Thursday, March 18, 2021

Review - The Lake House

Title
:   The Lake House
Author:  Laura Wolfe
Publisher:  Bookouture
Genre:   Mystery/Thrillers
Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:   302
Date of Publication:   March 17, 2021
My Rating:   4 Stars
DESCRIPTION:

The worst part was we could have avoided the whole thing. Only a minor change here or there would have done the trick—a different decision made last week or twenty years ago. Instead, every choice had led to this terrifying place.

It was supposed to be the perfect vacation: five old friends together for the first time in years; a secluded cabin by a private lake; late nights, wine and laughter. No one, least of all Megan, looking forward to a break from her suburban routine, thought anything bad would happen.

But who has been keeping a secret?

Who has been hiding a lie for over twenty years?

And whose life is in danger?

Megan thought she knew everything about her friends. But things change in the woods. The truth gets twisted. Lies rise to the surface. Bonds start to break.

And someone is watching them…

Dark, compelling and totally unputdownable, The Lake House will have you wanting to sleep with the lights on. Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware, Shari Lapena and The Hunting Party.


MY THOUGHTS:

Friends since college, but separated by life and its responsibilities, five women - Megan, Kaitlyn, Sam, Charlotte and Jenna - take off for a vacation together. They rent a secluded cabin and hope to spend time reminiscing about their college years and talk about their marriages and families. However, the weekend is anything but what they were expecting. 

The entire story is told in Megan's first person perspective, and as the story develops, things get ugly at a rapid pace. For starters, the cabin is too secluded. No cell service. No WiFi. No other guests and a creepy owner. 

Very specific things are at play. Some of the women are happy in their lives. Others are not. Some are lying and some have secrets. Will any of these things lead to the reason behind what eventually happens in this creepy story? Having read several books like this, two especially come to mind - Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and Ruth Ware's One by One - I was hoping that we would not be reading something that followed those formulas.

In this book, we are - and we aren't. Yes, you have a small group of people in an isolated location with no doubt at all as to what is going to happen. But, this book takes things to its own level. The past plays a huge role in the events of this story. Of course, you do get a slasher film sort of vibe when you want to tell the women to BE CAREFUL, GET AWAY, DON'T GO THERE, etc. No doubt. A bit aggravating, but then to me that is kudos to the author! She really pulled me into this story! 

It seemed evident who the perpetrator was in this book, but there were twists and turns, rabbit trails and unexpected events popping up that kept me guessing. I loved the tension that this story created in me and I especially loved the ending and how it pulled everything together. And I just have to add, read this book to the very LAST word. Just going to leave it at that.

Having previously read She Lies Alone by Laura Wolfe, I knew that I would be in for a good story with this book, The Lake House. I certainly was not disappointed. 

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review.  This is my honest opinion.




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Hello, and thanks for stopping by! I live in Ann Arbor, MI with my husband, son, and daughter. When I’m not writing or reading, you can find me playing games with my kids, cooking (and eating!) vegetarian food, hiking through local nature areas, or doting on my rescue dog. 

I hold a BA in English from the University of Michigan and a JD from DePaul University College of Law. I'm a member of multiple writing groups, including International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers' Association, and Sisters in Crime. My fascination with "things that go bump in the night" probably stems from having watched too many scary movies when I was younger.
 
I now write primarily for adults. My first novel with Bookouture, Two Widows, was published in August 2020. It quickly became an Amazon charts top ten bestseller and also landed in the top ten on Kobo UK and Amazon Australia. In November 2020, my second novel with Bookouture, She Lies Alone, was released and spent several weeks on Amazon's top 100 in psychological fiction. My third book with Bookouture, The Lake House, will be released in March 2021.

Before signing with Bookouture, I independently published several novels. My suspense novel, Top Producer, was self-published in May 2020 and was named as a "Top Pick of 2020" by Reader's Favorite Book Reviews. My YA mystery series has also won multiple independent book awards. Trail of Secrets was named a Finalist in the 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards - First Novel category. The second book in the series, Barn Shadows, was shortlisted in the 2018 Chanticleer Paranormal Book Awards.


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