I am a big fan of Rachel Caine. Her young adult series, Morganville Vampires, is fantastic and I loved it. Stillhouse Lake is a much more adult story, being extremely gruesome at times, but it still shows the authors wonderful ability to tell and maintain a thrilling and engrossing story.

A woman, Gwen, is trying to make a new life with her two children after her husband turns out to be, well, not the man she thought he was. However, the new beginning she hoped for is proving to be impossible to find due to her inability to trust anyone and the determination of some downright disgusting internet trolls who would like nothing more than to see Gwen and her children die, horribly.

A very entertaining read from the shocking and very gruesome first chapter to the heart stopping stonker of a cliffhanger at the end. I don't know if my fingernails will survive the wait for the sequel.

Good writing is what keeps a reader engaged. Caine has definitely mastered the art of storytelling. There’s no putting this book down once you hit the heart-pounding first few pages.

The police discover, quite by accident, that Gina’s husband is a serial killer, which turns her (and her children’s world) upside down. They have to change their identities and move to a secluded area just to protect themselves from the hate of the public. Many people think she was in on the killings with her psychopathic husband.

She has no idea who she can trust and who she can’t. This book definitely has the suspense of a good psychological thriller that will keep you wanting more. This is the first of two in a series.

Stillhouse Lake is a psychological thriller that will keep you up at night, doubting the characters and their motives, particularly the protagonist. This is a book that makes one thing clear: don’t trust anyone. Ever.

Gina Royal seems to have it all: a lovely house, two perfect kids, and a doting husband. But the dream of idyllic suburbia gets abruptly shattered when a drunk driver crashes into Gina’s garage revealing her husband’s little horror shop. As it turns out, Melvin is a serial killer who flays young women alive before dumping their bodies in a lake. But the trial and imprisonment of her husband are not the end of the nightmare; they’re just the beginning of an online witch hunt. Many do not believe that Gina is innocent. Calling her Melvin’s Little Helper, online trolls threaten her and her children. Therefore, Gina is on the run from the past and from those who might want to harm her and take away the only thing she’s got left.

Fast forward to her new life. After having been on the move for five years, Gina and her kids are new people. They have new names and along with those new identities. They have settled down at Stillhouse Lake, Tennessee, a wildly romantic but remote place. Gwen Proctor is no longer naive and weak Gina, but a woman who is ready to defend her family, even kill those in her way if necessary. Gwen is also quite paranoid about her kids’ safety and hardly trusts anyone. However, there are people she slowly lets into her life, for example, Javier, who owns the local shooting range; and Sam, who just happened to rent the cabin next door. Apart from the paranoia and the trauma, things finally start looking up for Gwen and her family. When suddenly a body turns up in the lake – a young woman flayed alive. It seems that after all the efforts she has taken Gwen can’t run from the past forever…

Stillhouse Lake, a nerve-wracking whodunit, is a real page-turner you are likely to finish in one sitting. The action-packed plot full of suspense and twists is pure entertainment. Alright, going from incredibly naive housewife to badass action heroine is not that believable, but overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who looks for a top-notch thriller. I also liked that stalking via the internet is a theme. I have never been the victim of stalkers or trolls, but when I look at social media and online forums these days, it does seem that people are just willing to write anything and everything under the protection of cyberspace anonymity. I concede that most of these people are harmless and would never put their sick ideas into action. But who knows? Thus, the paranoia created by Gwen’s scrutiny of online forums is entirely credible. As is a mother’s fierce will to protect her children.

All in all, an almost perfect thriller that offers digging-your-nails-into-the sofa suspense that ends with a ginormous cliffhanger.
(I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer.)

This book review will go live on my website on Monday August 21, 2017 @ 6:37am PST (https://theartisanpenguin.com/book-reviews/2017/stillhouse-lake)

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started to read Stillhouse Lake. Turns out I made a big mistake by starting this book at 9pm at night. Thankfully I was on vacation when I made this mistake, otherwise I would have been extremely tired the next day at work. It was well after 1am when I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and had to put down Stillhouse Lake.

Suffice it to say, this book didn't take me long to read because I just couldn't put it down. I was extra glad that the next morning I didn't have anything to do because I was able to finish reading Stillhouse Lake. I would call this book a "sit down and read the entire thing in one sitting", type book. The only reason for my pause was solely because my body couldn't stay awake any longer.

Gina Royal is a typical stay-at-home mother, until one day a car accident changes her life forever. It is discovered that her husband Mel, is a serial killer. Killing twelve women in his workshop garage. The one room in the house Gina never goes.

