I LOVED this book! I am actually surprised at how I was drawn in so subtly, to the point where I'm not sure where it happened that I couldn't put the book down. You get pulled in to the narrator's paranoia, and you don't know who to trust, who to root for, and what everyone's motives really are. It's the perfect summer psychological thriller, and I'm so excited for the next book in the series!

Brillant, I could not read it any faster than I did, I started on the morning of the 21st of July and had finished it by 6pm of the same day. The story is fluid and fast paced. I was sitting on the edge of my seat pretty much the whole day. Get it, read it and wait with baited breath for the next one in the series, I know I am.

Stillhouse Lake is the first installment in author Rachel Caine's Stillhouse Lake series. 4 years ago, Gina Royal's world was shattered to pieces when a drunk driver smashed into her garage. Little did she know that she was married to a serial killer. A serial killer who used the families garage to do his savagery before dumping them into water. After being accused of being her former husband Melvin Royals, accessory, Gina, (innocent of all charges) changes her name to Gwen Procter.

Gwen has tried to keep at least 8 trails ahead of her last address, even it it means moving and changing her name several more times.  There are dangerous internet trolls who would love to see Gwen get the same thing her ex did to the women he murdered. Call her paranoid, but with good reason. Staying ahead of those pursuing her has came with high costs, but high costs are worth the price to pay to keep her kids safe. Gwen's latest home finds her in Stillhouse Lake, Tennessee. A nice change of pace and a hope that she and her kids can finally feel like they can live again. 

The kids finally have friends. She finds a connection to a man named Sam Cade who is writing a book. Gwen feel as though she can finally settle down and no longer run at the first sign of trouble. That is until a body is found floating in the lake and the first person who is on the top of the police suspects list becomes Gwen.. Why is this a problem? Because Mel used to dump his victims in the water. Because the body shows signs that this could someone with intimate knowledge of Mel's killing style. Gwen and her kids become ideal targets for those who are looking for pay back, and to send a message to Gwen that she isn't safe anywhere.

Gwen isn't the first woman in the history to not know what their spouses where doing while being married to them. But, Gwen really should have seen some signs. You can call her clueless. You can call her gullible, and you can call her innocent of the charges the police tried to bring against her. But, in the end, Gwen isn't anyone's victim. She is strong. She is brave. She is a lioness protecting her cubs from anyone who attempts to do them harm. She has no room to trust anyone, and that trust becomes an issue with everyone she meets in this community, including Sam, and the Detective who makes the wrong assumptions about Gwen. 

No matter how you look at this story, the kids are the victims. They had to come to grips with what their father did. They had to go on the run for fear of being used against their mother. They become innocent targets for those trying to impress an sociopathic killer. The other issue is internet trolls, and how absolutely dangerous they are. You've all heard of doxing. You've all heard of cyber stalking. As parents you probably have worried sick over your kids putting too much personal information online. If this story doesn't scare the bloody crap out of you, you are immune to how awful this world can really be. 

Rachel Caine is the #1 internationally bestselling author of more than fifty novels, including the New York Times bestselling Morganville Vampires and The Great Library young adult series. She's written suspense, mystery, paranormal suspense, urban fantasy, science fiction, and paranormal young adult fiction. Caine and her husband, award-winning artist, comic historian, and actor R. Cat Conrad, live in Fort Worth, Texas.

I liked this book, and it was a really good psychological thriller.

Gwen and her two children are on the run from her ex-husband's crimes and his band of internet fans that glorify them. She has moved several times and changes identities each time to avoid detection. Her children are getting older, and she's like to settle down and maybe stop pulling up stakes every time she feels threatened, and she thinks her current location might be a good long term one.

The plot is strong and the characters are interesting. The ending is a cliffhanger, which will make me read the next book in the series!

