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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jamie Day keeps you on the edge of your seat with The Lake Escape. The story centers on three families who vacation at their lake houses each year, This year is different though as everyone is a little strained and on edge. When David's girlfriend disappears, it dredges up secrets better left buried.
This is an intense thriller. Everyone is hiding something and you don't know where it all will lead. The twists keep coming as the story unravels. In the end, no one is left unscathed.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.
This is an intense thriller. Everyone is hiding something and you don't know where it all will lead. The twists keep coming as the story unravels. In the end, no one is left unscathed.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved the other 2 books by this author. However this book took a very unexpected turn that I really didn’t enjoy. A lot of build up but the ending felt rushed.
I enjoyed the overall story and the writing was great. The plot twists had multiple angles, one being more predictable than the other. A solid read.
Thank you St Martins Press and Netgalley for this Advance Readers Copy ebook in exchange for my honest review.
I enjoyed the overall story and the writing was great. The plot twists had multiple angles, one being more predictable than the other. A solid read.
Thank you St Martins Press and Netgalley for this Advance Readers Copy ebook in exchange for my honest review.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was an ARC from NetGalley. This book was a lot in all the worst ways. I was not invested in the characters or the story as a whole. None of the characters have any redeeming traits, and continue to ignore all the red flags. The story is based on duel timelines, but we didn't get any duel timelines. The author went above and beyond to make the "bad guy" known from the start and have zero redeeming qualities. The second half of the story was just a whirlwind of the most ridiculous "twists". It wasn't even enjoyable. A lot of things were just pulled out of thin air, and had nothing to do with the rest of the story. This one really missed the mark. #netgalley #thelakeescape #30yearsago #thelakealwaystakesthem #mystery
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book made me want to take a lake house vacation and also avoid lake houses for the rest of my life!
If you loved A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, you’ll love this book. It had such amazing character development and I had a complicated relationship with every single one of them. The twist at the ending caught me so off guard and it had a close to every character’s individual stories. I cannot get enough of Jamie Day’s books. May need to reread this during the summertime when it comes out!
Everyone needs to read this on a vacation 🫣
If you loved A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, you’ll love this book. It had such amazing character development and I had a complicated relationship with every single one of them. The twist at the ending caught me so off guard and it had a close to every character’s individual stories. I cannot get enough of Jamie Day’s books. May need to reread this during the summertime when it comes out!
Everyone needs to read this on a vacation 🫣
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This is Jamie Day’s third book, and I’ve really enjoyed all of them so far. This book is told from multiple points of view, is based on suspense and secrets, and was easy to read. The characters were not easy to like, but that actually kept the story moving for me, and I enjoyed the way everything wrapped up at the end.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Also recommended by Jamie Day – One Big Happy Family!
Julia, David, and Erika have gone to Lake Timmeny since they were babies and are reuniting with their families for an annual vacation. Two women disappeared 30 years apart at the lake, and now another one is gone. Everyone says, “the lake takes them”. Does it, or is it one of them or someone they know?
This one really kept my attention – suspenseful and the plot went fast with a few twists. The ending came together nicely. I would highly recommend this one and any others from Jamie Day!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved the serene lake setting with summer vacation vibes... To just turn it on it's head! Three lifelong friends, David, Julia and Erika, come together for a couple weeks every summer to vacation in their lake houses. We see this crazy story of twists and turns through the views of Izzy Greene (Nanny for David's twins) and Julia Crawford. Thirty years apart, two women have gone missing at the lake without a trace. It's thirty years after the last disappearance... No big deal, right..? Highly recommend this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Lake Escape is a killer thriller and mystery novel, but unfortunately falls short due to uninteresting characters, an obvious motive and killer that’s far too easy to figure out.
Childhood friends return to Lake Timmeny for their annual retreat, but when Fiona, David’s new girlfriend goes missing, their hopes at a easy going escape disappear and instead turn into chaos.
