| Publisher | Sphere |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 23 June 2022 |
| ISBN-10 | 0751581577 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0751581577 |
| Format | hardcover |
| Pages | 400 |
| Price | £ 18.99 |
Lying Beside You
by
Forensic psychologist, Cyrus Haven, is called to a crime scene where a murder has taken place and a woman is missing. Evie, his lodger, may have witnessed key moments in related crimes.
Review
Lying Beside You is the third of three books featuring forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven set in Nottingham but can be read as a standalone.
Cyrus is often called into cases by the police. In this instance, a man has been murdered and his daughter is missing. Later, another woman is abducted but connections are not identified, nor do past crimes appear to offer any clues.
Cyrus also has some major domestic issues to deal with.
Evie Cormac, his lodger, throws up any number of challenges with her behaviour, which has been infuriating at times but despite that it is not difficult to align with her and equally easy to applaud some of her actions. Evie, now 21, was born in Albania and was abused for many years before finding herself under Cyrus’s informal care. Evie seems to have the gift of being able to detect when people are lying, although, there are no paranormal elements in the story.
And, of course, a little bit of family drama adds further colour to a plot. Cyrus’s brother, Elias, is being released from a psychiatric hospital and is due to stay with him in short bursts as a trial period for his final release. Elias killed his other family members some 20 years earlier. Needless to say, the visits are a testing period for both Cyrus and Evie.
As for the main crimes, Cyrus uses his observational skills to find clues incrementally, often ahead of the police, weaving many and varied threads together to identify viable scenarios. He is able to connect dots others have been unable to see. and a final minor twist also adds icing to the cake.
Cyrus appears to be side-tracked at one point after developing some sympathy for a sex offender, Mitchell Coates, who he thinks may have been innocent. Mitchell is on parole and Evie too believes his claims of innocence. He is returned to prison after Evie, carrying out her own investigations, unintentionally is responsible for him being in breach of his restraining orders.
Smaller coincidences carry elements of the plot, but they are not preposterous. For instance, Evie works at a bar for only two days, yet interacts with key plot figures and assists police with an important identification.
The story is delivered in first person accounts by both Cyrus and Evie, which roughly alternate. Cyrus has prime time, however.
Michael Robotham, an Australian author who lived and worked in the UK for many years, sucked me in from the opening pages with his infectious writing style. His stories are inviting without relying on gore or a major single incident. He also injects some really good, yet subtle humour on occasions. There are no dead spots or filler material in the telling and there is never any nonsense with superhuman feats or similar.
This is a great read from the Robotham stable.
Cyrus is often called into cases by the police. In this instance, a man has been murdered and his daughter is missing. Later, another woman is abducted but connections are not identified, nor do past crimes appear to offer any clues.
Cyrus also has some major domestic issues to deal with.
Evie Cormac, his lodger, throws up any number of challenges with her behaviour, which has been infuriating at times but despite that it is not difficult to align with her and equally easy to applaud some of her actions. Evie, now 21, was born in Albania and was abused for many years before finding herself under Cyrus’s informal care. Evie seems to have the gift of being able to detect when people are lying, although, there are no paranormal elements in the story.
And, of course, a little bit of family drama adds further colour to a plot. Cyrus’s brother, Elias, is being released from a psychiatric hospital and is due to stay with him in short bursts as a trial period for his final release. Elias killed his other family members some 20 years earlier. Needless to say, the visits are a testing period for both Cyrus and Evie.
As for the main crimes, Cyrus uses his observational skills to find clues incrementally, often ahead of the police, weaving many and varied threads together to identify viable scenarios. He is able to connect dots others have been unable to see. and a final minor twist also adds icing to the cake.
Cyrus appears to be side-tracked at one point after developing some sympathy for a sex offender, Mitchell Coates, who he thinks may have been innocent. Mitchell is on parole and Evie too believes his claims of innocence. He is returned to prison after Evie, carrying out her own investigations, unintentionally is responsible for him being in breach of his restraining orders.
Smaller coincidences carry elements of the plot, but they are not preposterous. For instance, Evie works at a bar for only two days, yet interacts with key plot figures and assists police with an important identification.
The story is delivered in first person accounts by both Cyrus and Evie, which roughly alternate. Cyrus has prime time, however.
Michael Robotham, an Australian author who lived and worked in the UK for many years, sucked me in from the opening pages with his infectious writing style. His stories are inviting without relying on gore or a major single incident. He also injects some really good, yet subtle humour on occasions. There are no dead spots or filler material in the telling and there is never any nonsense with superhuman feats or similar.
This is a great read from the Robotham stable.
Reviewed 30 September 2022 by John Verpeleti
