Unfortunately, this book was not for me. It started off strong and then fell flat. I was hoping for a creepy mystery but not many interesting events happened and the ending was not satisfying.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I couldn't get into this one. The ARC is full of proof-reading errors: I particularly hope 'different than' is corrected, but there are issues with names ands incorrect words too. However, the writing grated on me anyway: there is a lot of telling and not much dialogue. All the characters seem mildly hysterical with stereotypical 'small town' attitudes to things and I don't want to read any more about them. I skipped to the end, which is 'full of incident' to put it mildly.

It took me a little while to get into the rhythm of this book. I'm so glad I persevered!

Fantastic story, brilliantly written characters.

Very vivid.

I'm just off to investigate his back catalogue!

This book was probably one of my favorites from this year. The writing was fantastic. The mystery was masterly written and kept me guessing until the very end. Full of twists and turns. Interesting character's. An atmospheric setting. Honestly, I can't really think of one thing I didn't love about this book.

Thanks for the ARC Netgalley and Polis Books!

The short of it:
Greg Norman's wife was murdered. Formerly (presently?) the main suspect in her death, he has been found not guilty.

Hoping to fulfill an old promise, Greg moves from New York City to his now-deceased wife's small hometown in Connecticut, but the town is not so welcoming to outsiders. Especially those accused of murdering their own. So when a dead body shows up near Greg's lakehouse things being to unravel, but not just for Greg - for everyone.

My review of it:
Overall, what I did enjoy, and enjoyed most, was the plot. I had the ending pegged rather early in my read, but I think that's mostly due to my general overconsumption of the genre, and don't necessarily think that it made the journey less enjoyable. Following the mystery of the body by the Lakehouse, and the events thereafter, was still a joy. However, the writing was not quite my style and I found the characters to be very one dimensional, often tottering far towards cliche.... though to Clifford's credit, by the end I had found myself very sympathetic towards the book's police chief, despite initially being quite put off by his generic character build - clearly, something worked! :)

For those who love the genre and can offer a bit of grace, I think you'll find an enjoyable read in The Lakehouse.

My thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC.

Everyone knows everyone. They have history and look out for their own(most of the time). News travels fast. Such is the nature of small towns. Covenant, CT is no different.

It suits some. But, for others who would prefer to remain anonymous...not so much. Greg Norman is one of those "others." Labeled the "Banker Butcher," he was charged with the murder of his wife. That he was acquitted and found innocent was beside the point. April Abbott, his wife, was a hometown girl. He was not banking on a warm welcome from the community. His sole purpose was to fulfill a promise made to his late wife : finish building their dream house on Shallow Lake.

Chief Duane Sobczak runs the Covenant Police Department, if you can call it that. He and his deputy, Tom Kies(who also happens to be his son-in-law), are the only full-time employees. The rest of the staff are volunteers. Nearby Holland police provide back-up. There was never a need for anything more. Nothing ever happened in Covenant. Until now.

A body of a young woman has washed ashore. Right next door to Greg's lake house. The investigation that follows is messy, implicating and exposing many Covenant residents, including the chief's own daughter. Nobody, including myself, could have imagined who the culprit was.

Divided into four parts, representing the change of seasons and told from alternating perspectives, this was an absorbing thriller that kept me guessing.

Thank you to both NetGalley and Polis Books for providing me with an advance copy of Joe Clifford’s latest standalone novel, The Lakehouse.

The Lakehouse is a domestic crime thriller about a former NYC banker, Greg Norman, and the effect that his move to Covenant, CT, has on the town. Recently, having been cleared of his wife’s murder, Greg returns to her hometown to build a lake house. Shortly after construction begins, a body washes up on the beach near his property. The residents, who were already upset that the accused murderer of one of their own was moving to Covenant, immediately suspect Greg is responsible for the death.

The story unfolds from the alternating perspectives of three main characters, including Chief of Police, Dwayne Sobczak; a single mother and divorcee, Tracy Somerset; and a psychiatrist, Dr. Meshulum Bakshir. There are also a handful of rotating secondary characters interspersed throughout, but for the most part, this secondary cast is rarely dedicated a chapter of their own. Instead, their stories are told through the eyes of one of the main three characters.

At first, the story moves along at a decent pace; not breakneck, but fast enough that it encourages the reader to stick with it. If this sentence sounds cliché to you, then buckle up because you are about to be slammed with a slew of them while reading the first-half of this novel. They are not so overdone that it becomes unbearable, but if you are an avid reader of fiction, then you will assuredly recognize some of them as trite.

