Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Not too sure what to make of this one. I liked some of it. Didnt like other parts and found it a tad hard to follow or bored at times.

Not really sure how to rate and review this book to be honest. While I thought it was mostly entertaining the pacing was off and the writing style was a little different to me. The relationships and characters never felt very developed they definitely were not likeable and I was not really invested in any of them. There were some mysteries to be solved but not really and it felt a little unfinished if I'm being honest. Rating this 2.5/3 stars would always recommend anyone to read and form their own opinions. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a haunting novel which reads like a fever dream.

We follow through the mind of Phoenix, who helps with gardens for the wealthy Gray family. When Phoenix falls in love with Geoffrey Gray, she jeopardizes everything, but soon his wife Marguerite falls to her death while arguing with Phoenix, and Phoenix wastes no time moving in to replace her.

This book is… strange. Phoenix is largely a delusional character and the lack of other characters’ perspectives make it hard to judge her version of events or tell how anybody else perceives her.

I’d say this is like a modern day The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe… or as far as we can tell it is. As the book progresses it becomes harder and harder to tell what is real or not, or why most of the other characters are not extremely concerned by Phoenix’s health and actions… although maybe they are. I can only imagine that Geoffrey Gray is also a troubled individual as he quickly replaces his wife and then does nothing when his new girlfriend’s health rapidly declines.

There are also a number of answered questions (Russ? Serge?) which feel like incomplete plot points.

However, the way Phoenix descends into madness is well written and overall the book is entertaining without being too long.

This book supposedly falls into the “mystery” genre but I’m not sure why since how Marguerite dies is clear from the beginning. It seemed to be headed in more of a “horror” or maybe a magical realism direction with some possible ghost sightings but those became more of an overactive imagination on the part of Phoenix, the protagonist. Unfortunately, I felt like this vague genre identity didn’t do this book any favors. The plot really seemed all over the place and the characters were ALL very unlikable. If there were any thriller qualities, the vagueness made the whole story so obscure. I really couldn’t identify any clear plot twists. I’m rounding my rating up just for the aspect of keeping me wondering what was going to happen so I was able to stay somewhat engaged. But I am having a hard time getting past how unrealistic and ridiculous the plot, characters and relationships were. Overall, I felt like the book was poorly written, definitely not the writing style for me.

2⭐️

If you're looking for a book about plants, this might be the book for you.

If you're looking for a thriller or even just a mystery, this is definitely not the book. I'm still not entirely sure what genre this was even supposed to be? If you squint I could see thriller or mystery or maybe even horror. It's definitely an allegory for guilt with a lot of unfinished thoughts.

None of the characters felt developed and the relationship between Phoenix and Geoffrey felt completely robotic for being the catalyst to Marguerite's death. The focus that should have probably been on the building of their relationship prior to Marguerite's death was wasted on overexplaining a lot of scenes that didn't really matter. And because we didn't have the buildup of the relationship, I really questioned why Phoenix didn't call the cops right away after Marguerite's fall. At that time I wasn't even sure if Geoffery was cheating or if it was all in Phoenix's head.

This book was full of telling instead of showing but I still walked away with a lot of questions. What was the point of continuously bringing up the car accident that killed Phoenix's grandma and left her injured it we don't dig into it more? How shady was Phoenix's brother? What was the point of bringing up Geoffrey's past relationship with his late wife's male best friend? There were just so many threads started that went no where.

Thanks Netgalley and Minotaur Books for providing this ARC to me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur for the eARC of this book to be published on May 20, 2025. The premise for this murder mystery was intriguing but sadly the book fell flat. The main character Phoenix I found to be unlikeable and so it was hard to root for her. The pacing felt slow with little in terms of payoff in the ending. The cover art is beautiful though. I wish I had liked this one more but I just could not get behind the story telling

Received an ARC via NetGalley.

I enjoyed this book even though I found the narrator unlikeable. I mean. Some of her unlikeability is bc she’s not a good person. But I’ve read books with charismatic people who aren’t good. She seemed like she had zero personality. I felt zero connection or understanding of her. Most of the people seemed pretty one dimensional.

However. I still enjoyed the story. Mostly bc I was actively rooting against the narrator which is a weird position to be in.

