thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, the mystery was great and I enjoyed getting to know Rose and Anne. It was a well done read and I enjoyed going on this journey.

I did not enjoy this book. I should have zeroed in on the last word of the book description, horror, as that is what this book was. The conversations between Rose and her daughter were completely unbelievable and entirely too cutesie, and how quickly Rose 'fell in love' with Tim, the man she just met, was also completely unbelievable. This being a fiction book I could handle both of these things. It was the horrendous acts at the end of the book which were too much for me to read. I will not spoil the book for anyone who can stomach such endings.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for the digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I like the premise of the story but some things are not very realistic. I don't believe most people talk to.dead members of their family everyday if ever at all. Also I don't believe people fall in love and become intimate within a week. I would like it better without so much gore and nasty treatment of the female characters. The ending was okay but definitely predictable. I recommend this to anyone who likes creepy characters and lots of blood and gore.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

PARADOX LAKE is a good example of the difficulty men have writing for a female protagonist. Rosie's actions vis a vis her daughter and Tim Ferguson are not at all believable, especially in light of the circumstances. And her daughter definitely doesn't read like a 12-yr-old, especially not in the nightly phone calls with her boyfriend - kids that age text almost exclusively and certainly do not make proclamations of love. And, unfortunately, the big twist Zandri was hoping for fell flat - too many clues for it to come as a surprise.

Thank you Netgalley for the oppportunity to preview Paradox Lake by Vincent Zandri. This is a scary one..
A woman and her daughter decide to move to a new home on a Lake to get away and reconnect. This home sits on Paradox Lake and has a dark history. Soon strange things begin to happen and soon they are very scared that history may be repeating itself.

Paradox Lake will have you jumpy till the end. Scary and scary and did i say scary.

3.5 stars.

Paradox Lake by Vincent Zandri -- 2 Stars
Oceanview Publishing
9781608094189

This book did not live up to its advance praise and editorial reviews. It reminded me of a not very good slasher movie. The characters were silly. There was an annoying stereotypical twelve year old daughter, a mother who had strange conversations with her deceased daughter and husband, a handsome local who quickly had a steamy relationship with the mother, and the necessary murdering maniac. The mother rented a property in the woods that she did not know had a history of violence. There were spooky sounds, dangerous storms and of course, the mother and daughter had bloody battles for their lives. Not too original.

Reviewer: Nancy

PARADOX LAKE
Vincent Zandri
Oceanview Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1608094189
Hardcover
Thriller

PARADOX LAKE serves as a display case for yet another facet of author Vincent Zandri’s multiple talents. It is somewhat of a slow-boil tale with multiple twists and turns that merrily and in some cases violently yank the reader to unexpected places with nary a narrative misstep.

Zandri’s latest thriller begins with an unnerving and memorable prologue before settling into what appears to be a somewhat domestic vibe. The balance of PARADOX LAKE is narrated in the first person present tense by Rose Conley, a sculptor and teacher who is also the single mother of twelve-year-old Anna. We first meet Rose as she is packing up her car for a three-month cabin stay at Paradox Lake, a remote location in the Adirondacks with her daughter and without Tony, Rose’s boyfriend of several years. We learn in short order that Rose lost both her older daughter Allison and husband Charlie and separate incidents. It is also inferred that Tony while loving and dedicated to both Rose and Anna, is perhaps a bit clingy. Tony, it seems, also spends possibly a little too much time bending his elbow at a local tavern to ease his disappointment over the fact that he has never quite crossed the success line in his writing career. While the purpose of Rose’s trip is ostensibly to connect with her daughter before the teenage years hit and to work on her sculpting, a need to perhaps take a break from Tony’s somewhat overbearing mannerisms is also subtly noted. That aside, the cabin at Paradise Lake appears to be just what Rose needs, and the surrounding environs provide her with an interesting situation when she meets Tim, the older, quietly competent proprietor of a local market and general store. Tim is helpful without being intrusive or obtrusive, and Rose finds herself attracted to him in spite of and possibly because of herself. Distractions notwithstanding, Rose and Anna settle into their temporary new life at Paradox Lake, with some occasional but temporary vignettes involving mother-daughter prickliness. Rose and Tim move around each other in more frequent and ever-shrinking circles while Rose deals with her feelings of guilt over what she regards as her emotional betrayal of Tony, who senses that something is up even though he is miles away. Fans of Zandri should be assured, however, that one of their favorite authors isn’t going all warmly and fuzzily romantic on them. The normal dangers that Rose and Anna might encounter in the woods aren’t limited to the four-legged variety. They are being observed with bad intent by a presence that manifests itself in steps and stages, going from odd and strange to flat-out dangerous. Rose is anything but a shrinking violet while Anna, interestingly enough, is not exactly defenseless either, her tender years notwithstanding. They are all but outgunned, however, and their hunter has the advantage of years of experience and planning. If Rose and Anna are going to survive their stay at Paradox Lake they are going to have to rely on surprise from both within and without.

