This book wasn't what I expected. Two stories weaved into one, it is brilliant and engaging, hooking the reader from the first page.

I was invited to read this book by the publisher following my review of the Day of the Accident and I thank NetGalley for this. This book was, in my opinion, better than the first one I read. Lisa, as a character was enthralling and I found myself captivated by the story from page one. A brilliantly written gripping thriller that I will definitely be recommending, absolutely superb!

This is the second book I have read by this author and this one is as good as the first. It is an intriguing storyline, initially split into two between Soldier who is a young girl being trained by her father just back from war and Lisa who is running away from her husband and an abusive relationship.

The House on the Lake, together with its history, is the common denominator. As the story progresses the reader is introduced to Isobel, the daughter of the local vicar where there appears to be a sinister undertone.

The characters and the plotting are excellent and the author has taken great care to ensure the reader is taken on the journey with all the shock and fear along the way. All in all, it is a depressing read on many levels but seems to capture the situations of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, abuse in a relationship and how to survive with clarity.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Books (UK) and Nuala Ellwood for my ARC in return for my honest review.

Great read, highly recommended.

I found this an interesting book, albeit rather bleak. The story is well-written, although the friendship between Grace and Isobel never seems quite credible, and neither does that between Isobel and Lisa. It was certainly a very different kind of story, and dealt with some important issues in a sensitive way.

This is a strange book, rather depressing to be honest. Two lives lived differently that come together in a lonely Yorkshire village. How their two lives come to be entwined makes a rather convoluted story that did anything but make my heart sing. I really found the story to be unrealistic - no one would take small boy to live in ahovel with no water, so that the ater they drank was from a lake - surely not.
The house had no facilities at all and sounded horrible, dirty and forlorn. I did not enjoy it. Sorry.
It was possibly well written, but the depressing story outweighed tht I am afraid.

I found this book hard to get into initially but in time my interest was piqued by this dual narration that works very well and is not at all disjointed.

This is a very black, sordid and heavy story with little or no respite even at it's conclusion.

There are very many twists and turns that keep the reader guessing and at times, gasping!

Although a very good storyline at the end all I felt was sadness.

My thanks to Netgalley for my copy of The House on the Lake.

An interesting storyline involving Lisa, fleeing from a bad marriage with her son and Grace a young girl being brought up by her father who has been traumatised by his army past. Both live in the house nearly 20 years apart and their stories gradually intertwine for a surprise ending. An enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy of the ebook, in exchange for my honest review.

No matter how far you run …. He’s never far behind.

Lisa needs to disappear. And her friends rambling old home in the wilds of Yorkshire seems the perfect place. It’s miles away from the closest town and no one there knows her or her little boy Joe.

But when a woman from the local village comes to visit them, Lisa realises that she and Joe aren’t as safe as she thought.

Why secret has Rowan Isles House – and her friend – kept hidden all these years.

And what will Lisa have to do to survive, when her past finally catches up with her.


The story follows to two girls at two different times in their lives and each part of the story is as gripping as the next..

Lisa is a young mum who has escaped her husband and flee’d to another part of the country with her son to keep away from him ….. or so we are made to believe!

Lisa was a likeable character from the offset. I really felt for her, she had upped and moved her life with her son and one bag to get away from what seemed like an emotionally abusive relationship, from the beginning you could see her son Joe didn’t want to be there with her, he was constantly asking after his dad and for such a young boy was a bit violent with her. This made me feel even more for her, like she wasn’t going through enough.

It wasn’t too long until Lisa found herself a friend in the village, Isobel. They soon became good friends and Joe loved her, more than his mummy… The more stuff they did, the more something seemed a little off with Isobel but I could never quite put my finger on it.

This part of the story became faced paced really quickly when THE BIG TWIST hits, and I was shell shocked, I actually had to take a minute to let that marinate for a second before I could continue reading.

The other part of the story is from years back, and told by the soldier also known as Grace. I felt instantly sorry for her, having no childhood and treated like she is in the army by her dad who she calls Sarge… but this is how it had always been and what she was used to. Until she met Isobel, a girl who wanted to be her friend and she got her into trouble and the punishment the solider received was dire, she was locked in a room for days, tied up.. and she cracked and wanted to be a normal girl and do normal things.

This is where the stories merge together, and ultimately where your mind is kind of blown…. this was an incredibly written novel. I loved how each main character in the story was extremely likeable yet they each had a horrifying secret which in turn kind of made you hate them.