I recommend this book, especially if you like psychological thrillers.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

wow. Just WOW. It’s been over a day since I finished reading Stillhouse Lake and I am still lost for words. I should probably have taken more time to cool off before writing my review, because this thriller has been one hell of a ride…But let’s see if I can say something somewhat coherent about it. First of all Stillhouse Lake is hands down one of the best thrillers I’ve read this year and just so damn intense! Make sure to clear your schedule before starting this one, because you will want to sit down and read it in one go. The story had me hooked from page one and didn’t let me go until the very end… Why? Here are some bulletpoints to give you an idea. Highly creepy serial killer: CHECK. Intriguing plot and plot twists:CHECK. Constant suspense and feeling something is off: CHECK. Brilliant writing style that keeps you on the edge of your seat: CHECK. Inability to trust any character: CHECK. Being sure you figured it all out and finding out you’re wrong over and over again: CHECK. Very realistic character development: CHECK. Do I have to go on? Dark, twisted, messed up and oh so good…As you can imagine, I can highly recommend Stillhouse Lake.

Stillhouse Lake is a spine tingling psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat through the very last page. This is a book that will have you jumping at noises and looking over your shoulder. I could not put it down.

6 Notes & Highlights (1 out of 6 visible) Beta icon

Stillhouse Lake
Stillhouse Lake, Book 1

I Picked Up This Book Because: I’m a fan of Rachel’s Morganville Vampires series so I had to explore what she writes outside of the series.

The Characters:

Gwen Proctor a.k.a. Gina Royal:
Lanny Proctor, Connor Proctor, Javier Esparza, Sam Cade, Kezia Claremont, Melvin “Mel” Royal, Lancel Graham

The Story:

When you are the left behind family of a convicted serial murderer what becomes of your life? For Gwen and her kids it’s a special kind of hell. First blindsided by their family patriarch's crimes then arrested, harassed and always ready to run in fear of retaliation. (view spoiler)

Gwen has strength that I could not imagine. I would have broken down and given up so many times if I was her. I don’t even know what to say to adequately sum her up. THere aren’t words for the extent of a mother’s love I guess. This a battered and broken family that deserves so much more than what they’ve been given to deal with.

I can’t even wrap my head around Mel and Lancel. I’ll just leave that rant for any poor unsuspecting person who ask me about the last good book I’ve read.

This story ended on a cliffhanger but we do get closure for this first book. I still have a billion questions but I guess I will just have to wait for book two.

The Random Thoughts:



3.75 Stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end! I thought the story was creative and suspenseful! Really liked the characters and I am looking forward to reading the next book.

Sublime had me hooked throughout a fabulous read my book club devoured it,await a sequel to tie up loose ends,read it,love it,then read it again

This is a very good psychological thriller with plenty twists to keep the reader engrossed. I could almost feel the paranoia and emotions of the main character, Gwen. I found the book kept me interested and was quite compelling. Not going to mention the ending! I look forward to the next book from Rachel Caine. Many thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Amazon and Goodreads.

wow...this is a great book! a family on the run, not trusting anybody but themselves. so many twists in this book, it is very hard to put down. and that ending! i cant wait to read the next book!! thank you to netgalley and thomas and mercer for a copy ofu this book to read and review

I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for a review copy of Stillhouse Lake, a thriller with a difference.

The novel starts with a bang, literally, and doesn't let up. Gina Royal gets a call from her husband, Mel, asking her to pick up the kids as he can't make it. She is out for half an hour and ends up arrested as a drunk driver has ploughed into her garage and the police have found a dead woman hanging there. Mel ends up on death row as this was only the last in a string of victims and Gina is tried as an accessory. Acquitted, she and her kids, Lily and Brady, live a life on the run, always just a couple of steps ahead of the internet trolls intent on making her pay. They finally manage to settle in Stillhouse Lake, Tennessee but it seems that the past is not yet ready to let them go.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel which seemed to take no time to read as I devoured the pages. Gina Royal is now Gwen Proctor and she is nothing like the meek wife married to Mel. She is tough, paranoid and armed. I'm not sure how realistic the threat to her family is but it's extremely possible and she's ready. Her problems are exacerbated when the body of a young woman, killed in the same way as Mel killed his victims turns up outside her house and the police view her as a suspect.