No one believes Gina when she says that she knew nothing about the murders and after she is acquitted as her husband accomplice she takes her children on the run, assuming false identities and constantly moving around. All to hide from the hordes of internet folk who are determined to track her down and make her and her children "pay for her crimes."

When they move to Stillhouse Lake, Gina, now Gwen, thinks that this may be a place where they can finally settle down and start to reassemble their lives. All is going well until a body is found dead in the lake, striking an eerily similarity to her ex-husband's victims. Is is still safe to stay in Stillhouse Lake or has one of her ex-husband's "fans" found her?

Stillhouse Lake starts quickly, with a disturbing realization for Gina and the quick pace doesn't stop once during the course of this book. Fair warning, this is the first book in part of a new series by Rachel Caine. I didn't feel that this detracted from the story of Stillhouse Lake, however, I'm glad that I knew it was the first of the series, prior to finishing the story. There is a cliffhanger ending, but as opposed to most cliffhanger endings, I wasn't annoyed that it was there and I found that I was still satisfied with the ending of Stillhouse Lake.

Overall I really liked Stillhouse Lake. It's been awhile since I've read a "can't put it down" book, and I always find something appealing about these kind of books. It's like if I don't read the book as quickly as possible it will burst into flames in my hand and become unreadable.

I'd say my main complaint about this story is where did Gina/Gwen learn all her skills on the computer? As a way to earn money she is a web designer, and slowly building herself quite an online reputation and client base. Gina/Gwen is a "stay-at-home" mom so did she already know these skills or is this something she learned while on the run? The real reason this kind of bothered me is because there is so much time spent on the fact that she had to learn how to fire a gun and gun safety. I'm glad that she is responsible about guns, that's they way it should be if you are to own a weapon. But computer skills are also something that need to be learned, where did she get them?

Aside from my only complaint, Stillhouse Lake is a heart-pounding murder mystery thriller that you will find hard to put down. Definitely worth the read.

A really good thriller that made my heart beat faster. I was very engrossed in the story, and I am very eager to find out how the story will go on in the next installment.

All I can say is omg, omg, omg. I have never read anything from this author before, but plan to.
Gina Royal is a typical average housewife who thinks herbicide is great until after picking up her kids from school one day she arrives home to find police cars everywhere.
It semester husband is a serial killer. She also gets arrested as his helper. She goes on trial and is found not guilty.
After the trial she goes into hiding with her kids. She is getting threatening messages on social media and does not know who to trust.
I read this book in one sitting. I could not put it down.
Read This Book!! I will say every time you think you have figured it out you are wrong.

Can you believe Stillhouse Lake is the first Rachel Caine book I’ve read? She’s been on my radar for several years, but you know how it goes. I know this is different than what she usually writes, but I couldn’t resist jumping in now. I’m not sorry I did, because I liked it and want to read more of her books.

Gwen has gone through hell thanks to her husband, who turned out to be a serial killer. She may be paranoid now, but she has a damn good reason. I love how she has taken things into her own hands when it comes to protecting herself and the kids. Don’t mess with mama bear.

I wouldn’t say this was an exceptional mystery-thriller, but it is nicely done and has that extra “something” that makes it unable to put it down. A lot of what’s going on is obvious, but what I really like is I wasn’t always sure which path it would take to get where it’s going. Does that make sense? *shrugs*

Bottom line: Read it. Also, it appears this will be a series, so I’m looking forward to the next book.

https://lynns-books.com/2017/08/14/stillhouse-lake-by-rachel-caine/
Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine is a tense thriller that kept me turning the pages late into the night. Rather than a grisly story based on the serial killer himself this story takes a look at the family of the serial killer and their lives in the aftermath of his capture and it turns slowly but surely into a gripping psychological read. It’s a really interesting idea to be honest – surely, you couldn’t live with such a monster and be totally unaware of their tendencies? Well, meet Gina Royal, wife to Melvin Royal. Gina has two children and a fairly average life. She doesn’t rock the boat and whilst she may not be absolutely overwhelmed with happiness she believes herself to have a fairly regular marriage to a decent man who loves his children. She believes that, right up to the day that a body is found in her garage and it turns out it’s just one victim amongst many. From thereon in Gina’s life will never be the same again.

