3.5 stars for author Jamie Day's latest, "The Lake Escape". I read her other two titles & really enjoyed "the Block Party", this one did not quite live up to her debut - it's an overall fairly average suspense-thriller type story. And while I did like the Vermont lake setting, I felt the ending was just a bit over-the-top and that ruined a four-star review. Plus, some of this was also poorly plotted & too easy to figure out and I did not find any of the characters very interesting, so overall a miss for me. My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for my advance review copy - it is always appreciated, even if the title is not.

Jamie Day keeps you on the edge of your seat with The Lake Escape. The story centers on three families who vacation at their lake houses each year, This year is different though as everyone is a little strained and on edge. When David's girlfriend disappears, it dredges up secrets better left buried.
This is an intense thriller. Everyone is hiding something and you don't know where it all will lead. The twists keep coming as the story unravels. In the end, no one is left unscathed.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The Lake Escape by Jamie Day is a wild, suspense packed ride. Three childhood friends reunite at their Vermont lake houses, but things take a dark turn when one of the girlfriends goes missing after a fight. As secrets from the past resurface, the tension builds, and you’re left wondering who’s lying and what’s really going on. Perfect for anyone who loves a good thriller with twists, shady characters, and a creepy vibe. You won’t want to put this one down.

OOF.

This might be the last book I read from Jamie Day. I really enjoyed the debut- The Block Party. The second book fell a little short for me, but that often happens with authors and I was excited to read The Lake Escape. Boy, was that a mistake.

The premise is that three friends who grew up on the lake come to it every year for a two week vacation. They are now in their 40s, so this has been a long-standing tradition. You know from the beginning that something is up, as one of the POV characters is a nanny who is hiding something. The other POV is one of the original three friends, worried about her marriage. Everyone is acting strange, and suddenly, someone goes missing. The friends and their spouses know one of them must be the culprit.

Sounds intriguing, but boy oh boy, it's a rough ride. All the characters felt like copy+paste tropes with no depth and I didn't care what happened to a single one of them. Any time someone was in danger or hurt, I was hoping they'd die so the book could end.

It felt like the author threw in every kind of twist and turn to make you gasp, but it just made me roll my eyes.

I wouldn't tell anyone to bother with this.

Thank you to NetGalley, for the ARC!!

This book begins when skeletal remains are found near a lake in Vermont. Then we meet three couples who have beautiful houses on the lake and love to spend summers there...until one of them David, builds a three-story all-glass house that obstructs their view. Why would he do this as they've all been friends? We also learn of the legend that the "lake takes them." What could that mean; but legend has it that several women from the past have disappeared. So when David's hot new girlfriend disappears, everyone wonders...is the legend true?? It's a crazy, wild ride to the end!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I have to say this was an ok read for me. I enjoyed the lake setting and the multiple view points of all the characters. The secrets that each friend were keeping kept invested into the story and finding out how it ending. Overall I really liked it and would recommend giving it a chance. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

I enjoyed The Lake Escape, although I could have done with less irrelevant family drama and more mystery. I did enjoy the ending and it was overall a decent read.

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

I love books about adults reuniting, with childhood secrets weighing on them and affecting their relationships, so I was excited to read this. Jamie Day has become one of my favorites for juicy, twisty, thrillers and this one didn't disappoint. I flew through the pages, invested in the repercussions of 30 year old secrets. I thought the characters were well written and the plot was fun, and I loved the setting. It's a perfect summer beach read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

Wow, this was a great read! It definitely kept me guessing until the end.

4 stars!
Thanks NetGalley

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martins Press for an ARC of this book for an honest review.
I have to say this book was just ok for me. I couldn’t get into any of the characters and I really tried. I don’t think I could recommend this book to others.

I like Jaime Day's books so i was happy to get an advanced copy of it. the book is about three friends going on the annual family vacation to the lake that they have been going on since they were children. i only liked one of the characters but I think it was meant to be that way. The twists kept you guessing and if you don't mind far fetched twists (which I don't mind) you will like this book.

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? Its worth the read but it was not my favorite.

Jamie Day is back with another fantastic fast paced read! Three friends share many secrets from childhood. When they get together nothing could go wrong - right? Right?!

Wrong!

Jamie Day is becoming one of my go-to authors and her latest book "The Lake Escape" is a perfect example of why that is. What a great read!

Not my favorite thriller/mystery. I thought the story was interesting but the execution left a lot to be desired. It felt like some of the story lines were unnecessary and/or cumbersome. For example, I understood the idea of Julia’s social media obsession but it didn’t really make a lot of sense within the story. Splitting the story into Spring/Summer was odd with no time lapse and several references to summer during the Spring section. And while I understand the thought behind the references to Mary Poppins, there were far more than necessary. I did still give 3 stars because I thought it was interesting to see how the stories from each family ended up weaving together.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for the advance copy of this book.

WILL THIS BE THE BEST WEEK OF THEIR LIVES... OR THE LAST?

JULIA, DAVID, AND ERIKA grew up together spending summers at their idyllic Vermont lake homes for as long as they can remember. Now adults— with their own sullen teens, endless mortgages, and low-voltage sex lives— the three friends have amassed secrets over the years.

This summer, David is eager to show off his newly renovated home—which now blocks his friends’ cherished lake views—and his much-younger girlfriend. He also, unwittingly, brings a nanny with a hidden agenda. What could possibly go wrong?

When David’s girlfriend mysteriously vanishes after a shouting match, Julia and Erika wonder just how well they know their lifelong friend. 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?

As a search is mounted, an intricate web of lies, deceits, and betrayals spanning generations starts to surface, and everyone finds themselves in danger of becoming the next victim. Of the lake, or something darker.

The premise of this book got me interested. However, I found a fair bit of the book to be a little far-fetched, to be honest. I was a bit disappointed overall. 2.5 out of 5 ⭐️

This was phenomenal I was genuinely confused throughout the entire book. It kept me guessing who was being honest and I loved it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. I've read Jamie Day's previous novels and enjoyed them. The Lake Escape felt a little different from her other books that I've read. The story follows Julia, David and Erika, three friends whose families have houses on a lake and spend time each summer in their lake retreats. All three have marriages or families. At first I thought the book would be a drama of the three friends and their kids such as marital issues or children issues. The book turned about halfway through into a suspense/mystery/thriller story, which I was not expecting. I was a little disappointed because I felt the explanation of everything that happened - the disappearance of three different young women every thirty years and what led to it was a bit over the top and a bit of a let-down.

Jamie Day’s, The Lake Escape, is a summer thriller set primarily at "a serene Lake Timmeny". Three friends who grew up with every summer at the lake reunite there as adults with their own families in tow. Julia, Erika, and David, longtime friends, who have stayed somewhat in each other's lives, return to their lakeside homes. This summer the frivolity, fun and easy interactions have changed. There is a tension, underlying secrets, and of course, the lakes' curse of taking a victim every 30 years. When another young girl goes missing, secrets long kept begin to emerge. The story slowly unwinds as each character brings their problems and secrets to the table. A novel with a lot of angst, tension and mounting dread as secrets are slowly uncovered. The author keeps you interested. The only drawback is that sometimes the interactions between character's seem a bit unrealistic. Overall, it is an enjoyable novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for allowing me with the chance to read and review this novel! All thoughts are my own.

Reading a book about Lake Timmeny in the summer has me dreaming of vacation BUT not of the things that happened there!

The story’s multiple points of view kept me hooked, always eager to see what would happen next. I did NOT see the ending coming!