A woman returns home after years away, yet rumors still swirl around her regarding mysterious deaths that haunt her family.

I loved the premise here, but for some reason, I just found it slow. I cannot pinpoint exactly what it was here, but it didn't live up to what I had imagined.

I had to dnf this one. It was too slow and full of unnecessary content just to make it longer. I tried 3 different times but couldn't get into it.

The mansion on the private island on Lake Twilight now belongs to Harper Reed Prescott. After her failed marriage and time away from her job, she decides to go back to see if she can sell it, or fix it up. Many tragedies have happened on the lake, most of them surrounding Harper. As she begins to fix up the mansion, mysterious things start happening, and secrets are starting to come to light.

This was full of twists and turns that kept you guessing until the end. I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

I'm sad to say that I skipped the middle part (about from the 40-90%) and read the ending because the book felt too long. It would be much more tight if it was shorter. The thrilling part of this thriller is mixed up with the slow and long paced plot.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This book was longer than I think it needed to be. It was not a bad story, and with some editing it could have been a compelling thriller. This book is told over several decades as a new tragedy leads the police to look at a series of unfortunate events under a new light and discover decades hidden secrets. Harper has returned to her grandparents’ home, a home she spent much of her childhood in. Her daughter is off in college and she is newly divorced and ready to restart. Strange things keep happening in her home and around it. She tries to save a woman in a burning boat in the lake and this sets in motion a series of events that rewrite history as she knows it. I didn’t find any of the twists to be as twisty as I would have liked, but they were entertaining. Overall a decent read.

This was such a great story. I love the two timelines and how you get to see the before and after. The relationship between Josie and Clay is so good. I loved seeing how much they love each other even with all the different things that happened between them. I loved the twist at the fake wedding I had to go back and make sure I read it correctly.

This Hitchcockian thriller by Lisa Jackson offered an intriguing premise and a compelling, eerie atmosphere. I was immediately drawn into the central mystery, which explores how a dark past continues to haunt a woman and the town that suspects her.

The narrative follows Harper Reed Prescott, who returns to her family's house on a private island after two decades. As I read, I felt the chilling tension of the lake and the town, both of which are still whispering about the suspicious deaths and disappearances that have surrounded her family. The feeling that Harper is being watched as she looks out at the houses across the water was particularly well-executed and created a strong sense of unease.

However, at times I found the pacing to be a bit slow, with certain plot points taking a longer time to develop than I would have liked. While the story maintained a sense of suspense throughout, some of the character decisions felt a little frustrating, which pulled me out of the narrative at key moments. The final reveal, while providing closure, didn't feel as shocking or impactful as the initial build-up suggested it might be.

I appreciated the author's ability to create a truly atmospheric setting, but for me, the overall execution fell just short of a more thrilling experience. It's a decent read for fans of the genre, but it didn't completely land.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC.

Harper Reed Prescott is not happy to return to the inherited estate of her grandparents on Twilight Lake. It represents nothing but sad memories of lost love and death. What will she discover this time to help sort out her past?

This was my first book by Lisa Jackson. I enjoyed the way she crafted a slow-burning tale that really pulled you into the creepy atmosphere. Told in multiple points of view and timelines, it was a little hard to follow at times. I feel it could have had a better structure. Harper, as the FMC, was also hard to connect with as a reader. But overall, a decent mystery read.

Advanced reader copy provided by Kensington Publishing. All opinions are my own.

I did not enjoy how slow this novel seemed to be at times, and the jumping between characters just didn't work for me. The story was interesting, but it took me some time to get through this.

It Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson

I have read and loved Lisa Jackson’s books and have eagerly looked forward to reading what she writes but for some reason I could not get into or relate to this story. I read some from the beginning, read the end, tried some in the middle, checked back on my most recent reviews of this author’s books and realized that returning to series I am invested in work better than standalone stories although a GOOD standalone story can be fine.

This book includes an older main character, spans the time from her early years to present, and includes information about her, her parents, and her grandparents as well as why she is inheriting an island with a house on it that she really doesn’t want. It describes dysfunctional families, revenge, evil, lies, murder, and more and yet…it did not grab me, I could not relate to the characters, never became invested, and didn’t really care about the outcome or what would happen after reading the last page.

So, even though THIS book by Lisa Jackson didn’t work for me, I will be checking to see what she writes next and if the synopsis sounds interesting will give it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

2-3 Stars for me because I was disappointed
3-4 Stars for most readers
3 Stars on average

A book full of twists and turns! The storyline, centered around Harper Reed, is told in the past and the present. The story revolves around all the mysterious deaths and tragic events involving Harper’s family. While I usually love anything written by Lisa Jackson, this was not my favorite. The story seemed to drag in places and honestly I had a hard time staying interested in the book. I did finish it and the ending was a surprise. Maybe a shorter novel next time. Thank you for the ARC.

I love this author but this fell flat for me. It felt slow in some parts and I struggled to stay interested, however it is still a great concept!

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC. This is my first Lisa Jackson book, but it definitely will not be my last. The main character, Harper, seems to have had more tragic deaths around her than one person should have. This book is one giant puzzle and by the end, the whole story makes sense, it just unfortunately takes almost 600 pages to get there.

This story takes place in two timelines, the past and the present. It switched between them so much I often couldn’t remember what I had read that happened in what time line.

