The Lake Escape
by Jamie Day

This was an okay read. The characters were pretentious and I found myself losing interest in tue story.

Conflicts between old friends immediately set the stage for this dramatic and suspenseful thriller. David, who is quickly portrayed as unlikable has added a huge addition to his lake house, obscuring the views of his long time friends, Julia and Erika and their families. David is an all-around jerk to his friends as well as his much younger new girlfriend who he doesn’t care enough about to know anything about her. Throw in some teen drama around Julia’s and Erika’s children and the new nanny for David’s children and the story becomes complicated. Added to the drama are decades old unsolved disappearances of young women at the lake on the same date in history and the story becomes even more complex but oh so interesting!
Jamie Day has written a really creative complex mystery/thriller in this one! The story is told mostly from the perspectives of Julia and Izzy, the young nanny whose motivations to be at the lake are slowly revealed. I really enjoyed the way the story unfolded. There were some great twists but nothing that I felt gave me whiplash. It was well-written and very creative. The podcast episodes at the end were an added bonus. Really enjoyable!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

I found this mystery to be evenly paced and interesting throughout. There were definitely some twists I didn't expect, but this book leans more toward "mystery" than "thriller."

A perfect title for a summer read. Suspense & mystery with lies & secrets. My first read by this author but I think I’ll check out more

If I had not have the audio of this one I don't think I would have finished it. Not that it's all bad. Parts are very good. But parts are so unbelievable that they made me cringe. Not in a good way either. This story had great potential but alas it fell a bit short.

While the descriptions were wonderful and you certainly felt like you was at this lake, And David's glass mansion was one I could picture, I didn't believe a lot of what happened.

Three best friends. David, Julia, and Erika have been staying at the lake in the summer since they were all just small children. They know each other better than almost anyone could. Yet they honestly don't seem to know a lot about each other. I know people can become strangers after they grow up and marry, but these three remained friends. They didn't go separate ways and lose touch. Julia and Erika each have a child. Their children have been best friends. And it seems are even more. But they have these major secrets that each has no idea about? I'm not buying it. Especially David's secret. His tie with the mob.

There were two women who went missing thirty years apart. Then the girlfriend of David up and disappears thirty years after the last girl. No one knows anything. Right. I figured out a lot of it, which truly didn't make it a horrible story. It just didn't help. I saw some secrets coming way early.

I didn't like Erika or David. I barely tolerated Julia. I did feel so bad for Julia though. I adored Izzy. She was just too cute to be believed. But she was likable. A bit silly and somewhat of an airhead. But still likable. I felt bad for Julia's daughter and Erika's son. They were caught up in so much drama. These people had drama coming out of their pores.

While I may not have finished this book if not for the audio, I have to admit that the narrators did keep me interested. They made the story well worth listening to. Both did a good job.

I think maybe Nutmeg was my favorite character of all. He was Taylor's dog. Taylor is Julia's daughter. Lucas is Erika's son. Rick and Erika are married. Julia and Christian are married. David is not married anymore but has twins by his ex-wife. He was at the lake with Fiona. Fiona went missing.

Not a great book but not a total disaster either. I gave it three stars because I did finish it and I liked the ending.

Thank you #NetGalley, #StMartinsPress, #Macmillanaudio, for the ARC.

Thank you St Martins Press and Netgalley for this ARC! When three lifelong friends for over 30 years to meet at their lake houses every summer - this summer is not like all the rest. David tore down his cabin and built a flashy 3 story glass hose obstructing the other 2 cabins lake view, Erika doesn’t seem to mind but Julie is livid! After the first night of drinks and a flirty girlfriend of David’s ends in a fight, the girlfriend Fiona goes missing. What happens next are old wounds being open and a nanny out on her own agenda. Great paced and unputdownable!

Out now! If you were a fan of previous Jamie Day books you may enjoy this one too!

This is told in dual POV between lake house homeowner Julia and nanny (for the neighbor) Izzy. As with previous stories by this author secrets upon secrets are waiting to be revealed. I loved the pace, tension, and mystery of this story. There is a decades old mystery storyline wrapped in this too. Some of the characters and couple's secrets seemed more tame compared to others. But everyone's added to the mysteriousness of the story and the fun of unraveling how they are all connected.

I found the ending to be a bit OTT but the story does resolve everything nicely!

"Fairy tales are the product of imagination. The real world is full of monsters wearing the masks of our friends and neighbors, hiding lies, secrets , and betrayals that go back generations."

"It’s interesting how other species kill only to survive, but not us humans. No, we find all kinds of reasons to take a life that has nothing to do with biology. Greed. Ego. Hatred. Jealousy. The list goes on."

Just about everyone is in deep water in The Lake Escape, by intense family drama mystery thriller author, Jamie Day.

When Izzy heads to Lake Timmeny in Vermont, to work as a Nanny, her mother has no idea it's to get to the truth of her Aunt's disappearance 30 years ago. Lake lore is it's the curse of the lake because 30 years before that disappearance another female resident disappeared too.

