Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. And thank you to @macmillan.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

★★★★☆

The Lake Escape by Jamie Day is a gripping, atmospheric thriller that hooks you from the first chapter and doesn’t let go. When David’s girlfriend goes missing during what should have been a relaxing lakeside getaway, the story quickly spirals into a tense, twist-filled mystery that unravels not just the present, but the dark secrets buried in each character’s past.

The audiobook narration by Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole is a standout. Larsen brings a grounded, emotionally resonant tone to the present-day narrative, while Strole’s performance adds depth and nuance to the flashbacks. Together, they create a layered listening experience that enhances the suspense and emotional complexity of the story.

What really makes this book shine is how the characters’ histories slowly come to light. Each revelation adds a new layer of tension, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, another twist throws everything into question. The pacing is tight, the setting is vividly drawn, and the emotional stakes feel real.

If you enjoy thrillers with strong character development, dual timelines, and excellent narration, The Lake Escape is a must-listen. Jamie Day delivers another smart, suspenseful story that keeps you guessing until the very end.

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A trio of friends have been going to their lake houses every summer for over thirty years but this year is different. First of all, one of the friends has expanded his house which is in the middle of the other two houses and it is now a three story glass house which seems to block the view of the lake from the other houses without looking through his house. There is also the story of the lake that for the past thirty years a woman disappears every ten years and this is the year when that should once again occur. A young lady applies to be a nanny for twin children as a way to get to the lake so that she can investigate because one of the people that went missing was her aunt. Many other secrets come to light this summer which makes this an exciting read.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Another suspenseful read from Jamie Day, this kept my attention and I could not put it down! Julia, Erika and David grew up spending their summers on the lake and sharing their own special friendship and bond. They carried this tradition on into their adult life, but this summer history begins to repeat itself. They each have their own families now with secrets that slowly begin to trickle out or become discovered by the nanny who has her own hidden agenda. Who will protect who?

I love everything by Jamie Day so far and this one is no different! Very suspenseful and kept me wanting to read on!

This is what I want in a summer read. A lake house getaway. Check. Family drama. Check. Someone disappears. Check. A curse that someone disappears every 30 years.

Pure entertainment that drug me away from my life. It’s a mix of the characters and the mystery. There’s a great mix of characters and multiple ages telling their side of the story. Everyone has a secret or two and all isn’t as it appears. Does being friends since childhood equate to knowing a person?

I liked the pace and the mystery and while I didn’t love the characters, they weren’t so unlikable that I had trouble relating to them.

Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole narrate the vast cast of characters. They did a good job of keeping my interest and bringing the right intensity and drama into the mix. They made it such an easy listen. And I liked the water sounds at the start and end of the book tying in the lake setting.

Hooked from the beginning, such a great intro! I didn’t really connect with the characters and the middle did seem to drag out a bit, but it was still intriguing enough to hold my attention. This was my first novel by Jamie Day and I like her smooth writing style and ease of character introductions. Even with the multiple characters, it was easy to follow along.

David, Julia, and Erika have spent summers at Lake Timmeny in Vermont since they were children. Now adults with busy lives, they still meet up for 2 weeks every summer. The lake has its secrets, though, with two unsolved disappearances of young women, 30 years apart. And now it appears that Fiona, David's young girlfriend, is also missing.

This is a great summer read. Lots of drama and a convoluted mystery. a hermit neighbor, the young nanny, secrets between husbands and wives and friends! I agree with some reviews that some of the situations may be inprobable, but who cares? It's a fast read that kept me glued to the pages late into the night to find out all the answers!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Missing women in a lake town = perfect summer read. This was twisty and tense. The characters are layered and flawed, with each hiding their own secrets. I did the audiobook for parts and though the narration was strong. There were a few mysteries to be solved which kept the plot moving.

Jamie Day does it again! The novel was so twisty that I couldn't even begin to put my finger on what was going to happen at the end. This was a perfect twisty, mysterious summer read. Thank you so much St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley, Jamie Day, and St. Martins Press for providing me a copy of The Lake Escape.. I got this arc earlier this year and I waited to read it til summer because I think all of Jamie Day's book should be required reading in the summer. The Lake Escape was a mystery that kept me reading the pages on my Kindle faster and faster. This book is a mystery that took uncovering what happened 30 years early, it uncovered family secrets and suspence reading. I hope that there will be another book published by Jamie Day next summer.

