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Canaan Crime #1
Lie In Wait
From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Silent Girls comes another unforgettable thriller set in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, featuring Detective Sonja Test
Even in a quiet Vermont town, unspeakable acts of the past can destroy the peace of the present
In the remote, pastoral hamlet of Canaan, Vermont, a high-profile legal case shatters the town's sense of peace and community. Anger simmers. Fear and prejudice awaken. Old friends turn on each other. Violence threatens.
So when a young teenage girl is savagely murdered while babysitting at the house of the lead attorney in the case, Detective Sonja Test believes the girl's murder and the divisive case must be linked.
However, as the young detective digs deeper into her first murder case, she discovers sordid acts hidden for decades, and learns that behind the town's idyllic façade of pristine snow lurks a capacity in some for great darkness and the betrayal of innocents. And Sonja Test, a mother of two, will do anything to protect the innocent.
459 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2015
291 people are currently reading
3983 people want to read
About the author
Eric Rickstad
13 books1,039 followersEric Rickstad is a New York Times and International bestselling novelist.
His latest novel, LILITH, will be published on March 19, 2024.
His previous novel, I AM NOT WHO YOU THINK I AM, was a New York Times Thriller of the Year.
He also wrote WHAT REMAINS OF HER, REAP, and The Canaan Crime Series — LIE IN WAIT, THE SILENT GIRLS, and THE NAMES OF DEAD GIRLS— which has sold more than a half million copies worldwide.
He lives in Vermont.
His latest novel, LILITH, will be published on March 19, 2024.
His previous novel, I AM NOT WHO YOU THINK I AM, was a New York Times Thriller of the Year.
He also wrote WHAT REMAINS OF HER, REAP, and The Canaan Crime Series — LIE IN WAIT, THE SILENT GIRLS, and THE NAMES OF DEAD GIRLS— which has sold more than a half million copies worldwide.
He lives in Vermont.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 231 reviews
December 28, 2015
Review: LIE IN WAIT by Eric Rickstad
My first exposure to this author was buying and reading THE SILENT GIRLS in 2014, right after publication. Immediately he went on my personal must-read author list. LIE IN WAIT is every bit as excellent. Mr. Rickstad has the ability of best authors to include his characters' rounded-out lives, and like all good regional authors, he makes the locale a character all of itself, continually pinging on the storyline. LIE IN WAIT is the third mystery I read this week which kept me guessing until literally the very end. It's engrossing, riveting, and rereadable. Don't miss out.
My first exposure to this author was buying and reading THE SILENT GIRLS in 2014, right after publication. Immediately he went on my personal must-read author list. LIE IN WAIT is every bit as excellent. Mr. Rickstad has the ability of best authors to include his characters' rounded-out lives, and like all good regional authors, he makes the locale a character all of itself, continually pinging on the storyline. LIE IN WAIT is the third mystery I read this week which kept me guessing until literally the very end. It's engrossing, riveting, and rereadable. Don't miss out.
September 12, 2016
Not as good as The Silent Girls
It was good but not great. A lot of moving parts that were all over the place. I enjoyed it, but def liked The Silent Girls a lot more.
It was good but not great. A lot of moving parts that were all over the place. I enjoyed it, but def liked The Silent Girls a lot more.
November 16, 2016
Disappointing. The last book, "The Silent Girls" was a winner. This one... not so much. It seemed a bit awkward to read, or maybe awkwardly written.
There were a few passages where "he said"..."she said".."he said"..."she said" ended every sentence. It was irritatingly repetitive and stood out, then some other issues started to become noticeable and I kind of lost interest.
I'll probably TBR the next book with these characters, or by this author, but it'll be on the "maybe" shelf.
There were a few passages where "he said"..."she said".."he said"..."she said" ended every sentence. It was irritatingly repetitive and stood out, then some other issues started to become noticeable and I kind of lost interest.
I'll probably TBR the next book with these characters, or by this author, but it'll be on the "maybe" shelf.
February 18, 2016
This book had potential and some interesting, somewhat creepy moments. All of that, however, was ruined because it's patently obvious this book could have used another SEVERAL edits.
