Lie by the Pool

A Novel

By: Susan Walter

Narrated by: Jess Nahikian, Selah Victor, Aaron Shedlock, Michael Crouch

Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

A desperate woman. An irresistible invitation. An escalating nightmare of secrets, lies, and murder.

Bree’s new home is luxurious and private, with a fancy Beverly Hills address. What a shame it’s not hers. Widowed, penniless, living in her car, and out of options, she’s climbed the fence and crashed in the pool house. All she wants is a good night’s sleep. But when Sophie, the absentee owner, finds her, she gets a whole lot more.

Sophie invites Bree back for a party. When it winds down, Bree can’t resist sneaking upstairs to sleep in a real bed. But the next morning, she wakes to find Sophie’s dead body floating in the pool. As the resident vagabond, she’s both the only witness and the prime murder suspect.

Bree knows she shouldn’t run, but her husband’s death was mysterious, too. If she’s going to clear her name, she’s going to have to work fast. Because the killer is still out there, and she’s next.

©2023 Susan Walter. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“The most fun I’ve had reading a thriller in a long time! Lie By The Pool is a delicious page-turner you will finish in one sitting. Full of juicy twists, a wildly original plot, and nerve-shredding tension, Lie by the Pool catapults Susan Walter into the top echelon of thriller writers.”—David Ellis, New York Times bestselling author of Look Closer

“A thriller that thrills, crime fiction that is criminally good and feels like the real thing. A rich ensemble of characters, and protagonists that you hope don't wind up dead… because danger lurks around every twisty corner.”—Ken Pisani, author of the Los Angeles Times best-selling novel AMP'D

“Susan Walter has a knack for writing thoroughly entertaining stories that keep you flipping pages. Fun and fast and full of surprising revelations. What a pleasure to read!”—Bruce Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of A Dog’s Purpose and Love, Clancy

Fast read

Interesting premise. Not much mystery as you know exactly what’s going on at any given point. That’s not a bad thing. The author does a good job story telling. Sometimes we have to hit rock bottom to know what means the most to us.

Unexpected parts

I enjoyed listening to the mystery novel that had some interesting twists in the middle of the book. I liked the different narrators telling their perspectives of the events.

Interesting Story

There were so many things to like about this story. Character development was excellent. I really felt like I knew the characters. Early on it’s clear that unraveling what happened will be past and present narrative with multiple characters’ voices and their involvement. All of that and excellent narrators saved this book for me.

Again the book itself is really good but, as with other books I’ve read, when a character repeats herself over and over I have put that book in the DNF pile. Instead of feeling empathy it becomes something I’m sure is completely unintended. The heroine no longer seems justified but almost as attention seeking. And for a reader it seems more like word count or page filler when reading that the heroine just said the same thing a few pages ago. Since the premise of the repeated statement is part of the story, instead of saying it again, I know from Beta reading, there are so many different ways to convey those thoughts and feelings. I’m glad I finished though.

The narration with multiple actors voicing several characters was done so well by this cast. They added emotional depth and range, gender, and genuineness to the characters and the story!!

Several

Twists and turns. Liked Bree and her heart. Did have some twists and turns to keep me guessing. Was a bit out there near the end. Worth a credit.

Listened to it twice - narrator was good and story was so good.

Narrator was good, story was interesting and captivating. Characters were interesting- could relate to sibling bond.

better than expected

This is an unreliable narrator story that really had me off-balance from the start. I was confused and annoyed at the secrets, foreshadowing and missing backstory until I realized that was by design and decided to roll with it. Eventually the threads come together and it makes a good story. Sofia and Bri are likeable characters and each is strong and smart in her own way.
The narrators do a great job, especially the voice of Carter.

The Music Prodigy

Should be a movie the Cinema photography could be very creative even dark and moody.
Excellent story including a Russian mob.
Misunderstood determined family, loss. finding true love oh and hot shower sex 😳 .
The musical prodigy filmed either dark or the opposite because she is absolutely the sweetest.

well I finished it. it had promise but .

if you could take all angles and throw them in one book this is it. talk about reaching in 10 different directions and not in a good way. nothing I hate more tgan taking a story that has good bones and then go far left with it.
this started as a classic domestic noir / mystery
enjoyable till ... it goes left with a outrageous angle that didn't work. I actually stopped and listened to an entire new book. after finishing the manor house which was incredible 5 star. then sadly I went back to this title. it tied all up in an ugly bow . sadly this whole book didn't work for me. as for Narration that was the only plus. narration was good. sry my apology to the author I feel sad when I can't give a raving review. I'm one person with peticular interests. this may work beautifully for someone else. I understand I'm vague but I don't write spoilers in my reviews

Lie by the Pool

I live her plots but not her minute detail of each description. She should give her readers enough credit to get part of the picture themselves.

Really good book

Very suspenseful and unpredictable story. I found some of the narration to be a bit annoying, especially Bree's character but otherwise throughly enjoyed the book and plan to preview her other books as well.