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Who Lies in Wait: A Hunter and Tate Mystery
You can run, but you can’t hide … forever.
On a cold January evening, Detective Liam Hunter and his partner are called to investigate the discovery of a woman’s body in the woods on the outskirts of Ottawa. She’s the missing fiancée of a wealthy businessman twice her age who claims to know nothing about her murky past.
That same evening, a young woman escapes from a downtown condo where she’s been held captive. Eighteen-year-old Sara McGowan takes the fleeing woman under her wing, only to become the target of the trafficking ring desperate to get her back.
Meanwhile, reporter Ella Tate is attempting to track down an anonymous source who claims to have evidence of illegal activity that implicates people in high positions — people who will do anything to protect their reputations.
The stakes mount and lives collide as Hunter and Tate desperately work to solve a murder with tentacles more far-reaching than either can imagine.
The question who will survive this web of secrets unscathed?
Reviews for Who Lies in Wait
Chapman’s latest is a believable mystery that readers can sink their teeth into, filled with crime, secrets, and just the right amount of violence. Countless potential suspects drive the plot, and Chapman skillfully threads the different storylines together while avoiding stereotyped, one-dimensional figures; instead, the main players are a little messy but mostly lovable, hopelessly flawed and tremendously brave. These idiosyncrasies will entice readers to return for the next installment in the series.
– Booklife
Who Lies in Wait, Brenda Chapman’s riveting new Hunter and Tate mystery, opens at night in a frozen forest outside Ottawa. You can almost feel the frost as Detective Liam Hunter and his partner view the body of a murdered woman. Chapman’s evocation of winter is so vivid that it’s almost a character. The story is littered with red herrings and unexpected twists. This compulsively readable tale will keep you up past your bedtime as you try to unravel the mesmerizing mystery.
– Don Butler, author of Norman’s Conquest
With WHO LIES IN WAIT, Brenda Chapman’s fourth novel in her Hunter and Tate mystery series, the Ottawa author has crafted a twisty, expertly plotted page turner, grounded in a wonderfully evocative sense of place, with richly developed characters that confirm Chapman’s place as one of Canada’s doyennes of crime fiction.
– John Delacourt, author of The Black State
The story is complex and compelling while further developing the various characters and their arcs. So, well done!
– Allister Thompson, editor
On a cold January evening, Detective Liam Hunter and his partner are called to investigate the discovery of a woman’s body in the woods on the outskirts of Ottawa. She’s the missing fiancée of a wealthy businessman twice her age who claims to know nothing about her murky past.
That same evening, a young woman escapes from a downtown condo where she’s been held captive. Eighteen-year-old Sara McGowan takes the fleeing woman under her wing, only to become the target of the trafficking ring desperate to get her back.
Meanwhile, reporter Ella Tate is attempting to track down an anonymous source who claims to have evidence of illegal activity that implicates people in high positions — people who will do anything to protect their reputations.
The stakes mount and lives collide as Hunter and Tate desperately work to solve a murder with tentacles more far-reaching than either can imagine.
The question who will survive this web of secrets unscathed?
Reviews for Who Lies in Wait
Chapman’s latest is a believable mystery that readers can sink their teeth into, filled with crime, secrets, and just the right amount of violence. Countless potential suspects drive the plot, and Chapman skillfully threads the different storylines together while avoiding stereotyped, one-dimensional figures; instead, the main players are a little messy but mostly lovable, hopelessly flawed and tremendously brave. These idiosyncrasies will entice readers to return for the next installment in the series.
– Booklife
Who Lies in Wait, Brenda Chapman’s riveting new Hunter and Tate mystery, opens at night in a frozen forest outside Ottawa. You can almost feel the frost as Detective Liam Hunter and his partner view the body of a murdered woman. Chapman’s evocation of winter is so vivid that it’s almost a character. The story is littered with red herrings and unexpected twists. This compulsively readable tale will keep you up past your bedtime as you try to unravel the mesmerizing mystery.
– Don Butler, author of Norman’s Conquest
With WHO LIES IN WAIT, Brenda Chapman’s fourth novel in her Hunter and Tate mystery series, the Ottawa author has crafted a twisty, expertly plotted page turner, grounded in a wonderfully evocative sense of place, with richly developed characters that confirm Chapman’s place as one of Canada’s doyennes of crime fiction.
– John Delacourt, author of The Black State
The story is complex and compelling while further developing the various characters and their arcs. So, well done!
– Allister Thompson, editor
342 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2025
14 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Brenda Chapman
40 books357 followersI'm an Ottawa author with 18 published novels in the mystery genre, both adult and YA. I am currently writing two adult mystery series: The Stonechild and Rouleau police procedurals from Dundurn include Cold Mourning (2014), which was shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award for crime novel of the year, Butterfly Kills, Tumbled Graves, Shallow End and Bleeding Darkness. Turning Secrets, 6th in the series, will be released spring 2019.
The Anna Sweet mysteries are novellas from Grass Roots Press for adult literacy or those wanting a quick read. My Sister's Keeper and No Trace were both shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis award and The Hard Fall and No Trace were shortlisted for the Golden Oak award.
Previous published fiction includes: the Jennifer Bannon mysteries for ages 10+, a full length adult murder mystery In Winter's Grip (Dundurn 2010), and a Rapid Reads mystery The Second Wife (Orca 2011), which was shortlisted for a Golden Oak award. Second Chances, a YA novel for ages 13+ was released by Dundurn in September 2012.
The Anna Sweet mysteries are novellas from Grass Roots Press for adult literacy or those wanting a quick read. My Sister's Keeper and No Trace were both shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis award and The Hard Fall and No Trace were shortlisted for the Golden Oak award.
Previous published fiction includes: the Jennifer Bannon mysteries for ages 10+, a full length adult murder mystery In Winter's Grip (Dundurn 2010), and a Rapid Reads mystery The Second Wife (Orca 2011), which was shortlisted for a Golden Oak award. Second Chances, a YA novel for ages 13+ was released by Dundurn in September 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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September 29, 2025Found the first half of the book slow, too many characters with no apparent connection. Started to come together for the last half but not one of my favourites.
May 25, 2025
This author needs a good editor. The book is clumsily written, much repetition and stops and starts in the story that are completely unnecessary. In the end the plot, which looked promising, fell flat. Absolutely ridiculous and far-fetched.
I do like the characters, although they are starting to become templates as well.
I do like the characters, although they are starting to become templates as well.
January 1, 2026
What can I say? I really enjoyed the other books in this series but this one is just plain DULL. Too many characters going nowhere. 130 pages in and Hunter and Tate have barely been mentioned. This book needs a serious editing job as someone else mentioned.
Give it a pass. Thankfully, it was a library book
Give it a pass. Thankfully, it was a library book
October 12, 2025
Love this series - set in Ottawa, so the setting is familiar. I know the streets, neighbourhoods, restaurants, etc., a mix of police procedural and cozy. A murder and a trafficking ring form the plot.
May 12, 2025
3.5 stars.
May 24, 2025
Another good book by this author. Kept me interested right til all the details came together.
June 19, 2025
I enjoyed this book. It has interesting characters and the plot moved along at a pace that kept me interested. I also like the local colour in the author's books.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews