This was such a dark & atmospheric read. Set between 2 timelines it tells the story of 2 women who are both linked to the house by the lake. Lisa has left her controlling husband taking her 3 year old son with her and takes him to stay in the house of a friend. The house has no running water, no electricity and really isn't fit to live in. As the story progresses we learn how the two women meet and things just begin to unravel. An great plot. Worth a read

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

there are two stories running together in this book , lisa and her son joe who are hiding from lisa husband mark and a young girl of 11 and her dad called sarge...

its a compelling story of with twists and turns and very thought provoking..

another good book by this author who delves deep into the emotions of others

If you like weird atmospheric reads that all the characters just make you feel uneasy then this could be the next book for you.
Lisa was running away from her husband with their 3-year-old son but little Joe kept making it quite clear that he wanted his daddy. Lisa's friend had said they could use her house in Yorkshire set by the lake. It was dark and very cold when they got there but what looked bad in the dark was even worse in the day time. The house was derelict, with no running water, no electricity or gas, windows were broken and the walls were covered in moss and damp. It quite reflected how Lisa's life was at this point in time.
On another timeline, a young girl was just reaching her 11th birthday. Isolated from the world her ex-soldier father had brought her up in the woods in the lake house. She had no friends and was more like an urchin than a young girl. Her father was clearly suffering from a mental disorder, probably from the action, he has seen himself. He forced her to train so she didn't know what childhood was.
Places hold secrets like people and the Lake House seems to harbour them. Sometimes people are just the dots that connect to make a picture whole. This felt a real creepy read for me, I didn't like the Lake House or the people that it attracted. An unusual story where it is easy to judge people wrongly.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

I quite enjoyed this book , loved the 2 stories working alongside each other . Pity there wasn’t more build up as to why the character ran off with her son due to mental abuse , more was made of the feral child . It was a steady burner with no massive tension but it was well worth a read . I will now be reading more from this author

I'm so sorry, and disappointed, that I couldn't get into this book at all and I felt no interest in the characters. I'm sure it was just me though and that others will really enjoy it
Thank you to netgalley and penguin books for an advance copy of this book

As with the previous books by Nuala Ellwood this is extremely well written - atmospheric, absorbing and intriguing, set in two time frames. Lisa is running from a controlling husband with her 3 year old who seems to have quickly inherited his father's unpleasantness; Soldier/Grace who is bullied by her father and made an outcast from all their neighbours and Isobel who thinks she is controlled by her father. Three very different women with similar problems. Our childhood makes us what we become as adults!
Three and a half stars for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Nuala Ellwood/Penguin Books for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is the second book I have read by Nuala Ellwood and like the first one, (‘The Day of the Accident’) this one did not disappoint either.
This story is told from two different perspectives, an 11 year old girl in 2002 who is being raised by her sergeant father as a little soldier, in isolation in a house on a lake and that of Lisa in 2018 who escapes with her son from her abusive husband to the same house.
Full of twists and turns and a lot of sadness for both characters, it is a compelling read and I could not put it down. The ending left me sad and disappointed for Lisa and Grace, although we can’t always have fairytale endings!
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for letting me read this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Another great read from Nuala Ellwood. Lisa is on the run from her controlling and mentally abusive husband with her little son Joe. Lisa's friend has let her stay in her old house in a remote village. Rowan Isle House is very creepy and run down.
The story is very gripping and had me hooked from the first page. Very good twists I did not see coming. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy to review.

The story is set In two timelines that both centre around the occupants at Rowan House. The earlier part sets the scene for the psychological thriller in the later timeline. It took me a while for me to get into being captivated and not being able to put the book down. The story is well paced, atmospheric, full of twists and secrets and has realistic descriptions of the people and the scenery throughout. From the start I consider this tale to be sad and in many places depressing but it was necessary to create the emotions, shock and fear of abuse and PTSD. Just over half way through the two timelines begin to merge and everything becomes very clear. I felt that the ending was a little sad but despite that there was still hope on the final horizon.
I have read “My Sister’s Bones” and loved that as well, because of both these books I would highly recommend Nuala Elwood as an author who captures the essence of life in her writing.

