This was a tough book for me. It was incredibly slow and confusing. I kept putting it down and coming back to it, but it was never able to grab my attention. The premise sounds great, but the book did not deliver.

Uhhhh... is anyone else confused? I love a good thriller that makes me flip back through chapters to connect all the dots, but I was mostly confused with this one. I scoured for spoilers because I just didn’t get it. If you read this, read slowly.

This book was a bit of a struggle for me to get through, and seemed to lack a bit throughout the story. There was no real suspense from chapter to chapter that made me want to forgot all my other responsibilities and keep reading. That being said, it wasn't the worse book I've ever read, and I may even recommend it to others. Just wasn't really my cup of tea.

The Lakehouse by Joe Clifford is a (super) slow burning mystery that left me feeling confused. Not the best way to start a 4-star review right? But even though there was confusion, and it was a bit slower than I maybe would have liked, I still REALLY enjoyed this book. My friend kindly lent me the physical copy to see if it matched what I had on NetGalley (it did), and I literally cannot get over how gorgeous and fitting the cover is. I do love a good slow burn but be advised the pacing is particularly slow here. I still found the book utterly captivating though so in this instance it didn't really bother me.

The part that confused me the most was all of the "A" names. The Sheriff's daughter's name is Amanda, and then there is also an April and an Amber, all of whom were friends at one point. Mix this in with all the other characters and for some reason I found myself a little lost. So if I had to do anything differently, I would have written everyone down. I also found the very end to be a bit ambiguous for my liking and it went over my head. After speaking to the same friend that loaned me the book, who actually got it, I understood though and that made me like the book even more.

I thought the mystery was good and there are quite a few moving parts. I apparently wasn't smart enough for this book, but I did really appreciate the ride. The Lakehouse is said to be a domestic psychological thriller and I have to say I agree although the thriller part felt more like a mystery to me. The book is told from Tracy and Sheriff Duane Sobczak’s viewpoints along with a couple of other characters and does jump around a little bit. Overall I was a fan, and I will definitely be reading more from Clifford!

Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

thank you NetGalley for this E-ARC!

this story was a bit slow and parts and I put it down often and would forget to come back.
some parts of it were predictable. I liked it but had potential to be much better. I think if this is your genre it could go either way.

Unfortunately I couldn't really get into this book. It didn't grip me and I just struggled to get through it.

I've read a few of Joe Clifford's other books, which I enjoyed very much, but they were somewhat limited in their breadth by the urban-druggie genre. With The Lakehouse, he's written a book with a much broader appeal and he's done it with terrific style and pace. The story moves like a thoroughbred, and the characters are both original and engaging. The premise--a man acquitted of murdering his wife, then moving back to her small town to build the lakehouse she'd always dreamed of--is stuffed with promise, and Clifford fulfills it to the brim. All in all a terrific read. Highly recommend.

This is a hard one to review for me. Did I love the book, no. Did I enjoy it, yes. There was just so much lacking from this story. The storyline itself wasn't bad, I mean, I finished it and didn't hate it. But it felt very surface level, especially when it came to the characters.

You get most of the story through the eyes of Tracy who is a divorced mom who meets Tod Norman who everyone thinks killed his wife, but was never found guilty. The rest of the story we get through other characters. While I enjoy stories from an outside point of view, I honestly just didn't see the point of Tracy. For me, she didn't add a lot to the story besides providing an alibi and showing the side of Tod everyone refused to see. I would have liked to see more from Tod's perspective.

This was a 2.5 Stars for me. I may check out other books from this author to see if I get more from another story of theirs.

Thank you the Netgalley and Polis Books for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to #Netgalley and #Polisbooks for the opportunity to read and review "The Lakehouse" by Joe Clifford. I have read other novels by Mr. Clifford and looked forward to this one, but I have to admit I found it a trifle disappointing.

While it is still a good story, the plot seems a bit light.

Todd Norman has returned to Covenant, after being found not guilty of the murder of his wife, April; and he's building a lake house because of the promise he made to his late wife when they moved back to this small town from New York. But the locals are not happy, as they all believe him to be guilty and having escaped justice.

But Chief Sobczak has other problems on his hands: disappearing young women, all of whom were friends with the deceased woman, as well as his daughter. They all seem to have slipped through the cracks after troubled teenage years.

Then Tracy Somerset, a young divorcee with a child, meets a handsome man at the late night Walmart and begins a relationship with Todd Norman; Tracy grew up in Covenant, married her high school sweetheart (who subsequently wrecked their marriage) and was also friends with April (Abbott) Norman as well as the chief's daughter and at least one of the other missing girls.

Throw into the mix a backwoods preacher 'Uncle Bob',who runs a non-denominational 'church' on the outskirts of town, and the town psychiatrist whose work with a number of the girls is somehow linked to their current situation, as well as April's father who is adamant that his former son-in-law is a murderer and you get a semi-Peyton Place of twisted personalities and secrets.

