Jamie Day's The Lake Escape plunges readers into a suspenseful summer where idyllic childhood memories collide with decades of hidden truths. Julia, David, and Erika, lifelong friends who grew up sharing Vermont lake summers, now face adulthood burdened by sullen teenagers, mortgages, and lackluster love lives.

This summer, David is particularly eager to flaunt his newly renovated lake home—which now obstructs his friends' cherished views—and his much-younger girlfriend. Unbeknownst to him, he's also brought a nanny with a dangerous hidden agenda into their midst. What could possibly go wrong?

The serene façade shatters when David's girlfriend mysteriously vanishes after a heated argument. Julia and Erika are forced to question how well they truly know their lifelong friend. The lake itself holds a harrowing past: thirty years prior, two young women with no known connection disappeared without a trace. Has the lake claimed another victim?

As a frantic search gets underway, an intricate web of lies, deceits, and betrayals spanning generations begins to surface. Everyone finds themselves in peril, vulnerable to the lake's dark history or, perhaps, something even more sinister. The Lake Escape is a gripping novel that expertly weaves together past and present, revealing how secrets can shatter even the strongest bonds and put lives at deadly risk.

I’ve read two of Jamie Day’s books and enjoyed them, so I was excited to receive both an ALC and an ARC of his new one. The Lake Escape did not disappoint. There were several intertwined storylines that came together to form a larger, cohesive story.

The audiobook had two narrators, Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole. The story alternates between Julia, one of the lake homeowners, and Issy, the nanny. They perfectly captured the voices of Julia and Issy, making it easy to stay engaged. Julia’s voice came across as more mature, while Issy’s had a younger, more youthful tone.

Publication date- July 15, 2025
#TheLakeEscape #NetGalley

This was such a wonderful book, a twisting and enticing thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat wth every page turned! If you are looking for something to keep you intrigued and fully engrossed in the story, then this is definitely the book for you!.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with this eARC.

This book was a perfect summer thriller read to enjoy by the pool.! It has all of the perfect characters and atmosphere for a great summer thriller. I did not see the twist coming and my jaw was on the floor! It was fabulous! Five out of five stars.

Not going to lie, when I read the reviews of this book I was not super excited to be starting it. BUT I was pleasantly surprised and I had to know the secrets that this lake held. All the missing girls and who is responsible, or is it just a coincidence? This is my first book by Jamie Day, and I loved it!!

Let me start by saying i am a big fan of Jamie Day! The Lake Escape did not disappoint, though it did get a little wild at the end. Irish mobsters, 3 missing women, discovered bones, and a nanny who frequently quotes Mary poppins - oh my!

This was tense and atmospheric and all the things I love about a book. There were a ton of players in the game. But our POVs kept things easy to understand/follow. I did this one on audio, and really enjoyed David’s chapters with his accent and cocky bravado. You love to hate him!

Highly recommend you add The Lake Escape to your summer reading list — especially if you’re in a cabin (or giant, glass mansion) on a lake 😉

Three childhood friends gather at a lake with their families but when one person disappears, everyone panics. The lake has had an obsession with women vanishing though - is this one another that will go unsolved?

Thrillers where juicy secrets are revealed are always my favourite so I knew this one was going to be good when the reveals started! Though it was a little over the top in some cases, I found the writing to be solid and engaging. With multiple POVs, this thriller will be one you should definitely add to your summer reading list.

This book is set at a lake in Vermont where a group of friends have been going to summer at tuislake for many years. One of their friend's girlfriend disappears at the lake, which sets off a thriller with lots of secrets emerging. This is a dual POV book. Both the characters were at different points in their lives and had very different perspectives, which made it interesting to be reading them both. I was shocked by the ending and thought this was a great thriller overall.

I thought this book was the perfect fun summer read. Julia, David and Erica grew up together spending summers at their family lake houses. David renovates his family home into a modern glass monstrosity which sets the neighborhood into an uproar. Bones are discovered while a builder is breaking ground on a new house. Cue the drama. In this neighborhood every family has drama. They turn on each other quickly as the situation escalates. I kept asking myself are these lifetime friends or enemies. I will say there are a lot of twists and A LOT of slightly unrealistic scenarios. I definitely enjoyed this book though despite it being a tad bit melodramatic.

Thanks to netgalley for a copy of this book.

The Lake Escape is an interesting mystery/crime thriller about long-buried secrets (or maybe not that much buried...) involving old friends and families who used to vacation at their lake house every summer, for decades. Three women have vanished by that lake in the past 30 years and now, in the recent days, another one disappears. We follow intruiguing and some not so likable characters throughout this mysterious story full of gossip and drama.

