I loved this! So twisty and didn’t expect the end at all. Great storytelling and compelling narrators! Thanks for the chance to read it early!

Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for the chance to read Jamie Day's new novel, The Lake Escape.

I very much enjoyed this book. We are introduced to three lifelong friends who, as adults, now all own the family homes on Lake Timmeny, where they spent childhood summers together. With families of their own, they are returning for the summer, with the addition of David's new young girlfriend, Fiona, and his new young nanny, Izzy. Izzy has lied her way into the position to get closer to the lake, as she is actually a true crime junkie looking for more information on the infamous "lake lore" surrounding the disappearance of two young women, 30 years apart. The story is told in alternating viewpoints, Izzy the nanny, and Julia, one of the three returning friends. The chapters build a slow burn suspense around a heated argument between David and Fiona that happens upon arrival to the lake. When Fiona can not be located the morning after these events, everyone becomes suspicious, and David becomes a suspect. What secrets does the lake hold? We learn how events from the past and present ties these families together forever, for better or for worse, and the end reveal makes it all worth it. It's a bit of a slower start to this one, but there is a lot going on with each and every member of all three families, plus Izzy. I really enjoyed the ride. Will continue to read Ms Day's work in the future!

Jamie Day is a queen when it comes to writing thrillers!
Her latest book had it all- mystery, suspense, interesting characters and a well written story. This was a fun one to read- I flew through the pages once I got a few chapters in. The ending was excellent, I had no idea how the story would play out. Definitely check this book out if you’re a fan of a good mystery with lots of surprises and some very solid writing.

Thank you to the publisher and also NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.

Jamie Day is doing what she does best — serving us another group dynamic thriller that’s suspenseful and filled with mystery and possibly murder. In “The Block Party” the gathering included drunken neighbors and in “One Big Happy Family” it was quarreling sisters stuck in a storm. Here we have three long time summer friends, all grown up, now with family issues and old secrets, inheriting their neighboring vacation homes on a rural lake in Vermont, and timing their two week vacations to be at the lake at the same time. The lake itself also has secrets: two women disappeared near it without a trace, thirty years apart; one vanished when the current owners were teens. It’s now thirty years after the second incident.

The primary trio, who treated each other as summer siblings, are Julia (social media conscious, but apparently with money woes); Erika (big time defense attorney); and David (venture capitalist). But this year’s Lake Gang has ancillary members:
Julia’s husband Christian (not being truthful about money, once was unfaithful and alcoholic) and their teenage daughter Taylor (unexplainably moody)
Erika’s husband Rick (outdoorsy guy) and their teenage son Lucas (budding musician)
David and his much younger girlfriend Fiona (enthusiastic drinker and sleepwalker)
Izzy (the last minute unqualified teenage nanny for David’s five year old twins, with some sort of true crime obsession related to the lake)

The POVs are only Julia (the Lake Gang insider) and Izzy (the outsider). Of course, someone goes missing.

As she did before, author Day has created another toxic atmosphere where it’s hard to decide who you despise the most. The story is usually redeemed by at least one sympathetic character, but not before even that person’s motivations are scrutinized. It’s a suspenseful and twisty tale, with lots of characters, cat fights and gossip among people who think they know each other well, but actually do not. My interest was kept up until the end, guessing over and over about how the conclusion would come about. 4.5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Erika and Lucas have green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Grace, however, is an impressive naturalist who can conjure up herbal poultices.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

This was a good book, and I genuinely liked it. It kept me interested in what was going to happen next. I never saw the ending coming, but at the same time, it really ended up being nothing that special. However, the writing was good enough for me to definitely give this author another try!

I loved the other 2 books by this author. However this book took a very unexpected turn that I really didn’t enjoy. A lot of build up but the ending felt rushed.

I enjoyed the overall story and the writing was great. The plot twists had multiple angles, one being more predictable than the other. A solid read.