The book is a decent read, but the resolution to the cases did leave me hanging.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

Clifford’s trademark voice is as strong and gritty as ever with his newest novel, which I’d call more a psychological thriller. Unlike a lot of thrillers I’ve read, Clifford really digs into his characters and their motivations, thus the characters feel like living, breathing people. This is the highest praise I can give an author because a good story means nothing without characters I can care about. And I did care about single mom Tracy and police chief Sobczak.

This was a satisfying read. Highly recommend!

In The Lakehouse by Joe Clifford we are introduced to Chief Sobczak, a small town cop, in a little place called Covenant. He is called to the scene of a dead woman found near the lake. She just so happens to be found dead near the house of Greg Norman, a man widely believed to have murdered his wife. Norman was acquitted but everyone thinks he is guilty, especially Sobczak. He is determined to prove Norman is guilty of this crime.
The chapters alternate between the viewpoints of Sobczak, Tracy ( a young, single mom), and Dr. Bakshir (a psychiatrist ) and I was excited to find out how their stories merged into one. What do these three people have in common and how are their lives entertwined? You will have to read this book to find out. This was a thrilling mystery and I thought everyone was guilty at one time or another. Joe Clifford has mastered the feel of the small New England town. I really enjoy reading his books because his descriptions are so good that I feel like I've been to this town and know the people. Definitely do NOT pass this book by! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this one!

I really appreciated how Clifford fleshed out his characters enough to give you the small town vibe he was going for without being tedious to learn.

This book has tons of questionable characters existing on the fringes of the small town, and created a number of plausible villains. Ultimately, the end was surprising and believable. I definitely look forward to more from this author.

Excellent novel about Chief Sobczak and the murder he is trying to solve in his small town.  The story revolves around a few story lines. Tracy and Todd, Todd's  previously deceased wife, the chief's daughter Amanda and her husband who also works for the Chief . Story kept me on the edge of my seat, I did not want to put the book down. Lots of twists and turns, There are many characters but I found it easy to keep all of them straight And how they related to each other. This is a first book from this author that I have read, and highly recommend. I will read more of his books .
Tracy meets Todd one night at a Walmart, and is instantly attractive , she has recently separated from her husband Brett. Todd lost his wife a few years ago and has come back to town to finish building a massive home on the Lake. However Todd was a suspect in her death. He was cleared but there are those who still think he did it. The story evolves from there as the chief of police Heads now been thrown into reinvestigating Todd for the murder.
This was a really great story and I would read more by this aurhor

This book is well written and has good character development I just couldn’t personally get into the story and found it a little bit of a struggle to keep reading. In the end it does wrap up everything and answers the questions you have, just left a little lacking for me personally. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This one took me a while to get through, and usually this genre is easy breezy for me. The writing style was a little choppy for my liking, I had to reread to refresh more times than I like to admit, and I really didn't like any of the characters. The premise is solid = guy once accused of murder returns to small town to build a dream house, more murders start happening, he is natural suspect while he is also falling in love with local gal who knew many of the missing/dead women herself. It was just scattered and while I was guessing who the actual murderer was, I never really found out the why which was disappointing. Thankful for the ARC.

2.5 STARS

After being cleared of his wife’s murder, Todd Norman returns to her small Connecticut hometown in order to finish building their dream house by the lake. He is eager to restart his life and cast aside any remaining suspicious...but all of that is dashed when a young woman’s body washes up on the beach next door.

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Okay, regardless of my low(ish) rating I do have to credit THE LAKEHOUSE for getting me out of a reading slump. I read this book over one weekend and enjoyed it, even if it wasn't super memorable.

Personally I found there to be too many story lines and not enough character development. No spoilers here, but one of the bigger twists didn't even seem related to the main plot - and seemed way more interesting! I wish that the book had been more focused on that part than Todd and Tracy's budding relationship. That ending hit it out of the park, however, but again seemed to hint at another side plot. All in all, I was left confused and off-kilter. Not really a stellar combination!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my ARC copy. THE LAKEHOUSE is out now.

DNF.

The first chapter was the most interesting part of the book. Soon after, it became dull and uninteresting, and though the premise still felt interesting, I didn't have the time or energy to invest more of myself in the book. The writing style was choppy and didn't engage me either.

Very intriguing until the end, I felt like it didn’t really end. Lots of questions not answered, the characters didn’t seem to fit at the end

Creepy good and almost predictable! I loved the twists and turns! I was fighting for Mr Norman! I loved it! I rate this book 3.7! Thanks Netgalley !

Overall, this was an excellent mystery. I was invested in the story and the characters. I didn't love the writing style, though. This is subjective, of course, but I found it to have too many awkward tangents. However, the ending had me on the edge of my seat.