We then pick up the story with Gwen Proctor and her two children Atlanta and Connor. Basically Gina has gone on the run with her two children – not from the law, ironically enough, but from the relentless hoard of stalkers and trolls who believe that she was her husband’s accomplice and inundate her daily with hate mail and threats. The three of them have moved house and changed names many times and Gina/Gwen has practically turned into Sarah Connor from Terminator – kick ass, gun toting super mum who will protect her children at all costs. For the moment they seem to have found a home of sorts, a place by the lake that they’ve had to fix up but for the time being feel some sort of security living in. Unfortunately their brief respite is short lived when a body turns up in the lake – a body that seems to mimic the horrors from their past. Is this a coincidence or are things going on.

I really enjoyed this, the writing is very good, which wasn’t a surprise from this author, the characters were well drawn, there was just the right amount of information delivered in a steady stream that kept answering my internal questions more or less as soon as they occurred to me and on top of that the author creates this wonderfully tense atmosphere. This is the sort of book that keeps the reader on edge almost as much as the family they’re reading about. It felt like everyone was a potential threat to be honest and I almost found myself jumping every time there was a knock on Gwen’s door or a stranger walked by her property. I think what really adds to this is that you feel so overwhelmingly sorry for this family. They may not have suffered the same fate as Melvin’s victims but they are nonetheless undoubtedly suffering and their lives are far from normal. Gwen is like a boiling mess of paranoia and guilt. Why didn’t she know what her husband was really like and more than that how will her children ever be able to live normal lives again.

The setting was really well planned. I loved the way the author creates an atmosphere so peaceful and calm one minute and then in the next twists that tranquillity around so that from a different angle it turns into something more creepy and sinister. Similarly with the characters. You meet people who feel genuine and you almost want to slap Gwen because she’s so stand offish and sometimes just downright rude to them, you want to shake her and say ‘come on, eventually you’ll have to trust somebody’ but then again, moments later it turns out maybe you can’t trust anybody. I thought that was very cleverly done because it builds into the reader the same unease that Gwen herself is experiencing.

The villain of the piece also makes an appearance when Gwen finally visits him in jail to confront him about certain issues and boy does he come across as evil incarnate. It seems he has his own followers and he may be in prison for life but that doesn’t mean he’s lost the ability to hurt people.

Stillhouse Lake was a step out of the norm for me. I tend to read mainly fantasy with the odd bit of horror and sometimes historical fiction thrown in for good measure, but I also occasionally enjoy thrillers/chillers and this was a really good choice to throw into the mix. It’s a compelling story that builds slowly to a dramatic conclusion that definitely whets the appetite for what is going to come next.

I received a copy courtesy of the publisher through Netgalley for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

I'll be leaving a review on Amazon, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Wow!! Not what I was expecting at all!! I really enjoyed this thriller. I loved Gina's character growth, how she went from totally clueless controlled housewife to tough as nails protector. And the author shows this magnificently- it's not an overnight thing, but a product of four years of running from danger, and self-discovery. The ending was a complete surprise to me. Bravo! Can't wait to read the next installment!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine.
An unsuspecting wife is charged with aiding her serial husband killer. She has been aquitted but has been put thru the ringer so she decides to change her identity and go all out RAMBO.
Can she escape her past and make a new future?
This looks like the beginning of a new series. Solid read, good characterizations.

This was a fantastic book. Kept me gripped and wanting more throughout and I love how it was so creepy yet always kept you wondering who was genuine and who was not. I need more books like this in my life, it was so good I didn't want it to end.

What an intense book!

Gina Royal comes home after picking her two children up from school to find a nightmare, a car crashed into her suburban home has revealed her husband's deep dark secret. Melvin Royal is a serial killer. The police can’t accept that Gina knew nothing about her husband’s trial and thus she becomes dubbed "Melvin's Little Helper”. After being acquitted as an accomplice to her husband’s brutal crimes, Gina and her kids are on the run. Trying to escape the past and people who will never accept her innocence Gina must stay one step ahead of all the internet trolls moving her family from town to town, using a series of false identities.
Gina is now Gwen Proctor and after being on the run for a while, she somewhat settles her teenage daughter and son in the sleepy community of Stillhouse Lake. While trying to establish their new, ever vigilant, normal, a body surfaces in Stillhouse Lake. Someone has been murdered and the crime bears eerie similarities to Mel’s crimes. It doesn't take long for suspicion to come Gwen’s way and she will do anything to protect her children and keep the past at bay.

