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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this suspensful thriller. This is a well written story that pulled me in to the story from the beginning. I enjoyed how the the author's attention to detail made the story feel realistic. The characters are great and and storng. They made the story engaging and truly made the story for me. This is a story about what happens when you wake up next to a dead body. She has no memory and struggles to remember. Who is this man and what happened to him? I found this story to be full of action and twists and turns that kept me turning pages. You don't want to miss this thriller, it is worth the pick up. I highly recommend this book.
Lie Beside Me is book number 3 in the DCI Jonah Sheen series and is the first one I have read but I will definitely be going back to read the others. Whilst this is part of a series I did feel it was standalone and can still be enjoyed for the solid crime thriller that it is!
The story splits between the narrative of the police unit as they investigate the crime and the suspect Louise as she writes a letter directly to her husband detailing moments that have happened in the past and how she got to this point. With her struggle with alcohol the information she gives in these letters will be questioned. I know there were a few times where I was unsure if this account she was giving was entirely the truth.
The team run by DCI Jonah Sheen were all well developed characters that I instantly warmed too, yet the main focus was on DC Hanson who alongside working on this crime is also having to deal with her ex-boyfriend and his manipulative behaviour. There were definitely similarities between both Hanson and Louise, both learning to take some control back.
The story is built around this one crime which has many secrets and layers which are unraveled slowly throughout the book, giving the reader the twists and turns that are fully expected from a good thriller. The author leads you into a false sense of security and just as you think it has all been resolved she shocks you with a final twist that was perfectly executed!
Overall this was a great police procedural, multi-layered crime thriller with an interesting plot and plenty of twists. I would definitely recommend to those who are a fan of this genre!
The story splits between the narrative of the police unit as they investigate the crime and the suspect Louise as she writes a letter directly to her husband detailing moments that have happened in the past and how she got to this point. With her struggle with alcohol the information she gives in these letters will be questioned. I know there were a few times where I was unsure if this account she was giving was entirely the truth.
The team run by DCI Jonah Sheen were all well developed characters that I instantly warmed too, yet the main focus was on DC Hanson who alongside working on this crime is also having to deal with her ex-boyfriend and his manipulative behaviour. There were definitely similarities between both Hanson and Louise, both learning to take some control back.
The story is built around this one crime which has many secrets and layers which are unraveled slowly throughout the book, giving the reader the twists and turns that are fully expected from a good thriller. The author leads you into a false sense of security and just as you think it has all been resolved she shocks you with a final twist that was perfectly executed!
Overall this was a great police procedural, multi-layered crime thriller with an interesting plot and plenty of twists. I would definitely recommend to those who are a fan of this genre!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
While I really enjoyed this book and it did keep me on the edge quite a bit, I also found it to be very unbelievable. I could not connect with any of the characters at all. That still did not make it a bad book though. I think what I really disliked about this one was the fact that the main character was a drunk who certainly never learned a thing from getting drunk. After blacking out repeatedly and almost getting killed or raped she just kept right on with the drinking. Drunk Louise... I despised her. She was in my opinion a phony. I did not like her. At least her best friend, April, was honest. To a point anyway.
This book is very well written and it definitely will keep you turning the pages. It's edge of your seat and makes you want to know why a man was murdered in a woman's bed. It gives you lots of emotions and makes you feel as though you are there in so many scenes. It's overall a good book. Just not believable to me. I did not like anyone. Well I may have to take that back. There was one person. I liked the female detective and how she handled things. She had a story of her own going on through this book and it was great. I loved how she thought. How she got ahead of things and finally took care of herself. I liked her.
I very much disliked Niall. He was so hung up on his ex that he could not see what was going on in his marriage. Why marry one woman if you are so in love with another? Makes no sense to me. Maybe circumstances made things the way they were. I just didn't like him at all. Not even at the end. I just didn't. He was a bit of a self righteous punk. My opinion of him is very low.
This story is told in two ways. One being Louise dealing with her marriage via letters to her husband. The other the person actually telling this story. The author if you will. Louise's letter to her husband seems to be very heartfelt and honest. I believe she truly loves the jerk. I believe she will make him a good wife. If she will stop drinking. I like finding out some of April's background and knowing what made her the way she was. That was very interesting.
Overall I will say that this is a good story. Well written and keeps you on your toes. Though I found it very much in many places unbelievable it was what it was. The two Louise's are what made me doubt the story. She talked about sober Louise and drunk Louise a bit to much for me. But it was till worth reading and I will give it it's due.
