This is the third in Michael Robotham's stellar Forensic Psychologist and Criminal Profiler Cyrus Haven and 21 year old Evie Cormac crime series, set in Nottingham. As readers familiar with this series will be aware, Cyrus has a traumatic background, when he was 9 years old, his older brother Elias, killed his parents and twin sisters after hearing voices in his head. Elias was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and has been incarcerated at Rampton Secure Psychiatric Hospital for the last 20 years. It has now been assessed that Elias is safe to return to the community and can be trusted to manage himself and his mandatory drug regime. Cyrus, unsurprisingly unsettled and unsure, agrees to a monitored Elias living at his home in a staged process that begins with a short visit, followed by a weekend, until he is finally released.

A troubled and emotionally damaged Evie is still finding the world a difficult place to live in, friends elude her, she is only close to her labrador, Poppy, but she has a remarkable talent, she always seems to know when anyone is lying. She believes Mitch Coates, hired as a handyman by Cyrus, when he says that he is innocent of the sexual assault he was convicted and imprisoned for. Evie is undoubtedly a taxing and problematic personality as can be observed with her input in a discussion on Othello, and her issues are far from resolved as can be seen when it comes to buying a dress for a job working in a cocktail bar. She has begun to feel safe living with Cyrus, sadly accepting she cannot have the relationship she wants with him, but feels uncomfortable with Elias staying in the house. Cyrus is called in on a police investigation by Detective Superintendent Lenny Parvel, in which a 67 year old father, Rohan Kirk, has been brutally murdered, and his daughter, Maya, has disappeared, feared abducted. This is a complex case of murder, in which tensions reach sky high when other women are taken too.

Robothom is a talented writer, he grabs my interest with ease with the dynamics of the ongoing relationship between Cyrus and Evie, and the more current complications of Cyrus's personal trauma and his efforts to build a relationship with Elias, feeling he has to forgive him, it's what his parents would have wanted. This is a riveting crime read, packed with suspense and tension, the author skilfully connects Cyrus's current case with that of Mitch, a man so sinned against, yet retains his humanity against all the odds. It's wonderful to observe that it appears that Evie is at long last apparently showing signs of being able to make friends. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I hadn’t read the first two of the books in this series, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Twenty years after the death of his family at the hands of his brother, Cyrus is called in as the forensic psychologist to a new case of a murdered man, whose daughter has gone missing. With dark secrets at play and a series of vicious attacks on young women, Cyrus and his young protege Evie must work out what is going on. This is an accomplished and intricate novel.

I enjoyed this book. It was engaging and an easy read. It had me gripped and the characters were well written. Kept me guessing to the end. A good read.

Cyrus and Evie have a complex relationship yet after everything they have been through together they are family. I really enjoyed this book, having read the previous books I eagerly awaited this one and it didn’t disappoint. It kept me guessing, nothing was obvious and the storyline unfolded very cleverly. I am a big fan of Michael Robotham, I’ve read all of his books and I highly recommend this one being of equally high standard. It’s gripping and will keep you hooked to the last line. ARC copy.

When I saw that this story was told by two narrators my heart sank. I find the he said/she said distracting, but this story needs it. Cyrus and Evie have very different points of view and it allows a better vision of a complex situation with complex people in it.

Loved it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

Lying Beside You is the third instalment in the series featuring Cyrus and Evie, however, I didn’t realise this and thought the book read well as a stand-alone, I will however, be downloading books 1 and 2 immediately!

The story is told via Cyrus and Evie - I really enjoyed this style of writing. All the characters are well developed - Cyrus is immediately likable, dealing with his past in his own way. I didn’t warm to Evie at all, she has a very traumatic history, but as hard as I tried, she just didn’t click with me (I found some of her actions deeply frustrating!). Elias was a thought-provoking character, and one I will enjoy learning more about when reading books 1 and 2. The plot was fascinating and flowed well, I didn’t figure out who the killer was, this made the book even more enjoyable as I was powering through it to see ‘whodunnit’ - I was not disappointed.

All in all, a brilliant read, worthy of all five stars.

I loved this book and just wish I’d known it was part of a series, as reading the previous books would have helped me to understand more about Cyrus and Evie’s relationship, and particularly Evie’s traumatic background. I need to know why her identity is protected, and will read the previous books to try and find out why. This was an extremely well written story with a gripping plot. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for the next in the series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in return for an honest review of this brilliant thriller.

There is a lot going on here with a wide range of interesting characters and the author had me hooked from the outset. There did seem to be an American type style to the writing and I had to keep reminding myself that it was set in Nottingham, especially when the police officer put out a BOLO! A brilliant psychological thriller that I didn't want to come to the end of because I cared so much about Cyrus, Evie and even Elias , Mitch and Lillah.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a great read.

Lying Beside you is a fast paced thriller and one with a plot that is filled with mystery and suspense.

The chapters in the book are short and have you wanting to read on.

When I was given a chance to review this by NetGalley I was not aware that this was actually the 3rd book in a series but nonetheless it can be read as a stand alone. That being said it has made me want to read the series in order to get an understanding of the main characters and their back story.

