Lie Beside Me by Gytha Lodge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars**
Lie Beside Me is the third book in the DCI Jonah Sheens series. While like many Adult Mysteries this series doesn’t necessarily need to be read in order, I would recommend it, due to background information for the detectives.
However, any of these books would also make great standalone mysteries. I feel like once you read one, though, you’ll want to read them all!
With her husband away on business, Louise Reakes gets together with her best friend, April. The women tend to hit the sauce hard when they’re together, something Louise has been trying to break away from.
Upon groggily opening her eyes in the morning, Louise knows she failed in that regard. She’s hungover as heck and is surprised to find a male body in the bed with her. It’s not her husband.
Further inspection reveals the bed is soaked with blood. The man is dead!
Thus begins the confusing and complicated mystery as to who this man is and more importantly, how he ended up dead in Louise’s bed.
By the time DCI Jonah Sheens and his team are called to the murder scene, the body is out in the front garden. Louise tells them she stumbled upon the body as she went outside to grab milk from the stoop.
This deception immediately starts the investigation off on the wrong foot.
Told through multiple perspectives, including Louise’s epistolary-style recounting of her life with her husband, Niall, up through the night of the horrific crime, was incredibly interesting.
I loved the way Lodge pieced this all together. It felt slow-burn, but in the best way.
It kept me guessing until the very end. I thought it was one thing, then, nope, not that.
Then I really thought it was the other thing and I was sort of mad it was that thing, but nope, not that thing either. Then this other thing and I’m like, okay, okay, okay, this is it. Then it sort of was, sort of wasn’t.
It was a ride!
As always, the police procedural aspects were great. I love this team and how well they all work together. Their personalities are so complimentary to one another.
From the conclusion of this one, I am going to guess there will be more to come in this series and I’m so excited for it!
This is my favorite current Police Procedural Mystery series. I love how layered Lodge makes her stories; not to mention nail-bitingly disturbing. If you are looking for a new Mystery series to get into, I highly recommend this one.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Random House, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
I really appreciate it and cannot wait for the next book!!