#BiteSizeSaturday ft. Where She Lies by Michael Scanlon via NetGalley & The Girl Next Door by Phoebe Morgan via The Pigeonhole

Hi and welcome to another #BiteSizeSaturday! Today I’d like to talk about 2 books with a common starting point: the murder of a beautiful teenage girl in a rather small community. And that’s pretty much where the similarities end, because the authors take the reader on very different journeys. Let’s take a look!

First up: Where She Lies by Michael Scanlon.

In this novel set in Ireland, the murdered teen is called Tanya. Tanya is found strangled in the woods, but is this a random kill, or is there more to it? What ensues is a gritty, atmospheric story that focuses on the lead investigator, Finnegan Beck. Beck may be a brilliant detective but he is also a troubled man with quite a few personal demons and perhaps not enough courage, and/or not enough incentive, to try and slay them. The short chapters propel the story forwards, I once again suffered from the oh-just-one-more-little-chapter syndrome and at about 100 pages from the end I just wanted to cancel all the birthday plans I’d made so I could carry on reading ( for the record: I didn’t, but oh that dreaded social life ?)
This was an enjoyable read emanating a rather dark vibe and featuring a very interesting protagonist. I’m looking forward to the next Beck novel.

Thanks to Michael Scanlon, Bookouture and NetGalley for allowing me to read an eARC for free in exchange for an honest and unbiassed review.

Next up: The Girl Next Door by Phoebe Morgan.

In this novel, the murdered teen is called Clare and Clare is found murdered in a field. What ensues here is a gripping, twisty, suspenseful story, not so much about the investigation, and more about the town and the people in it. If I were to compare it to some recent books I’ve read they’d be Jo Spain’s Dirty Little Secrets or Lesley Kara’s The Rumour, because what we have here is a small community with lots of secrets and things are not quite what they appear at first. That’s all I’ll tell you about that, the blinder you are going in, the better! And I hope you do go in, because this is a belter of a book, that you don’t want to miss, especially if you like stories that are all about unravelling secrets and that are chock-full of little twists and turns (honestly, doesn’t everyone?!). Highly recommended.

Thanks to Phoebe Morgan, HQ and The Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read this novel for free!

Alright folks, that was it for today, hope you had fun! And if you want to talk murder some more, comment below!