Lie Beside Me

Imagine waking up in your own bed, in sheets soaked with the blood of the dead stranger beside you. This is how Louise begins her day in Lodge’s third DCI Jonah Sheens book (after Watching from the Dark). New readers can start here without feeling lost, thanks to the book’s contextual backstory. Louise, a professional harpist, is married to Niall, a pharmaceutical rep. On the surface, they seem ordinary. Louise, however, has an alter ego, Drunk Louise, whose appearances coincide with Niall’s frequent business trips. Over the course of the novel, Louise writes to Niall and divulges each of her indiscretions from the start of their relationship. Drunk Louise makes poor decisions, but is she capable of murder? It’s Sober Louise who calls the police to report finding the body. Is she guilty of murder? Jonah and his colleagues consider Louise a suspect, but which Louise?