Monday, January 2, 2017

Liz Nugent - Lying in Wait (Blog Tour)

Not Paid or Sponsored

Hi!

I'm delighted to be able to help with this blog tour - Liz Nugent's second novel, Lying in Wait, is released in paperback on January 12th. It has previously been available in trade paperback (the large one) and ebook format. Funnily enough, I've ended up with all three:


I received my e-copy as an advance copy from Netgalley back in May - It took me a while to get to it, but I read it in one sitting (one rainy June evening while eating Boursin and Ritz crackers, useless information fans). I adored it - I gave it five stars on Goodreads at the time - it contains one of my favourite lines of the year:

"We were not ordinarily a house that would take the Sunday World

In August, members of the Rick O'Shea Book Club convened at Dubray Books in Galway City. Coincidentally, I happened to be on holiday just outside the City at the time so there was no way I was going to miss it - I bought my large paperback copy on the night and had it signed by Liz, who was lovely.

Thanks to Kate for taking the photo of myself with Liz! 
Before Christmas, I was asked by Penguin if I would like to take part in the blog tour, and if I needed a copy of the book for review - initially I said I'd love to take part but I already owned a copy - then I discovered this:


I've never been quoted in a book before, so this was really exciting! I gratefully accepted the paperback copy and re-read it over Christmas.

Lying in Wait is a thriller/crime novel set in Dublin, in the 1980s. Lydia Fitzsimons has everything - a sprawling mansion, a wealthy husband with a good job, and a son, Laurence. Lydia also has a whole pile of trouble - trouble in the shape of Annie Doyle, a woman who changes the course of the Fitzsimons' lives forever.

It's a real page turner, told from a couple of different points of view. My personal favourite character is the son, Laurence. He is much more intelligent than his parents think, and at times he can be darkly, brilliantly witty. As I mentioned in my initial Goodreads review, I was genuinely torn between racing through this to see what happened, or slowing down so that it wouldn't end. I devoured it - and I enjoyed it just as much the second time around, noticing little details I hadn't noticed before.

Lydia is a truly complex character - she's an expert in self preservation, and I was left wondering if the woman was genuinely mad or just brilliantly clever (I'm leaning slightly more towards the former). She's one of the best female leads I've come across in ages.


This was one of my top ten books of 2016 - if you haven't read it I'd highly recommend it. With regard to the Gone Girl reference on the cover - it's much, much sharper than Gone Girl and a far better book all round.

Please do stop over at some of the other sites taking part in the tour - when I love a book I always like to see what other people think of it, or if they noticed anything I didn't notice. Here are all the details:


Lying in Wait has been chosen as one of the eight Spring 2017 choices in the much-loved Richard and Judy Book Club. I was delighted to see this news, because I've discovered really great books through that club and I hope that it will introduce more readers to Liz's writing.

Lying in Wait is available in trade paperback and eBook formats now from Amazon and all good book retailers. The smaller paperback version will be available from all good book retailers from January 12.