There are a whole gaggle of spelling/grammar mistakes. Frequent ones. So often that it distracts from the book. In one chapter, a sideline character's name switches to another name. Just....SWITCHES RANDOMLY. Like the author changed his mind on the name but forgot to change all the references to that character. In the same chapter. I almost tossed the book into a fire when I read that. He also misuses periods....The sentences. Read like. This. Literally. It's bizarre. I thought at first it was a quirk unique to the dialogue of one character (which could have been cool and interesting), but no, it was the whole damn book.
Outside of these awful mistakes, the book is just ok for me. The ending was painfully obvious far too soon in the book, and there was no huge surprise or shock ending like I'd hoped. The last chunk of the book was clunky and weird. The pacing of the last quarter needed work. And the book could have been 100 pages shorter and much more effective. Overall, I'd say if you're looking for a really good mystery or psych thriller, keep looking. This one doesn't quite scratch that itch.
There are a whole gaggle of spelling/grammar mistakes. Frequent ones. So often that it distracts from the book. In one chapter, a sideline character's name switches to another name. Just....SWITCHES RANDOMLY. Like the author changed his mind on the name but forgot to change all the references to that character. In the same chapter. I almost tossed the book into a fire when I read that. He also misuses periods....The sentences. Read like. This. Literally. It's bizarre. I thought at first it was a quirk unique to the dialogue of one character (which could have been cool and interesting), but no, it was the whole damn book.
Outside of these awful mistakes, the book is just ok for me. The ending was painfully obvious far too soon in the book, and there was no huge surprise or shock ending like I'd hoped. The last chunk of the book was clunky and weird. The pacing of the last quarter needed work. And the book could have been 100 pages shorter and much more effective. Overall, I'd say if you're looking for a really good mystery or psych thriller, keep looking. This one doesn't quite scratch that itch.
July 25, 2018
“UNKNOWN CALLER. Test was tempted. Bur resisted.”
Lie in Wait definitely could have been reedited, because there were just far too many mistakes in the book to make it to publication.
On the other hand, I did like this book, but not as much as the other two Canaan Crime books in the series, and so I will rate it between 4.5 and 5 stars. I loved what a fast-paced book this was, and that Eric Rickstad wrote about relevant topics in today’s world and how his characters would feel and respond to others, as well as their own, opinions and actions. Even though I already knew who the killer was by three-quarts of the way in, Rickstad did an effective job trying to confuse his readers by adding multiple people who could have been the killer and fusing their stories. This was so many “bad” people and side stories in this book, that I could not pinpoint who the killer was until it was an obvious choice.
Lie in Wait definitely could have been reedited, because there were just far too many mistakes in the book to make it to publication.
On the other hand, I did like this book, but not as much as the other two Canaan Crime books in the series, and so I will rate it between 4.5 and 5 stars. I loved what a fast-paced book this was, and that Eric Rickstad wrote about relevant topics in today’s world and how his characters would feel and respond to others, as well as their own, opinions and actions. Even though I already knew who the killer was by three-quarts of the way in, Rickstad did an effective job trying to confuse his readers by adding multiple people who could have been the killer and fusing their stories. This was so many “bad” people and side stories in this book, that I could not pinpoint who the killer was until it was an obvious choice.
Read
April 8, 2019@DNF @40%
The female lead was terrible. Unprofessional, felt justified in her bad behavior in her "passion" for the victim, functioning off of her emotions and/her gut feelings rather than doing her job properly. I hate when female leads are such stereotypes. The overall plot was interesting and I'm curious as to who the killer was but I can't take this character one more minute.
I did this on audiobook and the narrator was good.
The female lead was terrible. Unprofessional, felt justified in her bad behavior in her "passion" for the victim, functioning off of her emotions and/her gut feelings rather than doing her job properly. I hate when female leads are such stereotypes. The overall plot was interesting and I'm curious as to who the killer was but I can't take this character one more minute.
I did this on audiobook and the narrator was good.
