This is a gripping psychological thriller with lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing from the first page until the last. Seventeen year old Eva Olsen is living with her parents in a house in the forests of Norway following an accident. We also learn that she has lost her memory following the accident and that she is being looked after by her parents in their attic room, all of this gives you a sinister feeling and as the book goes on you start to realise all is not as it seems. I was hooked from page one and couldn’t stop turning the pages.

This was a weird book, but not in a bad way. Eva is kept hostage by her parents in the basement of the house, but just as soon as you think you have the story figured out it flips you around! Recommended.

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Lake Child by Isabel Ashdown
Lake Child
by Isabel Ashdown (Goodreads Author)
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Read in December 2019
A book that I read in one sitting!
It definitely has an unusual premise that had me wanting to read on and find out more.
Eva wakes up in the attic of her own house and finds that she is virtually a prisoner there... locked in by her own parents after a terrible accident months ago that has left her with physical scars and taken away her memories of the incident itself.
Battling to recall what happened, fighting with her parents for her freedom and unable to make sense of the snippets that keep coming back to her, she desperately wants to meet her best friends who were with her on the day and who seem to have forgotten her since.
A parallel story that hints at secrets to be revealed is also told and though some of it seems obvious, the ending is still quite a twist.
I enjoyed the pace of the story and read it real quick!

This was my first book by the author, but wont be my last. I find it gripping and thrilling. A quick read, with some twists to. Highly recommend for lovers of thrillers. Many thanks to Netgalley , Orion publishing,and TBC Group for the chance to review the book.

I have read Isabel Ashdown’s previous books so knew that “Lake Child” would appeal to me too.
I always find the first few chapters quite difficult to get into but once I’m in there I race through her books and really enjoy them.
“Lake Child” is an atmospheric and enjoyable read. Mainly set in Norway, you feel the temperature dipping from all the snow and descriptive scenes. I could imagine myself crunching through the deep snow in heavy boots as I read.
A great book.

Eva is having a really confusing, scary dream. It becomes even scarier when she awakes at home... but not in her room. She's locked in the attic not understanding why that is so.

Her mom and dad bring her food .. but their explanation leaves her even more confused. According to them, she was in a bad car accident .... leaving her with temporary amnesia. Neither of her parents will look her in the eye.

Days go by and she wonders why no one comes to visit her ... especially her best friends.

As she starts getting flashes of the accident, she realizes that not everything is as her parents have told her. She starts looking for a way to escape her attic prison. But maybe there's someone out there who doesn't want her memory returned.

Just what happened the night of her accident? Without knowing who she can trust, she runs.

This is an extremely well written psychological thriller. It's complex, but the author has made it easy to follow. There are twists and turns and surprises along her journey to the truth. This is a character driven novel, with Eva outstanding in her role. Her fear, confusion, and not knowing why her parents are lying to her, come across plain as day.

Many thanks to the author / Orion Publishing Group / Netgalley / THE Book Club Reviewer Group (FB). Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

have to say I struggled a bit with this one and I'm not sure why. The story started slowly and it took me a while to get what was going on. After a while the pace picked up and I became more engaged with the story and the characters. I think if I had given it my full attention I would have enjoyed it more .

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Wasn’t really sure where it was going as there was so much mystery surrounding the main character. Her mum and dad isolate her...why? Her good friends seem to have abandoned her...why? Even more frustrating is her lack of memory for recent events. All of this wrapped up with some explosive revelations that are drip fed to the reader throughout, made for a compelling read.
Great!

In a small town in Norway a young woman wakes up in an attic to discover she has been in a coma and has lost her memory after an accident. As she gradually starts to remember what happened, secrets are revealed and she begins to plan her escape.

It took me a little while to get into this story, maybe a third of the way through it, but when I did I found it really rather gripping! It’s quite an intense read. The unease and trepidation mounts up beautifully and I was eager to pick the book up each time I had a spare moment to read on. I loved the setting. The descriptions of the landscape were very vividly depicted and it was easy to visualise.

Lake Child is a well written and engrossing page turner, a rollercoaster of a psychological thriller. I can certainly recommend it!

Just wow. I really enjoyed this book. So much deceit. So many lies. So many twists and turns that I didn't see coming. Definitely recommended. One of my top 5 of 2019.

Where on earth do I start with this review ?? Lost memories, lost time, secrets, lies and an unreliable narrator are just the start of this terrific read. Then to throw in transcripts of a ghost writers interview leads you to another mystery.

The start was slightly confusing but then the protagonists start was and that just heightened the feeling of what the hell is going on. But it soon starts to become clear and before you know it you’ve nearly finished the book as it’s too damn good to put it down.

The setting was exquisite and so beautifully described and the characters wow. You can’t help but urge on Eva in her attempts to find out what happened that night and why her parents have kept her locked in the attic and away from her friends.

This had more twists than a child proof medication bottle top. I did guess one but the rest I was way off. This has a great mystery at its core but to me it was all the other little sub plots that gave this a well deserved five stars.

LAKE CHILD is a dark psychological thriller by British author Isabel Ashdown. The novel is set in a remote valley town in the heart of Norway's ancient fjords. This is one book you will not be able to put down as the characters and landscape is so rich.

“Local girl escapes death: dangerous driver faces prosecution. But driver is missing. Could he come after Eva?”

When 17-year-old Eva Olsen awakes after a horrific accident that has left her bedbound, and thinks she is dead. Her mind is blank. The room is silent and cold. She soon realizes that she is not in her bedroom. Where is she and where are her parents? She cries out for her parents, and they come running to her side. Devoted, they watch over her night and day in the attic room of their family home.

