Julia, David, and Erika have been lifelong friends, spending summers at their lake houses in Vermont since they were kids. Now grown with their own struggles, they reunite at the lake, but things aren’t as carefree as they once were. David shows off his flashy home renovation that ruins his friends’ views and introduces his much younger girlfriend and a mysterious nanny. When the girlfriend vanishes after a heated fight, old secrets start bubbling up, including a dark past of two women who disappeared from the lake decades ago. This book was just okay for me but I really enjoyed the setting and the whole idea of the story. The backstory about the past disappearances added a cool layer and gave it some eerie vibes. It had a summery feel even though it didn’t totally blow me away.

4/5 stars

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!

I was expecting this book to be a bit of a lackluster suspense novel (not sure where I got that idea) but I was so wrong! From the start, things were taking off differently than I expected, and picked up even more in the second half of the book, leaving me totally shocked and entertained.

I love a summer/lake thriller, and this as just that. Rich people doing terrible things to each other for reasons I couldn't even understand -- heck yes. This one had a great mystery, too, and some really unexpected turns!

There were a lot of characters/dynamics to keep track of, which I found to be a bit confusing at the start. However, as the book went on, I was able to keep track of them enough to make predictions — albeit incorrectly. It was super fun to see the ways these characters were intertwined in ways I didn't expect.

Overall, this one was a solid and entertaining great summer thriller!

Nothing says summer like a lake retreat with family and oldest friends. But sometimes we've been holding in our friends' secrets for too long. Author Jamie Day has a wicked way of tearing secrets out of people and this newest is no exception. Instantly tantalizing, thrilling, and mysterious, this hooked me from start to finish.

The Lake Escape is a captivating atmospheric thriller that blends nostalgia and suspense. I couldn’t put it down.

The story setting is of a serene Vermont lake with a haunting past where Julia, Erika, and David—longtime friends—return to their lakeside homes each summer. But this year is different. David has built a monstrous glass house. Julia’s personal finances are imploding, and Erika is just off. Their romanticized retreat takes a dark turn when David’s younger girlfriend vanishes without a trace. As suspicions mount and secrets surface, the quiet setting changes to one of mystery and danger.

Ms. Day skillfully uses multiple perspectives to build intrigue and deception. By shifting between characters, the story unfolds like a puzzle, with each piece adding depth to the eerie suspense and shedding light on the complex relationships and hidden motives. The story is fraught with tension from the start and continues to build resulting in a crescendo packed with jaw-dropping twists.

The cast of characters is interesting. Their backstories are peeled away like the skins of onions. The slow reveal of the characters’ entwined pasts adds to the foreboding feel of the story. I had wrongly guessed at the murderer, and all the details that were exposed upon revealing the murderer were absolutely delicious!

The Lake Escape, wonderfully narrated by Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole, kept me listening well past my bedtime!

Julia is going for her annual getaway at her lake house. This year isn't as mellow though. Her long time bestie, David, who also owns a home neighboring hers, has decided to remodel and make a boondoggle of an eyesore home, basically blocking her waterfront view altogether.

So begins a summer of misery and woe. David is making a splash these days and not in a good way. After a mysterious disappearance casts suspicion on David, the old friends have to decide whether they can trust him or if he's gone off the rails entirely.

I love this author's books. I just wish they were a little shorter.

A summer thriller? Sign me up!
This book is told in two different POV’s. Julia and Izzy. Julia has been vacationing at the lake house since she was a kid. But this was Izzy’s first time. This book is full of twists and turns. It’s one of those books that you start and can’t stop until it’s over. Especially if listening to the audiobook like I did. I finished this book in less than a day just because I NEEDED to know what happened! This was a wild ride especially towards the end and it was so good!

A multi-family summer get together takes a turn for the worse when someone goes missing. Set on a Vermont lake, this includes quite an array of unsavory characters bringing a huge variety of multifaceted issues to the table. In addition, this is not the first disappearance at this lake. I liked this at the beginning but I felt like there were too many primary characters and just so many things going on. My focus was pulled in so many different directions, that it was a little exhausting by the end. Multiple narrators do their best to maintain a good flow. For those who like more of a complex plot with a lot of characters, this will be a hit.

