I DEVOURED. I love a summer camp/summer vacation setting for my novels. I love when I am truly caught off guard with a twist or turn. There was a minor loose end I wish I had more insight on (specifically Julia's backstory/situation). But man incredible read, I love Jamie Day!

A Lake Escape is a well written thriller that takes place during the summer set at Lake Timmeny in Vermont.

There's a handful of characters who all seem shady and have something to hide; however, the story is told via two POVs. I enjoyed that aspect as the secrets were revealed, the writing style made more sense. It's suspenseful, and full of twists and turns that kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time.

Overall, it's a quick, easy to read and highly entertaining thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

Jamie Day’s *The Lake Escape* is an awesome mix of mystery and psychological suspense with a creepy vibe that hooks you right from the start. Set around Lake Timmeny in Vermont, the story dives into the lives of childhood friends Julia, David, and Erika, who have been summering at the lake since they were kids. What starts as a chill getaway takes a serious turn when David’s new girlfriend goes missing. As they try to figure out what happened, old secrets bubble up, forcing them to face their complicated pasts and some eerie lake legends.

Day really brings the setting to life—Lake Timmeny feels like its own character, beautiful yet kind of ominous. The tension builds nicely, keeping you guessing about everyone’s motives, and it all leads to a wild, unpredictable ending.

*The Lake Escape* is perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Megan Miranda, mixing creepy folklore with modern thrills and making you wonder just how much power a place and its stories can have.

Thank you for allowing me to preview this story. The Lake Escape is an entertaining fun read. I loved the characters, the mystery plot, and twisting storyline that kept me captive until the end. Jamie Day is awesome!

The Lake Escape is about three lifelong friends who return to the lake every year. Over the years, two women have gone missing along with one of the group’s friends. Soon the past returns to haunt the friends and their summer vacation. There are twists and turns that were unexpected with suspense thrown in through the entire novel. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

St. Martin's sent me the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC through Netgalley. I really liked this book and it kept me interested the entire way through. I appreciated that the first twist was introduced halfway in and then the twists kept coming. There were enough clues that I was able to piece together a couple things, but most twists were surprises. I would definitely recommend this book.

I’ve been loving Jamie Day’s books! Julia, David, and Erika are childhood friends who have a yearly tradition of going to their lake houses at Lake Timmeny. However, after David’s girlfriend disappears, the friendship starts to unravel as questions come into play about things that happened in the past with mysterious deaths.

This book is an awesome read. A thriller of regular people on vacation. What could go wrong! Told through several points of view, this novel takes us on a roller coaster ride at a lakeside vacation spot. I couldn’t put it down. It rolled along through plot twists until the surprise ending. Like all her previous books Jamie Day is a talented author who keeps us guessing. Don’t miss this one!

The Lake Escape by Jamie Day is a perfect blend of mystery and heartwarming drama set in a stunning lakeside retreat. Day’s writing is rich with atmosphere, bringing to life both the beauty and the tension of the setting. The characters are relatable and well-crafted, with their personal struggles adding layers of emotional depth to the plot. As secrets unravel, readers will find themselves immersed in a world of intrigue and introspection, making this a fantastic read for anyone seeking an unforgettable escape.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of The Lake Escape by Jamie Day

Three childhood friends are grown and with families still meet up every summer at their lake houses. There is a folk lore that every 30 years the Lake takes someone. When a girl friend goes missing will they find her or has the lake taken another?

This book was so clever and made me keep wanting to read just one more page before putting it down. The characters were so well developed and the plot kept you on the edge of your seat. There were twists and turns without being gimmicky and the ending was satisfying without all being tied up in a bow. Truly a stand out for a genre that usually seems a bit repetitive!

I wanted to love this, I really did, and I took a chance on it even though I have come to not be able to tolerate books with amateur sleuths investigating crimes. I should have known better. I just could not stand any of the characters. 2 stars.

This was fine. I wanted it to be good with a tight ending and multi-dimensional characters and something plausible. But the entire time I kept reading it, I was like, wait, what?

