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    Lying in Wait: A Novel
    Lying in Wait: A Novel
    Lying in Wait: A Novel
    Audiobook8 hours

    Lying in Wait: A Novel

    Written by Liz Nugent

    Narrated by Caoilfhionn Dunne, David McFetridge and Lesley McGuire

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    From the #1 internationally bestselling author of Strange Sally Diamond and Unraveling Oliver—a brilliantly plotted, utterly immersive novel lauded by A.J. Finn—#1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window—as “extraordinary…crackles and snaps like a bonfire on a winter’s night.”

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

    On the surface, Lydia Fitzsimons's life seems idyllic. Her husband, Andrew, is a prosperous, respected judge; they live in the spacious, comfortable, well-appointed house where she was raised. And she is utterly, obsessively devoted to her son, Laurence—her adored only child, her pride and joy.

    But Andrew's murder of Annie Doyle, accidental or not, sets into motion a dark downward spiral. It doesn’t take long for Laurence to suspect that something is very, very wrong in the Fitzsimons household—and he is determined to discover the truth.

    For fans of Ruth Ware and Gillian Flynn, Lying in Wait is “a devastating psychological thriller...an exquisitely uncomfortable, utterly captivating reading experience” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

    Editor's Note

    Eerie ending…

    Nugent (“Unraveling Oliver”) doesn’t wrap up her thrillers in a tidy bow — and that’s what makes them so wonderfully creepy. Lydia has a dark secret (actually, she has a few). When her son begins to put two and two together, she’ll stop at nothing to keep her family intact. “Lying in Wait” is a mystery within a mystery, giving readers tantalizing snippets from the past until the eerie end.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJun 12, 2018
    ISBN9781508256748
    Author

    Liz Nugent

    Liz Nugent has worked in Irish film, theater, and television for most of her adult life. She is an award-winning writer of radio and television drama and has written critically acclaimed short stories both for children and adults, as well as the bestselling novels Unraveling Oliver, Lying in Wait, and Little Cruelties. She lives in Dublin and has won four Irish Book Awards, as well as the James Joyce Medal for Literature. Visit her at LizNugent.com or follow her on Twitter at @LizzieNugent.

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    Reviews for Lying in Wait

    4/5

    398 ratings38 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Suspenseful read til the end but ending is so dark and sick and negative. No happy ending, no justice...just sick description of a mother torturing her son for decades

