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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
Thanks to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the ALC.
Jamie Day does it again! I’ve loved her previous novels, so I went into The Lake Escape with high expectations and she delivered. Tense, twisty, and soaked in summer secrets, this one pulled me under and didn’t let go until the final chapter.
The story follows three childhood friends, Julia, David, and Erika. They return to their Vermont lake homes with baggage in tow: moody teenagers, stale marriages, and a vault of unspoken truths. When David unveils his shiny new lake house, which conveniently blocks everyone else’s view, and introduces his much younger girlfriend, the reunion vibe takes a sharp turn. Then the girlfriend goes missing.
What begins as a slow boil of nostalgia and suburban dysfunction quickly morphs into a chilling mystery, tangled with long buried secrets and a lake with a sinister history of its own.
The dual narration by Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole was perfectly done. Each voice brought depth and nuance to the shifting perspectives, amping up the suspense and emotional stakes.
This one’s for fans of layered domestic thrillers, old friendships with cracks beneath the surface, and summer settings that feel a little too perfect.
Jamie Day does it again! I’ve loved her previous novels, so I went into The Lake Escape with high expectations and she delivered. Tense, twisty, and soaked in summer secrets, this one pulled me under and didn’t let go until the final chapter.
The story follows three childhood friends, Julia, David, and Erika. They return to their Vermont lake homes with baggage in tow: moody teenagers, stale marriages, and a vault of unspoken truths. When David unveils his shiny new lake house, which conveniently blocks everyone else’s view, and introduces his much younger girlfriend, the reunion vibe takes a sharp turn. Then the girlfriend goes missing.
What begins as a slow boil of nostalgia and suburban dysfunction quickly morphs into a chilling mystery, tangled with long buried secrets and a lake with a sinister history of its own.
The dual narration by Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole was perfectly done. Each voice brought depth and nuance to the shifting perspectives, amping up the suspense and emotional stakes.
This one’s for fans of layered domestic thrillers, old friendships with cracks beneath the surface, and summer settings that feel a little too perfect.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
slow-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:
Yes
Overall pretty good thriller book. Kept me wanting to know what was going on and whodunnit!! The twists were pretty good, nothing jaw dropping. But it was a good read. Most of the adults in the book are kind of awful people. So that always makes for a good read. Check it out for a good Summer Time Thriller!!
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“The Lake Escape” by Jamie Day is a summer book: something you can quickly pick up and read sitting in a beach chair and sipping iced tea, then promptly put it aside when a seagull tries to steal your snack. In the style of recently popular movies and novels, “rich people behaving badly”, the story takes place at a Vermont lakefront. Julia, Erika, and David used to come there as children, and although now they’re in their forties, with families of their own, they still look forward to their annual vacation reunion. However, the place is not as idyllic as it used to be, especially since David built a modern glass home there, in his eyes an architectural masterpiece. At the same time, Julia finds it an eyesore, blocking her view of the lake. As if he didn’t prove himself to be a jerk, David also brought his new, younger girlfriend, Fiona. Nobody likes her, but they are still shocked and upset when Fiona disappears. It had happened before: thirty years ago, two young women also vanished. People keep saying that “the lake took them.” Did Fiona meet a similar fate?
The novel starts slowly, but it picks up halfway, bringing the past events and new characters. I didn’t find all the twists unexpected, probably because I’ve read many thrillers and mysteries and can often guess the author’s intentions. Also, without giving too much detail about the novel, some ideas seemed to be rather far-fetched. I did like the main character, Izzy, a nanny freshly hired to take care of David’s children, although she irritated me at times. She was the best-developed character, and her constant mentioning of Mary Poppins as an ideal nanny was sweet, as it was her crush on a moody young musician.
The novel is easy to read, and although, in my opinion, it is not as good as Jamie Day’s first book, it can still be an enjoyable read. After all, as the song goes, it’s “summertime and the living is easy,” so we may look for books that are easy beach reads and as refreshing as a glass of iced tea.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lots of entertaining twists and turns with a subtly feminist message. Some of the twists in the last 25% of the book kinda felt like they came out of nowhere, but I kind of liked the ridiculous telenovela-style final confrontation. Izzy’s story (and narration) was definitely more entertaining than Julia’s, but I still appreciated the latter’s character development.
Thank you to the StoryGraph and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook copy!
Thank you to the StoryGraph and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook copy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death
Moderate: Rape, Sexual harassment
Minor: Pregnancy
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one grabbed me right away with its premise of a group of friends meeting in Vermont at their lake houses for vacation. There are so many secrets and strange happenings and the twists that must inevitably go along with those. If you're looking to love these characters, you're likely to be disappointed. But you won't be with the unexpected storylines that unfold. It was a fun, quick listen. The dual narration was done well.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARL. All opinions are mine.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARL. All opinions are mine.