This book was crazy fast paced and kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time. Can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

This was actually the first of Caine's books I have read. I had booked her as one of the authors for an event I was putting on at my library, and I wanted to read one of her books before the event. This new one caught my eye because psychological thrillers are one of my favorite genres, so I was excited to be approved for the ARC. I was so impressed, especially knowing this was her first book in this genre, and I have high expectations for psychological thrillers, loving them like I do. The story drew me in very quickly, and I was desperate to find time to read so I could find out what would happen next. The book takes you on a wild ride, with lots of twists, and turns, without ever veering into being unbelievable or too far-fetched. The ending leaves you guessing and wanting for more, as this is the first in a new series. I will very anxiously be awaiting the next installment. Also, I have to report that Rachel Caine is such a lovely person. She was wonderful at our author event, and just a real joy to meet. I look forward to reading more from her!

It was a interesting thriller that reminded me of a tv movie form life time. I can't wait to for the sequel

I read a lot of psychological thrillers, some good, some bad, but few ever get under my skin. This one is a standout in that respect, there was just something so unsettling about the narrator's situation. And her paranoia was contagious.

Strong, smart female narrator, making good decisions. Tough kids. Small town where it's hard to tell who is trustworthy enough to be an ally. And so much to be paranoid about. The clues are there to follow, but there's still some surprises along the way.

Looking forward to the sequel!

Thank you NetGalley for letting me get a jump on this one!  Gina Royal finds out that her husband is a serial killer.  She had no idea or involvement but because of internet conspiracy trolls, she has to stay on the run.  This leads her to Stillhouse Lake.  A small town in Tennessee where sweet tea can cure all.  She finally believes she has found a safe place to stay.  But that is when all you know what breaks loose.  

This book is extremely fast paced.  It will have you on the edge of your seat from the beginning.  Trust NO ONE!

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Plain and simple: This book is an obvious 5 star read for me. This is the best mystery/thriller that I've read this year...and honestly, it might be the best one I've ever read...if we're going to take it that far.

HOLY CRAP. I don't even know where to start with this one. I don't want to give anything away because I went into this book blind, and it was the best possible thing I could have done.

When I request books from NetGalley, or when I add one to my 'To Read' list on Goodreads, I only read the description blurb one time. ONE TIME. I never go back and read it again. So, I'll have book sitting on my shelf, or on my kindle waiting to be read, and I just read in order of publish date. It's also rare for me to sit and read reviews for hours. I read a couple, and skim, then I go ahead and add the book, if it still interests me.

So, that being said, I went into this book blind. I forgot what it was about, and I had no clue what was going to happen. Then I read the first couple of pages. Holy shit. Talk about not waiting to get into the details...This book started out in your face. You find out right away what's happening...and it was perfect that way.

This book was suspenseful beyond any other book I've read. I was literally STRESSED OUT for Gwen and her kids. I was scared, sad, horrified...UGH this was so good. AND, to make it even better, THERE'S A SEQUEL COMING OUT IN DECEMBER! Are you kidding me? I'm so excited.

The author ended this story perfectly. PERFECTLY. Just the right amount of cliff hanger to perfectly end the book and set it up for a sequel.

But can we talk about Gwen for a second? I absolutely LOVED her, and I kind of don't understand why...A lot of the time (most of the time) I can't stand when there's a strong lead female character because they tend to be SO ANNOYING and over the top. But Gwen wasn't...I mean, she was, and she's a total badass, and she has every right to be that way, paranoid and scared, and you legitimately understand her fear, and you feel it. You know it's justified. I never wanted to shake her and tell her she's being stupid...except for one part near the end. The beginning to the event that causes the drama at the end of the book.

In hindsight, I think I had guessed who to be suspicious of from the get go, but I was never really that sure. I had a gut feeling deep down, but authors always try and trick you so I was uneasy about committing to that theory.

Read this book. Just go read it. Request from NetGalley if it's still available. Buy it now. Tell all your friends. I cannot recommend this book enough. It was FANTASTIC. I was almost in happy/shocked/sad tears when I finished the last page.

Thank you, thank you, thank you again, to NetGalley and the publisher. I have found a new author that I absolutely love, and a new series to obsess over.

I've been a big fan of Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series, but her other series have not grabbed me in the same way. That didn't keep me from asking for an advance copy of this book, and I'm really glad I did.

The strength of this book is in the main character. Gwen Proctor/Gina Royal is just...real. She's trying her hardest to be tough, to protect her family, but she can't help second-guessing herself because she's been so very wrong before.

Gwen was married to a serial killer who was only caught by happenstance. She and her children functioned as camouflage for him. Whenever you read about a murderer like this being caught, don't you think "why didn't people know? I think _I_ would have known." Gwen is that unsympathetic someone who should have known. She is suspected of being her husband Mel's accomplice, because that seems more likely than her having been totally ignorant of her husband's true self. Because of this, she and her children are the targets of a large, vicious online group of harassers. While Mel is in prison, Gwen has had to change identities eight times to break the trail between her and those who want to torture and kill her and her kids, those who want vengeance and those who just think it's fun to have her as a target.