March 24, 2017
Not even 1*! May I say worst book of 2016 for me (and I have started some duds lately so this is way bad.)I hesitate to even add them to my reading shelf, especially if they are new authors for me with glowing reviews. Since I have to add so many to "cannot-finish." (Like this one.) I think I need to go by the few reviews that give books 1-2 stars which there were some with this one and stay away, but like any reviews on anything, some people dislike things for reasons I am not bothered by and vice versa. Anyway, I have discovered there are a lot of books I will not tolerate and finish, and there was no way I was moving past page 150 on this one. Hated the characters. Hated the rabbit trails of not straightforward suspense and mystery. The story did start off well until the investigation. I started to no longer care while reading for the who?, the why?, the how? IN fact, I did not even skip to see the answers at the end. Hated that I used a $5 coupon on google play here. I also hate that with as few days to go I had to scramble to find a replacement book to fit the July mini-challenge in the Wacky book challenge group. The beginning, the name of the book and the cover are the only reason for any star rating.
Read
February 16, 20243.5 I think the audio format was not a great choice for this novel
March 28, 2018
Eric Rickstad is a Booktopia 2018 author and has a new book out The Names Of Dead Girls. When I learned this was the 3rd book in the Canaan Crimes series, I wanted to read them in order ahead of Booktopia even though I was assured this was totally unnecessary. When you have OCD, you just can't help yourself. So I picked up Lie In Wait and was about a quarter of the way through when I figured out that The Silent Girls was published first.....arghhh...sometimes I can't get out of my own way.
No, I did not switch books. Lie is Wait is a very good mystery/suspense novel that kept me on my toes throughout. Rickstad's writing reminds me of Harlan Coben's, short chapters, good dialogue, lots of action...I read it in 2 sittings. I read a couple of reviews that claim The Silent Girls is even better so I'm really looking forward to discovering it and hoping that they truly can be read as stand alones.
No, I did not switch books. Lie is Wait is a very good mystery/suspense novel that kept me on my toes throughout. Rickstad's writing reminds me of Harlan Coben's, short chapters, good dialogue, lots of action...I read it in 2 sittings. I read a couple of reviews that claim The Silent Girls is even better so I'm really looking forward to discovering it and hoping that they truly can be read as stand alones.
April 21, 2019
This book is poorly written and could have used another round of editing (if it was edited at all to begin with). The main character is clunky and awkward and is always referred to by her last name. Parts of the story make no sense, like how Victor enters the office at 4:45 pm and the secretary talks to him like it is morning. One plot line just ends with no closure and there is little surprise in the big reveal. Even the title makes no sense. It's just bad.
November 7, 2015
If I could have read this in one setting, I would have. Absolutely marvelous story, haunting as the pieces came together for another book that takes morality and twists it around. All ethics and points-of-view are considered, every little instance has a seed of doubt in a story with no winners.
Lovely writing.
Lovely writing.
January 2, 2020
RECENSIONE QUI: https://thereadingslove.blogspot.com/...
