"A desperate woman. An irresistible invitation. An escalating nightmare of secrets, lies, and murder.
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."
Such a wild ride, Is Bree going to get her happy ending? You will have to read the story to find out. I give this book five stars.
Thank you to Lake Union Publishing, netgalley, and the author for the chance to leave an honest review.
Published Sept 12th, 2023.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Lie By the Pool by Susan Walter.

This book starts strong, and stays strong! Bree, who has lost her husband, her house, and most of her income is staying in a beautiful home, unbeknownst to the absentee owners. But when she meets Sophie, one of the owners, you quickly learn how connected they are, and why Bree has ended up losing everything.

You could easily devour this book lying by your own pool in just a day if you really put your relaxing powers to use. It's a quick read and full of a water slide's worth of turns and unexpected twists!

When twenty five year old Bree finds herself living on the streets of Beverly Hills after her husband, Luke, is gone, she begins sneaking into the pool house of her former home for shelter. When Sophie, daughter of the new owner and hopeful future FBI agent starts to leave little gifts for Bree, she is grateful but cautious. When Sophie invites her to a costume party and there is a body found at the bottom of the pool the next morning, Bree is even more afraid.
Sophie has her own reasons for helping Bree. It’s because of her whistleblowing about Luke’s money laundering that Bree finds herself homeless and teaching piano lessons to survive. Throw in Carter, Sophie’s clueless brother who after one meeting is enamored with Bree and everyone is on the run from the Russian syndicate who was forcing Luke to clean up their money. What a rollercoaster of a ride!
This one had me hooked from the beginning and I kept thinking “just one more chapter”, then read well into the night anyway. The twists and turns just kept coming and I had whiplash following it all. Just the kind of book I love. I love the way the author writes so smoothly and seamlessly from one chapter to the next. This is my first Susan Walter book but I already had to buy one of her previous books. This is an author of psychological suspense I will definitely be watching and adding to my ever growing TBR pile. Great job!

Lie by the Pool by Susan Walter an excellent book, especially as this is a new author to me. I was drawn into this book by the beautiful cover and I just wanted to read it and imagine I was back on my holiday abroad. This book was a great page turner from start to finish, with brilliant twists and turns that will have your head spinning! and I loved it.
I loved the character Bree and I just wanted to reach out and help her.

A great holiday read and I highly recommend it.

I am looking forward reading more books from the author. I just love the way she writes and all her characters are excellent.

Big Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for my Arc copy.

A solid thriller. The characters were all pretty unlikeable, and the subject matter is certainly well-tread, but it kept me hooked.

this one was pretty good. I liked the dual POV and I definitely did not see the twist coming. will read more from this author!

Excellent writing. Characters are well developed.

A story of a homeless woman who finds herself among the rich. She wants so badly to sleep in an actual bed again but awakes to a brutal murder. Bree has to get away. She knows she will be accused of this heinous crime. Possibly two.

You get to know all about Bree and others. Several POVs and timelines as you learn what actually happened in this story. It's a page turner and will keep you wanting more. All is wrapped up nicely too. I was not left with any questions.

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for this ARC. This is my thoughts about this book.

Four stars. I recommend this one.

This had a great plot and was a real page turner! Loved the writing and especially the short chapters, told from various points of view. A few surprises thrown in to pretty much make this a I can't put it down book!

I adore Susan's writing style and her way with words. They just flow and feel beautiful in my mind as I read them. They also draw me into the story and I can't stop turning the pages. This is a fun murder mystery with lots of little surprises along the way. I always enjoy multiple points of view and trying to figure out if there is an unreliable narrator in our cast of quirky characters. The setting is the glamorous Beverly Hills and it's the perfect backdrop for this intriguing fast-paced thriller with a little something for everyone.

If you are looking for a binge-worthy read, look no further!! I read this book in practically one sitting because I couldn't put it down! The chapters were short and ended with so many clifthangers!
It was fast paced, told from multiple POV's with an alternating timeline, and had plenty of twists. I really liked all of the characters and was able to connect with each of them. I loved seeing how the MC Bree was connected to Sophie. The big twist was clever and I LOVED it!

🌟🌟🌟🌟.5 (rounding up)
This is a page-turner from the start with the real excitement saved for the later part of the book. It begins with a slow leak of information about the characters. By the time we get to the meat of the story, the characters are rounded out and brought to life. But some of them hold onto their secrets tightly.

Even though this starts as a slow burn, the author manipulates the readers by slowly feeding hints and secrets. But that info is sketchy and scrambled by alternate timelines and various narrators. A large puzzle with scattered and missing pieces!

