I thought this would be a bit juicier than it was -- the killer was obvious and not interesting. The past was also not too interesting. I'm only giving it three stars because I liked the setting and the friendships but this was definitely lackluster without any punch. Hope you have a better time if you do read it!

Bitterroot Lake comes out tomorrow on April 13, 2021 and you can purchase HERE.

What Sarah remembered most about that day twenty give years ago were the sounds.

The words that twisted Lucas's full lips, that ripped away all the innocence of the weekend, that scraped her to the bone even still.

Title: Bitterroot Lake
Author: Alicia Beckman
Genre: Suspense/thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5

Twenty-five years ago, during a celebratory weekend at historic Whitetail Lodge, Sarah McCaskill had a vision. A dream. A nightmare. When a young man was killed, Sarah's guilt over having ignored the warning in her dreams devastated her. Her friendships with her closest friends, and her sister, fell apart as she worked to build a new life in a new city. But she never stopped loving Whitetail Lodge on the shores of Bitterroot Lake.

Now that she's a young widow, her mother urges her to return to the lodge for healing. But when she arrives, she's greeted by an old friend--and by news of a murder that's clearly tied to that tragic day she'll never forget.

And the dreams are back, too. What dangers are they warning of this time? As Sarah and her friends dig into the history of the lodge and the McCaskill family, they uncover a legacy of secrets and make a discovery that gives a chilling new meaning to the dreams. Now, they can no longer ignore the ominous portents from the past that point to a danger more present than any of them could know.

This was a decent read, but I wasn’t surprised at the resolution. The author tried to throw out some red herrings, but I was never in much doubt. A lot of bitterness in these people’s lives—amidst a lot of money. It was a solid read, but I was never on the edge of my seat. Lovely descriptions of the lodge and the landscape. Made me want to visit!

Alicia Beckman lives in Montana. Bitterroot Lake is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Crooked Lane books in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 4/17).

Reading Between the Wines book review #43/115 for 2021:
Rating: 2 🍷 🍷
Book 🎧: Bitterroot Lake
Author: Alicia Beckman
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
RELEASED on April 6, 2021!!!
Recommended to readers who like a mystery involving a lot of characters.

Sipping thoughts: I was excited to jump into this mystery and it started of so promising. I think it’s a decent read with a little mystery, but it did not draw me in, and I was not that invested. There were a lot of characters and to be honest when the killer was revealed, I could not remember who they were. After reading other reviews, I see others agreed. But, like always, check it out for yourself because it is definitely written for someone who would like it.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @DreamscapeMedia for an advanced copy of @BitterrootLake
#BitterrootLake #DreamscapeMedia #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThriller #GeneralFictionAdult

After the death of her husband, Sarah McCaskill returns to Whitetail Lodge on the shores of Bitterroot Lake. It’s been over twenty years since her previous visit, due to an incident that separated her from her sister and friends. The recent murder of the person responsible leads to a convergence of that fallout and the history of the lodge. Sarah has dreams or are they visions, further complicating things? An interesting scenario is established but unfortunately, the story and characters are somewhat bland. Overall a disappointing saga that is only a two-star rating. With thanks to NetGalley and the author for a preview copy for review purposes. All opinions expressed herein are freely given and totally my own.

I was really interested in reading Bitterroot Lake after reading the blurb. I found the storyline to be very interesting but the pacing to be way too slow and it felt like it was such an effort to finish the book. The characters were intriguing but I didn’t really connect with any of them at all.

I didn’t predict how the book was going to end but I thought that it wasn’t that shocking. I think that there definitely needed to be a lot more drama.

I recieved an advanced copy for free, and this is my honest opinion.

For a thriller/suspense debut I thought this book was well written with the characters fairly developed. The story flowed fairly well throughout the book. Everyone has their own taste in books and enjoy different things. I believe you should take a chance on this one.

This was disappointing for me…it was slow-moving with characters I couldn’t connect with. There’s was just too much unnecessary information with not enough action. It was not a page-turner for me.

A mysterious tale of murder, grief and a ghostly presence. It was a book that never really took off for me. It was quite slow and even though it had the right elements, it just never really came together the way it should have. While we all grieve differently, I felt that Sarah’s character was much too put together so soon after losing her husband. Not a bad book, but one that won’t last long in my memory.

This book was in between for me. It had all the elements I love in a good mystery book. Lots of intrigue, history and drama but for some reason it just dragged on for me and didn't hook me and keep me devouring it word for word. I know others loved it so it may have just been my reading slump kicking in and bad timing.

This one was just okay for me. Sarah McCaskills husband, Jeremy, dies and her mother thinks it would benefit her to come help with cleaning up the Lodge and cabins they own in Montana. She arrives to find an old friend there and a mystery evolves when a lawyer they have a history with is found dead. This draws back Sarahs sister Holly and another old friend, Nic, who is also now a lawyer. They start to make amends for an event that happened 25 years ago as well has discover some history of the land, lodge and family itself. There is a paranormal element to the story and the atmosphere was creepy but not suspenseful enough. It was a bit slow moving. I had trouble investing in the characters and thought more action was needed. Some parts seemed repetitive. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc for an honest review.