"La notte dei delitti" è un thriller facente parte della serie "Canaan crime"; ogni libro è autoconclusivo, non sono collegati da una linea temporale quindi possono essere letti separatamente, difatti in Italia i libri sono stati tradotti non in ordine di pubblicazione. Il comune denominatore della serie sono la piccola cittadina di Canaan nel Vermont e i delitti che ne scuotono la placida tranquillità. Il decreto a favore dei matrimoni gay ha creato delle divergenze e una netta spaccatura tra gli abitanti di Canaan; la tensione è alle stelle e tra odio e pregiudizi, estremismi politici e religiosi si muovono diversi personaggi, molti davvero inquietanti, altri semplici spettatori o vittime delle circostanze. Quando una ragazza viene trovata brutalmente uccisa nella casa dell'avvocato che si occupa della causa giudiziaria per i diritti gay, per il detective Test è impossibile non vedere un collegamento con le rappresaglie omofobe e estremiste. La sua indagine la porta a trovare pezzi che sono importanti ma non combaciano tra loro fino alla fine quando verranno a galla bugie e segreti agghiaccianti. Il romanzo ha una struttura divisa in cinque parti, ogni capitolo ha un personaggio diverso con sottotrame che emergono durante l'evoluzione narrativa, rendendo la storia sì corale ma anche tanto frammentata. L'autore ci racconta tanti personaggi attraverso diversi punti di vista, tutti diventano protagonisti attraverso le loro storie, ci sono tanti tasselli interessanti e importanti ai fini della storia, altri decisamente meno. Tanti sono i dettagli accurati che incuriosiscono e rendono intrigante la lettura ma di contro sono troppe le informazioni non necessarie ai fini della storia (le fastidiose infodump) che distraggono o annoiano. Lo stile è asciutto e diretto, i periodi sono brevi con un eccessivo uso di punteggiatura che toglie la fluidità alla lettura, a volte si passa dall'uso del cognome al nome, facendo chiedere al lettore chi sia la persona citata per poi tornare al cognome per tutta la storia. Tanti sono i personaggi con le loro storie, molti sono ben caratterizzati e portano a dei risvolti inaspettati, altri tra cui la protagonista sono più piatti, poco sviluppati e approfonditi. Ho percepito questa lettura come un insieme di tanti fotogrammi, tante storie che collegate tra loro alla fine svelano dei retroscena inquietanti, delle storie di vita passata, segreti e traumi che portano al colpo di scena finale inaspettato ma che comunque mi ha lasciata perplessa per il modo in cui è stato gestito in diversi punti...
CONTINUA SUL NOSTRO BLOG. VENITE A TROVARCI
https://thereadingslove.blogspot.com/
"La notte dei delitti" è un thriller facente parte della serie "Canaan crime"; ogni libro è autoconclusivo, non sono collegati da una linea temporale quindi possono essere letti separatamente, difatti in Italia i libri sono stati tradotti non in ordine di pubblicazione. Il comune denominatore della serie sono la piccola cittadina di Canaan nel Vermont e i delitti che ne scuotono la placida tranquillità. Il decreto a favore dei matrimoni gay ha creato delle divergenze e una netta spaccatura tra gli abitanti di Canaan; la tensione è alle stelle e tra odio e pregiudizi, estremismi politici e religiosi si muovono diversi personaggi, molti davvero inquietanti, altri semplici spettatori o vittime delle circostanze. Quando una ragazza viene trovata brutalmente uccisa nella casa dell'avvocato che si occupa della causa giudiziaria per i diritti gay, per il detective Test è impossibile non vedere un collegamento con le rappresaglie omofobe e estremiste. La sua indagine la porta a trovare pezzi che sono importanti ma non combaciano tra loro fino alla fine quando verranno a galla bugie e segreti agghiaccianti. Il romanzo ha una struttura divisa in cinque parti, ogni capitolo ha un personaggio diverso con sottotrame che emergono durante l'evoluzione narrativa, rendendo la storia sì corale ma anche tanto frammentata. L'autore ci racconta tanti personaggi attraverso diversi punti di vista, tutti diventano protagonisti attraverso le loro storie, ci sono tanti tasselli interessanti e importanti ai fini della storia, altri decisamente meno. Tanti sono i dettagli accurati che incuriosiscono e rendono intrigante la lettura ma di contro sono troppe le informazioni non necessarie ai fini della storia (le fastidiose infodump) che distraggono o annoiano. Lo stile è asciutto e diretto, i periodi sono brevi con un eccessivo uso di punteggiatura che toglie la fluidità alla lettura, a volte si passa dall'uso del cognome al nome, facendo chiedere al lettore chi sia la persona citata per poi tornare al cognome per tutta la storia. Tanti sono i personaggi con le loro storie, molti sono ben caratterizzati e portano a dei risvolti inaspettati, altri tra cui la protagonista sono più piatti, poco sviluppati e approfonditi. Ho percepito questa lettura come un insieme di tanti fotogrammi, tante storie che collegate tra loro alla fine svelano dei retroscena inquietanti, delle storie di vita passata, segreti e traumi che portano al colpo di scena finale inaspettato ma che comunque mi ha lasciata perplessa per il modo in cui è stato gestito in diversi punti...