This novel was my second by Nuala Ellwood and was just as incredible as the first. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good fast paced mystery with excellent twists thrown in.

I'll be honest up front, I think this is probably a really well written book. However, it wasn't for me. Something wasn't right about it and I couldn't get engaged with the characters or the story. I read it to the end out of a feeling of duty to the author and publisher for allowing me to read it before it was published.

Soldier 1 is a young girl being brought up by her father in a remote house in the wilder area of the Yorkshire Dales. It is a harsh life that she leads and we learn about her life through the journal that 'Sarge' had her keep.

Lisa is escaping her husband, with her young son, Joe. We hear about Lisa's life from her dialogue of what is happening. She has been made to feel inadequate by Mark, her husband; and seems incapable of dealing with anything out of the ordinary.

Rowan Isle House is the setting for the story. It has no facilities to speak of and has been abandoned for a good few years before Lisa takes refuge there. Help comes through an unexpected meeting, once Lisa calms down! But, and there's always a but, not everyone or everything is as it seems.

great book, just like Nuala other books it was hard to put down. You cant help but feel for Lisa as she turns up at the house on the lake with her son and it's very basic no electric, no running water. Lisa is all ways keeping an eye out for her husband in case he should turn up and find them both. Will recommend this book.

Lisa needs to disappear. And her friend's rambling old home in the wilds of Yorkshire seems like the perfect place. It's miles away from the closest town, and no one there knows her or her little boy, Joe...The suspense starts to build as Lisa and her friends history’s start to be revealed.

What a great book! It’s got everything a good thriller needs, a creepy old house, a remote location, some great complex characters and lots of perfectly timed twists and turns.

I was unsure at first as it seemed rather dis jointed but I persevered and was glad I had. It was set in the same house in two different times. There was a young girl being brought up by her father an ex-soldier and then at a later time a woman fleeing with her child from a controlling husband. It all came together in the end.

One of the weirdest and strangest storyline that I have read in a long time. Sorely tempted to give up several times but preserved to the end. Did it get any better? I don’t know, did I I enjoy it? I don’t know. Read it for yourself and decide.

Rating: 3.5 stars

This book definitely kept me on my toes. Its one of those books that really transforms to another world, in this case a world of a girl growing up isolated from the rest of the village. The other side of the story took you through a mothers struggle of trying to survive in this creepy house on the lake with her child all the while looking over her shoulder; scared that her husband was going to come and rip her world away from her.

I did like the story, and the writing. I liked how unique Grace's story was, and the childlike narrative really added to the story. I did like Lisa's story though it was a bit more frustrating to read.

I think this book worked well, not necessarily as a thriller though. Although the ending was unpredictable for me, it didn't make me gasp or feel too surprised.

This was a beautifully written and well constructed story. I was gripped from the beginning and enjoyed learning about each of the characters who had their own story to tell and how they were linked with each other. I found it both touching and a little sad at times but riveting. This was one book I never wanted to end but what an ending it was.

A dark and twisted read.

Which was thought provoking with raw emotion at it's heart, covering PTSD, abuse in various forms and the lingering effect and consequences on consequences of the victims.

Two stories intertwined, going between past and present. Graces past and Lisa's present.

Compelling characters and an often heart wrenching narrative.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have not read anything from this author before and this was a real page turner. Loved the characters and the story. Would recommend.

This story centres around two different women. Lisa, a mother who has left her husband, running away with their 3-year-old son to a remote house. Grace a girl raised by her father in isolation in that same house a number of years earlier training to be a soldier. Both have dark secrets and the novel explores.

Both stories are unpredictable as their secrets are revealed. Not quite as tense as I originally hoped but there is a definite sense of dread and I wanted to learn where each story led.

An enthralling story with two storylines. Lisa has fled from her abusive husband with her 3 year old son Joe to Yorkshire, to a very rundown safe house. Then you have Grace, an 11 year old girl living with her Dad whom she calls Sarge because of his army connections. Grace has a terrible life with her Dad and Lisa herself has her secrets. A very sad story and a surprise ending as the two stories overlap and come together. A good read.

The book was very sad but very well written it wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be but still a good read, I would have liked to have read more about Lisa’s life before she got to the house it seems that the book left a lot out which was a shame, felt very sorry for Grace what a terrible life she had with her father. The twist at the end was very good never expected that to happen.