The last thing Izzy suspected was for her boss David's girlfriend, Fiona, to become the third woman to disappear 30 years later.

Is it supernatural, just a sick coincidence, or is it something more sinister like the evil traits of humans?

David, Julia and Ericka spent their childhood at the lake. They are here now with their spouses and children. Everyone is trying to escape their secrets with a reprieve at the lake but they hadn't planned for Izzy to dig up the truth.

Voice actresses Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole are magnificent in bringing the writer's tension and suspense to life as the wild twists are revealed despite the deadly deeds to silence them.

Whether you read or listen, escaping to the lake, beach, pool or an air-conditioned room, The Lake Escape will keep your secrets away for at least a few entertaining hours of thrilling family drama.

I received free copies of this book/audiobook from St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Jamie Day has set herself up to be the queen bee of neighborhood drama and <i>The Lake Escape</i> is another novel to add to that category. Rather then a family home cul de sac, we have a secluded vacation plot on a lake. The three houses have been passed down through the family for years, along with the friendships.
Julia, David, and Erika have been going to the summer house for years together. They know each other's families as if they are interchangeable. Dinners are planned together, doors are unlocked so people can go in and out. As they got older, and the houses became theirs, they started to plan the trip so all 3 families would be there for the same 2 weeks each year.
Then this year, things are different. David had a cash windfall and renovated his house. But made it into a glass monstrosity and blocked the view to the lake for Julia and Erika. And they aren't exactly happy about it. He brought his nanny and new girlfriend. On the first night of vacation, it is revealed that it is anniversary of the day that two girls went missing, never to be found again. Then girlfriend goes missing.
Is it connected? The investigation starts to uncover that maybe these lifelong friends don't really know each other at all. What secrets are they hiding? And how much do they really know about the missing girls and maybe they are somehow connected.
This was a great book to escape into, and I'm not just saying that because of the title. Being a voyeur to neighbors behaving badly is just so much fun.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for my complimentary eARC and to MacMillan Audio for my complimentary audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Lake Escape was a fast paced mystery/thriller. The many tangled webs of lies make this the perfect summer read. Told in 2 POV's; Izzy and Julia, we get an inside look into the lives of the summer vacation lake residents. Maybe people with that many secrets should think twice about living in glass houses? It was fun to see Izzy channeling her inner Mary Poppins. I've worked with young children and she does a great job of handling the 5 year old twins.

I was very close to solving this one. I really enjoyed all the surprises at the end.

The narrators, Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole, did a wonderful job with the voices.

This one just wasn’t for me. I was intrigued by the premise and really wanted to love it. I really struggled to connect with the writing style and found the audiobook didn’t pull me in either. This is my second book by this author that I unfortunately did not enjoy. I think they just don’t click with me personally.

If you’re looking for a twisty summer suspense that gives major “who can I trust?” energy, The Lake Escape delivers in all its murky glory. Jamie Day brings us back to familiar territory: a group of longtime friends, a lake with a chilling history, and a current-day disappearance that cracks open decades of buried secrets.

The story centers around Julia, Erika, and David—childhood friends now dealing with adulthood’s delightful trifecta of moody teens, midlife disappointment, and long-festering tension. When David invites them back to the lake to show off his newly renovated home (that just happens to ruin their lake views), it’s clear this won’t be a peaceful reunion. Add in his much-younger girlfriend and a mysterious nanny with her own secrets, and you’ve got a recipe for trouble.

I’ll be honest—the first half took me a while. There are a lot of characters, and I had to keep checking who was related to whom and what their current (or former!) beefs were. But once the story picked up around the halfway point? I flew through the pages. The dual POVs—from Julia and the enigmatic nanny, Izzy—add layers of tension and a sense that we’re not getting the full story from anyone. Because we’re not. And that’s half the fun.

The ending? Shocking. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Jamie Day threw in a twist that made me question everything. No one is particularly likable here (classic domestic suspense), but they are fascinating. Secrets, betrayals, and missing women from both past and present converge into a story that’s both clever and compulsively readable.

Overall, The Lake Escape is a moody, satisfying summer thriller. It’s a little slow out of the gate, but it rewards patient readers with juicy twists, layered deception, and a finale that totally lands. If you love messy characters and atmospheric lake settings with a side of scandal, this one belongs on your beach bag TBR.

I have read and enjoyed all three of this author's books. They are very suspenseful without being insane.

I grew up as a lake girl, so I have always loved a lake setting for a book. I was initially excited just by the cover/title. In this one three families have grown up as neighbors on Lake Timmemy, They have vacationed together every summer for two generations. However, this lake has a few secrets. Two different women went missing from the lake exactly 30 years apart. Now 30 years after the disappearance of the second woman, another woman goes missing. These friends are thrown for a loop and end up uncovering a lot more than they realized. The whodunnit surprised me and that's important in a thriller.

