prettylittlewriter

 She's done it again.

Gytha Lodge has given us yet another thrilling, messy and down-right impressive detective novel in the shape of Lie Beside Me, the third instalment to the Detective Jonah Sheens series.

Now, I will say, there was less of Mr Sheens himself within this novel, which I was a little gutted about (I dream about him being this gorgeous man that I want to know A LOT more about), however, that certainly didn't take anything away from the plot, or the other characters that we had more of instead.

Synopsis
'Louise, a woman with a sad and lonely marriage and a taste for alcohol, finds herself in bed with another man after a night of heavy drinking. But this is no ordinary one-night stand. The man is covered in blood, and he isn't breathing.

With no memory of the night before, and how this stranger ended up in her bed, dead, Louise tries to piece together her memories before she goes to jail for his murder.

DCI Sheens and the team see her as their prime suspect, but it doesn't take long to discover that she's not the only person keeping secrets. And if she didn't do it, then who did?'

One part of this novel that I absolutely loved is how much more of DS Hanson's backstory we get. In the first two novels, it is touched upon, and you get the feeling that there's a lot more to her story, but we certainly get some answers in this one. Aside from DCI Sheens, she has become my favourite character (I also love Ben Lightman too, please can they get together Gytha?!).

The main storyline throughout this novel is pretty impressive. I was honestly kept guessing the whole, damn, time. One minute Louise had done it, and the next I was sure her husband had, and then I was even second-guessing her best friend (who sounds super-fun by the way).

The reason I said above that this book was messy, is because Louise is a pretty mess. She's all over the place, from her drinking, to her misplaced loyalty to her husband. You slowly learn her life with her husband, and then what actually happened that night at the same time Louise does.

I won't say anything else, as this is a spoiler-free zone, but I encourage everyone that reads this to pick up a copy of this book, and if you haven't read the first two either, then please grab those too!

I am so ready to see what's coming with book 4! 

4 and a half stars!

 I'm going to start by saying this is my new favourite book series.

I read the first novel, The Crowns of Croswald by D. E. Night back in March when the lovely Netgalley and Stories Untold Press gifted me an eARC. 
I was lucky enough to be gifted the second in the series also, The Girl With the Whispering Shadow, and yet again, I am thoroughly impressed.
The age range they give for this book is 13-17 years old, however, I honestly don't think you can give a maximum age limit on art, because no matter your age, you can be young at heart, and enjoy these things just as much as a child (if not more as you can appreciate the work that goes into it).

If you're a horror fan, this book is for you.

M. J. Aldridge has created a dangerous and sneaky villain that evades everyone until the very end.

'When two people go missing and end up locked in a room together with no food, no water, and no escape, they realise that they have been kidnapped and left for dead.
The only item left in the room with them is a gun, with a single bullet inside.

Only one person can leave that room alive.

DI Helen Grace is on the case when a young girl appears; dishevelled, malnourished and full of terror. After hearing of the brutal situation she was in, and more bodies being found along with other survivors, DI Grace realises this is a serial killer with a passion for games and a deadly motive.

It's a race against time to solve the murders and put a stop to the game before too many bodies drop.'

Initially when I started this novel, I told myself I knew how it was going to pan out. I knew Ted was going to be evil, blah blah; truth is, I knew nothing!

I loved that you had chapters from Olivia's point of view, something I personally have never seen before. She was a sassy little thing, and combine that with my love for cats anyway, I just adored her character.

Lauren was a character I found annoying, and I believe that is exactly how Catriona wanted to portray her, she was a child after all, and being kept away from the outside world with no human connection other than Ted, was bound to make her highly emotional.

Ted I completely misread. At first, I believed he was going to be one of these terrible men that kidnap young girls, killing them and moving on to the next.  
He was so completely and magnificently complex, and everything that happened to him as a child was completely horrifying and hardening. 

There were so many twists within this book that I honestly couldn't keep up. Every time there was a huge revelation, a few chapters later there was another! I was on the edge of my seat constantly, and I didn't want it to end.

It's also important to mention that some of the things within the novel may be triggering, there are parts which relate to child abuse and mental health problems, but each of these things were an integral part of the story that made it the incredible book that it is.

I won't say any more, as I do not want to share any spoilers, but I want to ask every single one of you that sees this, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK.

You will not regret it.

This book is also being adapted for film, so I am incredibly excited to see what comes of that! 

5 OUT OF 5 STARS!