CONTINUA SUL NOSTRO BLOG. VENITE A TROVARCI
https://thereadingslove.blogspot.com/
May 14, 2018
The 1st of the Canaan crime series and it's a dark, twisted tale of a horrific murder and small town secrets. Mother of two Detective Sonja Test investigates her 1st murder case after a young teenage girl is found bludgeoned to death in the home of the prosecutor in a high profile civil rights case.
It's thought that the case may be linked to the girl's murder and within days a suspect is in custody, but Sonja has doubts about his guilt. As the story unfolds, we learn that the murder may have its roots in the past.
This is a real page turner and, as with his book "The Silent Girls", Rickstad deals with issues which affect us all. A great mystery/thriller.
It's thought that the case may be linked to the girl's murder and within days a suspect is in custody, but Sonja has doubts about his guilt. As the story unfolds, we learn that the murder may have its roots in the past.
This is a real page turner and, as with his book "The Silent Girls", Rickstad deals with issues which affect us all. A great mystery/thriller.
December 29, 2019
Tra tre e tre e mezzo. Sono indecisa.
Presto la recensione per il blog
Presto la recensione per il blog
July 30, 2025
did not finish
too many characters and too dense of a plot lowkey got lost
too many characters and too dense of a plot lowkey got lost
May 29, 2022
I found this book enjoyable and a very fast read. I didn't realize it was part of a series and will now go check out the others.
September 9, 2015
Well done! Truly enjoyed it, but slightly disappointed that it didn't pick up where the first book left off. One of the same characters, but the closure I was looking from the first book wasn't there. Once I realized it wasn't truly a sequel, I set about enjoying the book for itself, which was pretty good.
April 3, 2019
It was a bit hard getting into the story at first and it just kind of plods along from there. Multiple POV's don't help and are a bit jarring as well as the large amount of characters to keep track of.
None of the characters are all that likable or relate-able and they are all deeply flawed and their problems seem to take over part of the story and distract from crime and the work to solve it. Edit:There are way, way to many side tangents for all the characters flaws and it takes away from the story and stops momentum on the real case. You could cut the book in half by taking out all the useless back/side bits from all the numerous characters that don't have to do with the main plot line of the crime this book was supposed to be about.
I get that everyone has stuff going on in their lives but if it's not related to the case why do we get every irrelevant detail? Side problems include the small-town female detective who gets no respect from her male counterparts (why she is even a main character is beyond me since she has absolutely no power to investigate anything in her own town. How did she ever get hired, no one respects her or ANY of the women in this town) and has problems at home with the husband and kids, the lawyer and his wife have issues together and apart from the past, and the local bigoted deacon stirring up trouble because of his narrow mindedness and I am holier than thou attitude to everyone because HE is a man of god and they are beneath him, the male detective who swoops in to take over the crime who ignores the female detective who's town he's in has parents in bad health issues as well as being an ass in thinking he's right because he has seen more crime then his counterpart.
ALL the men besides the small town detective's husband (whom she treats like crap) are bigots and misogynists. (This is a personal issue with me. I know it's a small town but it is the 21st century for fuck sake. I know some man can be this way, I have personal experience in this, but to have ALL the male characters this way is beyond belief and annoying enough to make my blood boil. You need some tension when talking about once taboo subjects but it's maddening, annoying and slightly depressing that authors think they have to make entire towns stand still in time in the moral aspect. It's not the 1950's anymore and a lot of those pricks are thankfully dying off or to old to care or have been able to adapt to the times. Pick something else to get tension or certain views along. Seriously I am sick of reading about tons of close-minded, bigoted, misogynistic assholes everywhere when I have to deal with them from time to time in reality. Enough!)
I didn't like that the author chose to go back and forth constantly on what to call his main character. Call her either Sonja or Test not one of them every other time someone talks to her or she talks/thinks to/about herself. Also who the hell refers to themselves in the third person and why if they do use their last name? This has become a trend and it needs to stop.