I gave it the good ol' college try. I just wasn’t that invested in this story. The characters were so infuriating, and the chaos of the plot (which truly didn’t make sense to me) completely turned me off. The pacing was so slow for how much was packed into the story. I’m actually surprised I finished this book. This is the third book I’ve read from this author, and I just don’t think we jive.

What I did enjoy was the lake setting, some of the twists, and the disappearance storyline from the past. I actually wish they would have played the water sounds more often throughout the audiobook. While this wasn’t for me, I am sure there will be readers who absolutely enjoy it. This may be a good one if you’re in vacation mode.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for this ALC of The Lake Escape.

Julia, David and Erika grew up together at their family summer homes in Vermont thirty years ago. They’ve stayed friends throughout the years and been through a lot, both as a group and apart, but no matter what, they still look forward to their time at the summer homes every year and now they bring their own children with them. This summer however, secrets are coming to light and their friendship make sink once and for all.
Firstly, David has rebuilt his family home as a McMansion and it blocks Erica and Julia’s view. Julia is furious that he did it and didn’t tell them that he was doing it either, but Erica doesn’t seem to care. Which is unusual for her. Plus he’s brought another in a long string of younger women plus his young nanny which seems bizarre because he goes through Nannie’s like most people go through napkins. Plus there is the legend of the two women that have gone missing exactly 30 years apart with the claims that “the lake got them” Since it’s been thirty years since the last one went missing, is it bound to happen again? And what is the new nanny hiding?
There’s a lot that happens but there’s also a lot of filler because this book is way too long. It could hands been about 3 hours shorter and not have lost anything in my opinion. That being said, it was still not bad. I did enjoy the narrator.
Thanks to Macmillan Audio amd NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for my review.

Pub Date: 7/15/25

I really enjoyed the narrators, Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole! They truly brought the story to life. I felt I was there in the middle of the story.
I had such high hopes for the story. Three childhood friends, all have family vacation lake houses. But the lake has secrets and so do the families!
But it was so incredibly sllllloooooowwwww. And I’m all for a slow build-up and BAM, your jaw is on the floor. This did not deliver for me. I felt the ending fell flat and the shocks and twists were just meh. 🫤 So it kind of felt like it was grasping at straws.
If you read it! I hope you love it! It just wasn’t my jam!

Thank you NetGalley, Jamie Day, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the free copies of this book.

Three childhood best friends have grown up and reunited for their annual summer at the lake. When one of the women goes missing, friendships are divided amidst rising suspicions and unburied secrets.

This book initially intrigued me, the concept sounded good and like a fantastic summer thriller. I also loved that it was told in dual POV between the nanny and one of the women. However, this book was suuuuuch a slow burn, I almost DNF’ed at 80% because basically nothing had happened. I wish I had, because the last 20% made my head spin and not in a good way. It was like the author threw literally every trope in at the end to make it wild. It was way too complicated and ridiculous to be believable.

I’m also honestly not sure how I made it 80% in. The people were horrible, rich, and entitled which really bothered me. Overall, this book was not my cup of tea.

🎧: I did enjoy the narration even though I didn’t love the story. The dual narrators fit the characters well, and I loved the interspersed wave sound effects. The epilogue was a fun twist with the podcast style, I would’ve liked more of that throughout the book!

This is a thrilling summer suspense that follows childhood friends Julia, David, Erika and their families on a two week long summer vacation at their families lake homes. Along with them, they bring secrets, drama and some animosity which all comes to a head when David’s girlfriend mysteriously vanishes...similarly to two other women who had disappeared exactly 30 years apart.
I predicted some of the twists, but definitely not all of them. Overall I found the story to be very entertaining and I really enjoyed the audiobook. I thought the narrators did a great job bringing the story to life.

What the hell?! Just when I think I have it all figured out, WHAM! Another wrench thrown into the plot. Another twist getting me all turned around and changing my entire theory! This was SUCH a fun listen!! I was so captivated and so damn engrossed in this story I may or may not have been up til 5am listening to it 🫣

Another big thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for yet again allowing me early access to this crazy story in return for my honest review 🖤

Julia, Erika and David were childhood friends who grew up spending summers at their families Lake Homes in Vermont. Now, all grown up, they return to the family homes with their own families…
But, this year is a little bit different…

They’ve each been married. Some are now divorced. Some have kids. But they always had a strong childhood bond!