The story just kind of ends though with very little closure or resolution. Just sort of.. the narrator becoming more unhinged.

It’s sort of unsettling, I guess. And that appealed to me.

I thought this story held lots of potential, but I was disappointed in the execution. It fell rather flat for me leaving many holes in the storyline. 2.5 stars

A dark book yet a great read. I had to expedite myself to the end as the main character got aggravating.

How many bad choices can one woman make when she's well-aware that's what she's doing?

It's a book that I expect to live with me awhile.

My thanks to Net Galley and St Martin's Minotaur for allowing me to review this arc.

This book grabbed me on the first chapter. A gardener , Phoenix, saves the life of Geoffrey, the husband of the woman she is working for, Marguerite,from a falling tree. Marguerite later falls off a cliff to her death, and Phoenix begins an affair with him and worms her way to the lady of the manor. Until Geoffrey s daughter Taylor arrives and starts trouble. I liked this. I got vibes of Rebecca and Gaslight.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "Marguerite by the Lake" and all opinions expressed are my own. I have both the kindle book and audiobook. I listened to the audiobook. Ugh, I didn't like the story or the characters. I was hard to get through.

Thank you St.Martin’s/Minotaur Books for the ARC. This review is my opinion.
Unfortunately, I found very little to like in this book.
Although I started out liking one off the main characters, Phoenix, as I felt she was being taken advantage of by Influencer, Marguerite. But eventually I felt that Phoenix naively followed into the trap of Marguerite’s husband, Gregory and his taking advantage of her.
All the other characters were also very unlikable with no redeeming qualities.
The suspicion, secrets and jealousy that I hoped would redeem this book for me did not. Instead they led to a very strange ending. Perhaps other readers will find this book interesting. Just not for me.

Amazing read. This book centers on the life of a landscape artist, Phoenix, who works at Rosecliff which is the home of Marguerite and Geoffrey. She wants the life of Marguerite and after Marguerite dies, moves into the house but is haunted by what really happened. Don’t want to give away any spoilers so that’s all I will say but I did enjoy this book and would recommend.

I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book!

I managed to finish it, but the ending is pretty disappointing. Not a mystery so much as a portrait of someone spinning out of control, mentally -- and none of the characters are particularly likable. The setup is involving, but so much of the potential is wasted. The characters are pretty cardboard, too.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: May 20, 2025

“Marguerite by the Lake” is the second novel by Mary Dixie Carter, author of “The Photographer”. A gothic family drama that takes place in a waterfront estate, “Lake” has a great premise, and a beautiful cover, but that is about all it has.

Marguerite Grey is an extremely wealthy lifestyle icon, known for her high-end business ventures and lavish landscapes. While attending one of Marguerite’s lavish garden parties, landscaper Phoenix saves the life of Marguerite’s husband, Geoffrey, by pushing him out of the way of a falling tree, quickly moving Phoenix’s status up from simply hired hand to personal saviour. Until Margeurite dies after a fall from the cliff near her home, a cliff she is very familiar with and knows better than to get to close to, and soon, Phoenix is moving in, taking Margeurite’s place with Geoffrey and the Grey’s beautiful Rosecliff Estate. But Marguerite’s daughter, Taylor, doesn’t take the news well, especially when it’s discovered that her mother may not have been murdered and the last person to see her alive was Phoenix herself.

“Marguerite by the Lake” takes its name from the oil painting that hangs in the living room of Rosecliff Estate, a painting that haunts Phoenix’s waking hours, causing her to feel haunted and stalked by the dead Marguerite. That being said, there really is no paranormal activity in this novel (which is always disappointing) and the feelings and reactions of Phoenix are really just the result of Phoenix’s guilty conscience.

Phoenix is the protagonist, yet I somehow knew very little about her. There is absolutely zero character development in “Lake”, even for the main character. Phoenix starts the story as the landscaper and then begins to infiltrate the Grey household when the lecherous and despicable Geoffrey hits on her at a party. To take it one step further, she continues to feel entitled to a home and a life that she forced herself on and pouts when she doesn’t feel she is being “respected”. Carter provides some family background to Phoenix but it is very bare bones and there isn’t enough there to generate any kind of empathy for her. I wasn’t invested in her story at all and, in fact, the only reason I continued reading because I wanted the daughter, Taylor, to get her revenge.

