Beautifully written and tense in a way that I wasn't expecting. The portrait of a family that's slowly falling apart.

I absolutely loved this book! I found it hard to put down. I highly recommend reading it! You won’t be disappointed.

This book was so incredible. It was dark and gritty, there is no upside or comedic relief in this book. It's dirty and grimey and absolutely fabulous.
This story was exactly what I was looking for it sucked me in, and spit me back out. Broken and sad.

I loved every damn second of this book.

I received this ARC from net galley in the midst of the quarantine it's dark story was too much for me to handle with the uncertainty of our society.

This book is told from several perspectives which confused me and seemed to make the mystery more confusing.

I wasn't a fan of any of the characters in this book they all seemed to have no redeeming qualities and I really didn't appreciate Leo's abuse of his children. The only reason I completed the novel was to see how it ended I skimmed through a lot of the book. Sorry this just wasn't the book for me.

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. The writing was beautiful and poetic. I thought the characters and story line were well developed to draw the reader in. The ending was beautiful and yet so sad at the same time.

This was a very unique read. I did enjoy it but it was a slow burn. The writing and descriptions where very well done and I look forward to more by the author.

How a woman becomes a lake was an interesting read. Very different to the genre I generally read, I was suprised that I liked the book inspite of thinking otherwise after reading other reviews. All characters in the book were so realistic and the emotions captured felt so real that this almost felt like it was based on a true story. The chapters about the after-death 'experience' felt a bit complex. Ive never read a book where there a person narrating stuff about what comes after death. It was fascinating to see the story unfold although iy could guess the outcome. The story was poignant and touching to say the least.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Canada & Marjorie Celona for an arc!

Liked this one a lot more than I thought that I would, really surprised me. Missing person stories seem to be a new trend of mine, and this was a really great one to read!

A woman missing on New Year Day in a park. A father and his 2 boys visited the park on the same day. What was happened？
The story was told through all of the characters, including the missing woman. The writing is smart but the characters make me uncomfortable. Truth and lies kept me interesting. I finished the book in one day (it’s only 200 something pages)
I read the book in March, the ice on the lake is melting. The story gave me chills and fear. Sorry that I can’t give high stars. But I still recommended this book. I believe a lot of people will enjoy it. and I also believe this book will make a good movie.

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

**trigger warning*** abuse and child abuse.

This book was not at all what I was expecting. I didn’t really enjoy the abuse scenes at all. The twist was not what I was expecting. The book was a bit slow paced. My heart was not racing at any points. It was okay overall.

Good storyline, I was invested the whole way through! Only downside was that it took me a bit longer to finish as I don't read on my iPad as often.

This is about two couples and two children and how their choices impact the rest of their lives. I don't want to spoil anything but I really liked how it touched on life and death, and it all came together at the end. That made it 4 stars for me. The female characters Vera and Evelina were really great characters and I didn't want the novel to end so soon, I liked it enough that I wanted to know more and for it to keep going.

Thanks to Penguin Random House and the author.

4/5 stars

This book was not what I expected. I will not publicly post a review.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

A highly enjoyable, slow-burn mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed. The pacing was terrific and kept me turning the pages long after I meant to put it down.

This was an enjoyable read. The twists and turns kept me turning the pages well into the night. I would recommend this novel to my friends

Thanks to NetGalley for sending me a copy of the ebook to read and review. I really appreciated it and then realized I'd already purchased a copy, so I guess I was really keen to read this one.
And I'm glad I did.
In the season of COVID, I've been doing a LOT of reading. And have slogged through a lot of books because of a strange need for completion, even if I'm not enjoying the experience. This book, told through a number of interwoven perspectives, was not like that. Right away, I eased into the writer's world with an audible "ahhhh." This novel was very engaging, compelling, a joy to read.
What it's about? Without giving anything away, it's about a woman going missing and the aftermath, told from the perspectives of 7 people involved. As the book moves along, more is uncovered, not just about the disappearance, but also about how people are like onions - lots of layers - and how those layers can impact how they interact and react with each other. There were no stereotypes, no all good or all bad characters - like life, everyone has their flaws and saving grace.
Really enjoyed it - so THANKS NETGALLEY for the copy of the book I ended up not needing!

A suspenseful read from the first chapter. Questions keep layering on as each new character takes up the narration around the same incident. Just when you think you're seeing the light, another twist appears..

The children are the emotional hooks here. I loved, them, feared for them, sometimes dreaded what they might reveal next about their burdened young lives. The adults are almost all unpleasant, even when they're trying hard. The dog with its uncomplicated friendliness is a necessary leaven in a book that's psychologically as well as visually harsh.

"How a woman becomes a lake' is as chilling on the inside as the winter setting and snowy lake in the first half of the book are on the outside.

Less of a thriller and more of a slow unravelling of a tragedy. The general shape of the event is known pretty early on in the novel. Although the exact sequence isn't clear until much later, the mystery wasn't what kept me reading, the fallout and the effect of the disappearance on the lives of the characters left behind was.

Celona does an amazing job with the various ways grief and trauma play out in different people's lives, both in the short term and, with a coda set in present day, decades later. What they do less well is giving said people distinct voices, which can be a bit of a problem when the book is told from so many POVs. To be honest, I might not have noticed if they didn't include two children (aged 6 and 10), so it didn't do much for my overall enjoyment of the novel and it won't stop me from reading more of Celona's writing in the future.

This beautifully lyrical literary thriller focuses on the disappearance of Vera, a creator of experimental films. Set in a small fishing town in deep winter, it cleverly follows the story of several troubled characters all tied up directly or indirectly in her disappearance. With each shifting perspective, the story unravels revealing deeply damaged relationships that inflict lasting damage on all involved. Celowna's seamless transitions from one character to another makes the story ebb and flow like the dark water lurking under the ice on the lake—the central focus of all the trouble. A beautifully written book.

I want to start off by saying thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House Canada for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is definitely a slow-burn mystery. I had higher hopes for it, unfortunately. It was beautifully written. There were some scenes that were truly captivating, pull you right in especially with how descriptive they are. However the characters were not relatable to me, even though they were complex. It was quiet depressing at times with the storyline of this family. And, I did not enjoy the ending. I felt each storyline ended in an odd way.

Now, would I recommend the novel. That would depend; if your looking for an easy light quick read, and don’t mind family dysfunction, child abuse and the effects of grief and guilt, go for it (it is only 261pages) but if your anything like me fast paced, suspenseful, hit you in the face ending, I would say pass unfortunately. But I will for sure look into other novels by Marjorie