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

Lydia Fitzsimons lives in the perfect house with her adoring husband and beloved son. There is just one thing Lydia yearns for to make her perfect life complete, though the last thing she expects is that pursuing it will lead to murder. However, needs must – because nothing can stop this mother from getting what she wants …

My thanks to Sara at Penguin RandomHouse for my review and the chance to join the blog tour.

Lying in Wait constantly caught me off guard – but in a good way!

It opens with the murder of Annie Doyle and the killer almost immediately starts to lose control of how to manage the predicament that he finds himself in.  Step forward Lydia Fitzsimons, the killer’s wife. She will supervise the disposal of the body, arrange an alibi, cover for her husband and keep him “on message”.

But the secret of this terrible deed will take its toll on Lydia, or more specifically on her family. Her husband will not find peace (even when Annie is buried in a safe location).  Lydia’s son Laurence has a suspicion that something has happened on the night of the murder. As time goes by his suspicions grow stronger that his father may have some knowledge of the disappearance of local girl Annie Doyle. Laurence becomes obsessed with the “missing girl” collecting newspaper clippings and following the story for updates.

Meanwhile Annie’s family find their own way to cope with the unexpected disappearance of Annie. Most troubled by idea that Annie has vanished is her sister Karen – she turns to the police for help but encounters problems in getting information from them.  Karen’s husband is no help as he is more concerned about the public perception of Annie and the rumour she was working as a prostitute.

Lying in Wait is told by several narrators and the story progresses by following Laurence, Lydia and Karen as we learn how they contend with life “after Annie”. We get an insight into how each copes with the challenges which arise as they try to uncover (or cover-up) information. It is wonderfully twisty and several times I caught myself asking “where can it go from here?” The unpredictable turns made for great reading and I can guarantee shocks along the way.

One for the fans of psychological thrillers that love a bit of human drama and torment to spice up a dark tale.

Lying in Wait is published by Penguin and is available now in digital and paperback. You can order a copy through this link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/cka/Lying-Wait-Liz-Nugent/0241974062/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484434927&sr=8-1&keywords=lying+in+wait

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