It may not seem like it from (most of) the first half or so of PARADOX LAKE but Zandri has a grisly way with words which manifests itself fully in the descriptive narrative which you will find here. Zandri has an extensive backlist. For those who are perhaps new to his work, the wonderful folks behind the curtain at Oceanview Publishing suggest a place to start catching up. That said, longtime fans of Zandri will find in PARADOX LAKE yet another reason to seek him out as he once again exceeds the expectations he has created. Recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2021, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

With multiple published series and standalone books, Vincent Zandri is a prolific writer of crime, mystery and horror books. Taking influence from the tale of Little Red Riding Hood, Paradox Lake is a dark tale of a murderous fiend. Rose Conley is a sculptor, who takes her twelve-year-old daughter Allison to the Adirondack lakeside community of Paradox. Wanting to get away and focus on her art and nurture her daughter, little does she know of the local murder thirty years previously. A gripping psychologically tense book with a four- star rating and not for the squeamish. With thanks to NetGalley and the author for a preview copy for review purposes. All opinions expressed herein are bias free and totally my own.

Vincent Zandri is always reliable for a fast, exciting read. I really liked this novel, and I will remain a committed Zandrite looking forward to Vince's next offering. This isn't high literature, nor does it pretend to be. There is an old saying, "For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like." Well, count me in as one who does like this sort of thing; I had a good time reading Paradox Lake, and a good time was all I sought from it. One does not ride a roller-coaster and analyze the minutiae of its engineering. One simply sits back and enjoys the ride.

Thank you to Netgalley and Vincent Zandri for an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

Rose has decided to take a sabbatical to work on her art, dragging her pre-teen daughter, Anna along for the semester. The pair head to a sleepy little town by the name of Paradox Lake where their temporary home sits on a beautiful lake. Rose is looking forward to some time away with her daughter, but things start to go south. She finds that the home they are renting was the former home of the Moore family who suffered a major tragedy 30 years prior. Rose is trying to convince herself that history will not repeat itself, but she can't help but ignore the weird things that have started happening. Is it all in Rose's head or does she really have something to worry about in Paradox Lake.

Let me start by saying, this has been one of my favorite ARC's in quite some time. The author did an excellent job of giving me the heebie-jeebies when talking about certain locations or certain characters. I really enjoyed the storyline and the few twists that were thrown in throughout the book. Overall, this was one that I had trouble putting down and felt utterly creeped out while reading. Absolutely grab yourself a copy!

Rose decides to rent a lake house for the summer, hoping to spend time with her distant pre-teen daughter Anna. What was supposed to be a relaxing getaway turns into something far worse than they could ever imagine.

This was an interesting book. Some parts were predictable but there were also some surprising twists. I had a hard time connecting with the characters. Anna calling Rose by her name instead of Mom was weird and annoying. I'm not sure if the intent was to show the reader that she is mature for her age, or dealing with pre-teen moody hormones. Rose's goal was to spend time with Anna but she immediately fell for the town local store owner, even though she has a boyfriend back home who she's been with for years and is like a father to Anna. She painted him to be boring and predictable and was annoyed every time he called or texted. The mystery surrounds a local girl murdered years ago, and how Anna has an uncanny resemblance to her. With the killer released from prison, he has his eyes set on Anna as his next victim. At this point with the killer's POV I wasn't sure if this was turning into a paranormal read, with the way the killer was described as unhuman-like and doing strange things. The ending had some gruesome scenes and went over the top as the killer kept coming for them even with all the injuries sustained. Overall it was an okay read, it kept my attention, and it has the mystery and horror. 3.5 stars rounding up to 4.