Also, they (the characters) keep alluding to The Case... (as in is this because of or connected to The Case)but never we never get to know what it really is except that it has to do with Gay Marriage. No one is straight forward about anything....they keep leading up to something important and then going "you know, or I know you know, and you did it, but never saying what it is or what they know. Very annoying and frustrating. To top it all off it irked me that they kept referring to the murdered TEENAGER as a CHILD, stop that. She is either the teenager (who by the way is having sex in her employer's house) or a child in which case she shouldn't have been there at that time of night. EDIT: The murder victim is a PRETEEN about 14 in which case why the hell is a prominent lawyer and his high society wife who need a nanny/babysitter for late nights hiring an inexperienced girl. And that also makes the sex with an older male creepy because it sounds like he is an older teen bordering on young adult. Yuck.
At least the chapters are short (although sometimes choppy) making it seem like a quick read. Edit: As the story goes on the POV changes grow as does the character list until you can't keep track of them all. Here the short chapters don't help and make the book harder to get through. Edit: Towards the end of the story this flipping POV and short chapter shit is getting out of hand. The last bit of the book is confusing with the numerous characters and POV changes within the short chapters as well as with each short chapter change. It made me have to put the book down several times with the dread of picking it back up again.
The ending drove me crazy and pissed me off.
None of the characters are all that likable or relate-able and they are all deeply flawed and their problems seem to take over part of the story and distract from crime and the work to solve it. Edit:There are way, way to many side tangents for all the characters flaws and it takes away from the story and stops momentum on the real case. You could cut the book in half by taking out all the useless back/side bits from all the numerous characters that don't have to do with the main plot line of the crime this book was supposed to be about.
I get that everyone has stuff going on in their lives but if it's not related to the case why do we get every irrelevant detail? Side problems include the small-town female detective who gets no respect from her male counterparts (why she is even a main character is beyond me since she has absolutely no power to investigate anything in her own town. How did she ever get hired, no one respects her or ANY of the women in this town) and has problems at home with the husband and kids, the lawyer and his wife have issues together and apart from the past, and the local bigoted deacon stirring up trouble because of his narrow mindedness and I am holier than thou attitude to everyone because HE is a man of god and they are beneath him, the male detective who swoops in to take over the crime who ignores the female detective who's town he's in has parents in bad health issues as well as being an ass in thinking he's right because he has seen more crime then his counterpart.
ALL the men besides the small town detective's husband (whom she treats like crap) are bigots and misogynists. (This is a personal issue with me. I know it's a small town but it is the 21st century for fuck sake. I know some man can be this way, I have personal experience in this, but to have ALL the male characters this way is beyond belief and annoying enough to make my blood boil. You need some tension when talking about once taboo subjects but it's maddening, annoying and slightly depressing that authors think they have to make entire towns stand still in time in the moral aspect. It's not the 1950's anymore and a lot of those pricks are thankfully dying off or to old to care or have been able to adapt to the times. Pick something else to get tension or certain views along. Seriously I am sick of reading about tons of close-minded, bigoted, misogynistic assholes everywhere when I have to deal with them from time to time in reality. Enough!)
I didn't like that the author chose to go back and forth constantly on what to call his main character. Call her either Sonja or Test not one of them every other time someone talks to her or she talks/thinks to/about herself. Also who the hell refers to themselves in the third person and why if they do use their last name? This has become a trend and it needs to stop.
Also, they (the characters) keep alluding to The Case... (as in is this because of or connected to The Case)but never we never get to know what it really is except that it has to do with Gay Marriage. No one is straight forward about anything....they keep leading up to something important and then going "you know, or I know you know, and you did it, but never saying what it is or what they know. Very annoying and frustrating. To top it all off it irked me that they kept referring to the murdered TEENAGER as a CHILD, stop that. She is either the teenager (who by the way is having sex in her employer's house) or a child in which case she shouldn't have been there at that time of night. EDIT: The murder victim is a PRETEEN about 14 in which case why the hell is a prominent lawyer and his high society wife who need a nanny/babysitter for late nights hiring an inexperienced girl. And that also makes the sex with an older male creepy because it sounds like he is an older teen bordering on young adult. Yuck.
