“My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.”
What an excellent way to start a novel! From the very first page, I was drawn in and wanted to read more, more, more. This was a super enjoyable book, one that was more about characters than the plot, though I also really enjoyed the plot as well. But at its core, it is a true psychological thriller, and a very good one at that.
Andrew is a well respected Judge in Ireland in the 1980’s, but a bad business decision has cost him to lose his whole fortune. He and his family are barely hanging on with his Judge’s salary, and his wife, Lydia, is desperate for more children. While they have one teenage son, Laurence, Lydia has suffered more than a handful of miscarriages, yet still remains desperate for a child. Enter Annie Doyle, the lying tramp that is murdered in the first chapter of the book. Desperate for a child, Lydia and Andrew were trying to impregnate and then purchase Annie’s baby — but things go awry as Annie tries to extort them and, in a fit of rage, ends up losing her life. What unfolds from there is the story of Lydia, her son, Laurence, and Annie’s sister, Karen. Their lives are forever impacted and entwined due to Annie’s death/disappearance, as all three try to move on and find closure.
This was a dark book, and the hatred I felt for Lydia exuded from basically every pore on my body. I abhorred her and wanted nothing but bad things to fall upon her — yet, she was a wonderfully written villain with her own brand of crazy. My feelings towards Laurence fluctuated between pity, disgust, and anger, but at my core, I was rooting for him to break free and get away from the mother who had her fingers wrapped around the pulse of his life, refusing the let him grow into a man on his own. Karen was the moral centerpiece of the novel, the one you identified, felt bad for, and rooted for, and if there was anyone to root for an want to alleviate pain from, it was definitely Karen.
Nugent’s character building was phenomenal. To me, this book was a character study more than anything. The ending was not exactly satisfying for me, but it also made sense and just really fit the novel. The writing is rich and nuanced and easy and enjoyable to read. I’m hesitating to go more into detail because I truly did enjoy this book quite a lot, and I don’t want to give anything away.
If you’re a fan of dark, psychological thrillers and getting inside the minds of your characters, understanding their motivations, and being taken for a dark, twisty ride, this is definitely the book for you.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent will be released on June 12th, 2018!
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