Sorry but I had to give up reading this book at chapter 11.

The story still hasn’t got going, all I’ve read so far is 3 people 1 woman 2 men who are both in love with her and she’s with one of the men, and they are all on vacation at a lake where a neighbour’s wife has gone missing.

This is being dragged out too much and not getting to the nitty gritty of what the actual book is about.

Sorry Kate, I couldn’t read any more, I may come back to it but it didn’t hook me in and make me want to read on.

“The Lake House,” by Kate Watterson, is a page-turning mystery, a psychological thriller, and murder suspense. It centers around best-friends Rob Hanson and Drew Fletcher, and Lauren Matthews, Drew’s girlfriend of six-months. They are all heading out to a luxe Tennessee “cabin” on a lake, a very large piece of property owned by Rob’s uncle who, we learn through Rob, is in Italy. Rob’s current girlfriend, Karen Foxton, decides she won’t be joining them as she is a busy attorney working on a case, but there is no disappointment on the side of Drew and Lauren, who are not overly crazy about her. Into this idyllic lake house vacation setting add one voyeuristic neighbor, Glenn Heaston, professor-turned-author, “an expert in offbeat criminal history.” Glenn watches the three of them interact through a telescope, openly, astutely guessing that both Drew and Rob have a romantic interest in Lauren. Throw in an I’m-coming-after-all by Karen, a confession by Rob leading to an angry confrontation with Karen, who abruptly leaves, and a visit by Detectives Bailey and Carter, and it is abundantly clear this is no relaxing fishing vacation after all.

There is gorgeous descriptive prose, an example of which is this quote regarding the emerging stars: “They were, the clouds tearing apart like soft cotton candy, in long thin layers with small brilliant lights in the background.” The character studies are well-written throughout the book, the plot of which winds, twists, and cascades to what we think is the end. The climax is dramatic, tense, and page-turning. Many surprises abound throughout, and while you may believe you finally know the truth, can it be proven in a court of law? I gladly and highly recommend this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for kindly sending me this novel to read in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was a great mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved the added romance.

Solid mystery! Good writing, likable characters and great setting. Easy to read, too. Enjoyed the twists and turns. Also, a little romance added in for just the right reasons.

The story’s beginning sounded more of a romance book, two guys fighting for one girl! How the heck did she put herself in that predicament! Because I am not a fan of romance novels, I was ready to give up on it until the creepy neighbor came into the picture. And I knew that things were going to shake up the situation!

It’s a great read with tension, suspense and drama! Trying to figure out whodunit was challenging in that just when I thought I had solved it, another glitch was thrown in the story.

Thank you to #NetGalley for AC!

I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own. This book started off well. Suspense and premonition intrigued me. Then it turned to a genre I don't care for, with romantic intimacy and content I prefer not to read. I won't be completing this book.

The description of this book sounded amazing, however it did fall flat for me.

I loved the setting of the secluded lake house, the idea behind the book and the flicking between characters perspectives with the inclusion of English literature. The rest of it I just couldn't get on board with, I didn't particularly warm to any of the characters, the thriller aspect didn't grip me as much as i'd hoped and the tying up of the loose ends felt a bit rushed.

I do see immense potential with this and I would return to this author and this series. I think with a few tweaks this could be a great book, Not awful, but not fantastic - 3 stars from me!

This book was a bit of a letdown. Nothing really happens for the first half of the book. It’s also book 1 in the Detective Chris Bailey series but we aren’t introduced to him until the second half. The writing style is a bit confusing as well. It switches POV which is fine, except it switches mid-chapter with no warning and no introduction as to which character it is. The only clear POV is the killers at the beginning of each chapter which is italicised.

I didn’t really connect with the main trio. Drew, Rob, and Lauren are all pretty similar in personality and the love triangle was just a bit weird. We also know who the killer is throughout the book with very few twists so there isn’t much suspense. Then at the end, *slight spoiler* a character is potentially paralysed and it’s mentioned that they will be chained to their wheelchair unable to seduce anyone with a life not worth living. The author obviously doesn’t know any disabled people or doesn’t think very highly of them because a wheelchair isn’t a death sentence and disabled people have relationships and sex all the time.