Thank you #netgalley, #GythaLodge, #Randomhousepublishinggroup for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.
4/5 stars and I do recommend you read it. You will like it I'm sure.
This book is very well written and it definitely will keep you turning the pages. It's edge of your seat and makes you want to know why a man was murdered in a woman's bed. It gives you lots of emotions and makes you feel as though you are there in so many scenes. It's overall a good book. Just not believable to me. I did not like anyone. Well I may have to take that back. There was one person. I liked the female detective and how she handled things. She had a story of her own going on through this book and it was great. I loved how she thought. How she got ahead of things and finally took care of herself. I liked her.
I very much disliked Niall. He was so hung up on his ex that he could not see what was going on in his marriage. Why marry one woman if you are so in love with another? Makes no sense to me. Maybe circumstances made things the way they were. I just didn't like him at all. Not even at the end. I just didn't. He was a bit of a self righteous punk. My opinion of him is very low.
This story is told in two ways. One being Louise dealing with her marriage via letters to her husband. The other the person actually telling this story. The author if you will. Louise's letter to her husband seems to be very heartfelt and honest. I believe she truly loves the jerk. I believe she will make him a good wife. If she will stop drinking. I like finding out some of April's background and knowing what made her the way she was. That was very interesting.
Overall I will say that this is a good story. Well written and keeps you on your toes. Though I found it very much in many places unbelievable it was what it was. The two Louise's are what made me doubt the story. She talked about sober Louise and drunk Louise a bit to much for me. But it was till worth reading and I will give it it's due.
Thank you #netgalley, #GythaLodge, #Randomhousepublishinggroup for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.
4/5 stars and I do recommend you read it. You will like it I'm sure.
This is the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
It's a gripping, fast paced and highly entertaining story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Great characters, a tightly knitted plot, a solid mystery that kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
It's a gripping, fast paced and highly entertaining story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Great characters, a tightly knitted plot, a solid mystery that kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Gytha Lodge is a writer and multi award winning playwright. Her first novel “She Lies In Wait” was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick and a Sunday Times bestseller, which I thoroughly enjoyed and introduced DCI Jonah Sheens and his team. “Lie Beside Me” is Gytha’s third novel and is another cleverly plotted, gripping page turner.
- Louise wakes up next to a man who’s not her husband, she doesn’t know who he is and he isn’t breathing. She can’t remember what happened or how he got there. Is she responsible for his sudden death and if not, can DCI Sheens catch the real killer before they strike again?
Interestingly, the story is narrated in two parts, with intermittent chapters from Louise in the first person as she writes and recounts her life and recent events. We then have chapters from the on-going investigation featuring the characters involved in solving the crime and includes some of their private lives. Louise’s story is the most intriguing as you dont know whether she is a reliable witness or not as she calls herself both Sober Louise and Drunk Louise. Its entertaining trying to work out what happened the night before and does keep you guessing. There is also a side story featuring DC Juliette Hanson and her ex boyfriend Damien, who she believes is stalking her. This breaks up the ‘Louise’ story and is intriguing to follow as it allows the reader to form an empathy with Hanson, as she deals with Damien.
“Lie Beside Me” is an instantly addictive story with a prologue that captured my attention immediately and then held my captivation right to the very end.
I love Gytha’s novels and I will continue to read more by her in the future. Highly recommended to readers of all ages.
You can find out more about this author and the book here -
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/310/310100/lie-beside-me/9780241363058.html
Thank you to Ella Watkins for my copy of the book in return for an honest opinion and for inviting me on the #BookTour.
- Louise wakes up next to a man who’s not her husband, she doesn’t know who he is and he isn’t breathing. She can’t remember what happened or how he got there. Is she responsible for his sudden death and if not, can DCI Sheens catch the real killer before they strike again?
Interestingly, the story is narrated in two parts, with intermittent chapters from Louise in the first person as she writes and recounts her life and recent events. We then have chapters from the on-going investigation featuring the characters involved in solving the crime and includes some of their private lives. Louise’s story is the most intriguing as you dont know whether she is a reliable witness or not as she calls herself both Sober Louise and Drunk Louise. Its entertaining trying to work out what happened the night before and does keep you guessing. There is also a side story featuring DC Juliette Hanson and her ex boyfriend Damien, who she believes is stalking her. This breaks up the ‘Louise’ story and is intriguing to follow as it allows the reader to form an empathy with Hanson, as she deals with Damien.
“Lie Beside Me” is an instantly addictive story with a prologue that captured my attention immediately and then held my captivation right to the very end.