I'd say readers who are more into reading crime fiction, this book might work better for them. Readers who are into traditional thrillers, this book might disappoint a little. I personally wouldn't call this a slow-paced book, but there is a lot of character development and dialogues. That's why I choose to call this book a mystery crime fiction book.

This was the second book I've read by this author and I really like her writing and how she chooses to portraits certain flawed characters.
I believe that anyone who has read a book by this author before and enjoyed it, might as well enjoy this new one, too. For those who haven't read anything: if you are into friends and family drama and gossip + a slow-burn narrative + a mystery plot about crimes against women, consider giving this book a go. It's a nice book for the summer.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for providing me with a free eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

I feel like the marketing relies heavily on the mystery, but the mystery is truly secondary until about 70% in. Once there is a full focus on the mystery and pieces start getting put together, the story quickly picks up. However, it takes way too long to get to any real clues. I understand the need to have this from Izzy and Julia’s perspective, but I cannot relate to or empathize with Julia (especially considering her consistent forgiveness of Christian’s behavior…truly could not relate). Also, Julia’s attempt at being a middle-aged “influencer” (and constantly thinking in Instagram captions) felt a little cringy. On a similar note, I felt like some modern-day terms were really spelled out for the reader, when I don’t know if that was necessary for me, Maybe the target demographic for this book is someone a little older (and less online).
I didn’t hate the multiple plotlines, characters, and general craziness of the plot at the end. I found that all to be a lot of fun when putting the clues together. However, I felt like some of the very end was unsatisfying. Overall, this would be a fun beach read and anyone who likes a good puzzle would enjoy this one for sure.

The story opens when three friends, Julia, Erika, and David, return to their Vermont retreat that has been in their families for quite some time. Within that main plot, each family has their own drama. But over all of these individual juicy, suspenseful plots is the "lake effect" of the killings of two women 30 years apart. Then, add in a nanny, who has never been a nanny before, with an ulterior motive. The multiple different plots amps up the suspense as well as the reader's interest. Great book that you will have trouble putting down!

This was a really fun little summer thriller. I actually liked a lot of the characters which is rare for me in domestic thrillers where everyone has a hidden agenda.

Thank you to the publishers for the e arc.

3.5 rounded up.

Thank you for an advance copy of this book..this is a great summer thriller that is scary, suspenseful and yet touching at times and nostalgic. I loved the serene Vermont lake setting, and it follows 3 longtime friends who return to their lakeside houses each summer. But when David's longtime girlfriend vanishes one summer, the summer takes a turn. This is a great summer mystery with a touch of nostalgia. A good friend story.

Your huge new house is blocking my lake view.

The house started off the not-so-good summer for the life long friends, and it wasn't the worst thing that happened or that was discovered.

Julia, David, and Erika have spent summers at the lake all their lives.

Everyone has changed and everyone has secrets as we meet two new characters this year - David's young girlfriend, Fiona, and the nanny, Izzy, for David's four-year-old twins.

When David's girlfriend goes missing the first night she is there, everyone wonders if the lake claimed her like it did two other girls more than thirty years ago.

And who deleted the security footage from the exact time Fiona went missing.

How is this summer going to turn out?

Will there be another victim?

What other information will surface?

Find out in this slow moving read with a lot of characters to keep track of and characters with secrets and agendas of their own. 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Jamie Day is back and I absolutely loved this new novel. I didn't see the twist coming, and will be recommending this to everyone for a great beach read this summer!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review.

This was a twisty thriller novel, and I enjoyed it a lot. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

Like always, Jamie Day did not disappoint with this novel. The characters were easy to relate to and I found myself caring about their stories and challenges. The suspense was perfect and the ending left me satisfied. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

This is a perfect twisty summer read. I love domestic suspense, and Jamie Day is such a talented author. This book had well developed characters and twists I didn’t see coming. The setting was so detailed and the lake itself was so integral to the story.

For decades, Julia, Erika and David have been spending summers together at the same lake in Vermont. This lake has a history. Women have disappeared in this lake, thirty years apart, never to be seen again. When David’s girlfriend goes missing exactly thirty years after the previous woman, his friends (and nanny) start to ask questions.

4.5 stars rounded up.

I didn't really care for this mystery from Jamie Day. Even though it was only told from two characters' points of view, there were far too many storylines. And the 'twists' were so ridiculous and unbelievable. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.