Thank you St Martins Press and Netgalley for this Advance Readers Copy ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC! This is my second time reading an ARC for Jamie Day. Once again, I really enjoyed this one! I like all the different characters side stories and how everything came together. If not for the ending, I may have felt differently about this but if you think you’ve got it figured out - you don’t! Be sure to look for this one on release day— July 15 2025

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC of Jamie Day’s The Lake Escape. I have been fortunate to read all 3 of Jamie Day’s books and I have loved them all. I love how the author writes from the perspectives of each character. This story takes place in the summer in a beautiful lake community in Vermont. This is the relaxing getaway that Julia, her family and childhood friends look forward to every year. However this year is turning out to be not too relaxing. With Fiona, the girlfriend of David, missing, the mysteries of the lake unfold. Everyone has a secret and everyone is interested in finding Fiona, or are they? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book Review: The Lake Escape by Jamie Day
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5 rounded up)

Jamie Day’s The Lake Escape is a mystery thriller set against the eerie backdrop of Lake Timmeny, where secrets run deep and disappearances haunt the past and present. While the premise is intriguing and the ending delivers a surprising twist, the story’s execution had some drawbacks.

One of my main struggles with this book was the overwhelming number of characters. With so many perspectives and intertwining storylines, it became difficult to keep track of who was who. Unfortunately, this also made it hard to connect with any of the characters on a deeper level, which lessened the emotional impact of the story. Because of this, I found the suspense lacking at times, even though the mystery itself was well-plotted.

That said, the abundance of characters did make for an unpredictable read—I kept changing my mind about who the culprit was, which kept me engaged. The ending, while not entirely perfect, was satisfying enough and wrapped up the mystery, even if it was a little "odd".

Overall, The Lake Escape is a decent thriller with a well-executed mystery, but the sheer number of characters made it harder to fully immerse myself in the story. If you enjoy twisty mysteries with multiple perspectives and don’t mind keeping track of a large cast, I'd recommend adding this one to your TBR pile. I'd like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press & the author, Jamie Day for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

The Lake Escape is a good mystery with an interesting setting and intriguing characters. I was able to read it thru NetGalley and raced thru it to get to the end. A young woman working as a nanny on a summer vacation for 3 old friends gets involved in the mystery at the fictional lake. And I enjoyed the twist regarding her motives too.

I tore through this book voraciously. It was just simply that good. Apart from making me desperately want a lake house, it got me through a rough chronic pain day. The characters were so well written and I loved how entangled the plot was. I fully expected that there would be a supernatural cause but pleasantly surprised to find out that the killer wasn’t a demonic lake. It was twisty, tangled, and convoluted. I loved every minute of it!

Jamie Day does it again with the amazing The Lake Escape. Three friends, Julia, Erika and David have grown up on the lake of Vermont. They grew up as children together with their families coming every year and the annual trip is a special moment for all. Present day, Julia is the first to arrive at the lake only to discover that Davids renovations have taken over every view possible. Julia is furious as all she wants to do is relax and enjoy her friends as she and her spouse are having issues and her daughter has been very withdrawn. David arrives with his new girlfriend and the nanny that he hired last minute who applied for the job for her own reasons. Erika is there with he son and husband and is totally fine with the renovations that David has made. Julia is perplexed as the group tries to regain their normal fun. However, the next day David's girlfriend disappears on the exact day that two women have disappeared thirty and sixty years prior. The questions mount and friendships are tested and questioned as everyone is on the search for the new missing woman.

“The Lake Escape” is a mystery thriller by Jamie Day. I’ve read Ms. Day’s other books - so I was really pleased to get approved to read this one. This book has two points-of-view - Julia, who has come up to Lake Timmeny for many years with her friends David and Erika, and Izzy, a nanny for David’s children. There’s a mystery about the lake - every thirty years a woman goes missing … and this year it happens again with David’s girlfriend Fiona. What I like about the book - for once (thank you!) someone doesn’t allow the police into their house to search - a warrant is actually asked for. What I also liked were the two kids Izzy was watching - they’re kids, they acted like kids, they had the attention span of kids - refreshing. What I didn’t like were the twists - so many things were tossed in that it became a bit like “okay, what next is happening to convolute this set-up?” Maybe there were hints along the way (David’s professional details I did see coming … but not the tie-in). I don’t quite understand how Julia can keep taking her husband back … but, well, her life to live, not mine. This book was an okay read - a bit long in places, a bit too chaotic in others. Overall it was enjoyable in places and I’m glad I read it to learn the afterwards.

