After Sarah's husband dies, her mother asks her to come back to the family's lodge at Bitterroot Lake. Sarah has made only quick visits to the lodge since a friend died 25 years ago in a tragic accident she feels partially responsible for, and she lost touch with her other close friends from that time. Upon Sarah's return, she is greeted by her old friend Jeanine and the news of a murder related to that accident from 25 years ago. Sarah's dreams are giving her warnings of more danger ahead. As Sarah, her family, and friends clean out the lodge, they discover an old family heritage related to the dreams. Can Sarah figure out what the dreams are telling her to avoid more tragedy?

I loved hearing about the family's/lodge's history and would have been happy to have an entire book just related to that. I also liked Sarah and her friends reuniting and coming to terms with what happened 25 years ago. The murder seemed fairly obvious to me who was responsible from almost the beginning, so the suspense wasn't really there for me, just waiting for the characters to catch up with what I knew. It took a while to get attached to the characters, and the second half was more intriguing than the first.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

Really tried to like this book, but just could not get into it. Got a little over half way and had to give up. Did not hold my interest at all.

This book is a slow burn. Does not pick up or get interesting until at least 40% in. But once you get to that point it is great! The story covered so many topics from attempted rape to murder and mending friendships. There were many different suspects and ways that the story could have turned and I like that in a thriller as it keeps you engaged.

I did not enjoy the narrator.

After the death of her husband, Sarah leaves Seattle and heads to her family’s lakeside home across the country. There, she finds an old friend seeking refuge after another acquaintance was found murdered.
The book seemed very disjointed to me and I could not really get into it. The storyline was all over the place. I sort of had to force myself to finish it. On a positive note, the author very aptly described many aspects and stages of grief and trauma.

Huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I love stories that take place in an isolated setting, a character who is struggling with their past, a group of friends who haven’t been together in ages, a murder mystery, and maybe ghosts!
It’s my sweet spot and Bitterroot Lake checks all those boxes.

Centering around a dynamic cast of women, several stories unfold: a tragic night 25 years ago amongst our reunited friends, a widow working through her recent loss, a small town murder, and the history of the lakeside lodge where everything unfolds. The rich history the land and lodge hold were so compelling I completely forgot about the murder mystery.

Bitterroot Lake is about family, friendships, and the bonds of women. It’s a great engrossing read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook copy.

So many moving parts in this story.
   Sarah has recently become a widow and returns to the family's lake resort to gather herself together and visit family. Little did she know she’d be part of a murder mystery that would revolve around an incident that happened years ago between her and a group of friends. Some of these friends have harbored great resentment over the years from the incident which she comes to find out.
   There is a supernatural component to the storyline which is a stretch but her discovery of the historical aspect of the family lodge was very interesting and applicable to today’s world.
   While I could foresee how some of the characters would develop within the story, there were a few that never crossed my thoughts which always makes for interesting reading.
   While this was a present day mystery I was more captivated by history of the past owners and how the lodge evolved to what is is now.

I just wasn't able to connect with Bitterroot Lake, as much as I wanted to. It's well written, and the characters are likable and believable, but the plot didn't engage me, and I ultimately didn't finish.

I’m a sucker for books that take place at run-down houses that the MC is renovating, but usually that’s a trope for rom-coms! The setting of this thriller in a run-down lakeside lodge with lots of history was perfect. I loved Caro’s journals and hearing about the other items Sarah and her friends uncovered during their renovations.

I’ve never been a huge fan of paranormal themes in my thrillers, so the whole idea of a ghost giving Sarah and others dreams of what was to come was a little woo-woo for me. Interesting, just not my normal preferred explanation of why strange things are happening. I prefer real-life explanations!

Overall, this was an interesting slow-burn mystery, my first by this author. I listened to it on audio, which helped me get through some of the slower passages. I enjoyed the narrator and thought her voice was a great fit for these characters and this story.

This was a very enjoyable audiobook. The narrator was very good and kept your attention. Although this not my usual genre of book,I did enjoy it. It was a light storyline and it was a nice relaxing listen during a Covid Lockdown.

3.41 stars
Sarah has had a happy life with her husband, with no connection to her past. When he loses his battle to cancer, leaving her a young and grieving widow, and her mother summons her back to Bitterroot Lake to sort out the sale of their childhood home, Sarah feels its finally time to return and face the ghosts of her past.
Sarah’s memories of the place are filled with tragedy and guilt. In her teens, Sarah had a premonition she ignored and believed, in retrospect, that her vision was a warning. Sarah feel that the death of one of her friends could have been avoided, if only she had listened to the warning. That is not the only tragedy from her past, she shares a secret with 3 of her youth best friends. Something no one ever talked about.
Within a week of her husband death, Lucas, someone else from Sarah’s past dies under mysterious circumstances. Soon after, her childhood friends reveal that they have received threatening letters implying the writer knows what happened when they were teenagers. To Sarah, it feels like everything is happening at once.

Is everything connected? What happened in the past? Who killed the lawyer and are Sarah’s visions premonitions or memories?

I listened to Bitterroot Lake, and I think Linda Jones did an amazing job bringing the story to life. However, because there are so many characters, I was confused at times and feel this book would have benefited from an ensemble cast. The pacing was as good as it could be, considering the narrative of the book itself is quite slow. I tried listening to it at 2x speed, but somehow that didn’t work for me.

