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A review by nicolem_young
Gravewater Lake: A Thriller by A.M. Strong
4.0
Book/Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book Cover: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trigger Warning(s): Murder
Domestic Violence
POV: Dual, First Person & Third Person
Series/Standalone:Standalone
First In Series: N/A
Trope(s): Amnesiac MC
Spice: None
Genre: Mystery, Psychological Thriller
Burn: Medium
Safe or Dark: Dark
Release Date: March 1, 2025
After being in a reading slump where I felt like I got stuck with a lot of two-star books, I was so glad that I decided to pick this one up! I wasn’t sure what to expect based on the short, relatively vague synopsis, but I was pleased that this ended up being a great read for me.
It will be challenging to give a thorough review without giving too much of the plot away, but I will do my very best.
First off, I just want to say that the name Greg being spelled with two gs (Gregg) drove me bananas. I don’t know why, but it did. It was also never mentioned, even though it's not the common way to spell the name. Not even something as simple as “My name is Gregg with two gs.”. I know it’s so silly and such a trivial thing, but it drove me insane.
This story starts with a prologue that pulls you right in. That’s my favorite. You’re tossed into a scene that gives you just enough information to want to continue reading to find out what happens. From the very first page to the very last, I just couldn’t put this book down. I constantly found myself saying, “Just one more chapter,” which quickly turned into ten. I was so upset when I was forced to stop reading because I needed to sleep or go to work. I just had to find out how this one ended as soon as possible. The overall writing is easy to follow while being very engaging at the same time. It flowed nicely and constantly kept you in the moment. That’s always a big plus for me.
I’m usually not a fan of the amnesiac trope. For some reason it’s just never been one that I’ve enjoyed. However, the one in this book is done wonderfully. I really enjoyed this somewhat new take on a memory loss situation. I really liked how we got to piece things together with our main character. Like how after she wakes up from being unconscious on the lakeshore and finds Gregg’s house, she realizes that she’s wearing a bracelet with the initial ‘A’ on it. Using that piece of information, both she and Gregg work to figure out her name, and feeling like none of them seem to fit, they settle on “Anna” (this is not a spoiler since it happens early on in the story). It was nice that even if the character didn’t know who she was, we as the readers had a name to work with. It was seeing how things unfolded right alongside Anna.
There are two alternating timelines in the plot, and they are intertwined so beautifully. They never got choppy and confusing to follow. Both stories just fell so perfectly into place. One picked off where the other left off nicely and vice versa. I really enjoyed getting inside both Adria and Anna’s heads.
This book is full of twists and turns, and I loved them all. The plot twists always kept me guessing. Just when I thought I had things figured out, I realized I didn’t. The red herrings were so amazingly placed. This book should be one of the prime examples of how plot twists are done! They weren’t just dropped on us. They didn’t just come out of nowhere. We as the readers were never “lied” to; all the details to try and work things out were given to us. I had a few “wow” moments while reading this.
The only reason I rated this a four-star read instead of a five-star one is due to the ending. Despite the big reveal being a good one, the last 15% of the story was a little too far-fetched for my taste.
This is my first book by A.M. Strong, but it definitely won’t be my last.
TLDR: A GREAT PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER WITH A LOT OF TWISTS AND TURNS! THE AMNESIAC TROPE WAS DONE WELL!
As always, please remember that reading is subjective, and that’s what makes it so great.
Book Cover: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trigger Warning(s): Murder
Domestic Violence
POV: Dual, First Person & Third Person
Series/Standalone:Standalone
First In Series: N/A
Trope(s): Amnesiac MC
Spice: None
Genre: Mystery, Psychological Thriller
Burn: Medium
Safe or Dark: Dark
Release Date: March 1, 2025
After being in a reading slump where I felt like I got stuck with a lot of two-star books, I was so glad that I decided to pick this one up! I wasn’t sure what to expect based on the short, relatively vague synopsis, but I was pleased that this ended up being a great read for me.
It will be challenging to give a thorough review without giving too much of the plot away, but I will do my very best.
First off, I just want to say that the name Greg being spelled with two gs (Gregg) drove me bananas. I don’t know why, but it did. It was also never mentioned, even though it's not the common way to spell the name. Not even something as simple as “My name is Gregg with two gs.”. I know it’s so silly and such a trivial thing, but it drove me insane.
“The blank canvas of my past is just waiting to be filled with every paranoid delusion my brain can conjure.”
This story starts with a prologue that pulls you right in. That’s my favorite. You’re tossed into a scene that gives you just enough information to want to continue reading to find out what happens. From the very first page to the very last, I just couldn’t put this book down. I constantly found myself saying, “Just one more chapter,” which quickly turned into ten. I was so upset when I was forced to stop reading because I needed to sleep or go to work. I just had to find out how this one ended as soon as possible. The overall writing is easy to follow while being very engaging at the same time. It flowed nicely and constantly kept you in the moment. That’s always a big plus for me.
I’m usually not a fan of the amnesiac trope. For some reason it’s just never been one that I’ve enjoyed. However, the one in this book is done wonderfully. I really enjoyed this somewhat new take on a memory loss situation. I really liked how we got to piece things together with our main character. Like how after she wakes up from being unconscious on the lakeshore and finds Gregg’s house, she realizes that she’s wearing a bracelet with the initial ‘A’ on it. Using that piece of information, both she and Gregg work to figure out her name, and feeling like none of them seem to fit, they settle on “Anna” (this is not a spoiler since it happens early on in the story). It was nice that even if the character didn’t know who she was, we as the readers had a name to work with. It was seeing how things unfolded right alongside Anna.
There are two alternating timelines in the plot, and they are intertwined so beautifully. They never got choppy and confusing to follow. Both stories just fell so perfectly into place. One picked off where the other left off nicely and vice versa. I really enjoyed getting inside both Adria and Anna’s heads.
“Living in constant fear is exhausting.”
This book is full of twists and turns, and I loved them all. The plot twists always kept me guessing. Just when I thought I had things figured out, I realized I didn’t. The red herrings were so amazingly placed. This book should be one of the prime examples of how plot twists are done! They weren’t just dropped on us. They didn’t just come out of nowhere. We as the readers were never “lied” to; all the details to try and work things out were given to us. I had a few “wow” moments while reading this.
The only reason I rated this a four-star read instead of a five-star one is due to the ending. Despite the big reveal being a good one, the last 15% of the story was a little too far-fetched for my taste.
This is my first book by A.M. Strong, but it definitely won’t be my last.
“A minute later, I’m climbing the stairs into an unknown as dark as the one filling my head.”
TLDR: A GREAT PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER WITH A LOT OF TWISTS AND TURNS! THE AMNESIAC TROPE WAS DONE WELL!
As always, please remember that reading is subjective, and that’s what makes it so great.