This is yet another book where the timeline flips backwards and forwards and I
have to say I am not a fan - I feel it is too disruptive of the flow of the storyline .
That being said I enjoyed the book overall

A woman has come into her inheritance and returns to the island on the lake and
the island home that hold memories both good and bad ....... where as a teenager
she was held responsible for her grandmother's death , where on the same night
her boyfriend disappeared .
As she takes time to make her decision as to whether to sell up and return to her
life in the city or not she is beset by her memories . In the background the are rumbles
stirring all around - was she responsible for more than previously thought or is she innocent
on all counts . The persistent feeling of being watched doesn't help her mood , but
she is also a watcher as she finds her grandfather's telescope in the tower trained
on the lakes other residents and cannot resist peering through it herself .

I did feel that Harper's emotions were too volatile and self indulgent at times ,
who could she trust , who did she really love on those long ago summer days ?
The culmination of the book brings many surprises , some I already could guess at
but there were a couple that took me by surprise

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

It Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson, one of my favorite authors and once again she did not disappoint. A small town with its share of deaths and secrets. Harper returns after finally receiving her inheritance and her fathers heart attack. What follows is a story line that had it all, love, hate, angst and heartbreak along with some crazy goings on in the mansion that Harper has inherited. Is she losing her mind, or is someone playing games with her. I would recommend this to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Kensington Publishing and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I usually don’t hesitate to read anything by Lisa Jackson. Her books are usually wrapped up in about 350 pages, so my first hesitation with “It Happened on the Lake” was that it’s 592 pages. Goodness, why?

It is a decent mystery — one of those “you can’t go home again” stories, especially after all the awful things that happened 20 years ago. We have a “cursed” lone mansion falling into disrepair on an island in an Oregon lake Harper does return, and from 1968 it’s suddenly 1988 (pre cellphones and internet). After 20 years, she’s now divorced and 37, and her daughter Dawn is in college. She’s returned because her dad is sick and her stepmother is still insidious. She left when her grandmother suddenly died and the love of her teenage life disappeared (on the same night). Her brother has also since passed, but Grandma stipulated when Harper turned 37, the island, the mansion, the gatehouse would all be hers.

Of course, the past rears its ugly memorie since old “friends” are still around. Granny also had a large creepy collection of ceramic dolls that are occupying the mansion as well as way too many telescopes and binoculars near every window. Much spying (from the shore and from the mansion) is still happening. Voyeurism is a weird theme that keeps coming up. As do unfortunate cats….if this is a trigger point, you might want to tread carefully (maybe skip to the end to see if Jinx is OK or not). Harper was a decent, sympathetic character and I liked her and the bones of the plot, but this really could have been 200 pages shorter. Such long books tempt the reader to not finish. I did, although I think I want about 6-8 hours of my reading time reclaimed (I could have read another thriller during that extra day I devoted to this). 3.5 stars, mostly deductions for repetition and unnecessary length.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO But there’s a fuss about the cat’s gold eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO But Grandma planted a rose bush every time…. (You’ll have read why).

Thank you to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Twists and Turns

Lisa Jackson knows how to write suspenseful mysteries, and “It Happened On the Lake” was no exception. An extra bonus for me is that the action is happening during childhood (the 1960s) and “present” day of the 1980s, which puts me in the same generation as our heroine Harper Reed Prescott.

Tragedies have long plagued the community around Lake Twilight. And because Harper’s trust fund kept her from inheriting until her mid-30s, she’s finally come home. Through flashbacks and different points of view, our author shares different versions of incidents that happened decades ago.

What we quickly discover is that there is not one mystery that needs to be solved, but multiple ones. The many deaths that have occurred do not come at the hands of one killer. This is where the flashbacks come in.

Harper is far from perfect but she is working through the mistakes of her past. Other characters with which she grew up have their own demons to face. Watching their journeys to the present kept leading to other threads to pull to untangle the main mystery.

With thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book; all opinions are my own.

I recently read an ARC of Lisa Jackson's It Happened on the Lake, a book I went into with high hopes given its intriguing premise. The story follows Harper as she returns to her family's eerie island home, a place shadowed by past tragedies—her grandmother's mysterious death, her mother's drowning, and her boyfriend Chase's disappearance. When Chase's mother tragically dies in a boat fire shortly after Harper's return, Harper finds herself entangled in a deepening mystery, uncovering dark truths about the lake's history.

