This one had a mysterious vibe that I usually like, and it did a solid job building tension from different points of view. The story wasn’t boring by any means — there was definitely something there, the kind of slow-burning suspense that usually pulls me in. But for me, it just didn’t land fully because I couldn’t connect with the characters. That connection is everything for me, and here it was missing.

I wanted to care, but I stayed on the outside looking in, watching things happen without really feeling them. So even though the structure and pacing were good, it wasn’t quite enough to hold me completely. Still, if you’re into mysteries told through multiple perspectives, it could be worth a try.

📚Early Audiobook Review📚
🌊"The Lake Escape" by Jamie Day🌊
If you’re in the mood for a getaway filled with sun-soaked days by the lake and a dose of spine-tingling suspense, "The Lake Escape" is it. Imagine the sun setting over the horizon, waves gently lapping at the shore, juicy neighborly drama, and a shocking mystery simmering just beneath the surface. Family feuds, old friendships torn apart, and haunting legends. That’s the vibe of Lake Timmeny, Vermont. Who's ready for a juicy lake escape?

Jamie Day has penned a narrative that oozes nostalgia, sprinkled with just the right dash of eerie allure. We dive into the secrets hidden around this idyllic lake, and we meet Izzy, the nanny whose mysterious agenda will keep you guessing. I found myself riveted, headphones in, not wanting to miss a single twist—each chapter pulled me deeper into this tangled web of betrayal and intrigue. Izzy was the only character I truly rooted for in this story.

The audiobook experience is pure gold! Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole are a dynamic duo. The chemistry and tension in their narration, combined with the hauntingly beautiful setting, made it feel like I was right there, watching the drama unfold. It was so much fun to watch!

If you’re a fan of lakeside thrillers packed with a dash of family drama and a haunting local myth, mark your calendar. This audiobook is the perfect companion for your next stormy summer night!

Thank you to the author, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for providing me with gifted copies of this book. All opinions are my own.

#LakeTimmenyVibes #TheLakeEscape #JamieDay #NetGalley #SummerThrillerReads #MurderAtTheLake #ARCReview #BookishEscape #LakehouseMystery #AudiobookAddict #MacAudio2025 #StMartinsPress #ThrillerThursday #CapCut
The Lake Escape * Jamie Day * Lake Vibes * Mob Rumors * Audiobook Review * Beach Read * Gifted Books * CapCut * Thriller Book Lovers * The Pulse * Honest Review

First off, I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and author Jamie Day for allowing me to read this book via Netgalley. All opinions following are my own.

This novel follows three lifelong friends, their families, and a nanny with a secret. Julia, Erika, and David grew up on Lake Timmeny. Their families had been Lake neighbors and friends for years. Fraught with teenage drama and traumatic experiences, the three grow up together. David loses his dad unexpectedly as a teenager. Erika's mom runs out on her and her dad, Cormac, when she is very young, and Julia just tries to keep their friendships strong.

Present day, the three friends meet up for their annual two week lake vacation. Julia is immediately upset because David has remodeled and added onto his father's lake house after coming into some money through a new business venture. Julia is upset, though, because the remodeled lake house is a garish eyesore that blocks her view of the lake. She is also upset about financial issues plaguing her family, and the newly strained relationship between her and her daughter, Taylor.

David, the consummate bachelor, is there with his twin five year olds, their newly hired nanny, and his new girlfriend, Fiona. All he seems to care about is flaunting his newfound wealth.

Izzy, the nanny, is there officially to nanny the twins but is unofficially there to solve a decades-old mystery that upended her family.

Finally, Erika is there with her husband, Rick, and their son Lucas. Erika is a defense attorney and a workaholic. Rick and she have been together since they were teenagers. Lucas is an aspiring musician and seems to have a history with Taylor, who is avoiding him at all costs, much to the befuddlement of their respective mothers.

While drinking on the first night, tales of the lake lore come back to haunt the group. Two teenagers had gone missing at the lake without a trace exactly 30 years apart. Now, 60 years exactly since the first mysterious disappearance, everyone is a bit on edge, and their worst fears are confirmed the next morning when they wake to find Fiona missing.

Overall, I liked this novel. While not a favorite, I gave it a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️.

A lake setting summer mystery is the perfect summer read. We have David, Julia and Erika who have been childhood friends through coming to the lake every summer.

This summer David brings his new girlfriend, Fiona along with his kids and new sitter, Izzy with him. Fiona goes missing and the story follows along Izzy and Julia's POV to find Fiona.

