"Lying In Wait" by Liz Nugent

From the international bestselling author of Unraveling Oliver, an “unputdownable psychological thriller with an ending that lingers long after turning the final page” (The Irish Times) about a Dublin family whose dark secrets and twisted relationships are suddenly revealed.

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. ~taken from Goodreads

What a dark but weirdly lovely story. The twists and turns and different points of character views really made for quite a delightful read! This novel tells the story about a girl's death and the aftermath it brings to two separate families. 

I honestly can't say much about this story without giving things away. The characters were very well developed. On one side of the story we have a highly dysfunctional, "rich" family that includes a manipulative mother with a dark past and her sheltered and timid son trying to find his place in the world.

We also are introduced to another type of family. This poor but loving family is torn to pieces when their daughter/sister goes missing. They try their best to move on and live their lives, but the tragedy of their loss seems to have trapped them all in the living hell of not knowing what happened. 

The psychological thrill in this novel is a slow burn, but worth the wait!  The ending was so satisfying yet so tragic that I was left thinking "Am I okay with this ending? It completely works, but is it justice?". 

Lying In Wait is a Summer '18 must read! You will love it! A 5-star read for me! It was just released last week here in the U.S. so get your copy now! 

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for allowing me an eARC to read and give my honest review!

Paul Southern's "Pendle Fire"

Social worker Johnny Malkin is battling a crippling workload and a hostile local community. That’s on a good day: things are about to get a whole lot worse.

Two fourteen-year-old girls are found wandering Aitken Wood on the slopes of Pendle Hill, claiming to have been raped by a gang of men. With no female social workers available, Johnny is assigned to their case. But what, at first, looks like yet another incident of child exploitation takes a sinister turn when the girls start speaking of a forthcoming apocalypse.

When Johnny interviews one of the girls, Jenna Dunham, her story starts to unravel. His investigation draws him into a tight-knit village community in the shadow of Pendle Hill, where whispers of witchcraft and child abuse go back to the Middle Ages.

One name recurs: The Hobbledy Man. Is he responsible for the outbreaks of violence sweeping across the country? ~Taken From Goodreads

This story is part folklore, part thriller, part horror, and part paranormal. It touches on many different dark topics, including rape, racism, riots and child grooming. It may not be a book for everyone, but I really did like it!

This is the second book I have read by the author, and he just has an amazing knack for creating characters, both good and bad, that seem so real. So multidimensional that imagining them while reading is no problem at all. Descriptions of places and events were well done, and even I, an American that's never been to England, had no problem seeing the story in my mind. 

Overall, this book is so well written, with so many different and interesting angles, yet wrapped up perfectly. It made me think, it gave me chills, and at times scared the crap out of me! 

This book is available now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble so get it now! A definite 5 star book! 

Big thanks to Paul Southern for gifting me a copy to read and give my honest review!