A slow-burn thriller about three long-time friends and the consequences of the secrets they’ve kept buried. It begins when the three friends—Julia, Erica and David—return to their lakeside homes and David’s new girlfriend vanishes without a trace. While the beginning is slow for quite a while, the characters are unlikeable, and I sometimes got confused because there were so many of them, the suspense is palpable, and the tranquil lakeside setting wonderfully done.

Jamie Day's thrillers are always enjoyable. They aren't anything groundbreaking if you read a lot of thrillers, but they are still good beach reads, or even better cabin reads. I like these as a quick read between heavier fantasies.

The Lake Escape was definitely slow in the beginning. I did not for the most part find the characters that likeable. Julia was whiney, Erika was awfully aloof for a lawyer whose view had been eclipsed by David's house. David was arrogant and obnoxious. Christian just made one bad decision after another. The pace picked up when a third woman went missing. Then there were lots of plot twists, deceit and new revelations. I liked the way it all wrapped up in the end.

Another great novel by Jamie Day. Julia, Erika, and David have been vacationing at Lake Timmeny in Vermont their whole lives. The childhood friends have maintained this summer meetup into adulthood with each of their loved ones in tow. But the lake resort holds some dark secrets from the past with two women disappearing 30 years apart, never to be seen again. Now, 30 years since the last woman vanished, David’s girlfriend Fiona is suddenly missing. Tensions are high, and the three friends find themselves doubting and suspicious of one other. Is her disappearance somehow connected to the two others? As the search for Fiona gets underway, the friends and even some of their family members seem to be harboring secrets. Is this lore of the lake coming true again? This was an entertaining and fast read for me. I gave this novel 4 stars!

The Lake Escape contains an ambitious effort to weave a narrative with multiple storylines. The story sometimes suggests the author is attempting to throw off the reader with red herrings more than compose a unified narrative that keeps the reader hooked. Her previous work was engaging and enjoyable to read, but this piece tries too hard to thrill and surprise. This also creates some plot holes where narrative threads are not pursued until the end. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

I was torn between 3 and 4 stars for this book. It was a quick read and had me guessing along the way. Where it fell short was in the character aspect. I didn’t get that connection with any of the main characters that would have made me up my rating. I couldn’t get enough of her book The Block party and find myself comparing the books. Overall The Lake Escape was a good quick thriller read and I look forward to more books by Jaime Day. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Jamie Day’s The Lake Escape is a captivating summer thriller that masterfully blends nostalgia, suspense, and a touch of the sinister. Set against the backdrop of a serene Vermont lake with a haunting past, the story follows Julia, Erika, and David—longtime friends who return to their lakeside homes each summer. But this year, their idyllic retreat takes a dark turn when David’s much-younger girlfriend vanishes without a trace. As suspicions mount and buried secrets begin to surface, the tranquil setting transforms into a breeding ground for danger, leaving no one safe from the shadows of the past.

What makes this novel truly stand out is Day’s skillful use of multiple perspectives. By shifting between characters, the story unfolds like a puzzle, with each piece adding depth to the suspense and shedding light on the complex relationships and hidden motives at play. The gradual buildup of tension is incredibly rewarding, culminating in a second half packed with jaw-dropping twists that will leave readers on the edge of their seats.

That said, the large cast of characters can feel a bit overwhelming at times, making it harder to connect deeply with some of them. A few relationships and backstories could have been fleshed out more to amplify the emotional stakes. Still, these minor flaws don’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the book. The Lake Escape is a slow-burning mystery that delivers plenty of intrigue, deception, and eerie atmosphere, making it a perfect pick for fans of the genre.

While I initially leaned toward a 3.5-star rating, I’m rounding up to 4 stars for the book’s expertly crafted suspense and immersive setting. If you’re searching for a summer read that’s equal parts thrilling and atmospheric, The Lake Escape should definitely be on your list.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with the chance to read and review this gripping novel!