I didnt like the switching between the past and present. There wasnt a smooth transition and I felt jolted everytime I finished a chapter

A line from this book sticks with me - "death smells like macaroons". I love that the author has realised that there's a scent memory tie that'll trigger just at the smell of something, and I really enjoyed the book. It was quite fast paced, but not too hard to follow. There were a few places that felt a bit overegged, but it was, nevertheless a great weekend read, one which I'll be dissecting further on my blog because of the line that stuck with me.
A solid debut, though there was a slight POV problem in places. Touches on abuse, so may not be suitable for everyone.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

The Cry of the Lake
by Charlie Tyler

I did not finish this book. The most honest review I can provide is that I could not get into it and did not find it to be an interesting story.

The premise of the story was highly interesting, along with mermaid setting. Lily and Grace were very interesting characters, abused in different ways as kids and what it turned them into was both sad and horrific. At the same time, I felt that the multiple POVs were a bit confusing and had the same bitchiness (I can find no better word) to the narration. The slow reveal took a lot out of the story and made the book a bit longer than it should have been.
Overall it was a good thriller, unique and well-written.

DNF (Did Not Finish) at 33%
RATING: 1.5 (.5 extra for the utterly gorgeous cover)

I'm writing a review because I feel like being one-thirds of the way through, I had a pretty good idea what I was in for and was truly not interested in going on.

The premise of this novel is as mysterious as one would expect from a thriller. Lily, after witnessing a traumatic event at age 6 has been mute. She is part of some revenge plot taken on by her sister 'Grace' and befriends Flo who is somehow involved in the plot. Honestly, I didn't get far enough to find out what this book is about and that. is. the. problem.

From the beginning, I was so completely confused; I didn't know how Grace and Lily were related, I didn't know Lily's name was Lily (for some reason it wasn't written below the chapter? maybe some technical issue, idk), I couldn't figure out if Lily and Flo were related, or how Flow was related to Tom and Annie. It was just one huge mess. There is a way to write a puzzling story and still make it intriguing; this is not that way. Finish one story before starting another.

After chapter one, everything went south. The writing suffered terribly - and while I know and understand that this is an ARC, it's still irksome when there are grammatical and punctuation errors spread throughout. A few, I am able to accept and move on. While they may not have been, these felt almost intentional.

The split POVs - Grace's, Lily's, and Flo's - contributed nothing to the plot. There was no added suspense and since all characters are pretty much 2-dimensional, nothing interesting that happened for me to want to keep reading.

I was not even 10% of the way in when i started skimming through the book. I would have felt guilty but I just didn't care? Which is somehow worse than feeling guilty.

Honestly, this was an incredibly tedious read. Did not enjoy, would not recommend.

Confusing and hard to read. I wasn’t able to truly get into the story so it was hard to follow along.

A tightly spun thriller told through various characters narrative. This starts off wild then the rollercoaster looped further. “Nothing happening here sounds crazy because it’s all off the scale fucked up." a phrase from the book that encapsulates it all but in a somewhat credible way. I literally put it down to sleep then spent the next day until finished. This is a keeper as is the author.

#NetGalley #CryOfTheLake

Well, let me start out by saying that this book started off with a murdered girl (Amelie) at the dining table of mother and daughter, Grace and Lily. I was immediately questioning why she was murdered, so to say the book started off with a bang is a fitting analogy! As the reader, I was introduced to Tom and his daughter Flo, who happens to be best friends with Lily. Also, for some reason it was noted that Flo looked similar to Amelie. Tom was a science teacher and got engaged to Grace. I knew early on that I didn't like Grace and I felt something was off about Grace and Lily, besides the fact that they murdered Amelie. It then became apparent that they were setting up Tom to take the fall for the murder, only I had no idea why?

I could not put this book down! After about 40% in, I was racing to turn the page to find out the secrets in everyone's closets. I slowly learned in bits and pieces about the character's past histories. Boy oh boy was I not expecting how everything came to a conclusion!

This book was well written and full of mystery and suspense. I would definitely recommend!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy!

Grace reminded me of Norman Bates, from the movie Pyscho, but she was much scarier. She seemed to be living in the twilight zone, where she alone matters, a true psychopath living among the sane. What she did to her sister Lily and all the others was just too darn horrible to contemplate. A crazy, morbid, and interesting read with a bit of intrigue.

I really wanted to love this one but I found it a little too all of over the place with so many POVs and characters being introduced. I also found what was going on a little hard to understand. This one didn't work out for me but i do love the cover.

