This was my introduction to Susan Walter’s work and WOW, this immediately hooked me in! I’m already a fan of different POVs but I felt it added something else here, you were able to glimpse of the world that Susan had created but it also helped with the twist and turns of the plot! Every time I thought I had the plot figured out, the next chapter had me looking a different direction. It was a thrilling, well written crime fiction! It felt a bit mixed up at first and as the reader, you’re a bit confused on how everything will fit together but it came together like a puzzle!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first book by Susan Walter and I can’t wait to read her previous books. Lie by the Pool had me HOOKED! I loved the different POVs, short chapters, and especially loved the little bits of teasing foreshadowing that kept me dying to know what happened next.

Thank you to Susan Walter and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this twisty thriller, publishing in September 2023.

Bree’s new home is luxurious and private, with a fancy Beverly Hills address. What a shame it’s not hers. Widowed, penniless, living in her car, and out of options, she’s climbed the fence and crashed in the pool house. All she wants is a good night’s sleep. But when Sophie, the absentee owner, finds her, she gets a whole lot more.

Sophie invites Bree back for a party. When it winds down, Bree can’t resist sneaking upstairs to sleep in a real bed. But the next morning, she wakes to find Sophie’s dead body floating in the pool. As the resident vagabond, she’s both the only witness and the prime murder suspect.

Bree knows she shouldn’t run, but her husband’s death was mysterious, too. If she’s going to clear her name, she’s going to have to work fast. Because the killer is still out there, and she’s next.

This twisty tale fully immerses the reader in Bree’s world, telling her story from both her own perspective and of those who’s lives intertwine with hers. I really enjoyed how Susan so cleverly builds the narrative through these multi POV’s, slowly adding key details in a still faced pace way.
Jumping between time periods to add context and back story, this book is detailed, compelling and very well written and I flew through it in a couple of days!

You’ll enjoy this book of you like:

📚 Crime fiction
📚 Multi POV’s and story tellers
📚 Twists and turns throughout the story

A very strong ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another terrific book by Susan Walter. The writing was top-notch, the plot was purposeful, and the pacing was lightning fast.

I struggled a bit to connect with the characters, and I kept waiting for a final twist that never came, but overall, it was fun to watch the pieces come together, and definitely worth the read.

**I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review**

One to stick with. As when it started I wasn't too sure about it. But as it unfolded I got more and more gripped to in and drawn into the storyline.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the copy of Lie By The Pool by Susan Walter. You know when you have read a bunch of okay books then read one that really pulls you in? That’s how I felt about this one. I was so happy that the writing was easy to read and the characters were interesting. The story didn’t make sense at first and then it all started to come together and got really gripping. I loved how the separate timelines didn’t alternate in each chapter but were in different sections so there was no confusion or choppiness. It made the story really easy to follow. The ending was fast with so many things happening! I’m not sure how realistic it was but it was still good. If you’re looking for a fast read and a good story, check out this one!

Excellent! This was my first book by Susan Walter, and I'm looking forward to reading more. Lie by the Pool pulled me in right from the beginning, and I couldn't put it down. The storyline jumps back and forth at different points in time over a six month period and is told from four different points of view. The result is like being handed different pieces of a puzzle and gradually seeing it come together. There's love, lies, secrets, murder ... lots of thrills and suspense! Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC!

Susan Walter did a fantastic job on Lie by the Pool. Each character was well developed with personalities visible through her words. The manner that the story is laid out keeps you wanting to hear more. She was able to bough back and forth on the timeline without mangling the storyline.

Bree is down on her luck and has really hit bottom. She doesn't even have a place to sleep. Her husband died under mysterious circumstances and she is not looking to be found.
She finds a fancy home where the owner is away and temporarily moves in. Sophie, the owner, returns early and finds Bree.
Rather than banish her, Sophie invites her to a party and offers her a bed in an upstairs guest room.
When Bree wakes up Sophie is dead in the pool. She can't be found there where she is the only overnight guess and theoretical witness. Not with the history of her husband.

It is up to her to discover the killer and save herself in this fast paced thriller

Love Love Love this book! A long time since I read a book so fast, I just couldn't put it down.
I'm already reading Susan Walter other books.
Thank you so much for the copy!

This was my 1st Susan Walter book and she now has me hooked for more. The reader is thrown into the story of our main character who is homeless and alone, but don't be fooled by the early innocence of everyone we meet and those who help her. I loved the multiple povs that took us through both sides of the story and the big reveals I didn't see coming. Definitely recommend checking it out! Thank you NetGalley for my early copy.

Lie by the Pool is a well paced thriller. Some twists and turns are foreshadowed a little too heavily, and the shifting first person narratives all blended into a similar narrative voice for me. But I enjoyed the read.

This book took me a bit to get into but once I was about halfway through I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed the story and the characters and would recommend to others to read

As I began this book I was hoping that it was going to be as good as I was hoping for. The further I read, the better it got. It will pull you in and keep you on your toes until the very end. I will be adding more to my collection.

Lie By The Pool by Susan Walter ARC Review.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of Lie By The Pool!

The first word that comes to mind when I think of this book is “holy sh!t” because I audibly gasped and said exactly that SO many times while reading. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, another twist happened instead and I was left like, wtf just happened!! If you’re looking for a fast paced thriller to keep you guessing, and wreck your heart a little, then Lie By The Pool is your book!

