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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First off, I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and author Jamie Day for allowing me to read this book via Netgalley. All opinions following are my own.
This novel follows three lifelong friends, their families, and a nanny with a secret. Julia, Erika, and David grew up on Lake Timmeny. Their families had been Lake neighbors and friends for years. Fraught with teenage drama and traumatic experiences, the three grow up together. David loses his dad unexpectedly as a teenager. Erika's mom runs out on her and her dad, Cormac, when she is very young, and Julia just tries to keep their friendships strong.
Present day, the three friends meet up for their annual two week lake vacation. Julia is immediately upset because David has remodeled and added onto his father's lake house after coming into some money through a new business venture. Julia is upset, though, because the remodeled lake house is a garish eyesore that blocks her view of the lake. She is also upset about financial issues plaguing her family, and the newly strained relationship between her and her daughter, Taylor.
David, the consummate bachelor, is there with his twin five year olds, their newly hired nanny, and his new girlfriend, Fiona. All he seems to care about is flaunting his newfound wealth.
Izzy, the nanny, is there officially to nanny the twins but is unofficially there to solve a decades-old mystery that upended her family.
Finally, Erika is there with her husband, Rick, and their son Lucas. Erika is a defense attorney and a workaholic. Rick and she have been together since they were teenagers. Lucas is an aspiring musician and seems to have a history with Taylor, who is avoiding him at all costs, much to the befuddlement of their respective mothers.
While drinking on the first night, tales of the lake lore come back to haunt the group. Two teenagers had gone missing at the lake without a trace exactly 30 years apart. Now, 60 years exactly since the first mysterious disappearance, everyone is a bit on edge, and their worst fears are confirmed the next morning when they wake to find Fiona missing.
Overall, I liked this novel. While not a favorite, I gave it a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️.
This novel follows three lifelong friends, their families, and a nanny with a secret. Julia, Erika, and David grew up on Lake Timmeny. Their families had been Lake neighbors and friends for years. Fraught with teenage drama and traumatic experiences, the three grow up together. David loses his dad unexpectedly as a teenager. Erika's mom runs out on her and her dad, Cormac, when she is very young, and Julia just tries to keep their friendships strong.
Present day, the three friends meet up for their annual two week lake vacation. Julia is immediately upset because David has remodeled and added onto his father's lake house after coming into some money through a new business venture. Julia is upset, though, because the remodeled lake house is a garish eyesore that blocks her view of the lake. She is also upset about financial issues plaguing her family, and the newly strained relationship between her and her daughter, Taylor.
David, the consummate bachelor, is there with his twin five year olds, their newly hired nanny, and his new girlfriend, Fiona. All he seems to care about is flaunting his newfound wealth.
Izzy, the nanny, is there officially to nanny the twins but is unofficially there to solve a decades-old mystery that upended her family.
Finally, Erika is there with her husband, Rick, and their son Lucas. Erika is a defense attorney and a workaholic. Rick and she have been together since they were teenagers. Lucas is an aspiring musician and seems to have a history with Taylor, who is avoiding him at all costs, much to the befuddlement of their respective mothers.
While drinking on the first night, tales of the lake lore come back to haunt the group. Two teenagers had gone missing at the lake without a trace exactly 30 years apart. Now, 60 years exactly since the first mysterious disappearance, everyone is a bit on edge, and their worst fears are confirmed the next morning when they wake to find Fiona missing.
Overall, I liked this novel. While not a favorite, I gave it a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️.
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
A lake setting summer mystery is the perfect summer read. We have David, Julia and Erika who have been childhood friends through coming to the lake every summer.
This summer David brings his new girlfriend, Fiona along with his kids and new sitter, Izzy with him. Fiona goes missing and the story follows along Izzy and Julia's POV to find Fiona.
The story is engaging and entertaining as the story unfolds with so many layers of secrets. I enjoyed Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole's narration and made it easy to follow along.
Thank you @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress for a copy of the book.
This summer David brings his new girlfriend, Fiona along with his kids and new sitter, Izzy with him. Fiona goes missing and the story follows along Izzy and Julia's POV to find Fiona.
The story is engaging and entertaining as the story unfolds with so many layers of secrets. I enjoyed Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole's narration and made it easy to follow along.
Thank you @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress for a copy of the book.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Julia, David, and Erika, ‘”the Lake Gang”, have had many happy days spending summers with their parents on Lake Timmeny in Vermont. Now they bring their own children to spend a couple of weeks together each summer.
This year, when Julia arrives, she sees that David has built a huge monstrosity where his family’s cabin used to be, blocking the lake view from both her and Erika’s cabins. When he arrives he is pretty cocky about his renovation and his new “lady of the moment”. He also has a young new nanny in tow to take care of his five-year-old twins.