The Lake Escape is a great beach (or lake) read full of mystery, blackmail, and plenty of likely suspects. I really thought I had it all figured out only to be completely blindsided by the reveal I never saw coming.

This was an enjoyable thriller set at a lake in Vermont. The novel is told from two perspectives, Izzy, a nanny, and Julia, a mom who has been going to the lake for years. Julia has been going to Lake Timmeny with her best friends, David and Erika, since they were children. They've been through many ups and downs over the years including the disappearance of a girl their age when they were teens. It turns out that two women have disappeared over the past 30 years. This summer David's girlfriend also disappears. There is so much more to discover at the lake as secrets begin to emerge and not everyone is who they say they are.

Julia and Izzy were great characters and I loved that they had two very different perspectives. Even though they were years apart, both were strong females who went through a lot. They really made this book for me. Julia's life is literally falling apart at the seams but I loved reading what she was going to do about it. I also loved reading about Izzy and her attempts at being a nanny. She was a great character who gave a different perspective having come to the lake for the first time. She had an interesting backstory.

This was a wild ride especially at the end. My mouth was hanging open as the mystery was revealed and I found out what was really going on. If you love thrillers I think you will enjoy this book. As someone who has vacationed in Vermont and is from New York, there were some great references that helped me really connect to this novel. I had no problem picturing the setting of this book which made it more enjoyable. A great read for thriller lovers!

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

Jamie Day invites us to THE LAKE ESCAPE, where generational secrets threaten to upend the lives of three lifelong friends.

Every summer since they were young David, Julia and Erika have gathered at their lake houses on Lake Timmeny, Vermont for summer fun. This year, however, there are new things they are each going to have to get used to. With David’s monstrous renovations that block their lake view, serious financial issues, trust and fidelity issues and lacklustre sex lives, everyone seems to have something to hide. David has hired a nanny, Izzy, to care for his five year-old twins. But Izzy has another reason for being there. And David’s also brought along his much younger girlfriend, Fiona. When Fiona disappears after a shouting match, they are all reminded of two women who went missing 30 years ago. As the search heats up, so too do the secrets and deceptions everyone seems to be hiding. Do any of the friends really know the others? They’re not kids anymore and the pressure is on in more ways than one. Will any of the women decide to work together to find Fiona or will they each isolate to protect their secrets?

I enjoyed this one, as I have others from Jamie Day. She writes in a clear and concise way that had my heart pounding as I was searching through the woods looking for Fiona. There’s always a twist for readers to try to unravel. This would be a good beach read with the sun and sand and the breeze blowing off the ocean. A great escapism book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saint Martin’s Press for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

I read this in one day on a long road trip and it was the perfect book to keep me engaged. 3 life long friends reunite at their childhood lake homes. Erika, Julia and David. David brings Izzy, his nanny, to help watch his kids. Also, his new gf, Fiona comes along. Unbeknownst to David, Izzy has alteior motives for coming to the lake house. Two days later, Fiona disappears and a search party is looking for her. David becomes the main suspect with Julia and Erika questioning his every move. That is the main plot but there is also two missing women cases from the past that play a part in this book. I enjoyed it and give it 4 ⭐️!

The Lake Escape by Jamie Day is an easy, breezy read with just enough twists to keep you turning the pages. Perfect for a poolside binge or a lazy weekend escape.

This one was good, although like other Jamie Day books, took me a bit to really get into it. As someone who loves both the lake, and lake “culture” this book struck a chord. Seeing three childhood friends reunite at their respective family lake houses and how the dynamic changed over the years was great. Now they have families of their own and with that naturally come its own sets of issues. Julia and her family have the perfect facade going but are secretly in debt to their eyeballs…and it’s even worse than Julia can imagine. David has come into substantial money and has a hot younger girlfriend but has someone working against him, unbeknownst to him, that could very well turn his entire life upside down. And then Erika, who is a high powered lawyer with her sweet husband and talented son and seems to have it all. But there are cracks in their family as well, and ALL these childhood friends are harboring a secret from their past!