I received a copy of the ebook via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Intriguing character-driven story, a page turner to know what will happen. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story was sadly a far cry from the gripping thriller it promised to be. In fact, throughout most of the book, I was simply.... bored.

The main characters were a lackluster group with nothing that made them stand out from each other. In fact, when it came to the main trio, their personalities were so close that sometimes I confused Drew and Rob altogether. I also didn't care much for the fact that Lauren was dating one of them, but had feelings for the best friend (and the best friend for her). Even Chris (our insightful detective didn't even stand out. I remember two things about him - that his girlfriend moved out and left him the dog, and that he was the more "imaginative" of the two detectives.

Another big issue that I had with this was the fact that the point of view of who was telling the story jumped with no warning. This wasn't an issue with the opening of each chapter, as that was a given that it was from the perspective of the killer, and was italicized. However, randomly in the middle of a chapter, the point of view would change sometimes two or more times causing me to have to go back and re-read in order to ascertain just who was talking at that time.

I did enjoy a couple of twists and turns that this story provided, but in the end, I feel as though things were wrapped up just a little too nicely (aka in a very rushed sort of way), and I didn't connect with Chris who will feature in the rest of the series enough to continue on with them (at least at this time).

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

When I read the blurb I thought this was right up my street and I thought it would be more police procedural than it was. I found the main characters vapid and really didnt engage with it at all.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

The first 20-30% of the book deals with the inter personal attractions and angst between 3 people on vacation in a very large, sumptuous "cabin" on a lake in Tennessee. Rob is the host, it's his uncle's cabin, Drew his best friend from College days and Drew's girlfriend Lauren. All are well-off, beautiful, high flying and so on. Rob's girlfriend appears but exits rather quickly. There's an eccentric writer in the house across the lake. There is also sections in italics voiced by the murderer and I think that we get quite quickly who this is, although there are some nice twists to this before the end. Eccentric writer's wife goes missing, Rob's girlfriend (already forgotten her name) goes missing and, da da, enter the policeman and sidekick - at last. We then get into a cold case, the girlfriend turns up dead and the police have a lot of suspects to question. Our three beautiful people start at the top of the list.. I like the detecting and pulling together of the clues, I liked the twists at the end. I see from other reviewers that this is the first in a series - let's hope the next one stars the detectives but not Rob, Lauren and Drew. Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I received The Lake House as a free ebook for an honest review. I was really hopeful when I selected this book. While I feel the premise had the potential to be a great read, this book fell a little short. The biggest issue I had was the constant perspective changes that some times provided little to no indication of whose perspective we were following. There were a couple times I had to reread the first few paragraphs after a switch in order to figure out who I was reading about. One thing that could really help with that is including a subheading with the character’s name. This would provide clarity and make these changes not as jarring.

The Lake House is the first book in the series. I was not aware this was going to be a series when I requested this book. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. The book was intriguing from the start as it continued to build until the surprising conclusion.

The story begins with someone describing the scenery and then saying or thinking 'He was going to kill his wife.' Next, we are with Lauren Matthews and her boyfriend, Drew on their way to best friend Rob, whose uncle has a vacation home on a lake in Tennessee. On their first night, they hear a scream, but can't decide if it is a woman or an animal. The next morning, Lauren notices their neighbor, dragging something heavy into his boat. But, what is strange about this is his attire. Dark slacks, light blue dress shirt and leather loafers, not at all boating attire. Several days later the neighbor's wife is reported missing. Shortly after, another woman who is known to the friends, is found on their shore murdered.

The bodies and the suspects keep turning up in this mystery. The book was slow to start but picked up slowly to draw you in to the story. The characters were a little stiff at the beginning, but I think it was part of the premise where Drew, Lauren and Rob had their own secrets which made them hard to understand until each revealed their secret.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an unbiased review.