This year, when Julia comes to the lake, she sees a monstrosity of a house in the place where David’s home was before. But this cannot be! She cannot even SEE the lake now, as his house blocks the view. And well, she’s now fuming!

As she confronts David, he assures her that her view is unchanged, as most of his house is now made of glass… and she can look THROUGH his house… to see the lake! 😮😕😫
Julia can’t wait til Erika comes, because she knows, she will set him straight! After all, she’s an attorney!

But, when Erika arrives, she doesn’t get upset!
What the heck is going on?? Why ISN’T she upset??

And this is just the tip of the iceberg!

There are so many stories intertwined in this one! Including the fact that two women have disappeared at the lake over the years…each 30 years apart. And guess what? This year makes it another 30! 😮

This one will throw clues at you, and then rip them right out of your hands…and your heart! Just when you think…well, maybe… NOPE! That’s not it!

And when another young woman goes missing? Well, what did you expect? But things may not always be as they seem….

4 big, bright, scary, mob-related, sometimes questionable 🌟🌟🌟🌟 for me!

#TheLakeEscape by @JamieDay and narrated nicely by @LisaLarsen and @PhoebeStrole.

*** If this sounds like something that might intrigue you, well, keep your eyes 👀 open!! It comes out soon! look for it on July 15, 2025!! ***

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC of the audiobook, in exchange for an honest review.

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This was an enjoyable thriller set on a lake in Vermont. I listened to this book and it was the perfect summer read.

This is a two person POV, Izzy, the nanny and Julia, a mom who has been going to the lake for years. I loved both of these characters and they had very different perspectives. Both were strong females who went through a lot. I loved Izzy's attempt at being a nanny. She wants to be a nanny for these kids, because she wants to investigate Lake Timmery and this is her only way to get there. The father (David) that she is working for along with his two friends all vacation at Lake Timmery every year. While at the lake David's girlfriend goes missing. It is apparent that there are secrets at the lake because this is the third women to go missing at Lake Timmery and they all happened 30 years apart.

I really liked the narrators Lisa Larsen and Phoebe Strole. They did a really good job and I didn't get confused with all the characters.

This was a fun read and definitely kept me on my toes. I would definitely recommend this for a good summer read on the water!

Read if you like:
-Lake setting
-Sinister vibes
-Slow-burn mystery
-Childhood friends

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the #gifted ALC

The Lake Escape by Jamie Day
Audiobook
Publication Date July 15, 2025

Childhood friends Julie, David an Erika reunite at the lake house. Then David’s girlfriend goes missing. It’s the story of the lake, and the legend that surrounds it. But, we know that the lake can’t kill, so the three work together to search for answers.

It was a little creepy when it got to the part of the lives taken by the lake.

I listened to this while doing my daily walk, and it did keep my mind occupied. I did like the narrator voices.

Thank you #NetGalley for the complimentary copy of #TheLakeEscape in exchange for an honest review.

#thrillerbook #psychologicalthrillerbook #bookstagram

This one had a mysterious vibe that I usually like, and it did a solid job building tension from different points of view. The story wasn’t boring by any means — there was definitely something there, the kind of slow-burning suspense that usually pulls me in. But for me, it just didn’t land fully because I couldn’t connect with the characters. That connection is everything for me, and here it was missing.

I wanted to care, but I stayed on the outside looking in, watching things happen without really feeling them. So even though the structure and pacing were good, it wasn’t quite enough to hold me completely. Still, if you’re into mysteries told through multiple perspectives, it could be worth a try.

A twisty, escapist thriller with just the right amount of summer secrets. While the setup was intriguing and the pacing brisk, the plot relied on a few too many convenient reveals, and some characters felt underdeveloped. Still, it made for an enjoyable listen, perfect for fans of The Guest List or The Last House Guest. The audiobook production was solid, though not especially standout. If you’re looking for something to read or listen to while you chill at the lake, this is great. Thank you to NetGalley for the audio arc.

I was given an advanced reader r copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This was a compelling read that kept be engaged until the very end. Loved the audio version.

Very good listen. I loved the narrator. It is a very twisty mysterious story, just when you are thinking how I the heck does any of this go together? Well you know authors they always have a way! Great story!Great narrator! Recommend!