Two young women disappear 30 years apart at the lake. Now another young woman disappears 30 years after the last one. A riveting story line that will keep you guessing.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Lake Timmeny has been a vacation spot for Julia Crawford, Erika Sullivan, and David Dunne since childhood. Now, it has become two weeks that offer a welcome break from everyday life.

But this year, something is different, something is wrong. And, in keeping with the lore of the lake, a young woman vanishes.

Is the lake claiming another victim or is there another, more sinister, explanation?

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This sometimes-predictable thriller/mystery is told alternately from Julia’s and Izzy’s viewpoints and keeps readers guessing. There’s a strong sense of place that anchors the narrative; as might be expected, all of the characters are keeping secrets. Unfortunately, most of the characters are unlikeable, but does that mean that one of them is a killer?

The unfolding story takes some unforeseen turns, building intrigue for readers. Unexpected revelations encourage readers to make some assumptions; plot twists keep the story from becoming predictable as the telling of the tale leads to a denouement that may surprise most readers.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley
#TheLakeEscape #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! The Lake Escape by Jamie Day is a complex psychological thriller about three childhood friends who really don’t know each other as well as they think they do. When Jane, Erika and David returned back to the lake for their two week summer vacation they could never have imagined the swift turn of events they would be made to endure. Izzy, the newly hired nanny for David’s twin five-year-olds isn’t really who she says she is. She dreams of being a true crime podcaster but will her dream also become her fate. Find out for yourself by reading this slow burn extremely complex suspense novel that I highly recommend to others.

I have been a fan of Jamie Day ever since I read an ARC of The Block Party in 2023! I have been so excited to be invited to read all her books as ARCs!
The Lake Escape is about the mystery of missing women from Lake Timmeny in Vermont.
David, Erika, and Julia have been coming to the lake with their families since they were kids. Now all three friends have grown up and continue the tradition with their own families.
They were teenagers when, thirty years after the first mysterious disappearance, a second woman goes missing. Now 30 years later they are all back together at the lake with their families when another woman goes missing. Who is responsible? Is the lake taking the women? Or is it something more sinister?
The Lake Escape is a story that covers decades and many intricate characters.
I loved how all things were connected and discovered at the end.

The Lake Escape started off strong for me. Getting to know the characters, wondering how the mysteries of the lake would come into play. Unfortunately, I found it to drag quite a bit and I found myself not interested in most of the characters. Izzy and Taylor kept me going, because I needed to know what happened in the end. But the hard shift into a mob storyline was not what I expected, and kind of ruined it for me.

3.5 Definitely a quick read. Friends, traditions, secrets and murder - yep! I thought the Instagram internal commentary was a bit of a miss but I liked the characters and all of their secrets. If you like good beach reads, add this one to your list!

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

I found this book to be an enjoyable mystery. The storyline kept the reader waiting to see what happens next. This is a book which I would recommend to those who enjoy a good mystery.

The Lake Escape by Jamie Day is the ultimate feel-good getaway wrapped in a book! Set against a stunning lakeside backdrop, this story brings together a perfect mix of romance, friendship, and personal growth. The characters are refreshingly relatable, and the setting practically begs you to pack your bags for a lakeside retreat of your own. With heartfelt moments, a touch of drama, and plenty of laughs, it’s a perfect read for anyone looking to escape into a world of summer vibes and second chances. Grab this one for a cozy, heartwarming ride!

3.5 rounded up to 4.

This was a great thriller! I was drawn into the story right away and couldn't put this down! The suspense was great, and I really enjoyed reading this book. Definitely recommend. The story twisted and actually interwove in ways I didn't see coming!

This was a fun ride with lots of family and friend secrets. I enjoy Jamie's descriptiveness and the development of characters. I also love how so many of her books center around close knit communities of families or friends. It makes the twists feel a bit more heightened.

Oh, much fun. Perfect white lady thriller for reading by the pool or, you know, beside a lake. Just enough breadcrumbs to follow through the twists. Julia’s internal Instagram captions made me laugh, and I was so mad at Christian, I gave my completely innocent husband a couple of dirty looks until he asked what he did wrong haha Day is now a go-to author for me, for sure.

This had potential but I think it fell short of my expectations for it. I think the two glaring issues I couldn't get past was both the pacing of this book (it's slow for a thriller) along with the web of characters and PoVs we received.

I enjoyed this book. I rated it a 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4). There is a very tangled web of families and characters, but the character development is very well done so that you are not confused. The book was an easy read that held my attention, with a twist at the end that I did not predict. I appreciated the family dynamic between all three families and the different POVs in each chapter. Izzy was a likeable character that floated between each family and offered some young adult innocence the story. "How do you shoot someone without ever pulling the trigger?". I would definitely check out this book if you would like to know the answer.

Thank you to NetGallery and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC

Izzy, a college student, lands a nannying gig in a secluded modern house. There, she discovers a group of lifelong friends hiding dark secrets.

Strange things happen around the nearby lake, including the suspected deaths of three women over 30 years. Was it a curse or something more sinister? Izzy, who lied to get the job, might be more involved than she seems.

The book starts slow but picks up dramatically with plenty of twists and turns. It is worth the effort of sticking with it. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a great thriller! Some of the twists were predictable, but I was drawn into the story right away and couldn't put this down! The suspense was great, and I really enjoyed reading this book. Definitely recommend!

2.5/5 stars
Though I loved the setting, I found the characters in this book to be unlikable, and too many POVs. The pacing was quite slow and I wasn't really reaching for it until the 80% mark. I'd recommend Jamie's other two books over this one and look forward to her next release as I know she can write a good thriller.

this was one of the most far-fetched books I’ve read in a long time. It had so much potential—a story about a trio of childhood friends, their summers together over the decades, and the secrets they’ve kept. But unfortunately, it fell flat. The narrative was bogged down by an overwhelming number of plotlines, many of which felt absurd and completely unrealistic.

I also don’t think the author chose the right characters to narrate the story, which made the POV feel off. And fair warning—this book starts extremely slow. I saw other reviews mention this, so I tried to give it a fair shot, but in hindsight, I wish I hadn’t.

Vacation at the lake doesn't turn out as envisioned. I liked the characters in this story and the suspense and the twists.
Thank you to St.Martens press, Netgalley and the author for the arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Izzy is a teenaged college student who gets a two-week position as a nanny. She’s whisked away to a modern house built in the woods, where several lifelong friends meet up. Everyone has secrets that could change all their lives.

The lake seems to have a curse on it. Did it really steal the lives of three separate women, every 30 years? Or is there is more duplicitous human reason? And is Izzy just trying to start a podcast, or is there something more to her decision to lie her way into the job?

Overall, this was a pretty good book. The first 1/3 was a bit boring, but it definitely made up for this later on. There are more surprises than you’d think, so be sure to stick with it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars.

I wouldn’t call this novel an “on the edge of your seat” thriller, but it definitely had its moments. Although it started off slow, the story line definitely picked up and took quite an interesting turn around 75% the way through. There were times this novel seemed to ramble on with no purpose. I’m sure it was to “set the scene”, but there’s a point at which it’s too much and I find myself skimming, rather than reading. The only reason I am rounding up to 4 stars is because of the major end-of-the-novel plot twist. Some readers said they had it figured out from the beginning, but not me. I had no clue that twist was coming!

I wasn’t a huge fan of any of the characters; the “nanny”, Izzy, is whiny and flat. And our other main character, Julia, was just unlikable from the beginning! There were also way too many characters throughout the novel. I couldn’t keep them all straight.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel early, this review is my own opinion.