuring Detective Jonah Sheens. The mystery surrounds a Skype call made between a boyfriend and girlfriend where he realizes she isn't alone and is forced to watch the struggle helplessly, yet he waits to call the police. Filled with plenty of twists and turns and a very satisfying ending. Highly recommended to readers who enjoy strong mystery series.

Aidan logs onto his computer to skype his girlfriend Zoe but something happens and he is convinced something bad has happened to her.
He phones the police but hangs up before giving his details.
DCI Jonah Sheen and his team from Hampshire Police are determined to find out what happened to Zoe after she is found dead. They begin to investigate her friends and family .
They discover Aidan and Zoe had broken up previously and he is married to Greta.
They discover jealousies, broken relationships amongst Zoe’s friends.
The story is well written and fast paced, delving into the complicated friends that Zoe had - putting them all under the spotlight.
Good ending with a nice twist.

Interesting and quirky book. I sort of guessed who the murderer was but don’t let that distract you from a very good read. #NetGalley#WatchingfromtheDark

This starts off so well, a man is Skyping his girlfriend and witnesses, what he believes to be her murder. He contacts the police, but, doesn't give his information, why?
Unfortunately, for me, the storyline then crawls along and I struggled to maintain interest in any of the characters.

It's an OK read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

I didn't find this book very engaging but just enough to want to find out who murdered Zoe and why. Reading other reviews, I find I'm in the minority as lots of great positive comments. Unfortunately for me it was just okay.

An excellent book. I really enjoyed it. Having previous read the first Jonas Sheens story, I had been eagerly anticipating this book and it didn’t disappoint me at all. I hope there is a third in the series.

First of all a huge thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for an advanced copy of this book. I absolutely loved it and was gripped from the first page. A woman called Zoe died but was it suicide or murder. If murder, then was her married ex-boyfriend responsible or one of her circle of friends/acquaintances . Liked the dynamics among the team of detectives investigating the death, led by DCI Jonah Sheens. Clever twist at the end although I had sort of sussed it out In the last few chapters.
Gytha Lodge is a new author to me and I hadn’t read the first book in this series prior to reading this one. I certainly will be now and look forward to more in this series.

I was very pleased to receive a copy of this book after reading Gytha Lodges first novel featuring Detective Jonah Sheens. I enjoyed Watching from the Dark but not as much as She Lies in Wait. I found that book to be more thrilling and suspenseful. All in all it was still a good read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

This author is one of my favourites of all time. And this just after two books! Incredible detective/police procedural book. Brilliant xx

We start the book with a murder seen via a Skype connection by the victim's boyfriend, Aidan, but there's obviously something not quite right as he doesn't want to report what he has seen, nor does he rush round to help. He debates for a while before reporting the crime anonymously. Unfortunately this is discarded as a false report as some of the information was taken down incorrectly. He keeps an eye on the news, but not hearing anything, he reports it again. Luckily the report comes to the attention of Jonah Sheens who has a hunch that this may be an actual crime. Obviously suspicion falls on Aidan but he can prove he was at home watching via Skype. Or can he? Can such things be falsified? Why would he report the murder - one that looks like suicide - if he was the murderer? And if he wasn't there, and, as he says, has never been to the new flat, why are his fingerprints on the bathroom door? Maybe Zoe really did kill herself, but then again....
I thought this was a clever tale, full of twists making you suspicious of nearly every character at one point or another. And the end was unexpected, which is never a bad thing.

DCI Jonah Sheens is back with his team on the case of a young art student killed in her flat. Told as a now and then POV, Jonah and the team are attempting to solve the case with lots of curve balls thrown in!
This was a brilliant read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Gytha Lodge as done it again
Written another book that absolutely holds your attention
You are so absorbed in the story you are unaware of what is going off around you
loads of twists and turns, full of suspense, its chilling and gripping

Watching in the dark is a must read & if you haven't read she lies in wait then read that too

Thank you Gytha Lodge, netgalley and Penguin UK Michael Joseph for allowing me to read and review this book.

An enjoyable police procedural mystery which kept me guessing until the last few pages.
It is the second book in the Jonah Sheens Detective series but even though I hadn’t read the first one I didn’t have any problems getting up to speed with the characters and their backgrounds.
In this book Jonah’s team are investigating the murder of art student, Zoe and their are many possible suspects!
Zoe’s boyfriend Aiden Poole is Skyping her and hears her being attacked although he cannot see anything. He immediately reports it to the police and follows it up with an online form detailing what he saw although strangely he doesn’t know her address.
The book flashes back to Zoe’s life before her murder when she first meets Aiden and how their relationship progresses ,so that the reader learns more background information.
Several times I felt like I had guessed “whodunnit “ but I was proved wrong. In fact it was only in the final few pages that the real culprit is revealed.
This was an easy and quick read although I did find the alternative time line about Zoe’s life leading up to her death slightly less compelling than the sections about the current investigation. There were also a lot of characters to get to know but these were well described and I felt the author fleshed them out well.
I would definitely be tempted to read the next book in the series when it comes out.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.