Thank you Netgalley and Oceanview Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Paradox Lake is a compelling and unusual psychological suspense thriller, and a retelling of the European fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, set in New York. Art professor and sculptor Rose Conley is suffering from immense grief and heartache following the passing of her daughter from leukaemia and the subsequent suicide of her husband. She decides to take a three-month sabbatical from her college in Albany, NY, at a remote house on the shores of Paradox Lake in the Adirondacks along with her twelve-year-old daughter, Anna. As she enjoys her time sculpting and spending time with Anna as they attempt to heal from their collective trauma, a series of disturbing incidents begin to occur. They begin hearing terrifying noises in the night naturally spoiling their peace and relaxation. It doesn't take long before Rose discovers that twelve-year-old Sarah Anne Moore, who used to reside in the property, was raped and murdered on a trail a few feet from her home in 1986.

Rose slowly but surely becomes obsessed with the case and researches the girl and her family. She even sculpts the dead girl’s likeness. But by the time she realises that she and her daughter may be in danger, it's too late. A monster lurks in the shadows ready for his next prey: Anna. Will they get out alive? This is a compelling and richly atmospheric thriller with many horror elements also in the mix. It's gruesome, gory and blood-soaked and a story with many shocks and surprises in store for the unsuspecting reader. Told in first person from both Rose and the crazed killer’s perspectives, it moves at a quick pace and is an easy read to settle into. You really rapidly find yourself feverishly turning the pages to see exactly how the situation will resolve. It's nothing outstanding but it's well written and good fun with likeable characters in Rose and Anna and a demonic villain at the centre. This is difficult to put down but not for the faint of heart.

I didn't like this as much as I wanted to. For one thing, the dialogue didn't read as real. That's just a side effect of the characters, though, who didn't feel true, either.

Rose Conley and her twelve-year-old daughter Anna headed for Paradox Lake in the Adirondacks, to spend a few months, sculpting, relaxing and getting closer to one another. Rose had lost her first daughter Allison to cancer and her husband Charlie, who was unable to cope with Allison’s death, to suicide shortly before Anna’s birth. So, the two of them had been close since Anna was a baby. There was also Tony in their lives, a writer and Rose’s boyfriend. They were looking forward to the peace and tranquility the lake would bring. (Even though Anna was stressing about the lack of internet)

Meanwhile a killer who’d been imprisoned for thirty-three years in an institution for the criminally insane had recently been released and had returned to his old home in Paradox Lake. He’d vowed to the priest that he was a changed man…

What would Rose do when she discovered the past connection to the house she and Anna were staying in? Hightail it back home, never to set foot in the place again? I know I would!!

Paradox Lake by Vincent Zandri is a book I was looking forward to very much – but unfortunately, I was disappointed. I read “The Remains” in 2013 and gave it 5 stars, so thought this one would be of similar enjoyment. I found I was annoyed with the dialogue, the constant use of each other’s names, the tacky and tasteless chatter that went on – I skimmed. I don’t think I’ll read any more by this author.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

I was given a free copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rose and her 12-year old daughter Anna take a 3-month sabbatical to Paradox Lake, a small town in the Adirondacks. A killer from 33 years ago is released from prison and back living in Paradox Lake among the locals. Anna and Rose find themselves fighting for their lives. Sounds promising; but I did not like this book. First of all, Anna calls her mom, Rosie, ALL THE TIME. I can understand if she were being a sarcastic pre-teen but she hardly ever calls her mom. 2nd, the dialogue between the characters drove me crazy. If Rose and Anna are in the same room and are the only ones in the house, do they need to address each other by name? It is almost every sentence they have to start or end with the other persons name. 3rd I understand that your daughter is 12; however you "desperately need time together" but you leave her alone, a lot. 4th and finally, the villain is one of those from a horrible horror film that will not die!!!! I was really irritated with this story.