I never rpeat the blurb. What I shall say, however, is WOW! What a brilliant read. I cannot wait to go back to the earlier book and find out how the lives of these fascinating and intriguing characters first intersected. I could not recommend it highly enough.

I enjoyed this book, which has a gripping plot but I nearly did not continue after the first page because it started with extreme and upsetting violence. This was central to the plot but I would have preferred a few pages to warm up and get into the book before being confronted with such an extreme scenario. It prejudiced me against the story for the first few chapters, although I was eventually won over.
I enjoyed the twists and the suspense. The action seemed very real, and dealt with the difficult topic of mental health..
There are two narrators, Cyrus and Evie. Evie is an intriguing character. I would have liked to have known more about her background, whether she was Roma, how she had come to the UK from Albania and where her ability to distinguish when people are lying came from - an inherited gift, or perhaps acquired through her (unexplained) harsh childhood?
The final denouement was exciting and plausible. I was sorry when the story ended and would have liked to have stayed with the main characters, who were warm, human and fallible.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this title. Lying Beside You by Michael Robotham has as its main character Cyrus Haven, a forensic psychologist whose brother, Elias murdered their parents and twin sisters and has been kept in Rampton secure psychiatric hospital ever since. Elias is now due to be released on the equivalent of probation and Cyrus has to come to terms with the implications of this. His life is further complicated by his somewhat paternal relationship with Evie, a mixed up 21 year old who lodges with him. Meanwhile a man called Rohan Kirk is murdered and his daughter Maya goes missing - Cyrus is called in to assist the police with the case. A good well-written novel and the, somewhat odd, relationship between Maya and Cyrus really works. Recommended.

A writer who expertly draws characters from every spectrum of society, often the socially inadequate or misfits all damaged in some way by their past . Throw into the mix a scattering of incidents that are equally as diverse and seemingly unconnected to anything or anyone. Gradually, in painstaking detail and not without unforeseen complications, join the pieces together and the reader is eyewitness to the emergence of a true gem of a story. Bizarre three dimensional characters raising as many questions as answers, all frustrating the reader who learns to know and understand their individual idiosyncrasies. The writer puts together a hugely entertaining premise that somehow involves a convoluted mystery that may be a murder, could be an abduction, possibly linked to an event from the past. Every page a delight, often heartbreaking, occasionally funny always compulsive reading as the facts are assembled and justice served. A fantastic conclusion that ties up the loose ends of the complex storyline if not the solution to the happiness of these much loved characters .

Cyrus is a better person than most, welcoming (or maybe allowing would be a better term!) his brother back into his life given what Cyrus did to his family.
The story flows well between the preparations for Elias's release and the continued job of investigating a murder and a missing person and the emotions and tribulations involved in both for Cyrus.
there are plenty of twists and red herrings that make you assume you know the truth when you could not be further from it!

Really enjoyed this story and the different threads it offered over a typical crime/mystery novel. Definitely worth a read.

The first thing I noticed (and loved) about this book was the attention to detail. It awakened more emotion in me as a reader.

This was an interesting and thrilling book exploring the backstory of the protagonist, Cyrus Haven. It was fast-paced, and we dived right into the story from the very beginning.

I loved the characters — even Cyrus’s brother. And the development of even the characters that only played a small part was spot on.

Overall, this was a worthy read, and I’d be interested in reading more by the author. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author, for a chance to read and review this book.

Cyrus Haven's family were murdered twenty years ago,only two people survived Cyrus because he hid and his brother Elias because he was the murderer.Can Cyrus who is now a psychologist forgive his brother who is due for release from a secure psychiatric hospital.
Cyrus is called to a crime scene where a father is dead and his daughter missing and when another woman is abducted there is only one witness Evie Comac a girl who is troubled but has the ability to tell when people are lying.

Dark secrets must be faced and decisions made.
I love the way the relationship between Cyrus and Evie is growing.
A very good storyline that kept me engaged throughout.
Higher recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for the ARC.

This is my first time reading a Cyrus Haven story and I must say I am impressed. Cyrus is a forensic psychologist searching for the whereabouts of maya kirk, a young nurse. Maya’s father was brutally murdered at their home, but there is no sign of maya. When another girl goes missing who has links to maya, the race is on to find the girls before it’s too late.
Considering this is the third instalment in the series, I was happy to find the story also can be read as a stand alone. It was easy to sum up the majority of characters and get an understanding of why they act how they do.
I enjoyed the story line, and also the background info on Cyrus which I assume wasn’t given in the previous books.
Definitely a great crime thriller!

A really good sequel which can stand alone robustly. As per the first one, this thriller is impeccably written and grips you from the very start. Cyrus Haven is a fascinating protagonist and Evie’s struggles to adjust are deeply endearing. A very well rounded thriller by a talented author.

I really loved this thriller although I haven’t read the earlier stories. I did feel there was backstory I didn’t know but that didn’t detract from the story which kept me gripped with its twists and turns. I’d definitely read more and will go back for the earlier novels.