We also meet Izzy, a young lady posing as a nanny to David’s two rambunctious kids. She has come to the lake under false pretenses and as things heat up, we find out WHY she’s truly at the lake and what she seeks to accomplish. With this book we have romance, murder, revenge and the mob. What more could anyone ask for?!?

📍 Set on a Vermont lake, reviewed from Vermont—with a photo I took just last week at a nearby reservoir. Nothing like a twisty thriller steeped in summer nostalgia, local lore, and long-buried secrets to make your own peaceful lake feel just a little more ominous.

Julia, David, and Erika grew up spending every summer at Lake Timmeny. Now adults with sullen teenagers, strained marriages, and a lifetime of personal baggage, their annual reunion isn’t quite the warm fuzzy trip down memory lane they imagined. Especially not when David—fresh off a flashy home renovation and accompanied by a much-younger girlfriend—invites along a mysterious nanny with secrets of her own. When the girlfriend vanishes after a fight, suspicion ripples across the lake like a storm surge. Add in a 30-year-old case of two women who disappeared under eerily similar circumstances, and suddenly Lake Timmeny isn’t feeling so idyllic.

Jamie Day does what he does best in The Lake Escape—layers of deceit, characters who aren’t what they seem, and a slow drip of truth that turns into a full-on flood. Told primarily through the eyes of Julia and Izzy, the enigmatic nanny, the novel blends themes of family dysfunction, teenage angst, and the darker side of nostalgia with a fast-paced mystery that keeps you guessing.

Do all the twists land? Not quite. Is it sometimes a bit too coincidental? Sure. But The Lake Escape is a solid summer thriller, one of those juicy, character-driven reads that’s perfect for long afternoons by the water. I especially enjoyed the audio—narrators Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole absolutely nail the emotional layers of Julia and Izzy, and their performances add extra tension and texture to the already twisty story.

Fans of Riley Sager, Megan Miranda, and Liane Moriarty-style domestic suspense will want to pack this one in their lake or beach bag. But maybe don’t read it right on the dock—especially if you’re alone.

Read this at the lake and WOW!!! Such a twisty, unputdownable book! I loved the characters and how
Fast the story moved along! Thank you for the ARC! Highly recommend reading this one!

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher!

The Lake Escape, a gripping domestic thriller by Jamie Day, takes readers on a suspenseful journey through the complexities of friendship, secrets, and the haunting echoes of the past. Set against the stunning scenery of Lake Timmeny, the story revolves around three childhood friends who reunite for a two-week vacation with their families. However, what begins as a seemingly idyllic getaway quickly spirals into a web of drama and intrigue.

Day masterfully crafts the characters of Julie and Izzy, who bring their own perspectives and hidden motives to the narrative. Julie, one of the original trio of friends, offers a nostalgic viewpoint, while Izzy, the nanny for David's children, adds an intriguing layer to the story. Izzy's secret reasons for being at the lake create an element of mystery that keeps readers guessing, enhancing the overall tension.

Jamie Day has a remarkable talent for writing summer reads that are rich in drama, mystery, and suspense, and The Lake Escape is no exception. Her ability to weave complex relationships and unexpected twists into the narrative keeps the reader engaged from start to finish. The pacing is just right, with each revelation building anticipation and excitement.

If you're a fan of domestic thrillers that explore the darker sides of friendship and family dynamics, The Lake Escape is a must-read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press & Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC. It is a fun summer mystery! When Izzy accepts a job nannying for Daniel, a very successful businessman who has just built a huge glass house on the foot print of his family’s lake cabin, we plunge right into a friend reunion with neighbors Julia and Erika. The trio has spent summers together since childhood but it soon becomes very apparent that they are all holding secrets. The lake is what drew Izzy, the true crime follower, for two women have gone missing around the lake. Will she find answers?

I loved the slow burn as suspense built and then had to hold on for all the layers of the mystery to emerge.

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