While the core concept was compelling, I found myself struggling to fully engage. The pacing felt consistently slow, with frequent stretches of overly detailed description that caused the narrative to drag. This, combined with a large cast of characters and numerous overlapping subplots, occasionally made the story feel cluttered and difficult to follow. Ultimately, despite its strong potential, the book's extended length and deliberate tempo kept it from fully gripping me. It might appeal to readers who enjoy a very gradual unfolding of events, but I felt it missed the mark for a truly impactful thriller.

Harper always has felt like something is off in the Victorian home on the island on the lake. First her grandmother dies of mysterious circumstances on the night she sneaks off to meet her boyfriend who disappears and never shows. This is after Harpers mom dies after jumping into the lake. Years later Harper returns to collect her trust and the house and visit her father in the hospital who had a heart attack. On the first night tragedy strikes when Harpers missing boyfriend Chase mothers is seen on a burning boat in the middle of the lake. Harper immediately tries to save her but ends up needing to be saved. As the investigation continues into her missing boyfriend and now his mothers death Harper starts to realize some really horrible things have been happening on the lake for years.

I personally thought I would love this but I was not a fan. It was a lot of description and very detailed to the point where it felt like it was dragging. The storyline had potential and was a good idea but it just went too long and needed to speed up. There was too many things going on at one time in this one and that could cause some confusion. Had potential but just missed the spot.

Unfortunately, this book did not hook me and I DNFed at about 20%. The pacing of both timelines was just too slow, and there were too many characters to keep track of that didn't have a strong part in the narrative. Maybe fans of a slow burn can get into this one, but I don't think I could slog through 600 pages at that pace. Didn't connect with Harper at all, either.

I usually love Lisa Jackson’s books, but this one I struggled with. Around the 39% mark, it seemed to start dragging a bit and I found it becoming repetitive. It got better around the 60% mark, but I found myself wishing for it to reach its conclusion around the 80% mark. I felt like it kept dragging on and on. There were lots of scenes that I think could have been cut to make the book shorter and they wouldn’t have been missed.

Happened on the Lake
by Lisa Jackson
Publisher: Kensington Publishing | Kensington

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4 stars

First off, a heartfelt thank you to Kensington Publishing for the gifted copy I was so lucky to win, and also a big thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I always love getting the chance to read something early—and having a new Lisa Jackson novel in my hands was such a treat!

It took me a few days to settle in with It Happened on the Lake, but once I did, it was the kind of story that had me curling up on the couch with my softest blanket and a mug of tea, fully prepared to get lost in a moody, twisty mystery.

The book follows Harper Reed Prescott, who is returning to her family’s private island estate on Lake Twilight in Oregon after years away. This isn’t just a simple homecoming—it’s a place filled with painful memories. Twenty years ago, Harper’s beloved grandmother died mysteriously under her care, and on that same night, Harper’s boyfriend vanished without a trace. The town has never stopped whispering about what happened, and Harper has carried that weight with her ever since.

Now, her marriage has ended, her college-aged daughter is distant, and Harper is hoping to sell the house and finally move on. But stepping back onto the island stirs more than old emotions. Strange things begin to happen almost immediately: items moving on their own, eerie noises in the house, and an undeniable sense of being watched. The feeling only grows stronger as Harper starts observing her neighbors across the water through binoculars and an old telescope—reminiscent of Hitchcock’s Rear Window—and begins to suspect that something much darker is at play.

Lisa Jackson excels at creating atmosphere, and that’s where this novel truly shines. The setting of Lake Twilight is wonderfully eerie—fog drifting across the lake, an enormous, crumbling Victorian mansion, mysterious dolls left in odd places, bats in the attic, missing cats, hidden skeletons… you can practically feel the chill in the air as you read. It’s the perfect backdrop for a long, cozy mystery to sink into.

One of my favorite parts of the story was how Jackson weaves the past and present together. The narrative shifts between the 1960s, the 1980s, and present-day Harper’s perspective. Through this layered storytelling, we slowly begin to understand the tangled web of secrets, betrayals, and tragedies that have haunted Harper’s family for generations. I loved the sense of peeling back layer after layer, each reveal adding more depth to the mystery.

