Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent

Lying in Wait
By Liz Nugent
Published by Penguin Ireland (14 July 2016)
ISBN: 978-1844883639

Publisher's description 

'My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.'

The last people who expect to be meeting with a drug-addicted prostitute are a respected judge and his reclusive wife. And they certainly don't plan to kill her and bury her in their exquisite suburban garden.

Yet Andrew and Lydia Fitzsimons find themselves in this unfortunate situation.

While Lydia does all she can to protect their innocent son Laurence and their social standing, her husband begins to falls apart.

But Laurence is not as naïve as Lydia thinks. And his obsession with the dead girl's family may be the undoing of his own.

My verdict
Wow, this is one evil book that kept me reading late into the evening. I literally couldn't put it down and had to finish it before I went to sleep. And then when I did finish it, my head was buzzing so much that I couldn't even sleep properly!

I don't want to give too much away, but Lying in Wait is a book about toxic friendships and controlling relationships. It's incredibly chilling and really kept me on my toes. It's not a whodunnit - you know who's the killer from very early on and how it was done. This book is really a character study of a killer - getting inside their twisted mind. It's so cleverly plotted, with several intertwined strands and a whole host of believable characters, many of whom you just have to accept that you're going to hate.

The narrative is split between Lydia (who will do anything to protect herself in the aftermath of a murder), her son Lawrence (who can't stand up for himself and has his own issues to contend with) and Karen, the victim's sister who is searching for answers. Lydia is brilliant - so messed up, but you don't realise why and how much until you keep on reading right through to the end!

Lying in Wait is very dark with some great humorous moments, even darker than Unravelling Oliver, which I also loved. This is a psychological thriller that you'll want to read as it's so different from many of the others currently out there on the shelves!

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Click here to read a guest post by Liz Nugent on her writing/editing process.