A teenager lies to her mom, becomes a last-minute replacement nanny for a set of twins, and her only experience is watching Mary Poppins, and no one's the wiser? Oh, but she's also trying to investigate a decades-long mystery and start a true crime podcast. Naturally. Not far-fetched at all.

Three friends meet up every year at their respective lake houses in New England. One is a divorced dad of twins who brings his much-younger girlfriend that he knows nothing about. He also apparently spent the winter in between lake visits building a giant house (I'd love to know who his builder is considering it's incredibly hard to build in the winter when the ground is frozen). Another of the friends is a lawyer married to a hunting/fishing guide (who gets a lap dance from the young girlfriend) and their teenage son. I couldn't really tell you anything about them because the author declined to develop their characters very much. And then there's the last couple with their teenage daughter, who are alternatively moody, paranoid, and irresponsible.

I've read Day's other books and really enjoyed them. This was not nearly as good as her past thrillers. This was all over the place with absolutely ridiculous storylines (who forgives a spouse who ruins their family financially?!?), the Irish mob (that the teenagers were unfamiliar with -- come on, The Departed is a great movie and Whitey Bulger was all over the news not too long ago), and of course, a secretive old woman who lives in the forest and knows things about herbs. And my biggest pet peeve in all fiction: a pregnancy that doesn't fit into the lives of the people in the story, but who decide against termination for some unknown reason.

And none of this covers the amount of TELLING the reader what was happening. No. Show me, don't tell me.

Just disappointing. I'll give Jamie Day another go because I enjoyed her previous books.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.
To begin with I loved this book; getting to know, like and dislike all the characters. I really liked Izzy and was rooting for her all the way. The twins and dog were adorable - the grownups not so much!
I got mad at Julia for being such a wimp about her husband and towards the end I had to suspend my belief a bit. But on the whole it was an absorbing read.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: July 15, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

Block Party was a HUGE WIN for me and when I saw Jamie had a new book coming out I was elated! I just KNEW it was going to be another banger. Fast paced, thrilling edge of your seat and I will admit I read this into the wee hours of the morning because I refused to put it down until I was finished with that last page.

We have a group of friends, lake homes and what is supposed to be peaceful retreats and relaxation that turns focus to vanishing women along with secrets buried deep…one of their OWN goes missing…things are not what they seem. GRIPPING THE SEATS moments!

I loved the world we are in, the characters were well developed and I was loving the twists and turns up to that very last page. TBR must have!

Huge thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well St. Martins Press

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Fast paced, Twisty, Multiple POV

I absolutely love the lake setting. Interesting characters and interesting plot. Definitely kept me guessing. I thought I had it figured out, but the twists kept coming! Definitely will be reading more books from this author.

Interesting….very interesting how this story played out. Enjoyed this read, not because of any particular attachment to the characters, which I found dry and just lacking, but for the twists and turns of whodunnit. I chose correctly, but my reasoning was not on point. Lots going on in this book and all was ….interesting.

I've read all of Jamie Day's books. I could't wait to read more to find out what was going on.
I thought I had it all figured out but it was an interesting twisty ride and I was wrong with my guesses. I spent my summers at a cottage at a lake in CT and have spent some time in VT at a lake near my cousins home so this was a fun read.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martins Press and Jamie Day for offering me the ARC to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book.

This is my 3rd Jamie Day novel and I’m giving it 3 stars.
Three families that live on the lake shore in Vermont are all hiding something. 3 families— a lot of secrets, so many problems, and a lovable dog. Izzy, a Mary Poppins wannabe, gets hired to watch 5 year old twins for The Lake Escape. But, she has a mystery of her own to unravel, with a lot of quotes from the beloved film. As the storylines twist each page reveals another secret kept from everyone.

I wanted this story to be more like Day’s Block Party novel, although enjoyable the plot was slow to boil and a bit far fetched at times.

This is Jamie Day’s third book, and I’ve really enjoyed all of them so far. This book is told from multiple points of view, is based on suspense and secrets, and was easy to read. The characters were not easy to like, but that actually kept the story moving for me, and I enjoyed the way everything wrapped up at the end.