The book is not without its challenges. At nearly 600 pages, it is a long read, and the pacing does lag in the middle. There were times I found myself wishing the story would move forward a bit faster, and Harper’s inner monologues did become repetitive at times. I also think the book could have benefited from some tightening—cutting 50 to 100 pages would have made for an even stronger, more focused read. But ultimately, the payoff was worth it. The final third of the novel is packed with twists, and although I had guessed part of the ending, Lisa Jackson still managed to surprise me with a few key reveals.

Another strength of the novel is the character work. Harper is a flawed, complex protagonist—someone you root for, even as you question some of her choices. The supporting cast is equally layered, and Jackson does a great job of showing how small-town secrets, loyalty, and long-held grudges can shape people’s lives. Everyone on the lake seems to have something to hide, and that simmering tension kept me turning the pages.

If you enjoy gothic touches in your thrillers, It Happened on the Lake is a great pick. The creepy old house, the sense of isolation, the voyeuristic elements, and the decades-old mystery all come together beautifully. This is not a fast-paced thriller, but rather one to savor slowly—perfect for those evenings when you want to curl up with a long, atmospheric read.

In short, this is a cozy, eerie mystery that delivers on mood, setting, and suspense. It’s not without its flaws, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time on Lake Twilight. Fans of Lisa Jackson, Riley Sager, and other slow-burn, gothic-inspired thrillers will find a lot to love here.

Final thoughts:
✔️ Moody, atmospheric setting
✔️ Slow-burn suspense with plenty of twists
✔️ Layered characters and family drama
✔️ A few pacing issues but ultimately a satisfying read

I’m giving this one 4 stars. It wasn’t perfect, but it kept me hooked, and I’m already eyeing my shelf to see which Lisa Jackson novel I’ll pick up next. Sometimes, there’s nothing better than sinking into a long, twisty mystery that takes its time. This was exactly the cozy reading escape I needed.

⭐️⭐️ 2 stars – More fizzle than thrill

It Happened on the Lake had an intriguing premise—a mysterious disappearance and a family full of secrets—but the execution just didn’t land for me. The pacing dragged, the twists felt predictable, and I struggled to connect with the characters, especially Harper.

While the eerie setting had potential, the story lacked the tension and payoff I was hoping for.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for the opportunity to read and review the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I absolutely love Lisa Jackson’s books. I’ve been reading them for years. So when I saw this title on NetGalley I immediately requested it then squealed when I was approved. If you like atmospheric, slow burn mysteries Lisa is your girl.

A small town full of secrets and mysterious deaths that always bring you back to the lake. Going between and present, the story follows Harper who has come into her inheritance and returned to the eerie mansion where she once lived. It’s hard to return here. So many deaths have taken place and her boyfriend went missing twenty years ago in that lake. And now someone is messing with her. Moving things around and taken her cat.

As every other book I’ve read by Lisa I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. It may not work for some but it was a comforting read for me.

Thank you @kensingtonbooks #partner for the gifted copies of this book!

If you’re a fan of Lisa Scottoline’s brand of twisty drama, you’re going to want to scoop this one up. It Happened on the Lake was atmospheric, mysterious, and packed full of small-town secrets just waiting to bubble to the surface.

I loved how Lisa Jackson set the stage with this eerie, isolated island setting — it totally added to the unsettling vibe of the story. You just knew from the start that something dark was lurking under the surface....muhahahahahaha.

Now, I’ll be honest — the book did feel a little long at times. There were moments I’d peek at how much I had left and be like dang, we’re still going? 😂 But the good news is, those extra pages were packed with twists and turns that kept me flipping pages late into the night.

What really stood out to me was how well Lisa wove together all the characters’ pasts and secrets into a final, shocking ending. I wasn’t sure how it was all going to come together, but it did — and it worked.

Bonus: I realized I have a few more of Lisa’s books sitting on my shelf, and after this one, I’m even more excited to dive in. If you love a slow-burn mystery with rich characters and lots of drama, this one’s for you.

Thank you for the ARC. I haven’t read a Lisa Jackson book in years. However, this book was unnecessarily long. Certain things were too detailed and drawn out. It was a slow burn for sure. If all the 80 books I’ve read so far this year, this was the first one I skimmed through a lot of unnecessary mumbo jumbo as I was interested to find out what happened to everyone that died at the lake. I did figure out part of the big twist but the last 20% of the book was nice and thrilling and fast paced.