Fortunately, the plot is so engaging that I was able to overlook the initial clichés and plunge into straight reading. Although it was never slow to begin with, the book really starts to move at a rapid clip around the halfway point, which is why I was so disappointed by the ending. It seemed to fizzle out with many unanswered questions. I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if some readers preferred this type of ending.

Additionally, though I enjoyed the story and was certainly entertained by it, my reasons for liking it were strictly plot-driven. I realized while writing this that I actually didn’t care for any of the characters; especially the main trio.

Tracy is annoying. Not sure whether this was done intentionally to convey her naiveté, or if this is how the author believes some women think. Maybe they do and I’m the odd one out? Regardless, I personally didn’t care for her or any of her antics. Also, I didn’t understand why we needed the addition of her child, Logan. He really didn’t serve much purpose other than to say she was a single mom in suburbia and to give her best friend (aka glorified babysitter), Diana, something to do. Some of her outrage makes zero sense and she seems to get dumber as the story unravels.

The Chief is a bizarre mashup of police caricatures. The character even alludes to Hollywood stereotypes, and yet, I felt that he was committing the same sins he claimed he tried never to do as a cop. It was almost as if he had no self-awareness. Again, maybe the author did this on purpose to illuminate the role of the small-town mindset. Regardless of the reason, the character’s stubbornness and largely myopic attitude rubbed me the wrong way. He’s nowhere near as annoying as Tracy is, but there’s definitely something off for a good portion of the book. The one silver-lining is that as his story eventually becomes the key focus of the novel, he develops into a more likeable character and finally realizes all of his shortcomings. Growth!

Dr. Bakshir remains the oddest out of the three and his storyline also has some of the stranger passages in terms of the writing. I will not reveal too much about him because it will give away some of the mystery, but I will say that given what the reader is told about his neurotic tendencies, some of his actions do not quite match up. You’ll see.

As for secondary characters, the author randomly throws in some details that Tracy’s best friend/babysitter, Diana, is a Latina in “lily-white Covenant.” Considering that Tracy’s inner monologue veers into absurdity sometimes, I didn’t really find this fact necessary to the story or the character. Again, except as a vehicle to move along the story and have Tracy explain certain parts of herself, not really sure what purpose she served.

I would’ve liked to learn more about the “Three A-holes.” In fact, I think Amanda could have made a decent secondary character and I wish she had been incorporated into more of the story than her husband Tom.

Also, while not important to the story itself, my copy had a bunch of typos and potentially misplaced passages? Not sure. Near the end, some of the break-offs within chapters seemed oddly placed. I’m guessing these will be fixed by publication date, so if you are as anal as Dr. Bakshir, do not let this fact deter you from reading it.

Overall, despite disliking the majority of characters, I found the twists and turns exciting, thought the plot itself had strong potential, and I enjoyed the grittiness in many of the descriptions. While I would’ve liked a few more questions answered, in the end, I think it deserves a solid 3.5 stars. With some more publications and polish, I think Mr. Clifford could easily become a name that readers seek out when looking for their next crime thriller.

A good mystery in a small Connecticut town where the Sheriff has to sift through all the secrets and lies to track down a murderer.

Woah this was such a pleasant surprise! I found it hard to put down and the suspense was definitely there! I was a big fan and it was exactly what I was in the mood for!

What a twist of a book! I couldn't put it down, I never saw it coming, this truly had me at the edge of my seat the entire time.

You pivot with several major characters in this book: divorced mother Tracy Somerset who is desperately trying to find happiness again, Dr. Bakshir who is trying to find...well something, and exhausted Chief Deputy Sobczak who just wants to have a relationship with his daughter. With a recent murder in the small, quiet town of Covenant you really have no idea where the story goes until you get to the next page.

If you enjoy small town mysteries and some good quality character development, look no further. This book has family drama, tragedy, politics, crime, murder, drugs, all wrapped into one nice dysfunctional bow.

Thank you Joe Clifford, Polis Books, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

After Greg Norman- who was accused, tried and acquitted of his wife’s murder- moves back to her hometown to build his lakehouse, a promise made to his wife before she was murdered, a woman’s body is discovered.
Even after the woman’s death is ruled an overdose, chief Sobczack can’t let go of the feeling that Norman had something to do with her murder, I mean, what are the odds that ANOTHER woman would be found dead so close to Norman?
As more women in this small town begin to disappear, the chief makes it his mission to find them and bring whoever is responsible to justice....and it has to be Norman, right?

