She Lies in Wait

A Novel

By: Gytha Lodge

Narrated by: John Hopkins, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Joe Coen, Gytha Lodge

Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

Six friends. One killer. Who do you trust? A teen girl is missing after a night of partying; thirty years later, the discovery of her body reopens a cold case in “a scorching portrait of friendship and its betrayal.” (Nicci French). 

“This enjoyably chilling suspense tale...conveys both the thrills and the dangers of being a teenager on the brink of adult independence.” (The New York Times Book Review) 

On a scorching July night in 1983, a group of teenagers goes camping in the forest. Bright and brilliant, they are destined for great things, and the youngest of the group - Aurora Jackson - is delighted to be allowed to tag along. The evening starts like any other - they drink, they dance, they fight, they kiss. Some of them slip off into the woods in pairs, others are left jealous and heartbroken. But by morning, Aurora has disappeared. Her friends claim she was safe the last time they saw her, right before she went to sleep. An exhaustive investigation is launched, but no trace of the teenager is ever found.

Thirty years later, Aurora’s body is unearthed in a hideaway that only the six friends knew about, and Jonah Sheens is put in charge of solving the long-cold case. Back in 1983, as a young cop in their small town, he had known the teenagers - including Aurora - personally, even before taking part in the search. Now, he’s determined to finally get to the truth of what happened that night. Sheens’s investigation brings the members of the camping party back to the forest, where they will be confronted once again with the events that left one of them dead and all of them profoundly changed forever.

This searing, psychologically captivating novel marks the arrival of a dazzling new talent and the start of a new series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens. 

Praise for She Lies in Wait

“A novel that literally makes you hold your breath then gasp out loud.” (Val McDermid) 

“She Lies in Wait is an atmospheric, deeply satisfying, well-written mystery whose resolution rings true after lots of false leads and blind alleys. A remarkably adept first novel. One hopes there will be many more to come.” (Daily Herald) 

“What a marvel! A corkscrew-twisty, knife-sharp thriller - yet it doubles as a tender ode to loss and longing. Prepare to be haunted.” (A. J. Finn, author of the New York Times best seller The Woman in the Window)

©2019 Gytha Lodge (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

“This enjoyably chilling suspense tale...conveys both the thrills and the dangers of being a teenager on the brink of adult independence.... The fascination of this story is in the character studies of the surviving children, all grown up now and participants in a dark mystery that they all wish had never seen the light of day.” (The New York Times Book Review) 

“She Lies in Wait is gothic, twisting, and compelling. Like Tana French, Lodge explodes what a police procedural can do, turning it rich and atmospheric.” (Flynn Berry, author of Under the Harrow and A Double Life) 

“The mystery intrigues and twists, offering enough red herrings and moments of police procedural to please fans of the genre.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) 

Great story, perfect narration

This story drew me in quickly due to the characters and the fast-moving plot. The narrators were excellent; sometimes when there are multiple narrators I worry that it’s going to be like a radio play with excessive drama (which sometimes happens), but these were all talented novel narrators who were perfectly directed to be on the same page amongst themselves so you really felt like they were all voices from the same narrative. Excellent audiobook

I do so love my British audiobooks

Very well done with characters’ stories going back and forth in time. Solving a 30-year-old murder mystery, there are many suspects. I thought I had it figured it out, but noooooo, I was wrong - again. Note to listeners: Pay close attention as I did get not and had to backtrack several times and that was my fault. I tend to multitask - not a good idea with this particular book. Narration on all characters was perfection. Author Gytha Lodge interweaves a suspenseful whodunit with twists and turns. Highly recommended.
👏✍🏻🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟👏

Wonderfully laid out

I don't often feel a pull to read/listen to other books from any particular author, but the way this story was done, I'm drawn in.

Beautifully narrated, there's a few points where the pronunciations of names differ to the point I questioned who they were talking about, but not impossible.

Typically I listen while exercising each morning, but I found it hard to put this book away. Going back and forth from the detective work to the victims POV the night of the murder, cutting chapters at points where you just want to know what happened in that timeline. I was always excited when an Aurora chapter came up because it would give just a hint more concrete evidence.

It's been a good while since I've read a mystery book where I wasn't persistently convinced it was one person or another. The author did a great job making me question the means and motive of any character throughout the story.

I've already recommended the book to my friends. It was a great read/listen.

She lies in wait....

This book kept me quessing until the very end! very suspenseful and very good! I highly recommend it!

Worth it!

Great twists, plots and characters. Not easy to guess who dunnit in this who dunnit. A group of friends, a camping trip, one of them disappears. After years and years no one can know for sure if the missing friend ran off, was kidnapped or murdered. Years later the body of the missing friend is found. Lots of evidence comes up but it takes some time and expert detective work to find the guilty person and the reason for the disappearance and death.

Fisher girl

Great story but hard to follow at times with changing back and forth from first and last names. Hard to follow at first.

Drags on

I didn’t love this one. The story really drags on and on. The performance was just mediocre as well.

Great book!

Mystery, love, sadness, triumph. I enjoyed the story and couldn’t wait to listen to more every time.

bravo bravo bravo!

this novel was great. I laughed I cried. easy getting to know the characters and kept me guessing till the end. great job

Fantastic

Loved this completely, great job with the characters, pace, and writing. Narration was great also.