I love Gytha’s novels and I will continue to read more by her in the future. Highly recommended to readers of all ages.
You can find out more about this author and the book here -
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/310/310100/lie-beside-me/9780241363058.html
Thank you to Ella Watkins for my copy of the book in return for an honest opinion and for inviting me on the #BookTour.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay, book three in the "DCI Jonah Sheens" series! And it's not that dissimilar to the previous two really - which isn't a bad thing really given how much I liked the earlier two. We still get a curious investigation with enough twists to have your inner ear sloshing around, and we still get the faint thread of an ongoing plot to make this a series rather than just the same characters reappearing. Let's start with the mystery of this book first.
You've heard it all before, a woman wakes up in her own bed next to a dead stranger and... oh yeah, that is a bit unusual actually. Still, it'll all be obvious pretty soon right? That kind of thing can't be too tricky. Except Gytha Lodge wrote this so you'll still have questions right until the end. This one didn't have me quite as engaged as the previous books until a nice "Aha!" reassured me that there was more to come, and thankfully it did. There was even a slight twist to the twists, with some of the clues being signalled far more clearly and earlier, which in itself was a nice little act of smoke and mirrors to keep you on your toes.
Moving onto the serial nature of this book and... okay, I've said before that I don't fully buy that the anchor of these stories is Sheens, and for most of this book I swore I was right. Hanson's storyline remains far more interesting, giving a nuanced look at the issue of abusive partners. Seeing that story developing even further in this book, and Sheens' being rather flat, convinced me it was all muddled and anyone with any sense could tell the ongoing plotline that would really keep people coming back. And, as I was nearing the end of the book and starting to think about what I would write here I told myself not to take too firm a stance on that. In my mind, I thought I should follow that up with some comment about how Lodge frequently pulls surprises from nowhere and that she probably had a big a huge chart mapping out the next umpteen books and that at some point it would all fall into place and anyone doubting Sheens' star power would look a fool. Luckily for me, the humble pie I have to eat is still fresh because clearly that process has already started and I am indeed a fool for ever doubting it. Yes, she tricked me. Don't get me wrong, Hanson remains fascinating to me and I think she'll still bring so much to future books, but I will concede that Sheens' storyline actually will grow into the bigger aspect overall.
In conclusion, I'm pretty sure Gytha Lodge is a skilled puppeteer who could convince me that up was down and left was right if she wanted to. The only thing I feel I can trust about her is that she'll keep writing stunning books. Yes, you can start the series with this book but do yourself a favour and go start with the first one - they're all worth your time and you'll want to read them all anyway so do it in the correct order and you'll get even more out of it that way.
You've heard it all before, a woman wakes up in her own bed next to a dead stranger and... oh yeah, that is a bit unusual actually. Still, it'll all be obvious pretty soon right? That kind of thing can't be too tricky. Except Gytha Lodge wrote this so you'll still have questions right until the end. This one didn't have me quite as engaged as the previous books until a nice "Aha!" reassured me that there was more to come, and thankfully it did. There was even a slight twist to the twists, with some of the clues being signalled far more clearly and earlier, which in itself was a nice little act of smoke and mirrors to keep you on your toes.
Moving onto the serial nature of this book and... okay, I've said before that I don't fully buy that the anchor of these stories is Sheens, and for most of this book I swore I was right. Hanson's storyline remains far more interesting, giving a nuanced look at the issue of abusive partners. Seeing that story developing even further in this book, and Sheens' being rather flat, convinced me it was all muddled and anyone with any sense could tell the ongoing plotline that would really keep people coming back. And, as I was nearing the end of the book and starting to think about what I would write here I told myself not to take too firm a stance on that. In my mind, I thought I should follow that up with some comment about how Lodge frequently pulls surprises from nowhere and that she probably had a big a huge chart mapping out the next umpteen books and that at some point it would all fall into place and anyone doubting Sheens' star power would look a fool. Luckily for me, the humble pie I have to eat is still fresh because clearly that process has already started and I am indeed a fool for ever doubting it. Yes, she tricked me. Don't get me wrong, Hanson remains fascinating to me and I think she'll still bring so much to future books, but I will concede that Sheens' storyline actually will grow into the bigger aspect overall.
In conclusion, I'm pretty sure Gytha Lodge is a skilled puppeteer who could convince me that up was down and left was right if she wanted to. The only thing I feel I can trust about her is that she'll keep writing stunning books. Yes, you can start the series with this book but do yourself a favour and go start with the first one - they're all worth your time and you'll want to read them all anyway so do it in the correct order and you'll get even more out of it that way.