At least the chapters are short (although sometimes choppy) making it seem like a quick read. Edit: As the story goes on the POV changes grow as does the character list until you can't keep track of them all. Here the short chapters don't help and make the book harder to get through. Edit: Towards the end of the story this flipping POV and short chapter shit is getting out of hand. The last bit of the book is confusing with the numerous characters and POV changes within the short chapters as well as with each short chapter change. It made me have to put the book down several times with the dread of picking it back up again.
The ending drove me crazy and pissed me off.
May 1, 2018
Well, I certainly will read the rest of his books.You can not be a last page reader and truly enjoy this book. I have a couple of questions (such as is this really the #1 of the series) to ask this weekend, but I enjoyed the ride and recommended the book to the waitress at breakfast this morning. Too bad I have no plans to be back in West Virginia to see how she liked it.
One of my nitpicks is the number of names mentioned on the first page so that I had to look back a couple of times to make sure who was who.
Warning: Pet lovers beware.
One of my nitpicks is the number of names mentioned on the first page so that I had to look back a couple of times to make sure who was who.
Warning: Pet lovers beware.
August 2, 2023
Like this author. Liked the plot and the writing, kept me wanting to read on.
June 4, 2024
Got to say, the dark twist at the end... was just what I needed to give this book the extra star.
January 16, 2022
3,5 stelle
August 26, 2017
I read Silent Girls and immediately ordered this from the library. I couldn't get enough. So many twists and turns - right up until the end!
August 23, 2017
I look forward to more books from Eric Rickstad. This book is engaging with well developed characters, and I like how he melds current issues with them. This book was staggering how I was completely caught off guard at the end, but throughout the book I'm always guessing; and always highly interested!
August 17, 2017
Lie In Wait is an extremely well crafted and multi-layered murder mystery/thriller. While I found Rickstad's other Canaan thriller, The Silent Girls, to be a better story, Lie In Wait has an undeniable pull on the reader.
What starts out as a murder case surrounding a 15 year old girl eventually moves into an exploration of religion, the sins of our fathers, assault, and how secrets can be kept buried across decades.
Pair this book with... A full bodied Merlot.
What starts out as a murder case surrounding a 15 year old girl eventually moves into an exploration of religion, the sins of our fathers, assault, and how secrets can be kept buried across decades.
Pair this book with... A full bodied Merlot.
March 13, 2016
After thoroughly enjoying The Silent Girls last year, I've had this one on my to-read list ever since, waiting for it to be published. Clearly, I had high expectations and this did not disappoint.
Lie in Wait is not the anticipated sequel to The Silent Girls- instead, it focuses on the other detective from that book, Sonja Test. Not exactly the seasoned detective that Frank Rath was, this is actually Test's first murder case, and it's a big one- a teenage girl has been murdered in the home of a prominent attorney who is involved in a controversial case.
Just like The Silent Girls, the author manages to create a real sense of place with the Vermont setting- the cold, snow and rural-ness really play in to the overall atmosphere. As well, the author manages to develop many strong, distinct characters- he writes in many POVs but each character is clearly their own. Most importantly, the actual mystery is solved in an unexpected way, with big secrets being exposed at the end.
Overall, this was a great book and did not let me down despite high expectations. The only annoyance to note is that this book clearly needed to be edited two or three more times: names changing from Olivia to Rachel on the same page, "bur" instead of "but"- this became common enough to be distracting in parts. However, the author can't really be faulted for this, and I look forward to his next book.
Lie in Wait is not the anticipated sequel to The Silent Girls- instead, it focuses on the other detective from that book, Sonja Test. Not exactly the seasoned detective that Frank Rath was, this is actually Test's first murder case, and it's a big one- a teenage girl has been murdered in the home of a prominent attorney who is involved in a controversial case.
Just like The Silent Girls, the author manages to create a real sense of place with the Vermont setting- the cold, snow and rural-ness really play in to the overall atmosphere. As well, the author manages to develop many strong, distinct characters- he writes in many POVs but each character is clearly their own. Most importantly, the actual mystery is solved in an unexpected way, with big secrets being exposed at the end.
