A review by mibookobsession
The Secret by the Lake by Louise Douglas

5.0

After being abandoned by her mother and misunderstood by her father her entire childhood, Amy is thrilled to get placement as a nanny with the Laurents in Paris. Her employer, Julia, has an old hip injury that prevents her from being a proper mother to Viviane. Amy practically raises this warm and affectionate girl from birth and becomes very close to the whole family. But when tragedy strikes, Amy finds herself moving back to England to Julia's childhood home to help while they struggle with their grief. Almost from the day Amy moved in, there are strange things going on in the old reservoir cabin. The whole atmosphere of the house is gloomy and foreboding. When Julia admits that Caroline, the sister she never got along with, died in this house, and then Viviane starts talking to a new imaginary friend named Caroline, Amy is determined to find the truth of what happened in this small town. Oh my gosh was this book spooky. It took me a while to get into it, but once the paranormal incidents started happening I was hooked! I have a few more books by this author that I plan to move to the top of my TBR pile!