Review: Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent

Title: Lying In Wait 

Author:  Liz Nugent 
Publisher: Gallery Scout Press 

Publishing Date:  June 12th, 2018

Pages: 320
Genre: Adult Domestic Noir/Psychological Thriller

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

 

My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.
On the surface, Lydia Fitzsimons has the perfect life—wife of a respected, successful judge, mother to a beloved son, mistress of a beautiful house in Dublin. That beautiful house, however, holds a secret. And when Lydia’s son, Laurence, discovers its secret, wheels are set in motion that lead to an increasingly claustrophobic and devastatingly dark climax.

I was very excited for this read. I found it on audible and added it to my TBR right away. The book sounds creepy and dark. I was so very excited to find yet another very dark read. I loved the setting, the writing, the darkness. The characters were hard to like.... but I really think it was meant to be this way. It was an easy read and didn't take too long to get through.

Lydia has some dark secrets in her past. Secrets that really could ruin the relationship she has with her son,  which is already on shaky ground. The only thing Lydia wants in her life is for her son to stay close to her. She needs him in her life and would do anything for this reality.

The one secret that could change everything is what really happened the night her husband killed Annie Doyle.  So many secrets surround that one night. 

Laurence is confused on what really happened the night Annie Doyle went missing. Her body has not been found but he knows his father had something to do with this. He doesn't know what but he feels the need to understand. He starts to uncover lie after lie. As he ages, the truth comes out and he is doesn't know what to do with the lies or the truth. One thing he does know is that when he meets Annie Doyle's sister, everything changes. 

This book was good. The creepy dark vibe was for sure there.  The story was told in dual timelines until the past was revealed, then it became the present. The entire story was just so dark and as the pieces came together I started to realize how unstable some of the characters were. There wasn't a bunch of surprises per say in this book, more confirmations on all the crazy. There is some deep unhealthy relationship in this book for sure. 

The characters were hard to get on board with because they all came with their sort of crazy in one way or the other. I was able to connect somewhat to Laurence and I really loved Karen, Annies sister. Lydia was annoying to me from the beginning. I felt her dark and her crazy from the very first page. 

Laurence, I felt for. He was caught in the middle of a web of lies that he didn't know what to do with. He wanted to untangle the web but had no idea how without hurting his mother. He made some bad decisions and couldn't see the truth...even as clear as it was to me. I really was rooting for him. 

Karen was a sweetheart. She had some issues. She had low self-worth and no confidence but she was able to find a way to thrive. It was hard after Annie went missing. She found balance with her focus on work and her focus to find the truth about Annie. I liked her strength and her will to survive. She wasn't going to give up and I truly loved that about her. She truly was focal for me. 

Lydia was just nuts. In my eyes, she was evil and conniving and so unbalanced. I enjoyed reading about her crazy and living her crazy... I did not like her from the very beginning. 

If I had to give the characters a place in the book, Lydia the villain, Laurance the victim, and Karen the heroine. Although I am not sure we can label anyone is this story. 

The pacing was good, the writing was amazing, the characters were a love-hate relationship, the story was dark. My only complaint is that I wasn't surprised or in shock at any time in this book. The secrets never really felt like secrets, and there wasn't any real suspense or thrillers. It was a good read but was missing just a little something for me. I will read more from this author. 

A well-written book that I really enjoyed. 

Liz Nugent worked as a stage manager in theatres in Ireland and toured internationally before writing extensively for radio and television drama.

Unravelling Oliver and Lying in Wait have both been number 1 bestselling and award-winning novels.
In October 2017, Liz won the Irish Tatler Woman of the Year Award in Literature.

Skin Deep will be published in Ireland and the UK in April 2018.