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Dark, intricately woven stories paint a terrifying picture as the characters are truly revealed throughout the book. I listened to this in one sitting on a miserable winter's Sunday. Liz Nugent is a wonderful storyteller.
    • 4/5
      Yes absolutely frustrating ending. But if you know that going in you might enjoy the book like I did.
    • 5/5
      I am really enjoying this author! This was an entertaining listen with interesting characters and plot.
    • 5/5
      The end of this left me dumbfounded and speechless. The ways people justify their "Wrong doings" amazes me. I really enjoyed the entire listen and it was the perfect length.
    • 3/5
      Dreadful ending. Don’t read it you will be so disappointed and frustrated.
    • 5/5
      Great twisty plot. Greated twisted characters. And Mum makes Joan Crawford look like Mum of the year.
    • 3/5
      Just “meh” - and that’s all on me though. I absolutely abhorred one of the main characters and barely tolerated the other. The combo made for a fairly unenjoyable book, but I had to give it at least ***’s since I never gave up on the potential plot twist.
    • 4/5
      Dark, tragic gothic novel set in contemporary Dublin. Compelling characters in an intricate plot that explores class, genetics, and madness. Ending is as dark and inexorable as Oedipus Rex. Narrated by superb actors.
    • 5/5
      Another brilliant, attention grabbing piece of work from Liz Nugent. My favorite of hers is still Strange Sally Diamond - this is similar in style, a psychological game played by many yet only a few players are even aware of the manipulation going on around them. Plenty of twists and jaw dropping moments. Highly recommend listening or reading!
    • 5/5
      As someone who listens to a lot of thrillers, I was getting a bit burnt out, until I found this book! Wow. Great plot, strongly developed characters and amazing ending! Would love to see this as a movie. Highly recommend!
    • 4/5
      I listened to this book on audio. This really added color to the characters . The readers were perfect for the characters and the accents of each was perfect. Having grown up in a similar age and area that the book was written the social references were perfect and on point. This was Dublin in the 60-80’s.
      This book brought you on a merry dance down twists and turns. I had not realized the genes of the book just heard that the author was great.
      The main characters were delightfully Diabolical , complete socio path. All the characters had flaws that were relatable .
      Ince I began I was completely hooked and listened to it in almost one sitting. Very exciting and well written.
    • 5/5
      Great Book! Great story line! Great characters! Best book I have read all year.
    • 3/5
      I really liked the story, but the ending was awful!
      I read the reviews about the “bad ending” going in, so was expecting it to be maybe a little cheesy or too predictable...but even worse, it was unsatisfying & frustrating.
      It felt more like the dilemma from the beginning of a book...the one that gets solved in the end. Not here.
    • 5/5
      What a depressing, creepy book! Scarier than anything I ever read by Stephen King. Loved it.
    • 3/5
      It was hard to listen to, evil definitely triumphs in this one.
    • 5/5
      This book was something else. I enjoyed the story and it wasn't what I expected.
    • 3/5
      I am freaking reeling over the last few chapters of this book! When I started to see what Lydia had up her sleeve, I literally wanted to throw this book across the room. I was so mad. I honestly can't decide if I like the book or hate it. One thing I can say for certain is Liz Nugent knows how to write a twisted mind! I think I would give this book a 3.75/5
    • 4/5
      The first narrator we meet in this dark psychological thriller is Lydia, a gruesome psychopath who nevertheless perceives herself to be nothing but a victim who copes with the adverse circumstances of life in her own unique way.We know right from the start that Lydia and her husband Andrew, a prominent local judge, are responsible for the death of Annie Doyle, only learning the reasons for her murder as the plot proceeds to unravel the repercussions of her death.Other narrators include Lydia and Andrew’s son Laurence, and Annie’s sister Karen. You turn the pages quickly and in horror as you come to understand just how much damage one psychopath can do, and how much an especially clever psychopath can get away with.Evaluation:. The story is plenty engaging and twisty, but I did feel like I needed a mental shower at the end of it!
    • 4/5
      This definitely was a different idea. The ending seemed very fitting, but I find it so sad that many had to suffer to get there. Bringing his son in on the secret was both shocking and perfect.
    • 4/5
      Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent is a 2018 Gallery/Scout Press publication.Sad, darkly humorous, and thoroughly chilling!When Annie Doyle disappears, it has a profound effect on her sister, Karen. Law enforcement officials are not at all helpful, having made up their minds what kind of girl Annie was, deciding she wasn’t worth much effort on their part. But Karen never gives up trying to find out what happened to her sister.Laurence Fitzsimons, a lonely, overweight boy discovers a dark secret about his parents, which haunts him all the way into adulthood. His mother, Lydia, a widow, keeps Laurence on a tight leash, keeping him as close to her as possible, manipulating him, monitoring his relationships, and his yo-yo dieting. Unlike other mothers, she doesn’t support his healthier choices, or emotional growth, wanting to keep him tethered to her.In an ironical twist of fate, Karen’s life inexplicably intersects with Laurence, which sets in motions a shocking chain of events that even left ME stunned!I have a few personal reading challenges in mind for 2020 and one of them is to read books by author’s I’ve never tried before. I’ve been meaning to sample Liz Nugent’s books, as they are often highly rated and seem to prompt a great deal of discussion.I’m not sure why I chose this book as my introduction to this author, as ‘Unraveling Oliver’ has been on my TBR list longer. But I’m glad I plucked this one out of the pile first.It took me a little while to find my groove with this one. I didn’t know what to make of it and kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. It took too long to get the good part, but once I got to the last quarter of the book, I was sitting on pins and needles.I never would have imagined the insane path this story would take me down. It wasn’t until I had finished reading it and had a few days to mull it over that it really started to sink in. The author has a unique style and a quirky sense of humor, too.The conclusion is a bit depressing, but I also ended up respecting the author’s boldness. I do love a good, unsettling, spine tingling climax, one that lingers for a long while, and this story certainly delivered on that count.Although I was initially exasperated by the pacing, in hindsight the offbeat plot and execution was genius.Overall, Nugent left a good first impression. I will definitely read more of her books and am now very excited about reading ‘Unraveling Oliver”. Hope I can fit that one in this year!
    • 5/5
      The twists and turns this book took were great.
    • 2/5
      Only liked two character, and one of them is so sad. Want the villains to get caught and I don’t care for novels told from the villains’ point of view.
    • 4/5
