I never in a million years thought I'd say this about a Kimberly Belle novel, but I was underwhelmed. In fact, I'll dare say I was legit bored through the entirety of the story.

Unlike her two previous works, Dear Wife and The Marriage Lie, both of which I absolutely LOVED, Stranger in the Lake felt slow and humdrum. Even worse, I figured out WAY, WAY early on how the book was going to end...every.single.twist.

The bulk of the book takes place in a lakeside mansion inhabited by Charlotte and her brother, Chet. (Am I the only one who thinks of the movie 'Weird Science,' and a big pile of poo, when I hear that name?) Charlotte's husband, Paul, is never around, as he's avoiding her. Chet cooks, Charlotte eats and brags about his cooking, after which she tries to unravel the mystery surrounding Paul, his friends, Jax and Micah, and three suspicious deaths. Despite the murders, it all seemed very mundane.

The timeline jumps from the present to the year 1999, when Paul, Jax, and Micah are partying their summer away before college.

This isn't a bad book by any means...it just doesn't stand up to the awesomeness of Ms. Belle's previous works. Not even close.

This book will be available for purchase June 9, 2020.

**My sincere thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.

Marry a man for love. A man whose rich. Who's older. Whose first wife died in a tragic drowning. Have the entire town thinks it's for money. But Charlotte will ignore the town's whispers and enjoy her good fortune and new, loving marriage..........until another woman washes up under their pier. Then her husband suddenly disappears for days, leaving her alone and trying desperately to figure out what's going on.

A suspenseful tale with just enough twists and turns to keep you fully engaged all the way through.

This was an interesting read by one of my favorite suspense authors. The story moves along with a twisted plot that keeps you guessing. Charlie, the wife from the poor side of town married to Paul, the millionaire. There are definitely some dark secrets the husband is keeping from his wife and they are slowly unraveled as the story moves along. #StrangerInTheLake #KimberlyBelle #NetGalley

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Charlotte and Paul are newly married. He is older and super rich. She is from the wrong side of the tracks. There is some suspicion about him around town because his first wife, a competitive swimmer, drowned and washed up at his dock. Now a second woman that he claims not to know has washed up, but Charlotte saw him talking to the woman the day before. Why is he lying and what is he hiding?

I thought this was a good and entertaining read. I wanted to know what Paul was hiding and the answer was unexpected, I did not piece this one together. Overall another solid effort from this author, though The Marriage Lie is still my favorite. Looking forward to her next one.

4 town secret stars

Charlie grew up on the “wrong” side of the tracks in town with a terrible home life. As an adult, Charlotte meets and marries the wealthy widow and architect Paul. You can guess what her childhood friends thought of that! Not only that there are mysterious circumstances surrounding the drowning death of his first wife.

Charlotte and Paul live in a gorgeous lake house that Paul designed, and Charlotte is living a dream life. All that is shattered when another body is found in the lake and the questions and doubts creep in. Throw in Paul’s mysterious childhood friend Jax who now lives in the woods and you’ve got a delicious creepy recipe!

Who can Charlotte trust and just who is the mysterious stranger who has washed up under their dock? This Kimberly Belle tale is full of secrets and lies and I never quite knew who to trust.

There are flashbacks to Paul’s high school days with Jax and neighbor Micah, but I preferred the modern-day story much better. My favorite part of the book was Charlotte’s relationship with her brother Chet. With their terrible childhood, the two are quite close and I always felt that Chet had her back. We need more strong brother-sister relationships in books!

This one was a quick read and Kimberly Belle crafted another good thriller here!

Kimberly Belle is an auto-buy for me. The setting for this story--the mountains above a town that has been flooded and lost to a lake--is what drew me in particularly. It just added that extra eerie element and then it turned out to be significant to the plot. (I won't say more for fear of spoilers.) I also found the main character extremely relatable in the description of her upbringing and the belated recognition of how that may have affected her choices later in life for security, safety, and even things like food hoarding.

Recommend for patrons who enjoy Mary Kubica, Wendy Wax, etc.

I enjoyed this insightful and thrilling novel very much. The storyline flows at a great pace, and the characters are well fleshed out. Highly recommended!

This book was a little slow to start but i continued and enjoyed reading it. Not one of my favorite mysteries/who done it but it kept me interested. Totally did not see the ending coming; a family mystery with hidden secrets. Would recommend to my friends.

Another fabulous book by Kimberly Belle. She hasn't written a book I didn't totally like. I devoured this one. So many lies and secrets and I was afraid for Charlotte. I almost fell off my chair at the ending. Not even on my radar as a possibility. I highly recommend this book and everything written by this Author. Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin and Kimberly Belle for allowing me to read and review this book.

3.5 stars - I have always been a huge fan of Belle's but this one was lacking a bit for me - I found the characters hard to connect with and the mystery felt too obvious. I'm sure this will be a one off for me as I've loved all her other books and can't wait to keep reading them in the future.

EXCELLENT! Kimberly Belle has written a tense thriller here and I couldn't put the book down! If there is any book that should be in your beach bag this summer it's this one! I honestly cannot recommend it more if I tried!

Gripping, suspenseful, and intriguing! A total must read!