This book is a real rollercoaster of a ride, keeps you guessing throughout. Lots of dark material but perfectly leavened with wickedly dry humor that is perfectly timed. Characters are fantastic and varied but fair warning, none are as they seem! Twisty, creepy, deliciously fun

this was a really enjoyable read, I loved the twists and turns of the mystery in the book and getting to know the characters. I'd love to see more with these characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the review copy!

THIS BOOK WAS GREAT! I loved this story so much. It gave me all feels I was looking for. I could see reading this in October and but I couldn't wait so I had to read when it when I got approved! This plot and story were done great and so easy to follow. The characters were written very well!

I highly recommend this read!

A jillion times, yes this book is amazing. It starts right off the bat which gets you confused but not enough to make you abandon ship. On the contrary, the confusion sets off an ominous vibe and you just can't help but be the cat from that all too famous proverb. Piece by piece you'll uncover the horrible master plan and you're wondering how this will end and why this all is happening. When the time is right, snippets of forgotten yesteryears will reveal themselves but it will still be quite some time before it will all make sense. To say that every secret that is unraveled is shocking is an understatement! Take what you think you know, bury it under complex layers of betrayal, manipulation, confusion, madness, sorrow, greed, among other things, Add a drop of potent nonchalance and selfishness, roll into a tight sushi wad and YOU STILL AIN'T SEEN (or read ) NOTHING YET.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! Although I would've wanted the main protagonist to have uttered those sentiments, have closure. But then such is life.

After reading the first few pages I actually checked my Kindle to make sure I'd started the right book. The events described in the cover copy are accurate, but they're buried midway through the book, which begins with something else entirely. It took me quite a while to figure out who the characters were and what they were dong and by the time things started to make sense I'd lost interest.

Wow. I have just finished reading this novel and I am quite impressed. It took me a while to read, but only because, after I had read the first chapter, I wanted to present it to my book club for the next read so I waited to finish it so it would be fresh in my mind when it came time to review for my club.

From the beginning I was hooked. The way it starts off with a murder and the murderers was very unique. At first I thought what's the point when I already know who did it? I quickly got over that! The plot thickens and twists over and over and after each reveal I was left wanting more. What can happen next!?

This title is about Grace and Lily, seemingly happy mother and daughter about to enhance their lives with Grace becoming engaged to Tom who has a daughter Flo who is friends with Lily. Seems perfect. Lily can't speak, bit uses text to communicate. This happy little family gets torn apart by murder and lies.

Grace and Lily aren't who we think they are. They have to unlock the past to confront their present.

I couldn't stop reading and will keep this in my read again list

The Cry of the Lake is a twisty mystery that follows Grace, Lily and Flo. It’s a fast-paced, character driven novel that explores the themes around sisterhood, trauma and shared secrets. 

The beginning confused me and it took me a while to figure everything out and get my head around what was happening. However, after a shaky start, I became invested in the story. 

The characters were well written, diverse and felt so real to me. I looked forward to reading each point of view, and I hoped that everything would work out for them all. 

Overall, although the beginning started shaky, I soon became invested in the plot and characters. I’m glad I stuck around to find out how it would all end!

Cassie wanted only to find her mermaid, but instead she sees a dead man’s body. Shocked by this event, she locks all her memories in the back of her mind. 10 years later she has to face and unravel what really happened that night.

Such a gripping story. It started at a slow pace, but after the first half of the book I just couldn’t stop reading, and I was constantly on edge and curious to know what was going to happen.

Great the description of the characters state of mind, and the way all the events unravel throughout the book.

Will definitely propose this book for next month read along.

Ps: review on goodreads, Amazon and Instagram.t

I tried giving this book, The Cry of the Lake, a try and it seemed interesting to start off with but quickly got boring and bland so much to the point of me not actually wanting to continue the book. I did get a feel for a couple characters whilst reading and found I really hated Grace.

Thank you Net Galley and Darkstroke Books for the opportunity to read and offer my review.

Usually I'm not an avid reader of British mysteries, but I took a chance on this one. The description was well-crafted and caught my interest. I found the characters very well-written and presented the plot vividly using their differing points of view and voices.

Lily was clearly traumatized by a past event and still struggling to deal with that occurrence. Her sister, Grace, emerged as a force that you love to hate, even taking into account her own issues. However, Flo has to be my favorite.; a good friend, daughter and generally a likable person.

These girls are the three prongs that kept me interested and willing to sift through some of the British slang and vernacular. I usually don't mind the slang as much as I did in this book, but I found the wealth of it distracting and pulled me away from the events.

Overall, a solid offering for a debut author. I will definitely look for more from Charlie Tyler. #NetGalley, #TheCryoftheLake