The novel is a tense page turner, fuelled by Gwen's suspicion and hypervigilism. Ms Caine manages to convey perfectly her intense desire to protect her children, her worry that the constant moving and identity changes are harming her children and the menace of Mel Royal.

Much has been made of the cliffhanger ending. I don't see it that way as Stillhouse Lake is a complete novel with a satisfactory ending and the last few paragraphs are more an appetiser for a sequel than a cliffhanger.

Stillhouse Lake is an excellent read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Easily one of the better mystery/thrillers I've read this year. After disappointments from old favourites with Since We Fell and newly-hyped thrillers like Final Girls, I managed to find a really creepy, suspenseful story from an author who has always been a bit hit and miss for me.

The book starts with a very dramatic and gruesomely exciting opening chapter. I've grown to appreciate slow build novels, but thrillers that pull out a vicious hook in the very first chapter still have a special place in my heart. From the very beginning, I knew I had to find out what would happen. And it only got nastier.

Gina Royal's perfect suburban life is turned upside down when her husband's dark, sadistic secrets are revealed. Now she is Gwen Proctor, on the run, doing anything she can to protect her two children from the online trolls who promise a sick revenge. Paranoia and lots of moving around have kept them all safe so far, but Gwen longs to find something more permanent; a place her children can have some stability and make real friends. She hopes that place will be Stillhouse Lake.

If you aren't already creeped out by the name "Stillhouse Lake" and the promise of this isolated community, you soon will be. Just as things seem to be looking up, the body of a young woman is found floating in the lake. And worse - the details of her death bear a striking resemblance to the methods deployed by Gwen's ex-husband.

It is a very compelling, easy-to-get-lost-in pageturner. It reminds us of the dangers present in a world with the Internet and the info-sharing it allows. For a brief moment, I wondered if a large group of people would really go to such disgusting lengths, exposing the addresses of children who are as much victims as those their father murdered - but then I realized, of course they would. Just recently, I was told about a subtweet in which someone I don't know and have never spoken to said they wanted to drown me in bleach. Drown me in bleach. And all I did was write book reviews they don't agree with.

Of course people would behave like the trolls in this book. It's a no-brainer.

So it reminds us of all this - of the threat posed by the Internet, of the lengths sick people will go to - but it also reminds us of something else: that nothing in this world can compete with a mother protecting her babies. And that touched me.

It's a thrilling book, full of atmosphere, and the sense that no one can be trusted. It finished with a fantastically terrifying ending that sets us up for what looks to be a dark and exciting sequel. I will definitely be reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the read.

Gwen Proctor and her children have (hopefully) settled down in a little house on Stillhouse Lake, after years of running from the fallout of what her husband did (if only she'd looked in the garage). But, somehow, her past has found her and the bodies are piling up.

I have been reading Rachel Caine's "Morganville" series for quite some time now - even though the main audience is Young Adults, vampire lit is my favourite - and didn't know what to expect from this book. I was not disappointed.

This is a well-written thriller, with just the right amount of chills. Cannot wait for the second installment.

Rachel Caine has a winner here. A wonderful twist on the serial killer theme. The wife of a serial killer who has been caught is on the run with her children. Despite being found innocent of any crimes herself she has to constantly move with her children to keep clear from not only her ex-husbands followers but family members of those killed as well as other internet trolls who don't believe she is innocent. An extremely well structured and written novel. A true pleasure to read.

I'm a big fan of Rachel Caine and wasn't sure if I was going to like this book but Boy was I Wrong! I loved it! Great characters and great storytelling. Really looking forward to the next one.

