Lying in Wait

Nugent, Liz. Lying in Wait. New York: Scout 2016. Print

First Sentences:

My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.

After we had overcome the initial shock, I tried to stop him speaking of her. I did not allow it unless to confirm alibis or to discuss covering up any possible evidence. It upset him too much and I thought it best to move on as if nothing had happened.

Description:

If you are looking for an ordinary thriller or good mystery, then Liz Nugent's novel Lying in Wait, may not be exactly what you might expect. Why? Well, from the first sentences, the reader knows about the crime, who committed it, and who successfully covers it up without a trace.

What Lying in Wait offers that is so intriguing, however, is the psychological effects such a perfect crime has on both the perpetrators, the families of the victim, and innocent bystanders who get roped into the whole affair.

After Annie Doyle is killed for mysterious reasons by the husband and wife team of Andrew and Lydia Fitzsimons, it falls to Lydia to face the reality of the crime and make sure everyone resumes their normal lives, a task not easily acceptable to Andrew. They do agree it is important to keep the crime secret from their son, Laurence, who is becoming curious about some irregularities stemming from the lies of his parents, not to mention the new garden mound that appears in their back yard.

Also, there is Annie's sister, Karen, who simply will not let go of the disappearance of her sister in spite of the disinterest from the police, her family, and friends. That all changes when Karen's life becomes inadvertently intertwined with the Fitzsimons in the most clever, nerve-tingling way. 

Lying in Wait is not a thriller exactly and certainly not a gruesome mystery in any way beyond the quick murder on the first page. Rather, it is a book chock full of nail-biting anxiety as people dip closer to each other and towards untangling the mystery so near them. 

Readers simply cannot predict how these characters will react or how it all will end, whether for better or worse. But I am here to tell you it is one of the most satisfying, interesting endings of any book I have ever read. You have to love a story that keeps you guessing right up to the last pages, then fulfills your expectations for resolution in an completely unexpected way.

A gripping, unique read that I highly recommend.

Happy reading. 

Fred

Other book recommendations
About The First Sentence Reader blog

____________________

If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Lutz, Lisa. The Passenger.   

Tonya, finding her husband dead at the bottom of the stairs in their home (presumable from a fall), decides the police will never believe she didn't murder him. So she takes it on the lam, driving through the country, changing identities, jobs, and her own back stories as she goes. But she knows that someday she will be caught and then what? A compelling story with a clever, unique narrator.  (previously reviewed here)