Rachel Caine has managed to turn Gwen into a very unlikely heroine. While you might not always agree with her decisions, you can at least understand why she makes those decisions. She's caught between protecting her kids and offering them some semblance of a normal life.

Stillhouse Lake may be a place where Gwen and her family can finally stop running. They've renovated a house that was up for forclosure on the lake, the kids are in school. The lake is beautiful and peaceful.

But of course it can't be that easy. Gwen hasn't trusted anyone for years, but now she finds herself wondering if she can or even should. The book is atmospheric, tense, and edge-of-your seat suspenseful. Rachel Caine has pulled off a masterpiece with this one and I can hardly wait to read the last book of this duology.

After reading some raving reviews about Stillhouse Lake, I just couldn’t resist requesting it on Netgalley, even though my TBR pile has taken on the dimensions of a small mountain range and I am supposed to be studying. But that cover! Simply irresistible! I was fascinated by the premise of a woman living with a serial killer, cooking him a meal every night, raising their two children, unaware that he is next door in the garage torturing his next victim. Eeek! What a horrific thought. A million hot showers would not wash away that stain, and Gwen (aka Gina) certainly has to deal with a few demons and guilt issues borne from the memories of living with a monster.

Stillhouse Lake was certainly original, fast-paced and easy to read, and it sucked me in very quickly. However, as the story progressed I started to have mixed feelings, and after closing the last page, I am still a bit torn. There were sections of the book that got my heart pounding and made me want to read more, but overall, I found I really struggled to connect with Gwen / Gina and found she perhaps needed a bit more character development. Some of her actions made sense, driven by her sheer desperation to get away from her old life, but a lot of her decisions seemed questionable and a bit far-fetched to me. Alas, if I could just suspend disbelief a bit easier, I would be able to enjoy these type of stories a lot more! But the gun-wielding Gwen with her connections to underworldly figures supplying her with a never ending supply of fake identities just didn’t marry well with the shy girl from the Midwest who for years lived with a serial killer without suspecting anything. Where did all her wealth come from? And why would you torture yourself with reading all the comments the internet trolls post about you and your kids, if you really wanted to fully get away from your old life? Let alone accept letters from your monster ex-husband – really?

As I am writing this, I can hear my daughter’s frustrated voice in my head: “Mum, it’s FICTION!” and she is right. But I didn’t fully buy it, and I never managed to “get” Gwen. She talks a lot about her fears for her kids’ safety, but the emotion just wasn’t there for me. So perhaps my old cynical self doesn’t make the perfect audience for this story, especially when the end wasn’t an ending at all but simply a “to be continued” (don’t you hate that?). Unfortunately, I didn’t care enough about Gwen / Gina to feel compelled to pick up the next book and see how it will all end for her and her psychopath ex-husband. I’m sure there will be a lot of twists and turns and danger to Gwen / Gina and her kids before he gets his just deserts, but I’m not invested enough in any of the characters to spend four more hours finding out the details. Sorry! I know I am in the minority here, and that’s ok (you can’t win them all), but whilst I enjoyed parts of the book it’s probably not going to be a memorable read for me in the long run.

All in all, Stillhouse Lake is a well written mystery with an original premise that will appeal to readers who love a serial killer story and are able to suspend disbelief (even a little bit). I wouldn’t classify it as a psychological thriller, as for me it lacked the necessary subtle tension and messing with my mind component, but with a good cat-and-mouse game and a strong female lead I am sure that many readers will find all the elements of danger and suspense they are looking for in an action thriller.

This is the first in a new series by power house author Rachel Caine and as typical for her she won’t let you down.

In Stillhouse Lake, just as in her others, she has the ability to wring one emotion after another out of you as she pulls you deeper into her plot. You being to emphasize with the characters at times forgetting where you start and the fiction begins.

Her suspense filled storylines will keep your fingers glued to the book as if there is some part of you that believes if you put it down the fear will become real rather than just fiction. The uniqueness of her story will have you diving in to experience a new perspective on an age old crime. Have to admit, having a background in Psychology made me enjoy this rather exceptional examination of human nature at its most brokenness.

The change in perspective I found a bit interesting as it helps define a changing point in the tone of the story and thought Caine handle the transition well.

There is a cliffhanger type of ending but the next book is coming out in December so you don’t have long to wait.