Is there anything this lady can't write about??? She is literally a powerhouse of enviable literary talent!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and Rachel Caine for my ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I first heard of Rachel Caine when I started reading her Great Library series. So when I had the option to wish for a copy of Stillhouse Lake I figured I'd give it a try even though the genre was completely different. I loved it! I actually think I loved it even more than I did The Great Library series and I love that series!

Anyway, enough of me gushing. So Stillhouse Lake, it's a psychological thriller and definitely an adult read. Gina Royal is the perfect all American housewife. 2.5 kids and a picket fence is that what people say? Anyways, she's happy in her life with her two children and her husband the caring, loving Mel.


Until her life is destroyed when she discovers that Mel has been masking a secret life as a sadistic serial killer. With Mel now in jail Gina has to form a new life and a new identity for herself and her children to protect them from the backlash and the internet trolls who still believe Gina must have had something to do with it. But it seems like the past is just too hard to run away from.


Stillhouse Lake is gripping from start to finish, as some of you may already know I try not to read synopsises before reading the novel so it's more full of surprises! I'm glad I didn't with this one as every little event was a huge shock for me. Gina, or Gwen as she is with her new identity is an amazing woman who's gone from a weak willed wife to a warrior mum and she kicks ass! I loved the twists and turns and the ending blew me away, I hope I don't have long to wait for part 2!

Gina Royal is your basic American stay-at-home housewife with a husband and two children, a boy and a girl. Her world collapses on the day that an accident reveals that her husband leads a second life as a serial killer. Gina is forced to go on the run and assume a new identity as Gwen Proctor in order to protect her children from the crazies who believe she assisted her husband in his gruesome hobby. After many moves and an equal number of new identities, they settle in a small town on Stillhouse Lake. Just when they are relaxing and beginning to believe that they might be able to settle into their new lives in this new town, a body that has too many similarities to her husband's victims surfaces in the lake. Gwen thought her previous difficulties were bad, but her life is about to get a whole lot worse.

Stillhouse Lake is one of the best books I have ever read! It is riveting, immediately grabbing the reader's attention and holding it throughout the book. It was so difficult to put the book down, and I couldn't wait to get back to it. I spent several nights getting only a few hours sleep while reading Stillhouse Lake. There were a few loose ends at the end of the book to make way for a sequel that is due out in December. I can't wait for the next book!

Read this book! If you don't, you will miss one of the best books of the year. It is simply amazing!

I received a copy of this from netgalley for review (a wish for it).

Stillhouse Lake is very different from Rachel Caine's Morganville Vampire series, but I liked it just as much. I did figure out who the killer was early on, but there were some twists and it was an exciting read.

Gina Royal came home with her kids one day to find a nightmare. There was a dead body hanging up in her garage. She is arrested and finds out that her husband, Mel, is a serial killer. Gina is acquitted, but Mel is put on death row.

Gina and her kids have to move and change identities often. There are a lot of people who think she had to have known what her husband was and some think she helped him. Every day she has to look online and print out the horrible things people say. The internet trolls. "It's free-floating, a toxic cloud of moral outrage and mob mentality, and it doesn't care who it hurts. Only that it does."

The Royals move to Stillhouse Lake, a tiny town in Tennessee. Gina becomes Gwen and has become a pretty bad ass woman, but she's still paranoid and afraid. She starts running and shooting. Her house is full of alarms, cameras, and a safe room. The kids start to feel comfortable and even make friends. Things are feeling almost normal until a body shows up in the lake. Similar to how Mel disposed of his victims. Everything starts to go downhill from there and Gwen finds herself a suspect when everyone discovers who she is.

The book ends with a pretty big cliffhanger, but that just makes me want to read the next one even more. I gave this book 4 1/2 stars.

Fantastic summer read! Loved the strong female lead, the location and everything about this book! Well done keeping the tensions high and the twists plenty! Was sad to finish the book but will def be awaiting book 2!!