Lie by the Pool

A Novel

By: Susan Walter

Narrated by: Jess Nahikian, Selah Victor, Aaron Shedlock, Michael Crouch

A desperate woman. An irresistible invitation. An escalating nightmare of secrets, lies, and murder.

Bree’s new home is luxurious and private, with a fancy Beverly Hills address. What a shame it’s not hers. Widowed, penniless, living in her car, and out of options, she’s climbed the fence and crashed in the pool house. All she wants is a good night’s sleep. But when Sophie, the absentee owner, finds her, she gets a whole lot more.

Sophie invites Bree back for a party. When it winds down, Bree can’t resist sneaking upstairs to sleep in a real bed. But the next morning, she wakes to find Sophie’s dead body floating in the pool. As the resident vagabond, she’s both the only witness and the prime murder suspect.

Bree knows she shouldn’t run, but her husband’s death was mysterious, too. If she’s going to clear her name, she’s going to have to work fast. Because the killer is still out there, and she’s next.

©2023 Susan Walter. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“The most fun I’ve had reading a thriller in a long time! Lie By The Pool is a delicious page-turner you will finish in one sitting. Full of juicy twists, a wildly original plot, and nerve-shredding tension, Lie by the Pool catapults Susan Walter into the top echelon of thriller writers.”—David Ellis, New York Times bestselling author of Look Closer

“A thriller that thrills, crime fiction that is criminally good and feels like the real thing. A rich ensemble of characters, and protagonists that you hope don't wind up dead… because danger lurks around every twisty corner.”—Ken Pisani, author of the Los Angeles Times best-selling novel AMP'D

“Susan Walter has a knack for writing thoroughly entertaining stories that keep you flipping pages. Fun and fast and full of surprising revelations. What a pleasure to read!”—Bruce Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of A Dog’s Purpose and Love, Clancy

Fast read

Interesting premise. Not much mystery as you know exactly what’s going on at any given point. That’s not a bad thing. The author does a good job story telling. Sometimes we have to hit rock bottom to know what means the most to us.

Unexpected parts

I enjoyed listening to the mystery novel that had some interesting twists in the middle of the book. I liked the different narrators telling their perspectives of the events.

Lacking credibility & believable plot

Wish the author researched FBI protocols & court proceedings a bit….it felt like an amateur, teen book when discussing any law enforcement details etc. there were parts it also felt very condescending & preachy in an odd way. Performance of the readers was good, but It just felt very teen novel to me….missed opportunity to have a very gripping story.

Narrators are AMAZING!

There are four narrators in the multi-POV book and they are all fantastic! Bree is soulful and sympathetic, Sophie is sharp-tongued and sassy, Carter makes you want to hug him, and Luke's voice is liquid velvet. Loved how they pull you into the story, I enjoyed this one so much!
The story itself is well-crafted with lots of unexpected plot twists. If you like Minka Kent or Laura Dave you will love this one!

Fun read

I liked everything except the ending which seemed a bit cheesy, but hey, it was better than everyone getting tortured and killed! A good read for teens too!

Cotton candy thriller

Narrators were excellent. Story was decent, some twists and turns I didn’t see coming. A lot of obvious foreshadowing, like “I didn’t know it at the time, but things were about to get a lot worse” sort of thing. I’m not a fan of love stories or doe-eyed naïveté, so a couple of the B plot lines I didn’t find compelling. I got this as a daily deal for $3 and am happy with my purchase but would have been bummed to spend a credit on it.

Action packed!

Great book! Could not put it down. Intriguing and alluring. I could have done without the “until what happened next” attempts at the end of each chapter to keep the listener interested and returning. I was already interested and returning, without the obvious tactics to ensure it. :)

Listenable but definitely not memorable

A quick and easy listen but predictable. Too much emotional descriptions that bordered on soppy. I bought this on sale because of the positive reviews. Not really worth the listen.

Really Enjoyed!!

This was a good story. Lots of twists and turns. Great narration. Worth a credit. Highly recommend.

Interesting Story

There were so many things to like about this story. Character development was excellent. I really felt like I knew the characters. Early on it’s clear that unraveling what happened will be past and present narrative with multiple characters’ voices and their involvement. All of that and excellent narrators saved this book for me.

Again the book itself is really good but, as with other books I’ve read, when a character repeats herself over and over I have put that book in the DNF pile. Instead of feeling empathy it becomes something I’m sure is completely unintended. The heroine no longer seems justified but almost as attention seeking. And for a reader it seems more like word count or page filler when reading that the heroine just said the same thing a few pages ago. Since the premise of the repeated statement is part of the story, instead of saying it again, I know from Beta reading, there are so many different ways to convey those thoughts and feelings. I’m glad I finished though.

The narration with multiple actors voicing several characters was done so well by this cast. They added emotional depth and range, gender, and genuineness to the characters and the story!!