I left Carter’s “Lake” wanting more. I wanted more about Phoenix (and pretty much all of the characters), and a more free-flowing plot, as opposed to random plot points stuck together arbitrarily without explanation or expansion.

Carter is a new author for me, so perhaps I’m just not a fan of her writing style, as her debut “The Photographer” won many awards, so she clearly has a passionate fan base. I really wanted to like this novel more than I did but I can see the potential.

interesting thriller with some interesting characters and vibes. Phoenix is an interesting protag, though I felt I could have used more from most of the characters. 3.5 stars, rounded up. tysm for the arc.

Oof.

What I liked:
- The gardening parts of the story were pretty detailed, I guess.

What I didn't like:
- Characters. The main character of this book - Phoenix - is insufferable. Now, it's entirely possible to have an enjoyable book with an unlikeable narrator/lead, but...she just did things and made decisions that had no basis in reality.
- The plot goes nowhere. There are a lot of threads created in the book, but almost all of them fizzle out or disappear entirely. We create mystery and never get any kind of resolution to anything.
- A lot of telling and very little showing.
- Pacing. It's boring. It's slow. Nothing really happens, other than Phoenix continuously makes the wrongest decisions she can make in every situation.
- Did I mention the characters? There are a few others, but don't worry about the because they're pretty one dimensional.
- Dialogue. I feel like people should talk in books like people talk in reality. Maybe that's just me. It's for sure not this book.
- Gardening. Did I say I liked it? Because there is so. freaking. much. of it in the book. Like the amount of time spent on gardening discussion could be spent in character or plot development. But instead we find out the best way to plant tulips.
- Unrealistic. There are lot of extremely convenient things that happen in this book.

My Verdict:
While I thank St. Martin's Press for inviting me to read this one in advance, this one just isn't it.

So Much Potential, but Ultimately Disappointing

Marguerite by the Lake pulled me in quickly with its atmospheric writing and intriguing setup. I genuinely thought I was in for a gripping, emotional story. But as I kept reading, I found myself constantly waiting for a payoff that never came. The suspense elements felt half-formed, like the story was building to something big… only to fizzle out without resolution. The arguments and emotional tensions between characters also lacked depth—they started strong but were never truly explored or concluded in a satisfying way.

This book had all the ingredients for something powerful, but it didn’t quite come together. It left me wanting more—not in a good way, but in a “that’s it?” kind of way.

Phoenix Sullivan has a talent for landscaping and gardening even though she was never formally trained. She came from a poor background and has worked hard at creating beautiful gardens, working at some large estates. Rosecliff is one of the largest estates and Phoenix has worked on the gardens and landscaping there for several years. The estate is owned by Marguerite Gray and her husband Geoffrey. Marguerite has built a business as a garden and home icon, much like Martha Stewart. Marguerite was also the subject of a now famous painting by Serge Kuhnert, called Marguerite by the lake. Marguerite is hosting a book launch party for her latest book and Phoenix is invited as a guest. The party is held outside and Phoenix warns Marguerite that with a storm approaching it may be wise to move the party elsewhere because of a huge tree near the party area. Of course Marguerite doesn’t listen and the storm turns stronger and Phoenix senses that the tree is about to come crashing down. Phoenix yells for everyone to clear the area and then she runs to where Geoffrey is standing and pushes him out of the way, saving him from the falling tree. This creates an immediate attraction between Phoenix and Geoffrey and Marguerite senses it and is jealous. A few weeks later, Marguerite is taking photos near the spot used in the famous portrait and Phoenix warns her to stay away from the edge - as that area is unstable from where the huge tree uprooted. Marguerite falls to her death. A few months later, Phoenix has moved into the house with Geoffrey, the police are still investigating, Taylor Gray has come back to the house to live - all making Phoenix spiral. I thought the author did a good job creating and capturing the emotional spiral Phoenix goes down. I just didn’t find the characters very appealing and the end was a bit unsatisfying to me. Overall I thought the atmosphere and setting were well done so I’d say the book was good but not great. I give the book 3 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on May 20, 2025.

Premise was great, but the execution wasn't. The story never really flowed and just felt like the sentences plodded on without any style. I appreciate what the author was trying to do, but it sadly fell flat.