This book was far too long to even attempt to enjoy. It was so overly repetitive I had to skim just to make it to the end.

Release: June 24, 2025
Author: Lisa Jackson
Publisher: Kensington

Rating: 3.75 ⭐

A chilling standalone thriller about a woman forced to confront the haunting past she tried to leave behind. Twenty years ago, Harper's life unraveled at her family’s remote Victorian estate on Lake Twilight—her grandmother died under suspicious circumstances, and her boyfriend vanished without a trace. Though no one was ever charged, rumors and suspicion have lingered ever since.
Now, with her marriage in ruins and her daughter distant, Harper returns to the eerie island property, hoping to sell it and finally move on. But going back only stirs up old ghosts—dark memories, town gossip, and the unsettling sense that someone is watching her from across the lake. As buried secrets begin to surface, Harper realizes that the past isn’t done with her—and what she’s hidden may not be as dangerous as what’s coming next.
Lisa Jackson's It Happened on the Lake offers a moody, atmospheric mystery rooted in long-buried secrets and small-town suspicion. The setting—an eerie Victorian estate on a private island in Oregon—is undeniably compelling, and the book kicks off with a promising blend of suspense and nostalgia as Harper returns to the scene of her past traumas.
The story unfolds across multiple timelines, and while this adds depth to the mystery, it also contributes to the novel’s biggest weakness: pacing. At nearly 600 pages, the plot often feels drawn out, with repetitive internal monologues and scenes that could have been tightened significantly. Some readers may find it difficult to stay engaged, especially in the middle sections where the momentum lags.
That said, Jackson is skilled at building an unsettling tone, and her depiction of Harper's isolation and the slow unraveling of buried truths will resonate with fans of slow-burn thrillers. There are plenty of red herrings and twists—some predictable, others genuinely surprising—that keep the tension simmering. The characters, while sometimes frustratingly flawed or underdeveloped, reflect the novel’s themes of guilt, loyalty, and the long reach of the past.
This isn't Jackson’s strongest work, and it won’t be for everyone—especially readers looking for a fast-paced thriller—but if you’re in the mood for a moody, character-driven mystery with a strong sense of place, it’s worth a try. Just be prepared to settle in for a long, winding ride.

Favorite Quote:
"you know the lake was once called the lake of the dead."

Lisa Jackson always gives us such weave of complex characters and guessing games i love them each time. there is always something much deeper to her novels that keep me both hooked and on my toes. and often even a little bit on edge about just what is going on. the chapters are just long and short enough so that you can think "oh, please just one more" so you want to turn another page and another page.
i became totally invested in wanting to know Harper's story. how can so many bad things keep heading her way? and then Lisa twists me and turns me and helps me find all the answers i needed.
if you haven't read Lisa's books then you need to get on that. she is a top tier thriller write every single time. and i get so much joy every time a book of hers comes along.

Oh my, why was this novel dragged out so? I have previously been a Lisa Jackson fan; not so much on this one. Page after page of repetitive, choppy writing had me struggling to finish. The story itself sounded like the makings of a good mystery, but it quickly fizzled. It was just too long.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review It Happened on the Lake. Unfortunately, my review is not very positive. So sorry.

A haunting return, a lake full of secrets.
Lisa Jackson delivers a tense, atmospheric thriller where the past refuses to stay buried. It Happened on the Lake drips with suspense as Holly revisits the site of a decades-old disappearance, only to uncover chilling truths hiding beneath still waters. Moody, twisty, and emotionally charged—this one lingers like fog on the shoreline.

Lisa Jackson has long been one of my favorite authors, and this book did not disappoint. Her signature style, a slow-burn narrative rich in detail, is on full display here. If that’s your preference, she delivers once again.

I especially appreciate the intricate layering in her storytelling. While the level of detail demands close attention, it pays off in the depth and complexity of the characters. Harper, in particular, is compelling. Both easy to root for and, at times, frustrating as she unravels the mystery tied to her return to her childhood home.

A solid read for fans of atmospheric suspense and character-driven plots.

Publication day June 24th

It’s been a while since I have read anything by this author, this book broke the ice and has me a fan again
I enjoyed it, I got through it quickly and it had this author signature style