Close friends Julia, Erika, David, and their partners head to the lake for what has become a longtime summer tradition. They’ve been going to their Vermont lake houses since they were young, but now they bring their kids, their baggage, and a whole lot of tension. Things kick off when Julia and Erika discover that David has completely renovated his lake house, cutting off their views of the water. Naturally, they're furious. Julia even jokes about wanting to kill him.

Julia is a mom of two stuck in a frustrating marriage with a husband who cheats and constantly backs terrible business ideas. Erika is a defense attorney, married to her high school sweetheart, Rick. David, recently divorced and raising twins, used to be a talent scout but now runs some kind of vague but very profitable business. He shows up this year with a much younger girlfriend and a new nanny, Izzie.

Izzie is not who she says she is. She has no experience with children and clearly doesn’t care for them. She has her own reason for showing up at the lake, and it ties back to a decades old mystery. Two women have disappeared from the area, one of them nearly thirty years ago. Now, a body has been found during a construction dig, and soon David’s girlfriend goes missing too. The tension ramps up as everyone starts turning on each other.

The book had potential. There were moments that kept me curious, and I liked the setting and the messy relationships between the adults. But some plot elements felt random, including a strange late-game mob connection. Izzie’s backstory involves her aunt, who went missing years ago, and she believes David had something to do with it. Turns out, things aren’t quite that simple. The ending brings in some dark twists and an unexpected killer, but it felt a little too thrown together for me to really enjoy.

Overall, it was a quick read with some juicy parts and interesting characters, but I didn’t find myself that invested in the mystery. It was fine, just not especially memorable. Thank you Netgalley and publishers.

I read the author's debut a couple of years ago, and I think this book shows a lot of growth. This story is both an excellent family story and has a solid, well plotted "mystery" of sorts as well that was very compelling.

Jamie Day has crafted another nostalgic, unputdownable summer thriller with The Lake Escape. A story of three childhood friends, now adults, who grew up spending every summer together at their families lake house, now adults and still friends, they still visit the lake every summer with their children. However, this summer their friendships are being tested. Some act like they don’t want to be there or participate in traditional plans, and some are holding secrets that the others know nothing about. Manipulation, decade long secrets, blackmail, betrayal, and unsolved murders that will leave you questioning who can you really trust?

I really enjoyed this drama filled, multilayered, messy thriller. Its multiple perspectives, toxic atmospheric, slow-burn plot and the complex, unreliable characters had me questioning and guessing to the very end. So many twists throughout the story and a wild ending that I didn’t see coming. I thought using the FMC’s internal social media posts was unique and helped drive the story and her revelation about social media in the end had me reflecting as well.

The audiobook narrates, Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole, did a great job with tone and voice differentiating the multiple eccentric characters, and setting the mysterious, atmospheric vibes. They definitely helped bring the story and characters to life and delivered a flawless performance from start to finish.

Thank you @stmartinspress, @macmillan.audio, and @netgalley for the #gifted ARC and ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As I have read Jamie Day's other books this was on par. The beginning for me was a bit misleading but once the book got going I settled into the characters and everything seemed to come together. I would have wanted to see a better resolution of the Annie story but that is why this book is getting a 4. Because that was left open to interpretations.

I did enjoy how we went back to the comment of "How do you shoot someone without firing the gun" That piece to loop back around was enjoyable when we get to the podcast transcripts.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC this one is a nice addition to the summer thriller reads.

I first heard of Jamie Day when a friend recommended an earlier book, [book:The Block Party|61884965]. I really liked it so I went on to read another by her, [book:One Big Happy Family|195790534]. This is her third book and I was happy to pick it up.

Description:
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.

My Thoughts:
Wouldn't it be great to meet the same friends every summer on vacation and all live next door to each other on a beautiful lake? How ideal! Unfortunately there is trouble in paradise and each of the friends if having their own issues. But front and center is David's renovated house that blooks the other friends' view of the lake and his new girlfriend. When the girlfriend goes missing it bring up the disappearance of two other women at the lake. Did the women drown of was something else going on? The secrets and lies here add spice to the story. There's even a link to the mob that surfaces. I enjoyed the book, but not as much as Day's other two.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I’ve read and loved Jamie Day before and The Lake Escape was just as good as I’d hoped! Great character development, great writing and captivating storyline!!! Finished in 2 seatings! Explosive til the very end!

The lake setting of this book and the suspicious characters pulled me in from the first chapter.
We follow three longtime friends in this story and their summer trips to the lake. Julie, David and Erika grew up spending their summers at their lake homes in Vermont. Now as adults they have inherited their family lake homes and continue the tradition with their own family. They have their own secrets and the lake does too. They are coming to the lake this year with a lot of baggage, secrets, drama, financial issues, relationship drama, etc. This book was such a page turner with all these various story lines. Add in the mysterious disappearance of two women thirty years apart it really was a perfect summer thriller.