Thank you for a copy of this ARC!

This one didn't really hold me throughout the book. I felt myself rushing to finish it.

You will never look at a lake day again! Just when you plan your summer trips to the lake this book will stay with you for a very long time! Highly recommend, full of suspense and surprises!

Jamie Day continues to be a favorite! I loved that it was told from multiple points of view. And that there were so many different things going on but all somehow connected. Some of the story lines were a bit of a reach but for me that made it better. I loved the pace of the book. I felt like I was watching a fun summer thriller movie. It was fast paced and had interesting characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Jamie Day has done it again. I have read all three of her books and loved them all. The Lake Escape follow three childhood friends Erika, Julia and David, who return to the lake in Vermont for a vacation with their families only to have their vacation ruined. Two young girls go missing from the lake exactly 30 years apart and this year marks 30 years since the last disappearance. One of the girls in the group goes missing and quickly Izzy, the nanny of David, is determined to figure out what happened, after all that's the real reason why she is at the lake.

Twists and turns and shocking revelations really bring the suspense to this book. The pace was perfect and had my attention from the very beginning. If you are looking for a fast read then this is the perfect book. I truly enjoy Jamie Day's books and recommend them. 5 stars

This would be a great read to end the summer with grab yourself a copy and take it along
If you like thrillers with twist after twist this book will have you hooked (pun intended)
I really enjoyed this one


My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Lake Escape, by Jamie Day, is a domestic suspense novel about three homes on a Vermont lake and the three young women who disappear every 30 years. Our story follows three friends who spent their growing up summers at Lake Timinee in Vermont, and then returned years later with their children.

Things have not been easy for these friends in the years since childhood, but they still make the time to reunite every summer. This summer, however, there is infighting and angst amongst the friends and things go from tenuous to tragic. This story is filled with drama, tension, secrets and a lot of wild plot twists. It is told in three perspectives, which gives us different pieces of the plot to puzzle together. This summer thriller is chilling, atmospheric, a little outlandish, but also suspenseful.

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

I had trouble making it through this novel. I did not particularly like the characters involved and there were many of them. Having different points of view is not a favorite narrative style for me. Some of the events seemed beyond belief such as having mob characters involved. And everyone has secrets that they have managed to keep hidden from each other all these years. That yields a complicated mystery plot, one that I would have liked to have been more focused.

I received a complimentary egalley of thiis book from the publisher. My comments are an independent review.

Jamie Day does it again with a suspenseful, twist-filled thriller that kept me on my toes from start to finish! From the very first page, I was hooked—drawn in by the breadcrumb clues scattered throughout the story that constantly made me think I had it all figured out... only to be completely blindsided by the jaw-dropping ending. Day’s knack for misdirection is as sharp as ever.

What made this read even more special for me was the setting. The story takes place around a Vermont lake, just next to Bennington—a place very close to my heart, as my own friend group used to spend summers at a family home in the area. The familiar surroundings added an eerie, personal layer to the story that made the suspense hit even harder.

The plot centers on Julia, David, and Erika—lifelong friends who spent their childhood summers together and are now navigating adult life with teenagers, strained marriages, and buried secrets. When David invites the group back to his newly renovated lake house (complete with a younger girlfriend and a nanny with a mysterious past), things quickly spiral. After a heated argument, David’s girlfriend vanishes, and suddenly the peaceful lakefront becomes a place of suspicion and dread.

As the investigation unfolds, long-buried secrets begin to emerge—not just from this summer, but from decades ago, when two women disappeared without a trace. With the tension mounting and trust eroding, the story becomes a fast-paced unraveling of lies, betrayal, and chilling revelations.

Jamie Day has once again crafted a gripping, atmospheric thriller with layered characters and a setting that feels as haunting as it does beautiful. If Jamie writes it, I’m reading it—and this book proves exactly why

3.5 stars

Three best friends go on their lake vacation. They grew up with lake houses next to each other. There is lore about the lake taking girls every 30 years. Naturally, Fiona becomes the latest victim.

There are lots of suspects and since Fiona is the third woman to vanish it’s a long timeline to consider when trying to solve everything. There are also a lot of characters to keep up with. Usually I have a good idea but because of the other two women it was really hard to keep up with who left who and when. I think there was too much to consider but I give points for creativity! Definitely a unique storyline!

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. This book was incredibly slow paced, and I felt like we were getting no where. I also got sick of one of the main characters constantly complaining about her neighbour and the lake house he built, she was so fixated on it and talked about it constantly. This was not for me.

This was a fast-paced summer thriller that hooked me early on. I was super invested in the beginning, really curious about what happened to Fiona and where the story was going. But the ending felt a bit messy and rushed, and the whole mob plot line came out of nowhere and didn’t quite fit for me. Still an entertaining read, just not as satisfying as I hoped.

Great summer read! It has some slow parts but there are also quite a few twists along with way. I enjoy multiple point of view storylines and how the relationships intersect and develop. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

3 "meh" stars. Domestic suspense about 3 households on a Vermont lake with a history of 3 young women going missing every 30 years. The story just did not keep me engaged, and I disliked all the characters and the pacing was absolutely awful. So, I resorted to skipping & skimming the whole middle third just to get done with it & felt like I missed nothing, but I was quite pleasantly surprised at how much the last 25% picked up and the ending was actually rather well done and intense, so it got another star. I’m not totally sure if this was the author or editor’s fault, but am taking off my “auto” list now for sure.

The Lake Escape it the third book I’ve read written by Jamie Day. I have loved all of them. Her characters are well thought out. Their stories intertwine and end up in ways you can’t imagine. Julia, Erica and David have had neighboring family lake houses their entire lives. As time has moved on, the homes have been passed down to their generation. This summer, David springs his new lake house on the women. He has money now and has torn down his family home and built a monstrosity. Julia and Erica find their views available only by looking through the windows on David’s new house. David, somewhat of a ladies’ man, has brought his new younger girlfriend along. Since he also has his young children, he has hired Izzy as a nanny. Izzy has her own reasons for wanting to be at Lake Timmery. The disappearance of David’s girlfriend, Fiona, harkens back to two other girls who disappeared exactly 30 years apart – on the same date. The rumor around Lake Timmery is “the lake takes them”. Has this happened again?

I loved the Lake Escape! It had a great storyline and a varied cast of characters. It was fast p aced and highly entertaining. Highly reccomend!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I liked this book, but I didn't love this book. The premise was good and I had high hopes, but the delivery seemed to flop slightly for me. It felt a little bit like an overdone setting so I think that changed my perspective too. The book was well written overall though and I did enjoy it.

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 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.

Loved it from start to finish. Will recommend to others.

The Lake Escape started off solid! Creepy lake, shady characters, and lots of intrigue but I lost interest when it started doing too much. I cannot explain fully without spoiling, but I'll just say that things get outlandish.

This was DNF for me. If you know me, I hate not finishing books.

But this one had nothing to grip me into the story. The pacing was slow, and there was nothing.... interesting about the characters or the storyline. I think the story should have started around 30% in. I did hold until until almost half way, but I was dreading reading, and it felt miserable for me.

**Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.**