Lie Beside Me

A Novel

By: Gytha Lodge

Narrated by: Louise Brealey, John Hopkins

Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

He’s lying next to you. He’s not breathing.... And the killer might have been you.

Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens is on the trail in this explosive crime novel from the acclaimed author of She Lies in Wait and Watching from the Dark.

“Secrets and self-sabotage abound in this gripping psychological thriller.” (The Guardian)

Louise wakes up. Her head aches, her mouth is dry, her memory is fuzzy - but she suspects she’s done something bad.

She rolls over toward her husband, Niall. The man who, until recently, made her feel loved.

But it’s not Niall lying beside her. In fact, she’s never seen this man before.

And he’s not breathing....

As Louise desperately struggles to piece her memories back together, it’s clear to Jonah Sheens and his team that she is their prime suspect - though they soon find she’s not the only one with something to hide.

Did she do it? And, if not, can they catch the real killer before they strike again?

In this gripping novel, a young woman finds that trying to make sense of her life’s bad choices might prove the most dangerous reckoning there is.

©2021 Gytha Lodge (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“An intensely satisfying mystery.... Full of corkscrew twists and subtle turns, this third novel confirms [Gytha] Lodge as a gifted writer.” (The Daily Mail)

"Secrets and self-sabotage abound in this gripping psychological thriller.” (The Guardian)

“A killer premise, razor-sharp writing, and twists to die for - what more could you possibly want? Gytha Lodge is a brilliant storyteller, and Lie Beside Me is easily her best yet. I hope this series never ends.” (Chris Whitaker, best-selling author of We Begin at the End)

Twists and Turns

It kept me intrigued that they'd finally solved it, but there were so much more! I could see it my head and keep thinking it was a movie I'd seen.

Must read series

Starts slow on character building just hang in there it is wonderfully written. Keeps you guessing several twists. Recommend entire series.

good copper drama

A murder mystery with twists, turns, and vengeful exes. I loved it. I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out.

Nice easy addictive listen

This was a nice surprise. Great engagement for an audiobook, excellent performance. Plenty of plot twists. I'll listen to this author again.

Good story unsurprising ending

The whole story was pretty decent. The last 2 hours was definitely not great. That part could have been cut out.

Now the accent, it was all over the place. She was supposed to be from Tennessee. At times it was deep Louisiana, then something close to Tennessee. Sometimes they dropped it all together.

Complexellent and intriguing, a real mind-bender

A unique and most interesting murder mystery in my vast library, a favored author of mine, Gytha Lodge is joined by narrators extraordinaire Louise Brealey and John Hopkins. This trio makes a witty threesome as they combine their skills with precision and insight to welcome the listener into the story. I was fascinated by characters, Drunk Louise and Sober Louise. Audicted from the start, I found it moves at a quick pace; no multitasking during this one as you may miss an important detail. This was an Audible 2 for 1 special, but it is well worth a treasured credit. “Lie Beside Me” is aptly titled as I found out. As I often say, “I do so enjoy my British thrillers.” I haven’t listened to an American book since December 2021 and for bloody good reasons! Recommended? Indeed! Don’t be daft, get this book!

Not the best, but no regrets

This is one of only a few books lately that I didn’t spend half the time wanting to return...
very few politics, decent narration, creative and twisty. I LOVED Louise’s character development, and I really did feel for her throughout.

However, the entire story is a stretch, and there is absolutely no transition between scenes and characters, which will turn some listeners off. But for me, it’s still worth a credit or buying on sale.

One of the worst american accents ever

Appalling American accent is quite distracting. Decent story, if a bit slow, with a poor performance. Read this one instead of audio.

Couldn’t get into it and quit before finishing

Story seemed to drag out and I found it to be rather monotone. I listened for a few hours but stopped since it didn’t hold my interest.

A mediocre story

This murder mystery was performed quite decently, but the story itself was lacking in anything, compelling or imaginative. There were several times during my listening to the story, where I wanted to just forget it and move onto another book.