I wanted to like this book but the more I read the more ridiculous it becomes. I agree with others. Constantly using people's names while talking to each other is just weird. I got to about 85% and just skipped to the end. When she was fighting Tim off and supposedly broke her phone screen and used that to stab him in the skull......give me a break lol. Plus the whole falling in love and screwing around after not even a week of knowing someone and leaving you kid alone when you already have a bad feeling about things just doesn't work for me. Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this.

I've been tricked.

The summary of this book is 100% better than a single page. The conversations are weird, the story itself is silly more than scary.

Paradox Lake is....not a paradox.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Sarah Anne Moore was raped and murdered as a 12 year old in 1986 on a trail near the house Rose has rented with her daughter Anna, also 12. Rose, an artist on sabbatical, becomes obsessed with Sarah Anne's story because Anna looks so much like her. Then the weird eerie stuff starts. This wavers between being a horror novel and a thriller. No spoilers from me but this one relies on some very trope-y stuff that might be better suited to the movies than a novel. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

3 stars!!

I really wanted to like this book but its one didn't work for me. This story takes place in a town called Paradox, where a psychopath went to jail for killing a young girl. Now, thirty years later, he is back and thus begins his search for another victim! One day, while working at a local general store, he finds a young girl and her mother walk into the shop, and then and there he decides that he has found his perfect girl. The psychopath is disturbingly fascinated by Little Red Riding Hood.

This was such a promising plot and I was into it in the beginning. But Gradually it lost its steam and the possibly gripping and unpredictable novel became... just too predictable. I was rooting for an end twist that could blow my mind, but it never came.

Overall, I can see potential in the writing style of the author. The pace of the story was definitely its plus point. I would read more from this author in the future.

Many thanks to Oceanview Publishing and Vincent Zandri for providing me with a review copy. All opinions are my own.

*A big thank you to Oceanview Publishing, Vincent Zandri and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Previously published at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/paradox-lake/

Who is afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

In this re-visioned tale of Little Red Riding Hood, a sculptor, Rose Conley, forever changed by the loss of her daughter to Leukemia and her husband by suicide, takes a three-month sabbatical with her twelve-year-old daughter, Anna, to Paradox Lake in Upstate New York.

Quickly, she learns that there has been a horrible tragedy that has taken place on the grounds – a young girl, Sarah, raped and murdered, a few feet from the house. Unfortunately, the past seems to intrude almost immediately after they get there. She finds the trail near their house, where the young girl was murdered, and immediately is obsessed with the story.

Despite being in a long-term relationship, Rose falls in love almost immediately with the local general store owner, Tim. He seems to always be at their lake house, and Rose sees him as their savior. He brings them food and a boat and instantly; she has welcomed him into the family. While it seems odd that a young single mother would be so trustworthy and open with a stranger, there seem to be no red flags. As the story goes on, Tim becomes almost cringeworthy in his constant need to please. Strange things happen, such as shadows appearing by the woodpile and screams every night out on the lake. As Rose researches the death of the family that lived in the house before, she realizes the killer may live right near them. By the time she realizes that she and Anna might be in danger, it is almost too late. Paradox Lake is told in first person with voices from Rose and the “Wolf.” There is a surprising twist at the end, which brings the story to a shocking conclusion.

Paradox Lake is a horror story, in all aspects. It is bloody, gory, and graphic—not for the faint of a heart. This is a quick read, and the fast-paced story begins within the first chapter. Rose and Anna are likeable characters, and Zandri has done an outstanding job depicting a twelve-year-old girl and her wants and needs. He also does an amazing job describing the bond between a mother and daughter. Even though there are multiple “triggers” in Paradox Lake such as rape of a young girl, suicide, and animal torture, this book is admittedly hard to put down, despite those things. Personally, Rose is very relatable as a single mother struggling with her pre-teen daughter, after having had multiple losses.