It was also very repetitive. Harper watching through the telescope, feeling someone watching her back, the same incidents on the lake over and over again. I felt like it could have been a much shorter story, that was received a lot better had it not been so repetitive and back and forth so much.

Over all I tend to like Lisa Jackson as an author a lot, this just wasn’t the right one for me.

I usually enjoy Lisa Jackson novels, but this was entirely too long. I found myself losing interest because it was taking such a long time to read and it was frustrating. Decent story, but could have been shortened a bit.

This book pulled me in like a late summer storm rolling across a still lake—quiet at first, then suddenly intense. Lisa Jackson knows how to blend family secrets, simmering suspense, and just the right touch of emotional weight.

The setting was vivid and moody—small town meets lakeside charm, but with enough shadows to keep you side-eyeing every character. The mystery kept unfolding at a pace that had me saying "just one more chapter" until it was suddenly 2 a.m. (Oops.)

I loved the complicated family dynamics, especially the way past and present kept colliding like waves on the dock. Some twists I saw coming, others genuinely caught me off guard in the best way.

If you're in the mood for a suspenseful read with emotional depth and a setting that feels like a character in itself, this one’s for you. A great pick for fans of Lisa Gardner, Mary Higgins Clark, or just anyone who loves a juicy mystery wrapped in secrets and second chances.

Greetings again from Outlier Island!! This time I'm here, and I'm happy about it. I had so much fun with this, and I'm not getting that impression from many of my book friends who've read it. This is a long one, I'll admit. Coming in at well over 500-pages, that's a bit unusual for a Thriller, or Domestic Suspense, but to me, it never felt too long. I was so invested in all the juicy drama, trying to figure it out. My brain was spinning with all my theories...

I would definitely say it's one of those books you just have to pick up at the right time, and luckily for me, I picked this one up at a time when it was exactly what I needed. I don't necessarily agree with the publisher comp to Rear Window, but in a way I can see what they were alluding to, as there is definitely a lot of 'watching' going on.

The drama of this story surrounds Lake Twilight, and the private island set in it, with its stately-Victorian home inherited by our MC, Harper Prescott. Even though Harper has an aversion to the property, she's recently returned after some upheaval in her life, including a divorce.
When she was younger, Harper went through a lot of trauma on the property and the surrounding area, so it's not surprising she hasn't really wanted to spend much time there in her adult life.

While we don't learn all that has gone on in Harper's past right away, we are treated to past perspectives that help to fill in the blanks.
Harper's present perspective is given as 1988, and the bulk of the action in the past occurs 20-years earlier in 1968. For me, I loved the back and forth, because it helped to slowly fill in the blanks and build out the story. I say slowly, because it does take a long time to figure everything out, but not so much because the pace is slow, but more because there is soooo much to uncover.

Harper was considering fixing the property up in order to sell it, but being back stirs up so much unresolved issues and feelings, she's not sure if she'll actually be able to follow through with that plan. For now, she's mostly focused on putting her past to rest. Can Harper figure out the hazy puzzle that is her past before the island claims another victim, or will Harper finally be overcome by the things that have haunted her?

It Happened on the Lake features one of my favorite tropes and I think that's part of the reason it was such a hit for me. I adore when a protagonist returns to their hometown, usually that they've fled years before, and ends up trying to solve some sort of mystery that's been haunting them. That's exactly what this book is and I was in it with Harper. I also really enjoy Harper as a protagonist, because she was written in such a way that I wasn't 100% sure how reliable her perspective actually was.

That sense of uncertainty had me questioning everything, and I think that upped the intrigue level for me. I wanted to trust her, but part of me wasn't ready to let my guard down. There were moments during the build that reminded me a lot of Riley Sager's, The House Across the Lake. It has sort of similar vibes with regards to the lake, surrounding town, and the people watching people situations. Obviously, the content of this is vastly different and it is more drawn out, but if you enjoyed that drama-filled lakeside setting, this could end up working for you too.

There's a lot of moving pieces, particularly at the beginning, so it is the type of read where you have to be completely dialed in. If you miss anything, I can see it possibly getting confusing. Particularly due to the time jumps. Regardless, I think if you're in the right mood, and you have the patience for it, it's a super fun and enticing read.

While it won't be for everyone, I think for the people it hits with, like myself, it can be a very enjoyable read. Thank you to the publisher, Kensington Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I was hesitant to pick it up initially, because of that intimidating page count, but I'm glad I ended up giving it a shot.

It exceeded my expectations!

This was my first Lisa Jackson book, and it won’t be my last. The book was well written and I liked how it jumped between the present and the past. Jackson tied up all the lose ends nicely, although I did have questions about how some of the characters knew each other. There was a big focus on the cat, Jink, which didn’t seem overly necessary. The grandma, Olivia Dixon, was my favorite character. It was a good thriller and fun summer read. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. This is my own, honest review that was not compensated.

Started out a bit slow but ended with lots of twists and turns. We start the story with unexplained deaths. As we go along we learn more and a story starts to unfold. At the end it’s crazy action packed. I feel like so much of story was in the last few chapters. The other parts dragged on a bit. Definitely a fun thriller. I enjoy reading Lisa Jackson and would recommended thus one. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for my honest review.