The story is engaging and entertaining as the story unfolds with so many layers of secrets. I enjoyed Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole's narration and made it easy to follow along.

Thank you @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress for a copy of the book.

I loved this cleverly plotted, suspenseful, and engaging read! Every time I thought that I had everything figured a new twist was thrown my way. This novel is one that you won't be able to put down.

Julia, David & Erika grew up spending their summers together at the lake, where their homes were next to each other. Now they are all adults, with families of their own. This year, David is eager to show off his new lake house - a glass monstrosity that blocks both Julia & Erika's views of the lake from their own homes. He has brought with him his latest young fling, as well as a nanny who has a hidden agenda. Julia's daugher Taylor has been acting moody for weeks and Julia can't figure out what is wrong. Taylor won't have anything to do with Lucas, Erika's son, despite the fact they were previously great friends. Julia is frustrated with her husband, Christian, who seems to have dug them into a financial hole that just keeps getting deeper, and he seems to be hiding from her just how bad it really is. Erika & her husband are frustrated with Lucas because he has just decided he doesn't want to go to college after all, but wants to concentrate on his music. Sounds messy, right?

Then, after a drunken blow-out fight with David, his girlfriend Fiona goes missing without a trace. David refuses to cooperate with the police, making himself look even guiltier, and his friends wonder how much they really know him. The lake harbors a harrowing past: two young women, with no known connection, vanished without a trace thirty years ago. Did the lake take another?

This book makes the perfect beach (or lake) read. There is not one, but two mysteries to solve, and plenty of family drama to keep it juicy. It is told in the alternating voices of Julia & Izzy. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and think you will too!

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Julia, David, and Erika, ‘”the Lake Gang”, have had many happy days spending summers with their parents on Lake Timmeny in Vermont. Now they bring their own children to spend a couple of weeks together each summer.

This year, when Julia arrives, she sees that David has built a huge monstrosity where his family’s cabin used to be, blocking the lake view from both her and Erika’s cabins. When he arrives he is pretty cocky about his renovation and his new “lady of the moment”. He also has a young new nanny in tow to take care of his five-year-old twins.

Erika arrives with her husband and son; she is unusually quiet about the massive multi-windowed structure blocking the lake. Julia wants to know why, but the three have accumulated many secrets over the years, so she assumes there is a lot more to the story.

Lake Timmeny has a tragic history. “The lake takes them.” Two young women have “vanished” 30 years apart, and now it has been another 30 years. So when David’s new girlfriend vanishes after a very public disagreement, everyone wonders if the lake has taken another. While a comprehensive search is organized and carried out, secrets start to be revealed that go back for generations. Lies. Betrayal. Deceit. Danger lurks. Will the Lake Gang survive the summer?

Three couples, two teenagers, 2 five-year-olds, and their nanny on a summer vacation. What could go wrong? Everything!

Ms. Day has written a complex story featuring complicated characters who all have secrets now in their daily lives that are compounded by what takes place and revealed over a very short timeframe. At times, I felt I needed a scorecard to keep track of everything. Her characters are very interesting, so it is easy to get caught up in everything they are going through.

The lake’s history was intriguing for this mystery lover, and an elderly woman who lives on the lake year-round not only stole my heart but was the key to disclosing so much of that history. Hold on, though, there is so much more to sink our teeth into as memories are tested and secrets are divulged. Layers are peeled away, a little too slowly at times, but some epic twists ratcheted up the tension and suspense in all the right places. Being told from two points of view, I was totally pulled into this story. There is family drama to the max in ways I couldn’t imagine. The ending was elaborate, intricate, and satisfying. I would have liked a little more action instead of explanations, but it still worked for me.

The Lake Escape takes readers on a wild ride as each character’s journey intersects in numerous ways. This is Ms. Day’s third venture of domestic suspense following her debut, The Block Party, and then One Big Happy Family, last year, each time upping her game. Words of wisdom from Julia: “Be in the moment. Relax and enjoy. Don’t try to control, just let it roll.” That was from Chapter 7. Boy, did things roll from there. If you are looking for your next summer read, this one will have you feeling like you are right there at the lake, witnessing all the drama these families serve up. A strong 4.5 stars and an Enjoyable Escape.

*There is some explicit language.