      On a November night in Dublin, Ireland, a man strangles a young woman. His wife is present. They bring the body home and bury her in their back garden. Told in chapters that alternate between the wife, the man's son and the sister of the dead woman, Lying in Wait tells a truly bonkers story that seems really reasonable, sort of. Liz Nugent does a great job delving into the three central characters and makes their choices appear reasonable. This was a fun crime novel that never failed to keep my attention. And the final chapters are utterly insane, in the best, most twisted way.
    • 4/5
      Well, this one really surprised me! The novel begins with the fact that a woman's husband killed a young girl, but didn't mean it. This is stated by the woman. However, the husband didn't actually kill the girl, but his wife delivered the fatal blow. The wife is controlling and isn't too affected by the death, the husband, on the other hand, is frantic. The son, nearly an adult, is suspicious of his parents and what happened.
      As the book progresses, the mother becomes more controlling of her son, Laurence. Laurence tries to break away from his mother, but the secret they keep is keeping them together. When Laurence meets Karen, the sister of the dead girl, he believes his life is going to change for the better.
      What Laurence doesn't count on is his mother's inability to let go, which leads to a shocking conclusion.
      This is an interesting study in the sick minds of some people. I really enjoyed this novel! I look forward to reading more from this author.
      Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
      #NetGalley #LyingInWait #LizNugent
    • 5/5
      Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent is absolutely the most sinister book I have read this year. As with Unraveling Oliver, the author begins again with a crime: Lydia and Andrew kill Annie, a junkie prostitute. In an attempt to hide their crime, they bury Annie's body in their back garden, while their teenage son Laurence is unaware of the goings-on. The author does a great job of making this story unpredictable from the get-go. Soon Annie's family , including her twin Karen, begin a failed search for her. The Dublin police are not showing a great deal of interest in this disappearance. More and more secrets surface as the years go by and the plot literally thickens until the creepiest of endings. This psychological thriller will have you holding your breath. A highly- recommended read. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      Lydia Fitzsimons is living the high life or so it seems from the outside perspective. She is married to a well respected judge and together they have a doting son, Laurence. The family lives on a sprawling estate in Ireland that was inherited from her father. Under the glitz and glam that people believe the Fitzsimons family live in, there is a dark secret brewing that will tear the family to pieces.Lydia’s husband has killed a young woman named Annie Doyle and despite the couple’s best attempts to keep this murder hidden, Laurence is able to unveil the truth. After this discovery Laurence’s life changes forever. He can no longer look at his father and becomes obsessed with the Doyle family. His love for his mother keeps him from going straight to the police, but even that love can’t keep him from tracking the Doyle family. How long can Laurence keep this awful secret to himself and what will he do if he ever discovers that his mother knew about the murder?Liz Nugent creates a clever tale of murder and the years of deception that follow within the pages of LYING IN WAIT. The story is told from alternating points of view between Lydia, Laurence, and Karen, who is Annie Doyle’s sister. The connections between the three narrators begin to grow as the novel progresses and the tension builds. I won’t give away any specifics, but I can say that I loved the way Nugent effortlessly built up the different narrators’ stories and created a general mood of uncomfortableness. I quickly grew to hate Lydia and love Karen, but my feelings for Laurence often fluctuated, which I find to be a positive. Throughout Laurence does several things that make the reader cringe, but at the same time you can’t stop yourself from feeling bad for him. The closing chapters of this book, when all of the drama comes to a final crescendo, where extremely well done. The deviousness of Lydia is truly at its peak in these pages and you’re not quite sure who will make it out of her grasp untouched. This story is dramatic, dark, unnerving, and worth a slot on your Fall TBR!
    • 3/5
      The biggest issue here is that I went into this wanting and thinking it was something different and those expectations made it difficult to like it as much as I wanted to. However, I can see a lot of people really loving this book. It has a lot of twists and subplots- it is much more than just your typical psychological mystery. I feel if you've read and like Nugent's other books, you'd also enjoy this one.
    • 4/5
      This was one wild ride of a story! I did not want to put it down. The author used an interesting direction in relating this murder mystery. It is in fact not a mystery about who murdered the victim (that is revealed from the start), but rather a crazy thriller of what happened after the fact as the murderers attempt to cover up and live with the after effects of their crime. Things get pretty unbelievably insane and like an accident scene, it is awful to see but nearly impossible to look away.If you like the unpredictable, and are intrigued by the description of this book, I urge you to give it a try. It will surprise you- of that I have no doubt. Just don't look for a neat and tidy ending.My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.
    • 5/5
      I listened to Unravelling Oliver by Liz Nugent last year and really enjoyed her writing. (my review) I leapt at the chance to listen to her next book, Lying in Wait.Nugent again starts her book off with a line guaranteed to draw the reader in....."My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it." Yup, I was hooked!1980's Dublin. Lydia Fitzsimons has it all - successful husband, beautiful home and a son she dotes on. There is something missing from her life though - and that one thing is what leads to the opening line. And then her son Laurence discovers that secret....Lying in Wait is told from three points of view - Lydia, Laurence and Annie's sister Karen. The time frame moves to 2016. The listener is privy to each narrative, knowing what each character doesn't. It makes for a curiously voyeuristic listen. As each player adds something to the narrative, the tension heightens. Nugent's plotting kept me off kilter and I honestly envisioned the ending going in a completely different direction. Nugent completely surprised me with her unexpected ending. I'm not sure I like it, but it is quite fitting.I really enjoyed having three narrators used to tell Nugent's tale - Caoilfhionn Dunne, David McFetridge and Lesley McGuire. I'm not sure which woman was Lydia or Karen, but both were excellent. The voice for Lydia has an entitled air that perfectly captured her imperious, self assured demeanor. That tone never falters, no matter what she is saying - like that opening line. And for the listener, self assured becomes self deluded as the book progresses. The voice for Karen was deliciously low with an almost growly undertone. The accent is thicker for this character as she is from a different social strata. I really liked that low tone - it drew the listener in. The voice for Laurence is just as well suited. He captures Laurence's innocence and dawning awareness with each new revelation. Each reader was easy to understand and pleasant to listen to. An excellent listen for me - five stars.