I really tried to get interested in this book, but the beginning was confusing switching from a man planning to murder his wife to friends enjoying time at the lake. Lauren and her lover Drew are on vacation with his friend Rob. Rob’s lover cancelled due to work and this leaves an uncomfortable situation as Rob is attracted to Lauren and she seems aware of his attraction as does her lover Drew. That night, they think they heard a woman’s scream, but no one seems concerned…maybe it was an owl or bobcat? The next day Lauren notices a man putting a large object, wrapped in a tarp, into a boat (I might have questioned this?). Later, the murderer stops by to introduce himself and tell them that his wife is out of town. At this point I wondered if the book was really about Detective Chris Bailey as he hadn’t made an appearance. I finished the book, but I could not recommend it as everything about the story seemed unbelievable. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

I enjoyed this book, my first by Kate Watterson. Well written and great characters. Lauren and her boyfriend Drew are spending a weekend with Rob at his Uncle's lake house in Tennessee. From the start there is friction as Rob too is secretly in love with Lauren. At the Lake, their next door neighbour, his wife is missing. But there is something not quite right about him as the trio realise he is spying on them. Things take a turn for the worst when Rob's girlfriend turns up uninvited and after an argument leaves first thing the next day. But she then turns up dead. Detective Chris Bailey takes on the investigation. A great story of a love triangle, murder and suspense.

A week’s vacation is a luxury house on a beautiful lake – what could go wrong? Pretty much everything.

Rob has invited his best friend Drew and Drew’s girlfriend Lauren to his uncle’s house where the boys plan to fish and Lauren to read her book and enjoy the scenery. Lauren is not really looking forward to her week and we soon find out why. Rob and Drew are not as easy in each other’s company as usual. Lauren witnesses some weird behaviour on the lake. Rob’s girlfriend turns up but leaves the next day after a row.

Enter Detective Chris Bailey. He has one cold case, a girl found drowned in the lake. Then, the wife of one of the other residents by the lake goes missing. And then, Rob’s girlfriend goes missing. Bailey has two missing people but no bodies and one missing person with no name.

Bailey’s list of suspects grows and includes Rob and Drew. The landscape of the suspected crimes shifts and the plot twists and turns right up until the final page.

I enjoyed reading this book. Rob, Drew and Lauren grew on me as characters and the dynamics between the three of them is well portrayed. Detective Chris Bailey is an interesting detective and his crime solving abilities are a little bit different. He is not the main character necessarily as the trio feature more prominently, but his personality develops slowly but surely and by the end you have a full person.

The setting is magical – a picture perfect lake with an exclusive enclave of wealthy residents who own amazing houses. The description of the setting is vivid, and I’d love to go to something similar.

The plot is seriously something else. It may start slowly, but just when you think you know something, another revelation, another twist, and you’re speculating again.

One serious point - Rob and Drew go fishing on the lake a lot and they seem to catch fish. However, meal descriptions are written which never feature fish! What happened to those fish?

Thanks to #NetGalley and #JoffeBooks for the eARC of #TheLakeHouse

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of The Lake House, the first novel to feature Detective Chris Bailey, set in rural Tennessee.

Lauren, Rob and Drew are spending a week at a lakeside cabin but the creepy neighbour and a missing woman put a crimp on their enjoyment when Detective Chris Bailey starts to regard them as suspects.

I thought that with Chris Bailey being the tag in the series that the novel would be a police procedural, instead he’s obviously going to be the thread to link different psychological thrillers together, rather than the main focus of the novel.

The novel focuses on Lauren, the beautiful woman who has her boyfriend Drew and his best friend Rob in love with her. Fortunately, they are so mature there is little friction in this set up. We get not just pages but chapters of this extremely unlikely scenario, so the crime investigation doesn’t start till about 30% in. The emphasis didn’t appeal to me in the slightest. Who cares about city slickers working out their emotional issues in a crime novel? Then the killer announces himself early in the novel, so there is little suspense, although give the author her due she manages to muddy the waters enough at the backend of the novel that the ending is inconclusive on who did what, but hey, Lauren picks a man.

The Lake House is well written and manages to engender some tension, but it simply didn’t appeal to me.

Highly anticipated this one. This is a new author for me and would definitely read more from them.. I enjoyed reading it but got bit unrealistic and silly at parts.
Would still recommend to readers

Leads Scarce, Suspects Numerous…
Book one in the Detective Chris Bailey series finds the detective deep in a complex case of missing persons coming hot on the heels of the drowning of an unidentified one. Leads are scarce but suspects suddenly numerous. As another body surfaces the detective realises that there may well be a pattern emerging. Enjoyable and engaging, character driven suspense with plenty of twists and an immersive narrative. The denouement, when it comes, may not be as predictable as first thought.