Overall, this was a great book and did not let me down despite high expectations. The only annoyance to note is that this book clearly needed to be edited two or three more times: names changing from Olivia to Rachel on the same page, "bur" instead of "but"- this became common enough to be distracting in parts. However, the author can't really be faulted for this, and I look forward to his next book.
January 18, 2021
I'd expect better editing from a book published by Harper Collins (Witness Impulse is part of Harper Collins), but it was like the editor was sleeping. In a four page section, Victor sees Jon enter his office at 4:42pm, talks to the secretary about seeing Jon, who says that Jon is fully booked that morning. Bursts into Jon's office where Jon tells the secretary to take the rest of the morning off as it is almost time to leave, then watches as the sun starts to set. Okay, wow.
Then there is the dropping of words (perhaps for writer's voice), but instead just made sentences incomprehensible. And the misuse of big words. I'm okay with big words, but please make sure you use the right big words (culminating really doesn't mean the same thing as accumulating).
But more than that, Test really should have been named Testy, because she acted like an immature brat more often than a detective. North couldn't give her the time of day and discounted her "intuition"--or she thought he did, therefore he did. Neither North nor Test(y) ever once looked for a murder weapon. Never sifted through mounds of evidence to see whether it added up. Only really worked together once on the whole case (granted not the same department, but still). North felt cardboard and unreal, and Test(y) not much better. Also, the motive? Are you kidding me. What a letdown.
Then there is the dropping of words (perhaps for writer's voice), but instead just made sentences incomprehensible. And the misuse of big words. I'm okay with big words, but please make sure you use the right big words (culminating really doesn't mean the same thing as accumulating).
But more than that, Test really should have been named Testy, because she acted like an immature brat more often than a detective. North couldn't give her the time of day and discounted her "intuition"--or she thought he did, therefore he did. Neither North nor Test(y) ever once looked for a murder weapon. Never sifted through mounds of evidence to see whether it added up. Only really worked together once on the whole case (granted not the same department, but still). North felt cardboard and unreal, and Test(y) not much better. Also, the motive? Are you kidding me. What a letdown.
July 28, 2018
A gripping story. Jonathan Merryfield made a career out of taking cases for underprivileged victims of violence. Young teenager Jessica Cumber was pleased that she had got the job to babysit in the Merryfield's grand old home of the lead attorney Jonathan and his wife Bethany for their baby boy Jon. One evening when Jessica babysits Jon and Bethany return home early to hear the sounds of their baby bawling. No sign of Jessica, it looked like Jessica Cumber had left baby Jon in his cot all alone. When the Vermont state police arrive they find Jessica Cumber dead on the grimy stone floor in the Merryfield's cellar. Lots of details of this gripping story I have deliberately left out. I hope you enjoy this plot as much as I did.
February 7, 2020
This story needed much better editing. I listened to the audiobook and I would not recommend it - the tone is painfully flat and very slow. It grabbed me at first, but what it really came down to was that this story had almost nothing to do with the initial act. It plodded along so slowly, took a bizarre turn, and honestly by the reveal, I couldn't even remember who that character was. Two things that made me grit my teeth: One, that the main character is call "Test" throughout (her last name) - and in the audio, it sounds like it should be "Tess" but they are saying it wrong. Two, STOP SAYING PEUGEOT.
Test's character was just not realistic to me, the investigative process wasn't concise - the whole thing just bumped along painfully.
Test's character was just not realistic to me, the investigative process wasn't concise - the whole thing just bumped along painfully.
March 26, 2020
It was just okay. Dumb ending. Seemed like the writer couldn't figure out how to end the story and took the easy way out. Cardboard characters. The writer has an annoying way of writing dialog so no character has a unique voice. What's with the one word sentences. But. Dude, don't make all of the characters have the exact same voice. Also, was this book even edited?? On the SAME page, a character's name changed from Olivia to Rachel. Get an editor. Or, if the author had an editor he should fire them.
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