Review: The Forgotten Ones by Steena Holmes

Title:  The Forgotten Ones 

Author: Sheena Holmes
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing 

Publishing Date:  April 1st, 2018

Pages: 348
Length: 10 Hours 42 Minutes
Genre: Adult Mystery/Domestic Noir

Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audio

 

Elle is a survivor. She’s managed to piece together a solid life from a childhood of broken memories and fairy tales her mom told her to explain away bad dreams. But weekly visits to her mother still fill Elle with a paralyzing fear she can’t explain. It’s just another of so many unanswered questions she grew up within a family estranged by silence and secrets.
Elle’s world turns upside down when she receives a deathbed request from her grandfather, a man she was told had died years ago. Racked by grief, regrets, and a haunted conscience, he has a tale of his own to tell Elle: about her mother, an imaginary friend, and two strangers who came to the house one night and never left.
As Elle’s past unfolds, so does the truth—if she can believe it. She must face the reasons for her inexplicable dread. As dark as they are, Elle must listen…before her grandfather’s death buries the family’s secrets forever.

I came across this book sometime recently and it was an added then forgot about. Then I rediscovered it on Audible. It just sounded too good to pass up. This book was freaking amazing. I could blabber on and on about but it would give too much away. SO this will be somewhat of a short review, too much will ruin it for others. Just know you must read this book. 

Elle only had a mother growing. Her mother, Marie, said that her parents were dead, no siblings, no one. The closest thing they have to family is Grace, the one that helps take care of Marie. Marie has DID and other mental issues. So she can't live alone. Elle is a nurse in pediatrics, lives on her own, but visits her mother frequently. 

Elle's roommate and best friend works in the same facility as Elle but works the elderly. She has one patient that is dying, David. He has been trying to get a hold of his estranged daughter through letters. Giving up on getting an answer from his daughter, he writes a letter to his granddaughter. As it comes about, Elle is his granddaughter. 

This is the story of Elle and David and the stories of Marie's childhood. This story is not quite the happy one. It's full of pain, secrets, betrayals, wrongdoings, and lots of lies. This is Elle's story, to find the truth of her family. To discover who she is. To find roots. This is Marie's story, to uncover her past, her mental illness, and possibly forgiveness. This is David's story, the story of coming to terms, of reaching out, of not dying with secrets. 

This story is a bit of a mystery and a bit of family drama. I felt it was more of a domestic noir and family legacy twisted together to weave a very dark, mysterious, heartbreaking story. This is a crazy story, really it is.

The mystery is pretty easy to figure out at times, or at least till you find out you are wrong. There are some twists and turns. Not the kind that you just weren't expecting this kind of wow moments, more of I pegged it as something completely different kind of twists. 

I feel the mystery is the main course of this book. The mystery of Marie's childhood and the mystery of what happened between David and Marie story. But it's also a story of love and loyalty, family, really bad decisions, and mental illness.  There really is a lot to this story. 

The book is a slow burn but there is so much coming out in pieces that I was never bored and never felt I was growing impatient. Everything kind of leaked out in perfect timing. The writing was beautiful. The characters, well they were interesting and I totally loved something about all of them. 

What I can say about the characters is that there was something to love about them all and something to hate about some... even though I hated them, I loved them and felt for them too. I loved Elle and my heart broke for Marie and even a little for David. Grace was pretty awesome too. There isn't anything easy about this book.  

I can't say that I understood the decisions and choices that the characters made in this book but I could see how they came to the choices and the decisions they made. 

I really can't express how much I loved this book. I was totally immersed in the story and invested in the characters.

So without giving anything away, there went my incoherent thoughts because this book left me a total mess. Book hangover to the max. I recommend this to anyone and everyone. It's just so good! 

So in love with this book. Words can't do it justice! 

NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author - Steena is the author of the heart wrenching Finding Emma series.

The Word Game was included in the Top 20 Novels to be Written by Women in 2015 by Good Housekeeping.

Her latest novel - The Word Game won the 2015 USA Books Award for Best Fiction and her novel, The Memory Child was a finalist in the same category.

Steena Holmes grew up in a small town in Canada and holds a Bachelors degree in Theology.

In 2012 she received the Indie Excellence Award. Holmes was inspired to write Finding Emma after experiencing a brief moment of horror when she’d thought her youngest daughter was missing.

She currently lives in Calgary with her husband and three daughters and loves to wake up to the Rocky Mountains each morning.