Bree once had everything she’d hoped for and more. A gorgeous house in Beverly Hills, a loving husband with a successful business and the start of her own blossoming career. When it all vanishes, she finds herself homeless and living in her car. With a situation complicated even more by her mysterious circumstances.

Sincere thanks to Lake Union Publishing for providing this complimentary ARC through NetGalley. As always, all opinions are my own and left voluntarily.

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Lie By The Pool is a book i read by the cover and luckily it paid off!
Bree is homeless, she is living in her car, teaching music lessons and trying to save money for a rental house, she washes her hair at a shopping centre and tries to get on with her life whilst grieving for her husband. She lets herself into an empty houses back garden that has a pool and sleeps on a sun lounger with a towel for warmth. A couple come to the house and Bree hides but the girl finds her but doesn’t let on instead she invites Bree to a halloween party to be held at the house, even leaving her a costume to wear. Sophie is excited to get to know Bree but at the end of the night she can’t find her but that’s because Bree has slipped upstairs as she wants to sleep in a bed but when she wakes up there’s been a murder and she has to get out of there as she’ll be blamed not for one but probably two murders.
This was a decent read and I liked how the book was split into character chapters as you got to get your head round the plot better. Bree was a good strong lead character and this helped with this book. Quite a few twists to make it a little different.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Aubrey ("Bree") is alone, penniless and living in her car when she climbs a fence and spends the night in the pool house of a luxurious home in Beverly Hills. Sophie and Carter, adult children of the home's absentee owner are planning a Halloween party and, after discovering Bree hiding on the property, Sophie insists that Bree should attend. The next morning a woman is discovered dead in the pool and Bree is on the run.

This story goes back and forth in time and is told from a number of pov's, including Bree and Sophie, and it's really well crafted. The plot is quite complex with many twists and turns and some surprising revelations as well as plenty of misdirection. Bree's background as a pianist was an interesting side story. I previously read "Good as Dead", the author's debut novel, and hope to read "Over My Dead Body" when time permits. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend. If you're in the U.S., the giveaway for this book is still open for a few more days!

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Published September 12, 2023

"Lie by the Pool" captivates with its enticing plot and masterful storytelling. The author skillfully weaves a tale of intrigue and romance, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. The characters are well-developed, adding depth to the narrative. The setting by the pool adds a delightful touch, enhancing the overall charm of the story. A must-read that promises an engaging escape into a world of secrets and passion.

Lie By The Pool was a really intriguing, twisty novel. I really thought I knew where this book was going at first but I was totally and completely wrong. It took a complete different turn than I thought, but in the best way! I look forward to reading more from this author!

I love this author’s writing style when it comes to secrets and drama. The short chapters along with multiple POV and timelines kept the pace moving. Sophie was really good at keeping information to herself which included not letting the reader in on it. Something would happen and she would hint that she knew the reason behind it. As the story progressed it was easy to start piecing together the connection but there was still one twist I did not see coming. There wasn’t one POV I liked more than the rest, but I found myself connecting with Bree more, but also being really intrigued by Sophie’s role in everything. By the end there were a lot of loose ends to finish and I thought it was done in a way that didn’t feel too rushed.

This book was a fun, thrilling read. I enjoyed how everything was connected. The chapters were easy to read and story was easy to follow. I do feel that the ending was rushed.

This one wasn’t for me, a bit of an irregular pace, jumping all over the place with the POVs given, and some really whacky plot “twists” that were hard to take seriously.

Pros: Likeable female lead. Good start, unique idea.

But, mostly shallow and predictable 🫣

Bree has had a rough go of it and is currently homeless. She has been living as a squatter in a pool house of a big luxury home in Los Angeles. When an offer comes her way that seems to be the answer to her problems she's excited. But things take a turn and her world spins out of control. Everyone is lying. Someone is dead and she's in the middle of it all.

I always enjoy multiple POV. This one teased you along the way and had some twists and turns, and was able to shock me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve been so excited for this book! I’ve seen lots of good reviews! I’m happy to report; I agree with them!

Told through several POVs, Lie By the Pool is about Bree, a recently homeless woman living in her car and crashing in empty pool houses. She runs into Sophie one night and Sophie invites her to a party at a mostly empty home. Bree sleeps upstairs and finds Sophie floating in the pool the next morning.

I loved the timing of this book- we know that Bree is on the run from something and we know that Bree’s husband has died mysteriously. She becomes homeless, but it’s not until the story goes on that we find out why. This book is utterly addictive.

Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours @susanwalterauthor and @lakeunionauthors for my gifted book. Lie By the Pool is out now!