Lying In Wait

Title: Lying In Wait

Author:Liz Nugent

Genre: Thriller/suspense/mystery
Source: Hardback, goodreads win
Rating: 3 out of 5 paws


Lydia's life seemed perfect.  Doting husband, beloved son, beautiful home.  Everything a woman can ask for, except...a dirty secret hidden within the garden.  Lydia and her husband murder a young woman who intends to blackmail Andrew.  They then bury her in the backyard and act as if they know nothing.  Their son Laurence knows something is up, and months later discover their dark secrets.  Its not long before the truth comes out.  The truth always comes out one way or another.  Be careful what you try to bury away in the garden.

I wanted to like this book so much.  The cover is beautiful and I won it in a goodreads giveaway, I hardly ever win those.  The first half of the book was good and interesting, but then it trickled down and got boring.  The first line is probably the best line and it's what drew me into the book.


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


I had hoped there would be more like this, more of a backstory leading up to it.  More of an investigation, but it all just stops after a certain event.  I didn't feel the WOW factor that was I was hoping to feel.  It's not very memorable and when I was telling co-workers about the recent book I was reading, I couldn't more beyond a judge kills a girls for blackmailing him.  That's it.  I almost didn't finish it but wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt to finish what I started.  Though I admit I skipped a bunch of stuff because it felt...irrelevant and awful.


The ending was very abrupt like she just didn't feel like writing a better ending or got bored with the story as I did.  It didn't feel original or unique.  How many other books are there about a couple who end up getting blackmailed because they chose the one girl for one thing or another.  Then bury her in the backyard.  What is with burying people in the backyard in a garden??  It is full of conveniences like Karen's modeling agent being the mother of one of the detectives on the case, Laurance's girlfriend becoming a model at same agency.  Laurance and Karen falling in love etc. 


I have seen people say it was hard to put down.  I found it every easy to put down, it was hard to pick back up again.  I don't think I would be recommending this one.

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Catherine Land answers an ad in the paper for a reliable wife, she sends along a picture with her letter describing herself as a simple and honest woman.  Ralph Truitt is looking for a companion a woman to help spend his days with.  He also wants his astranged son to come home, what he doesn't know is the secrets his son and new wife hold.

When I started reading this book I was sure if I would like it.  It was slow to begin and hard to get past some of the background description and things leading up to the plot twists.  Even then I found myself wanting to skip over parts that got to be boring and long winded.  The plot seemed to be one I had read before.   Woman married a man with a plot to kill him and take his money l.  Granted some aspects of the story are different and unique to Goolrick.I  didn't feel sympathy for any of the characters except for Mrs. Larsen, but she seemed to be the only genuine and hones person in the whole story.  Every one else had their own agendas and seemed to be using each other to meet those agendas.  Truitt came off as being a complete push-over when it came to Catherine even when he figured out what was happening, he didn't care.

It was a little more difficult to get to the end of this one than some of the other books I have read.  I was a little disappointed in it because I heard such great things and I didn't find it to be what others made it out to be.  I can see why a lot of people enjoyed the book, but I think I was expecting more suspense, more action, Truitt putting up more of fight.  The only suspenseful part (if you can say it's suspenseful){SPOILER} was towards the end when Andy tries to rape Catherine and she stabs him. I am not sure what I was expecting.

I would give this book a 3 out of 5 because while there are some things I didn't like about it there were some good points like the descriptions and dialog.  It was a well written book, just a well written book that didn't tickle my fancy.  I am sure other people would enjoy the book.  Even though I was  not a fan of this book, I am interested in reading some of Goolrick's other books to see if I would enjoy them as well because he does have an interesting writing style.