📚 E-ARC BOOK REVIEW 📚

The Lake Escape By Jamie Day
Publication Date: July 15, 2025
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to St. Martin's Press #partner and NetGalley for this #gifted e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

📚MY REVIEW:

If you're searching for the perfect summer thriller to take with you to your beach vacation, search no further: The Lake Escape, from author Jamie Day, is just what you've been searching for! With its alternating POVs and short chapters, this quick read will keep you guessing as you try to solve the decades-long mysteries that haunt the shores of Vermont's Lake Timmeny.

Childhood friends Julia, David, and Erika grew up vacationing on the shores of Lake Timmeny with their families and they've maintained the tradition of vacationing together every summer into their adulthood. But the peaceful setting and idyllic lake come with its own mysterious lore: a young woman went missing from the lake in the mid-1960s, and exactly thirty years later a second young woman mysteriously vanished from the lake too. On this year's lake getaway, the three friends realize it's been exactly thirty years since the last disappearance. So when a member of their vacationing group disappears, everyone fears the worst -- will these childhood friendships remain standing as everyone's secrets are revealed?

This book got off to a slower start as far as suspense and thrills are concerned. From pretty early on though, the reader knows there are big secrets being kept hidden by the characters, but it takes time for these secrets to be revealed. Just after the halfway point of the book, a big piece of the puzzle is revealed and from there - well, hold onto your beach hat. The pace really picks up. In fact, the second half of the book had SO MANY storylines converging that it made my head spin! On multiple occasions, I had to re-read pages a few times to understand everything coming at me. Ultimately, I really enjoyed the way everything came together, though the potentially ambiguous ending did leave me with questions (No spoilers here!).

Day gave me plenty of unexpected twists in this story, and the way the pieces of this lakefront puzzle came together left me quite shocked! If you're a fan of thrillers in peaceful lakefront settings, cold case mysteries that resurface years later, and secrets that cause you to side-eye everybody...The Lake Escape is one you'll want to add to your TBR. Coming July 15th!

#TheLakeEscape #JamieDay #StMartinsPress #SMPEarlyReaders #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARCs #summerbeachreads #thrillerreads #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #booklover #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrecommendations

Thank you to NetGalley for providing with me and ARC of Jamie Day's newest book, The Lake Escape.

Julia and her family are headed to their lake houses for their traditional summer escape. She, Erika, and David were raised on lake summers and they've been lifelong friends since they were kids, but this summer nothing is the same. Julia's life and possibly her marriage are falling apart, her teen daughter is keeping secrets and there's a distance with her two best friends that she can't put her finger on. David has brought a new girlfriend that mysteriously goes missing without so much as a trace and the new nanny he hired to help watch his twins lied to get the job.

As their friendship unravels, suspicions and accusations fly. Underneath this tension is the "lake lore" because David's girlfriend isn't the first woman to go missing from the lake. She's the third and it happens every 30 years - exactly.

This book is rich in character development that makes the two narrators, Julia and the nanny, Izzy multi-layered and relatable. It's a slow burn of a book but kept my interest and kept me rooting for (and against) some of the characters.

Julia, Erika & David all grew up together, their families lake houses beside each other. They’ve each inherited those homes & now as adults come for the same two weeks each summer. Along with them are spouses, children, a nanny (with her own agenda) & all the secrets & problems they have going on in the lives. David has done a complete remodelling & put in a modern, two story home that blocks the other’s views. Then his much younger girlfriend Fiona goes missing. This isn’t the first time though, two women, thirty years apart have gone missing in this area.

I’ve enjoyed Day’s previous books, so I was looking forward to this one. It’s the perfect setting for a summer read. The story is told alternating between Julia & Izzy, the nanny. Everyone has problems & secrets. I was truly not sure where this story was going, especially how it connected to the other two missing women. It got a tad slow & repetitive in the middle, but luckily it really picks up speed at the conclusion. The murders & the disappearance of Fiona were intricately put together in a very enthralling way that left me very satisfied. I definitely recommend it & I think it’s my second favourite by the author, the first being The Block Party.
🌊

Read if you like:
* The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
* Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle

Three friends and their families get together at their houses on the lake. Two women’s disappearances have plagued the lakeside for over 30 years. Secrets and lies come to light and threaten to tear the childhood friends apart.
This was an enjoyable story and had a realistic setting with great characters. Thanks NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this eARC that will be released July 15, 2025!