2 stars

This book is written by Alicia Beckman and Leslie Budewitz.

I am sorry to say that I never got into this book. I couldn’t find a comfortable rhythm and none of the characters seemed to resonate with me or grab my attention enough to keep the through-line through the book. It does jump around a lot which kind of brakes the reader’s concentration to focus on another character set and keep these sets separate from each other.

This is a long complex storyline that brings four women together and then a murder happens to further complicate things.

The cover drew me in. I definitely picked it up because of the cover but I just could not find my groove with it. The descriptions were too long and the jumping around from character set to character set had me frustrated. I wish the author would have focused on one group and told the story through them. Maybe if this was on tv it would make more sense.

Overall it was just an okay read for me.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title. Opinions are completely my own.

I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my complimentary copy of "Bitterroot Lake". If I am being honest, I did not particularly enjoy this book; but with this being said, it was definitely not the worst book I've read. I rated this book at 3 stars as it was well written and it had an interesting plotline. It was just not the book for me. I do not believe that it deserves a lower rating simply because I wasn't engaged. I am sure there are many other readers out there who will enjoy it's slow pace.

I found the story very slow and I had a hard time with engaging with the story. I also had a hard time becoming invested in the characters. I tried to enjoy the book, but I just couldn't.

The story focuses on Sarah. She is recently widowed and she travels back home to help clean and organize the family lodge at Bitterroot Lake in an attempt to assist her with moving forward after the death of her husband. Upon arrival she encounters an old friend and she discovers that someone from her past has been murdered. The murder is linked to a tragic incident from years ago and they now must piece together why the murder has occurred.

The story takes readers back through the history of the family lodge as well as that tragic night. Secrets will be revealed and the past will come to light.

A murder reunites five women and recount the event that happened twenty five years ago that affected their friendship with each other.

Janine calls her friend Sarah for help when Lucas was found murdered in a cabin. Janine maintains she didn't kill him. But twenty five years ago, Lucas sexually assaulted Janine and apparently got away with it.

The plot was good but the story was not very fast paced, not much twists and turns you would expect in a thriller. Too much unnecessary details that affect the plot of the story that I thought was not necessary. It was slow and boring to me and I almost put this book away but in the end managed to finish the book.

Overall, this is a slow burn thriller, not much of twists and turns. Worth only three stars.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion.

Was so excited to read this one but wow what a slow moving story.

I think this one missed the mark on my expectations mostly because the description doesn't actually describe what the book focuses on. This one is more of a small town, intertwined story that is heavy in history, family drama, ghost stories and developing the main character.

We never really discover much more than what is laid out in the beginning, beyond the looming mystery of who killed the second guy, which I didn't event really care about by the time I was finished with the book.

Bitterroot Lake by Alicia Beckman is the author’s debut in the suspense genre. And what a debut! After losing her husband to illness, Sarah McCaskill returns to the setting of her childhood memories in Whitetail Lodge on Bitterroot Lake. She discovers a friend hiding in a nearby cabin following the murder of a local attorney.

This book covered all of the bases for me. Although set in an idyllic small town, the author conveyed a slightly sinister aspect of the lakeside - enough to send chills down my spine. The characters were well-developed, the storyline was well-written, and the mystery well-crafted keeping me guessing and captivated until I turned the last page. (I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.)

I will leave a review on Amazon or B&N on Apr 13th

For me Bitterroot Lake was a hard book to get into, the pace of it was so slow especially in the beginning and it seemed to jump from here to there so I was having a hard time keeping up with the storyline. This is one of my favorite genres of books, so normally I tend to read more of them than other books. I do believe if I could have gotten caught up in the storyline earlier in the book it may have been a much better read for me. As with all books I know not everyone enjoys the same book, that is why I always suggest others read and make their own opinion of the book.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and am under no obligation to leave a favorable review.

Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to the promise of the blurb. It was, at times, painfully slow moving and this made it difficult to read.

Disappointing to say the least!

This is the first book I have read by this author. The story was kind of slow moving - it was not a page turner. It is about several friends who after a tragedy lose touch. They are reunited in time for one of them to be murdered. Going back and forth between the past and present they end up solving the mystery. I did love that it was set in Montana but I think a lot more could have been done with the story. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This read more like the beginnings of a good story than the actual novel. There is a lot here and the author does try to bring it all together. Though the ideas of a families history in a small town, a long ago crime and accident, a complicated and secretive business deal, and a murder of a much loathed attorney could make a really great novel, I think this novel was too short to do all of them. Throw in some supernatural stuff-dreams, nightmares, pennies...possibly a cat...it was too much put together too fast for me to truly care about the characters or their situations. Had each of these things been given more time and we had a chance to know the characters beyond a few letters and characters talking in halting ways about the past, I think I would have been more invested. You could pretty much skip to the last 1/4 of the book and get the gist-without the cat, I guess. This was a good story that didn’t come together for me. It felt disjointed and I could not get into the flow.

I found Bitterroot Lake an ok read. It's quite a slow paced book for my taste and at times I did struggle with that but it was an enjoyable story once I got into it. I found the characters interesting and I liked the setting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my ARC.