Erika arrives with her husband and son; she is unusually quiet about the massive multi-windowed structure blocking the lake. Julia wants to know why, but the three have accumulated many secrets over the years, so she assumes there is a lot more to the story.
Lake Timmeny has a tragic history. “The lake takes them.” Two young women have “vanished” 30 years apart, and now it has been another 30 years. So when David’s new girlfriend vanishes after a very public disagreement, everyone wonders if the lake has taken another. While a comprehensive search is organized and carried out, secrets start to be revealed that go back for generations. Lies. Betrayal. Deceit. Danger lurks. Will the Lake Gang survive the summer?
Three couples, two teenagers, 2 five-year-olds, and their nanny on a summer vacation. What could go wrong? Everything!
Ms. Day has written a complex story featuring complicated characters who all have secrets now in their daily lives that are compounded by what takes place and revealed over a very short timeframe. At times, I felt I needed a scorecard to keep track of everything. Her characters are very interesting, so it is easy to get caught up in everything they are going through.
The lake’s history was intriguing for this mystery lover, and an elderly woman who lives on the lake year-round not only stole my heart but was the key to disclosing so much of that history. Hold on, though, there is so much more to sink our teeth into as memories are tested and secrets are divulged. Layers are peeled away, a little too slowly at times, but some epic twists ratcheted up the tension and suspense in all the right places. Being told from two points of view, I was totally pulled into this story. There is family drama to the max in ways I couldn’t imagine. The ending was elaborate, intricate, and satisfying. I would have liked a little more action instead of explanations, but it still worked for me.
The Lake Escape takes readers on a wild ride as each character’s journey intersects in numerous ways. This is Ms. Day’s third venture of domestic suspense following her debut, The Block Party, and then One Big Happy Family, last year, each time upping her game. Words of wisdom from Julia: “Be in the moment. Relax and enjoy. Don’t try to control, just let it roll.” That was from Chapter 7. Boy, did things roll from there. If you are looking for your next summer read, this one will have you feeling like you are right there at the lake, witnessing all the drama these families serve up. A strong 4.5 stars and an Enjoyable Escape.
*There is some explicit language.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing
It’s that time of year again where we have summer at the lake, with all the drama vibes! We’ve got rich (and not so rich) people behaving badly from start to finish. And the mystery behind the nanny’s motives made it even more engaging. The ultimate beach read!!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The initial plot and vibes of the book had me excited, but my god, there were SO MANY THINGS happening that it was all just a bit too much towards the end. I did enjoy Julia and Izzy’s POVs and the mystery was certainly interesting. The men, on the other hand, felt really underdeveloped and a bit cartoonish at times, especially David. The story also relied on a lot of little things happening exactly right and that felt a bit unrealistic at times. It did hold my interest and I was excited to see where the story would go. I did call a few of the twists, but there were a few that surprised me which is always fun. I think it would definitely be a good one to read on vacation or binge during a long weekend. I’d say this one ranks right in the middle for me with her other books.
CW: mentions of rape, parent death, violence, alcoholism, infidelity, revenge porn
Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the digital reader’s copy!
The plot, although silly at times held my interest well enough to give this an average rating. There was a lot going on here, but some of it was quite interesting.
The prose for me fell a little flat. I wasn’t expecting a fancy literary thriller or anything but the sentences seemed choppy and this stuck out when I used the read aloud function on the NetGalley app. Could have used a little more line editing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.
The prose for me fell a little flat. I wasn’t expecting a fancy literary thriller or anything but the sentences seemed choppy and this stuck out when I used the read aloud function on the NetGalley app. Could have used a little more line editing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was my first Jamie Day book and I really liked it! Like it was a mystery and thrilling but not really scary. Also, I feel like we knew who the villain was but figuring out the how and why was really good. The plot was really fun. I’m not sure how to talk about this without giving anything away.
Erica, Julie and David have been friends for decades and their families always vacationed at the lake. Now they are all adults with kids of their own and vacationing at the same homes on the lake. However, that lake has a history of “taking” people.
Two women have gone missing 30 years apart and now David’s girlfriend who came to the lake with him is missing. No one can find her and everyone assumes the lake has taken her.
Erica, Julie and David have been friends for decades and their families always vacationed at the lake. Now they are all adults with kids of their own and vacationing at the same homes on the lake. However, that lake has a history of “taking” people.
Two women have gone missing 30 years apart and now David’s girlfriend who came to the lake with him is missing. No one can find her and everyone assumes the lake has taken her.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Lake Escape is a slower paced read with lots of suspense at first but it just wasn’t as thrilling as I wanted it to be. The ending was fairly far fetched in my opinion and rather than being shocked by the twists, they made me roll my eyes.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No