I asked to review “Lie by the Pool” by Susan Walters and glad I did.

Bree has fallen on hard times, sleeping in her car because she had lost her home. When she decides to stay in the pool house of what she believes is an empty home, she is discovered by the owner’s daughter, Sophie. But instead of kicking her out, Sophie invites her to a party. Unfortunately, Sophie is found dead the next morning and Bree fears she will be to blame.

I liked the premise and thought the author did a great job of building suspense. Bree is certainly an unreliable narrator which keeps the reader guessing. The timeline did jump around and I had trouble getting into the different point of views, but overall, I found this a well-written book.

I am new to Susan’s Walter’s writing but am have happy to have found a new author to enjoy.

Three and a half stars.

Many thanks to the author, NetGalley and publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was a fast read and I found myself wanting to keep reading to see what happens with Sophie, Bree and Luke. None of the twists were too shocking but overall an enjoyable read. I look forward to more books from this author. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC of Lie By The Pool by Susan Walker.

This book hooked me from the synopsis and also from the first page.
It is twisty with four first-person POV, with short compelling chapters.

I’m surprised to see this book categorized in NetGalley as Women’s Fiction/Fiction. It is a thriller, and a propulsive one! Who is who and why? I burned through the chapters learning more and then questioning more with each.

I love the private peek into what one must endure when they lack a home. It is my greatest haven, a/my home, and those parts of the story engaged me far more than the considerable criminal forensic accounting procedural details involved in solving federal and international crime had done.

The setting of Beverly Hills interested me as I have visited there often in my recent past. It’s a unique location (to this reader) as a thriller setting. As a character, the location and all the privilege it contains illuminates what ordinary people such as our characters might have to do or become in order to thrive in its elite universe.

All of the characters are sympathetic. The story brings the reader along into hapless, understandable actions in situations that end up changing lives for the worst. Or else into complex executions created with charitable or criminal intent.

The narrative contains a lot of expository foretelling (such as, “As I would soon discover…”), keeping the suspense from becoming overwhelming.

I do love the satisfying wrap-up ending, not always usual for the thriller genre.

Five stars.

Lie by the Pool by Susan Walter is full of surprises.

Masterfully constructed, and totally clever, Lie by the Pool is an absolute killer from Susan Walter.
It has all the pieces required to form an addictive thriller, weaving suspense, secrets, lies, and murder, to keep you on the edge of your seat.
The writing pulled me in from the very first chapter. I found myself transfixed by the storyline and unable to put it down once I got into it. All the characters were well-developed and relatable.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Atmosphere 👍: Cinematic with room for imaginations if you want to.
-The songs and descriptions in the first half of the book allow you to make a reading playlist that enhances the immersive experience.
-Set in Beverly Hills with immersive and sensory writing describing the vibes, weather, and overall experience of the area
-There's an apprehensive tone overall; something more than what is being shown to the reader seems to be brewing but we aren't sure what

Main POVs:
-A contractor that takes pride in their work but ends up in a precarious situation through naivety/justification of a sketchy client and their demands
-A young adult starting out in the family real estate development business. They are eager to do well and responsible, but feel under appreciated and pressured by their family
-A young adult recently graduated that is aiming high for jobs, leaning on their family wealth to wait out that "perfect" opportunity. A little bit spoiled but also empathetic(ish?)
-A riches-to-rags homeless person living out of their car and squatting at a renovated pool house whenever possible. They recently lost their spouse and are grieving while trying to get back on their feet through teaching piano to students part-time.

Cred Rating 🧐: Not quite sure! I felt like some of the sketchy situations and criminal aspects were OTT (like, is that really how a criminal would recruit someone? Seems risky for the criminal), but it also didn't seem impossible either. Similar situation for the law enforcement angle and how they treat witnesses and criminals - it seems OTT but the author's note acknowledges getting advice on exactly how these situations unfold IRL.

Growls and Howls 🐺:
-Most chapters had a spoiler at the end. I get cliff hangers, but to end a chapter essentially saying what would happen next was a strange choice to me and made me feel like I was re-reading a book sometimes. A non-spoiler example is something like "We fled to this safe area. Except it wasn't safe because the bad guy was already there." Then we read the next chapter where we KNOW what's going to happen!
-The author wasn't tricky with the synopsis but about 60% of the way through it became an action-adventure-survivial and FBI procedural-ish type of thriller and that's my least favourite type. I didn't rate/subtract because of that since it's just personal preference, but some of you may want to know that.
-The homeless character knocked me out of the story a lot. They recognize their car could be stolen/hit/broken into but they park in strange areas and leave all their money and valuables behind (things they could easily take with them into malls/stores etc). They are literally starving to death sometimes and when they come across a bonanza of food they pig out and make zero effort to portion out the less perishable items.

Reading Journey: Watching a movie at the local theatre. Not a bad movie at all, but once the popcorn and soda ran out, I was kinda all looking forward to the end.

Good match if you like:
-cat-and-mouse action
-financial crime thrillers
-"police procedural" energy but from the POV of those adjacent to the investigation
-urban survival thriller (homelessness, starvation, petty theft etc)
-rich people mystery energy

Vibes: 😢😣😓

Content Heads-Up: Gun violence

Fomat: ARC from NetGally and Lake Union Publishing