Joe Clifford takes us on a whirlwind to solve these crimes in the lakehouse, letting the reader experience the story from multiple points of view. There are several protagonists in this book, and each one has such personality and depth that the switch between them is made seamlessly, intertwining each characters story beautifully.
I enjoyed the pace of this book, it was a fast read, with twists I couldn’t predict. The ending was left open, The Who done it vaguely solved leaving me wishing the story was tied up and the last piece of the puzzle neatly put in place.
I still have so many questions that were left unanswered, and that took away from the story for me. Everything that was assumed was not, and so many loose ends were left open in the end leaving me feeling disappointed.

Overall The Lakehouse is a well written, fast read, and if you like a good who done it, I can promise you won’t figure this one out until the very end!

Really liked this book. I flew through it. Been on a big suspense thriller kick lately and this did it for me. I would read this authors work again. Thank you for the opportunity to read it

The Lakehouse by the author of the wonderful series Jay Porter. Clifford nicely pivots with the Lake House to a more conventional police procedural and suspense driven novel. Clifford ups his game and creates several plot lines and life like characters with many se rets of small town North East. Great writing.

Thank You NetGalley Publisher and author for this gifted ebook!

Summary
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.

Review
This was such a riveting book from start to finish.
This is a must read suspense book that will have you wanting more by the time you're done.
I found it hard to put down.
The characters the Clifford has becomes real life people
It was just a fantastic book!

This is my first encounter with the author Joe Clifford and I am mightily impressed. Set in a small New England town, this gripping story takes you on a journey through the gritty underbelly of a seemingly perfect slice of suburbia. Murder, adultery, secrets and cover ups, this book has it all! So well written you just have to keep turning the page. A flawlessly woven plot line that had the perfect mix of suspense and development. A pure pleasure to read. Would highly recommend to thriller fans!

I enjoyed Joe Clifford's The Lakehouse, although I did get confused as more characters were introduced. It kept me up way past my bedtime and I did not see that ending coming!

This Book Is A Must Read!. The story takes place in a small town in CT, weaving in and out of the lives of the people who live there. The dialogue was true to life, and I found myself getting entangled in all the drama which had me hooked from the first page.. Just when I thought I had the mystery solved, another twist would present itself. And, this happened over and over again. I found this story very hard to put down, and when I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about the story. The ending was a Hugh surprise. Just the kind of mystery I love to read. Small Town, Big Scandals! I highly recommend this book, and will be going back to read more from Joe Clifford. Thank You to NetGalley and Polis Books for an opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

“The Lakehouse”—Joe Clifford [3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫] I was definitely intrigued by this book’s cover and its description as I’m always a fan of a good thriller. Overall, I thought this was a good book; I think I was just expecting something a little different. Todd Norman returns to his wife’s small Connecticut hometown after being cleared of her murder and is eager to build their dream house by the lake. All he wants is to restart his life, but when the body of a young woman washes up near his house, all suspicions are back on him. Tracy Somerset, a recent divorcee and mother to her young son Logan is out one night and doesn’t realize she’s befriended Todd Norman, whom the NY tabloids dubbed “The Banker Butcher.” There’s a lot of troubling and disturbing mysteries taking place in this small town and everyone has something to hide, and it’s a past they prefer to stay buried. Make sure to look out for this book when it’s released on September 15th! *Thank you to NetGalley and Polis Books for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!*📚

Enjoyed this one! Well written with an interesting plot, great characters, suspense throughout and couldn't predict the ending/who done it which I was impressed with.
Thanks to NetGalley, Joe Clifford and Polis books for allowing me a copy of this ARC to review!

SYNOPSIS: “After being cleared of his wife’s murder, Greg 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.... The Lakehouse is a domestic psychological thriller about the wayward and marginalized, the lies we tell those closest to us, and the price of forbidden love in an insular community where it seems everyone has a story to tell—and a past they prefer stay buried.”

REVIEW: Highly recommend! Joe Clifford pulls you into THE LAKEHOUSE from the start and does not let go until the final word. Told using multiple narrators, this is a highly-bingeworthy domestic thriller revolving around murdered and missing girls and what these crime unearth for those in a small Connecticut town on a lake.

Thanks to Polis Books & NetGalley for the ARC of The Lakehouse by Joe Clifford in exchange for this review.