But why is she in the attic? Why is the door bolted and locked? Why is she not allowed to see her best friends, Rosa and Lars?

She discovers all the scars on her chest. She begs her mum, a doctor to explain to her what happened. Eva is told she was involved in a car crash, and broke several bones and internal injuries as well as a serious head trauma. She suffered short-term memory loss.

Her mind flips from past to present.

But not everything is as it seems. As secrets from the night of the accident begin to surface, Eva realizes, she has to escape her parents' house and discover the truth.

This story is told through Eva's point of view. So many lies and twists to this story. This novel will grip and shock you, the characters come alive on the page and your heart will go out to Eva for all she had to endure. This is a well- written book with a detailed plot, complex characters and satisfying ending.

Many thanks to the author, Orion Publishing Group, NetGalley and The Book Club Reviewer Request Group (FB) for my digital copy.

As a fan of the author’s previous book, I was delighted to receive a review copy of this new one from TBC.

In Norway, Eva is recovering from a bad accident and wakes up apparently locked in an attic bedroom by her parents. In London, another woman is yet again telling the story of her abducted grand daughter years before.

This a dark thriller full of atmosphere and tension with many twists and turns. As Eva painfully pieces together what is happening, flashes of memory return and the author cleverly involves the reader in her journey making the book hard to put down.

The backdrop of the small town and woods in Norway added to the reading experience and were such a contrast to what was happening in England.

The two stories weave together completing a very well written book. Thoroughly recommended!

Thanks to TBC, NetGalley and the author for the chance to review the book.

With so many psychological thrillers on the market it can be hard to find one that stands out as fresh and different but Lake Child is that book! It's an all-consuming, beautifully-crafted mystery that had me in its thrall. The noirish Norwegian setting is perfect for the story and so well described. Although Eva is predominantly angry and suspicious I found her easy to sympathise with, given the horrific and confusing situation in which she finds herself, and was almost as desperate as she was to unravel the secrets.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley

I really enjoy getting my teeth into a gripping mystery and that’s exactly what The Lake Child is. Just what exactly happened on the night of teenager Eva Olsen’s accident? No one seems to know.
This is a compelling read set mainly in a wintry Norwegian lakeside setting. Eva Olsen has a terrible accident and awakens from a coma unable to remember anything. Who was driving the truck that crashed, leaving her horribly injured? The consequences are enormous, but she has no memories at all of that night or the events leading up to it. Not only does she now seem to be a prisoner in her own home, but her best friends have deserted her as well. Nothing makes sense, but brave, spunky Eva is determined to piece things together.
Alongside Eva’s story we also read, through a series of interviews, about Maxine Gregory, a British grandmother who has suffered terrible losses. As the book alternates between the two threads, so the mystery deepens.
It’s difficult to review this book without giving away anything. I was initially bewildered but fascinated by the juxtaposition of two seemingly completely unrelated stories, set as they were in different parts of the world.
I really enjoyed reading about life in the small town where Eva’s family lives. Isabel Ashdown really gives her readers good insight into family relationships and friendships – and how these can so easily be destroyed. And nothing is quite as it seems, which kept me unsure of who to trust or believe. The tension ramps up rapidly, and I was hit with surprise after surprise as Eva discovers more and more about what actually happened to her that fateful night.
This is a gripping, enjoyable book and I recommend it.

it took a few chapters to get into this book, the first few were a little confusing, but I stuck it out and honestly I'm glad I did, there is so much that is left open to the readers interpretation, why is she locked in the attic? - why are her parents being evasive whenever Eva asks questions? What's the real reason they don't even let her into her old room? Why are they keep her best friends away?
It's not until she manages to escape out of the attic that she understands the gravity of the secrets that are being kept from her.
With them still not knowing who or what caused Evas accident she's still on edge, and constantly feels like she's being watched, this book honestly had me on the edge of my seat, it made me feel anxious/scared along with the main character.
Just as you think you've worked out what's happening and where the story is headed another twist is thrown at you and I honestly felt myself getting tied up in knots along the way.
If you're a fan of this genre this is a book you absolutely have to pick up!

I really enjoyed this book- from the creepy coming to and finding herself locked in the attic to the varying odd behaviours of her parents, friends and the local community, Evas story is very well written in a manner that reveals very little but gives great moments of "aha...now I get it" as each truth is revealed.
I suspected everyone, trusted no-one and couldn't wait for Eva to escape her parents clutches so was pleasantly suprised by each unfolding twist as the truth came out and the motives behind each and every action became clear..

What a fantastic, gripping read. I read the first 50% in one sitting.

Eva is locked away in her parents attic following an accident. With no memory of the accident or why she is in the attic she starts to question her parents as they watch over her every move.

As the memories start to slowly filter back EVA realises something is terribly wrong and she must escape to find out the truth.

Who was driving the truck that fateful night, who is hanging around the property and why won't her best friends speak to her?

Lots of twists, turns and red herrings from start to finish. Although I guessed some of the twists as they came up it did not, for one minute, spoil the reading of this book. The two stories running side by side came to a climax beautifully and left a tear in my eye.

Highly recommended.

Thoroughly enjoyed Lake Child By Isabel Ashdown. This is my first book by this author and certainly wont be my last. This was a two day read for me and had me gripped all the way through. I found myself with kindle in hand while making dinner because I needed to find out what would happen next.
I loved reading about the Norwegian landscape too, my brother and his family live in Bergen, and this book makes me want to visit even more.
A gripping psychological thriller, and loved every minute of it

Wow! I absolutely loved this book and enhaled it in just a few sittings.
The plot is amazing, like nothing I’ve read before. Unusual and absolutely enthralling, full of twists and turns and an ending I could never have done predicted.
Highly recommended!