The set up was for the first ~100 or so pages, or roughly ~30% of the book. I wasn’t attached to any of the characters. Nothing grabbed my attention, or truly made me want to keep reading. Julie, who feels entitled to a lake view, and is suspicious of her husband’s financials. Izzy, the sophomore college student who lied about her nanny credentials. David, who came into new money and has his girlfriend, Fiona mysteriously disappear the night after an argument. Erika and her husband were forgettable. Even more suspiciously so, the night before – Fiona and Lucas (Erika’s 18 year old son) were found kissing. Fiona is also in her 30’s! Ew. It felt unnecessary to include that, especially as it did nothing to push the plot forward.
Christian especially irked me from the beginning. While Julie herself was no saint either, he had an affair previously, blew all of their money, and she can somehow STILL forgive him? Girl, please. I’m big on the “if he wanted to, he would.” He’s definitely not giving that vibe. Case in point:
“I changed all the passwords as a precaution. It’s not big deal. Please, just get some sleep, or at least let me sleep. You’re worrying too much.”
Honestly, Izzy’s involvement was predictable. Julie mostly served as a narrator for her growing suspicions of those around her. There were some minor “plot points” that were quickly forgotten and shoved to the side as well.
I’m typically a sucker for thrillers, but I don’t care for stilted, awkward conversations. Plus, to make it worse – Day kept trying to stack up the “oohs” and “ahhs” with incredulous reveal after reveal that made NO sense, nor was it even briefly mentioned previously, but was instead brought up out of nowhere.
When the big mystery of who the killer was is revealed, I wasn’t surprised. They weren’t given much dialogue or any actions until the way end of the book. My suggestion for future books would be to include the suspicious characters more often. The less you talk about them, the more (I, as a reader!) am thinking that they’re the killer.
Then, the last ~10% or so was absolutely ridiculous. The MOB?? Come on. That’s just an easy out at that point, a last-ditch effort to make things more “thrilling.” I didn’t care for this at all and I’m quite surprised at all the positive reviews surrounding it.
Overall, not something that I’d be happy to recommend to anyone.
*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. *
Childhood friends return to Lake Timmeny for their annual retreat, but when Fiona, David’s new girlfriend goes missing, their hopes at a easy going escape disappear and instead turn into chaos.
The set up was for the first ~100 or so pages, or roughly ~30% of the book. I wasn’t attached to any of the characters. Nothing grabbed my attention, or truly made me want to keep reading. Julie, who feels entitled to a lake view, and is suspicious of her husband’s financials. Izzy, the sophomore college student who lied about her nanny credentials. David, who came into new money and has his girlfriend, Fiona mysteriously disappear the night after an argument. Erika and her husband were forgettable. Even more suspiciously so, the night before – Fiona and Lucas (Erika’s 18 year old son) were found kissing. Fiona is also in her 30’s! Ew. It felt unnecessary to include that, especially as it did nothing to push the plot forward.
Christian especially irked me from the beginning. While Julie herself was no saint either, he had an affair previously, blew all of their money, and she can somehow STILL forgive him? Girl, please. I’m big on the “if he wanted to, he would.” He’s definitely not giving that vibe. Case in point:
“I changed all the passwords as a precaution. It’s not big deal. Please, just get some sleep, or at least let me sleep. You’re worrying too much.”
Honestly, Izzy’s involvement was predictable. Julie mostly served as a narrator for her growing suspicions of those around her. There were some minor “plot points” that were quickly forgotten and shoved to the side as well.
I’m typically a sucker for thrillers, but I don’t care for stilted, awkward conversations. Plus, to make it worse – Day kept trying to stack up the “oohs” and “ahhs” with incredulous reveal after reveal that made NO sense, nor was it even briefly mentioned previously, but was instead brought up out of nowhere.
When the big mystery of who the killer was is revealed, I wasn’t surprised. They weren’t given much dialogue or any actions until the way end of the book. My suggestion for future books would be to include the suspicious characters more often. The less you talk about them, the more (I, as a reader!) am thinking that they’re the killer.
Then, the last ~10% or so was absolutely ridiculous. The MOB?? Come on. That’s just an easy out at that point, a last-ditch effort to make things more “thrilling.” I didn’t care for this at all and I’m quite surprised at all the positive reviews surrounding it.
Overall, not something that I’d be happy to recommend to anyone.
*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. *