** Full review to be posted on release day!

Charley, aka Charlotte, has lived at Lake Crosby all her life, albeit not where she lives now.
Growing up, she lived in a trailer park with her mother and younger brother Chet. She was often the one car for her brother while her mother was doing drugs or drinking; life was not easy for young Charlotte.

Charlotte, now an adult, is married to Paul, a widower, and successful architect. One morning when Charlotte goes to the boat, she discovers the body of a young woman in the lake. The police are called, and an investigation ensues.

The story is told through Charlotte's point of view as she tries to learn more about who the dead woman was and her connection to Lake Crosby and each character.




The past and present combine through dated scenes from the past.
The scenes provide insight into the characters and why the woman was in the lake.

This story kept me on the edge of my seat. Every character was suspect. I could not put this book down. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harlequin and Kimberly Belle for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Well Kimberly Belle does it again! Another great twists and turns psychological thriller that kept me turning the pages faster and faster. A great book for me when I thought I had it figured out but it surprised me. A must read!

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of Stranger in A Lake by Kimberly Belle.

Jax, Micah and Paul have known each other since they were kids. They hold a deep dark secret amongst the three of them. Paul's wife mysteriously dies in the lake. Now there is a second drowning. How and why have these people showed up in the lake?

This author has kept us on the edge of our seats again. She has delivered another must read book!!

This was the first book I had read by this author. I’ll definitely be reading more! I absolutely love “winter weather reads.” The winter weather played well into the plot of this book. Although, I had the ending figured out by the time I got to it, I still really enjoyed the book. The development of the characters was great!

Kimberly Belle is one of my absolute favorite authors but this book left me feeling a bit meh...While it kept me interested enough to keep reading, it just didn't leave me with any strong emotions when it was over or during reading. I didn't really love any of the characters and never felt attached like I normally do.

Read in One day! Couldn’t put this book down! Thank you so much for the advance copy! Without spoiling the plot...The author does a great job of bringing the book to a conclusion without giving away the “ending” too soon! Excellent build up and resolution to a book that got “meatier” by the page! Great character development and description! Will definitely be reading more from this author in the future!

Charlotte ignored the rumors when she married the wealthy, widower, Paul.

After all, despite her being a strong swimmer, the drowning death of Paul’s first wife, Katherine, WAS deemed an accident.

But, when a second woman also drowns, in the same exact spot under Paul’s dock, SECRETS which began in 1999, begin to SURFACE...


WHO IS THE STRANGER IN THE LAKE, AND WHY HAS SHE COME TO TOWN?”

Something happened in 1999 to bind childhood friends, Paul, Micah, and Jax together.

Could their SECRETS have anything to do with the drownings?

The mystery started out strong but it stalled a bit just after the 50% point for me, when the flashback chapters took me out of the present, and the story lost some of its tension.

This story focuses on the SECRETS from 1999, and those chapters were my least favorite part.

I would’ve preferred the story to focus more on the relationships in the present day, and more on the drowning victims.

I wanted the other relationships to be as fleshed out as the one between Charlotte and her brother Chet.

WHY the second woman came to town, WHAT she was looking for, and WHO wanted her to remain silent, DID surprise me...but, again, I wanted MORE of this part of the story!

Although I didn’t enjoy this one as much as “The Marriage Lie” or my personal favorite “Dear Wife”, Kimberley Belle will ALWAYS be an AUTO-READ author for me!

Thank You to NetGalley, Harlequin, and the author for the digital ARC, I received in exchange for a candid review! This title will be available on June 9, 2020!

Posted to Goodreads and NetGalley on Feb. 23rd

Will post to Amazon and “theblondelikesbooks.wordpress.com closer to publication date.

Stranger in the Lake is a very suspenseful story and one that has lots of secrets going on. Charlotte or Charlie- depending on who you ask...has found the man of her dreams. A small town girl that was raised by a drug addict in a trailer park that was under deplorable conditions- marries the town millionaire., Who would do anything to keep a 20 year old secret. Kimberly Belle has done it once again! A masterful, twisty, nail biter of a read. I literally couldn't put this book down. Many thanks to #NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book. This is my honest true and honest opinion.

Wow! I was left speechless after reading this intense, mysterious novel. The who done it, and who could you trust was not who I thought at all!

"I'll tell her the sins of her father are not her burden, and neither are they mine."

Lake Crosby, North Carolina is a small quaint, tourist place where the locals know everyone and their business.
It's also a place of murders, secrets, lies and deception. Is the lake haunted?
Charlotte aka Charlie the trailer park chic and gas attendent and much younger 2nd pregnant wife of Paul Keller, a very wealthy widower, owner of Keller Architecture. He designed most of the homes in the area and was in high demand. Michah Hunt a diver for the police department and Paul and Jax close friend. I immediately took to liking Michah, I think because he made Charlie feel like she was a part of the "family", and didn't judge her. People can be deceiving.
How does the mysterious woman, "Sienna" fit into all of the drama? She's found dead in the same place that 4 years ago, Paul's 1st wife was found in the lake.
Kimberly Belle is an amazing author and I look forward to reading more of her novels. Put this on your TBR. You won't be sorry!


Thank you to publisher and NetGalley for the eARC