Where She Lies: A Gripping Irish Detective Thriller with a Stunning Twist

Detective Finnegan Beck Series, Book 1

By: Michael Scanlon

Narrated by: Ruairi Conaghan

In a town full of liars, whom can you trust?

When Detective Finnegan Beck is demoted from his high-powered job in Dublin and relocated in disgrace to the small Irish town of Cross Beg, he predicts boredom will be his biggest threat.

But then a beautiful local teenage girl is found strangled in the cold, dark woods a mile from town.

The prime suspect is the seemingly gentle drifter who found Tanya’s body.

Beck seems to be the only person who can’t escape the feeling that Tanya wasn’t killed at random. As he digs deeper into the shadows of Cross Beg, he begins to realize it isn’t the sleepy backwater he’d first believed. Everyone here has something to hide. Tanya had a boyfriend whose name no one knew. A best friend with a loose relationship with the truth. And a habit she thought she’d kept hidden from everyone.

But just as Beck believes he is making progress, the body of one of the suspects is found drowned in the river. Is the killer just getting started?

Everyone in the town seems to have something they would die to protect. But who has a secret they’d kill for?

This debut novel from a powerful new Irish voice is the first in a gripping series that will feature the brilliant, haunted Detective Finnegan Beck, who won’t rest until justice is found. Perfect for fans of LJ Ross, Joy Ellis, and Patricia Gibney.

Praise for Where She Lies:

"I was pulled into the story from the very beginning and every time I had to put the book down, I couldn't wait to pick it up again... All the stars from me and looking forward to the rest of the series." (Rona Halsall)

©2019 Michael Scanlon (P)2019 Bookouture

Just ok

Struggled to finish, it was confusing at times. I had hoped for a better story

Great story captures your attention.

Good Mystery with a few twists. Great distraction for a long drive. I would definitely recommend to mystery fans

Slow

It's difficult to finish. The story dragged on and I struggled with it. It has a decent ending.

Ok

It was ok… different and has a couple of twists but I struggled to finish it.

Good story, not so great narration

While the narrator has a beautiful voice, I found he does not have enough variation in voices of the characters, making a conversation more challenging to follow. I found it necessary to RE-listen to dialogues to determines who was saying what and follow the storyline.

Thestory sounded good... what I could hear anyway.

The vice of the narrator was very deep and I had a hard time adjusting the sound to her every word. never got it right.

Excellent!

Best new detective series I’ve come across in ages. Scanlon writes with the kind of poetry and intelligence I find in the work of Adrian McKinty, and provided a plot that kept me guessing. Others have criticized the narration, but I LOVED Conaghan’s dark brogue, peppered with bursts of expression that highlighted the author’s dark wit. I had no trouble following his speech patterns possibly because I love Celtic Noir and am accustomed to the narration of Gerard Doyle and others. I’m thrilled to have discovered this author. Brilliant.

Surprisingly good!

I picked this book because I was looking for something to read. It was a surprisingly good choice. My issue lately has been reading murder mysteries with unbelievable detectives who the author makes act out of character AND the predictable plots/subplots and story. This story did not have much of this. It did have a few ‘murder mystery plot templates’ but included more originality than guessable parts. I also didn’t hate any of the main characters which I find myself doing lately. I’m not sure if this should become a series. I am going to read the next book but won’t read the summary to learn if it is a part ‘next’ or not.

Not Great.

I found it very difficult to stay engaged because I had to listen so carefully. The overall performance was good. njust too soft and gard to hear.

I had tonforce myself to finish this one.

Loved the Narration

Unlike many of the previous reviews, I found the narrator absolutely charming. It very much authenticated the story and characters to hear the beautiful Irish voice interpretation.
Very much enjoyed the story and the characters and definitely am a fan!