Bitterroot lake is a very slow-paced book and I feel there were too many characters. I had a hard time keeping track of them all, but I will have to say that the main character was really well developed and Beckman did a wonderful job bringing Lucas to life. He is a highly unlikable character and we got the full force of his “doucheness”, even though he is dead in the present. I feel that the plot was original and so promising, but the execution suffered a bit. The synopsis led me to believe I was going to read a psychological thriller with a heavy dose of paranormal. I didn’t find that on the pages, there were some paranormal allusions, but they left me wanting more. When reading a whodunit, I always look for fairness above all, and unfortunately, I feel that Beckman could have played fairer with the solution for the murder.
What Beckman excelled at was ambiance. I really felt the dread of the situation in which Sarah felt herself and her paranoia. The description of mountainous Montana and the lodge was also outstanding and made me feel like I was there (and wish I could visit the Rocky Mountains soon).

Unfortunately, Beckman style didn’t work for me and I just couldn’t get into the book. It’s probably because I went into it with the wrong expectations and couldn’t quite adjust them. The solution played a big part on my overall feelings about the book, it’s not so much that it didn’t make sense, but that I felt I never got a fair chance to have gotten there. Overall, I still recommend this book to fans of slow burners and people who reads books for the ride, rather than for the puzzle. It wasn’t bad, it was just not for me.

In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Dreamscape Media, NetGalley and Alicia Beckman for providing me with a copy of Bitterroot Lake.
#BitterrootLake #NetGalley

Bitterroot Lake was a slow burn mystery. This book has a pretty slow start that gradually builds up to a solid ending. There are several plot lines ongoing in this book and each was interesting and held my attention. Our main character is Sarah and she is returning to Whitetail Lodge after the death of her beloved husband. Whitetail Lodge holds a lot of memories for Sarah, one of those memories changed her and her friends' lives. Upon her arrival, there is the death of a man that was connected to this dark memory. Sarah also has premonitions and there is a ghostly presence in the lodge. Could they all be connected? I enjoyed this clever thriller and loved the narrator. There are quite a few characters in this novel and sometimes I had difficulty remembering who was who. Overall, I liked this novel and thought the plot and ending were decent.

Bitterroot Lake is a slow burn mystery. This character driven story has an eerie, ghostly atmosphere. When the past comes back to haunt the present, intrigue and suspense drive this drama filled mystery. The last 30% of the story picks up the pace leading to a riveting conclusion. The narration added an excellent layer of intrigue. Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my audiobook.

Just finished this book. It is about four friends that have a past, and now as adults come back together to essentially "face" what happened.

This book was written well, it was just not for me. Very, VERY, slow-paced. I was, unfortunately, unable to connect with the story to find it entertaining or thrilling. I found myself simply listening and picking up pieces here and there.

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 13, 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

This book starts out strong with a few deaths, past murders, turmoil, and some fear. The narrator was concise and easy to listen to. However, the story itself was told slightly confusing. I was lost in the cast of characters and what was actually happening in this book. Probably would have been a better physical read than an audio one.

I wish I had more specific feedback but this book was just okay for me. I listened to the first ten percent and then realized I was spacing out so I restarted and made a conscious effort to pay attention and finished it. The narrator was just okay and the characters were just okay, the plot was okay. Again I wish I had more specific feedback, it just wasn't exciting to listen to.

I did really like the cover and the title.

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 audio book, but one that won’t last long in my memory. My first impression of the narrator was not favorable, but she grew on me as the story progressed.

One of the main characters in Bitterroot Lake is Whitehall Lodge. An historic family residence on the shores of an idyllic lake in Montana. Twenty five years has passed since a tragedy occurred at the lodge destroying the friendship of a group of girlfriends. Sarah Maskill has returned, grieving the death of her husband, to put the past to rest. A murder occurs and mysterious notes begin to appear. Who is behind the recent threats, causing the estranged friends to reunite to solve.
I did enjoy the book, descriptions of the old historic lodge and surroundings. A bit slow at times. The narrator is excellent. Read with a hint of mystery and intrigue in her voice enticing the listener continue.

Sarah McCaskill has returned to Whitetail Lodge after losing her husband, she’s hoping time there will help her begin the healing process. The lodge and it’s surroundings are beloved to Sarah, but also hold memories of a dark day when Sarah ignored a premonition and a man died (she believes) as a result. Her arrival back at the lake coincides with a murder that appears to be connected to the death all those years ago, a death Sarah feels she could have prevented. To make matters worse, Sarah’s visions have returned with a vengeance. This time she vows to heed the warnings, but is she already too late? Jones’s narration is spot on in this clever thriller

This story started out so slowly that I considered not finishing it but since it's audio, I soldiered on. The last 20 % the story finally picks up, and Sarah FINALLY stops cleaning (which there is an abundance of through most of the book). The ending was worth it but it takes a lot to get through all the cleaning and the repetitive inner monologue about why no one likes her. I understand that she's grieving the death of her husband but it starts to grate on your nerves when it's all she whines about.

I received a copy from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

#BitterrootLake #NetGalley