For me this one was just okay. It wasn't terrible, but there weren't any surprise shocking twists and the "twists" that were provided, felt kind of forced in making the story line shocking. If the story was left at some tragedy at the lake instead of including a mob aspect, I think it would have been a much better and non predictable over the top read.

Three longtime friends and their families meet up for their annual vacation in the lake houses they grew up visiting. What should be a relaxing two weeks from the real world and all their problems, turns into a mystery with a possible murder. Could two women who disappeared 30 years apart be connected to a missing woman now? Lots of secrets and skeletons in this one!

This book was promising, it was very intriguing, and Izzy was such an amazing character. I wanted to know more, there was so much mystery going on though. She goes on vacation for two weeks as a nanny, and the reason why she’s even there is a tad bit sinister. David, Erika and Julia take this vacation for two weeks every single year with their families. But then, of course with Izzy around they talk about the lake lore, and this mystery that there were 2 women missing at around the same years apart, blah blah. Then of course, one of the visitors who were with them goes missing, then everything blows up.

There are secrets on top of secrets, everyone has one and it’s crazy, I couldn’t put the book down but 80% into the book everything blew up, and it felt a bit overwhelming, the saying “everything by the kitchen sink” would be considered and over statement in these last 20% of the book lol, but yet I was intrigued, and also disappointed at the same time…. Do I regret staying up past my bed time to read this book? NAH…. I loved the family drama and the secrets between friends because it was WILD….

Jamie Day delivers another gripping tale with The Lake Escape, a suspenseful and engaging story that keeps readers thoroughly entertained from start to finish. The narrative unfolds with steady momentum, building tension and intrigue as layers of secrets begin to surface. Day masterfully weaves twists throughout the plot, creating a sense of unease and anticipation that intensifies with each chapter. As the story reaches its dramatic climax, everything comes crashing down in a satisfying and impactful way. With its well-paced buildup and compelling revelations, The Lake Escape is a captivating read that fans of psychological thrillers will thoroughly enjoy.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review. The Lake Escape is quite the story with lots of twists and turns along this journey. It is about three friends who have spent every Summer together for a lifetime. However, David’s new girlfriend goes missing. So is this tragedy connected to the two other women that went missing many years ago??? This Summer turns into quite the serious investigation. The book is quite intriguing and you will be so surprised at how it ends. This was an interesting read.

This was entertaining enough for a summer read but the end was somehow underwhelming but also too much/confusing at the same time.

I found the beginning pretty slow, but I did enjoy the lake atmosphere and the nanny’s relationship with the kids.

THE LAKE ESCAPE was enjoyable to read. It had a little bit of everything that I tend to like in a book…drama and mystery/suspense. The story is fast paced and left me contemplating the plot, until I picked it up again. It’s perfect for the summer if you want something fun to read at the beach or pool. Get ready for a wild ride!

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my gifted ARC

This review will be shared to my Instagram account (@coffee.break.book.reviews) closer to the publication date.

“But then again, the lake lore was always about the missing, not those left behind.”

3.5 stars! This book starts off pretty slow. There are a lot of characters and decades of time covered so the scene needed to be set. But once you see how the characters all intertwine the story start to unwrap like a present.

The mystery is both believable and sad and once the story got going it held my interest to the very end.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was a bit convoluted and yet predictable at the same time... I was expecting more given the blurb and the setting but I was a bit bored and disappointed. It wasn't really thrilling either despite so many places it could have been had it branched off into one of the threads hanging. Hope you have better luck!

The Lake Escape comes out next week on July 15, 2025, and you can purchase HERE.

The newly built house was a monstro-sity: three stories tall, made almost entirely of glass, and partially blocking what was once Julia's cherished view of the lake. She had spotted the towering eyesore halfway down the long driveway that many visitors mistook for a road.
For months, she'd been eagerly anticipating her annual summer vacation to the lake house where she'd spent her formative years-but now everything was ruined. Ten minutes ago, it was a different story. From the passenger seat of their brand-new Land Rover Defender-which they couldn't afford-Julia had been composing her vacation kickoff Instagram post.
Finally arrived, let the relaxing begin!
Or better: Be back never.
Maybe ... Collect moments, not things.
She could come up with a hundred of
these and never run out.
Julia kept her posts simple, engaging, and heartfelt, but how fun it would be to write the truth for once: My ass is saddlesore from the three-hour ride north, Christian and I are going broke, oh and our neighbor just royally screwed us over. #blessed
It wasn't until Julia exited the vehicle that the magnitude to which they'd been screwed fully registered.