No matter how far you run . . .
He's never far behind

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.

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.

What secret has Rowan Isle 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?

This story is told by Grace and Lisa over two timelines, Grace in 2002 and Lisa in the present day. It alternates chapter by chapter between the two characters giving the reader insight into their lives, one suffering at the hands of a father who has PTSD and the other who has a controlling husband, but how are these two lives linked and what secrets will be revealed at the house on the lake?

This is the second book I've read by this author and once again she drew me into a very well crafted tale covering some very delicate subjects, which she has dealt with very sensitively, it's a fast paced thriller which kept me hooked throughout and one I'd definitely recommend.

I'd like to thank Penguin Books UK and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Amazon and Goodreads.

A tense thriller which focuses on the lives of a young woman on the verge of puberty and a young mother on the run with her toddler son. Both are the victims of controlling men and are struggling to gain their independence. As events develop, links between the two emerge and their fates become intertwined.

There are several twists and turns in this well paced story, some unexpected and others more predictable. The characters often make dubious choices but these seem in keeping with their predicaments and mental states.

An entertaining read.

(I was given an advance copy of this title in exchange for an honest review)

The House on the Lake by Nuala Ellwood is a very entertaining, page turning novel that kept me hooked throughout.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints but the author uses this to build the tension whilst slowly revealing the storyline

Definitely recommended

This story follows two main characters Grace and Lisa, who, at different times, live in Rowan Isle House but years apart. Both have their own secrets and although set years apart, their stories intertwine cleverly.
The description in the book is so well-crafted that the house, in particular, was uncomfortably vivid in my mind. The plot cleverly weaves suspense and unease throughout and the characters have fantastic depth. I was looking for resolutions for them throughout the story.
As with all good books, you gradually get more information and fill in the gaps. Plenty of plot twists and surprises too.
A great book that will hold you as you want to find out what happens to Grace & Lisa.

This novel is something that makes you expect the worse and keep the lights on. Why Lisa has gone to Rowan Isle House and who is the girl in flashback scenes being drilled as a soldier and excluded from a normal life. You become aware that the father of the young girl has obviously suffered Post traumatic stress but what has made Lisa act like this and who is the stranger who wants to become involved in helping her. The suspense builds and every act seem to bring about a conclusion that one doesn't wish for. Beautifully crafted suspense to this horror story.

A book that genuinely had me scared. I honestly didn't believe a book could frighten someone! U enjoyed the different viewpoints that were cleverly woven together, although I found it slow paced at times.

I have no idea why I requested this book as it really isn't my kind of read. However, it was amazing, it had me gripped from the very first page until the end. It was scary in places (I'm a total wimp where thrillers are concerned) and very suspenseful and atmospheric. I could feel the damp in that house, the angst of the small boy and the fear of the little girl. There were 2 storylines that ran alongside one another, cleverly written as you could sense where the stories were heading although the end was quite a surprise. It highlighted many modern day issues in an educated and empathetic way, Nuala has certainly done her research.

Thank you for NetGalley for an advance copy, thoroughly recommend!

Unfortunately I was hoping to read this book before publication date, but life got in the way I have read the NetGalley reviews which make this book sound like a must read, so I’m hoping to get to it in The not to distant future, when I will update my review.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc, which I have enjoyed reading.
The House on the Lake by Nuala Ellwood, was an amazing, totally engrossing read, which I have been reading throughout the course of a day.
It tells then stories of Lisa and Grace, two woman who both live at the house on the lake. It is an extremely sad story of the woman and their friend Isabel. It is a storyline of men controlling the women in their lives and the consequences of that behaviour on the individual women.
A masterclass in storytelling.
Highly recommended.

Really good plot, twisty and turny thriller. I loved how atmospheric it was too.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy.

Dark and atmospheric, the house on the lake is told on two time lines, but all based at Rowan house, the house that sits on the lake in a small village in Yorkshire, in the past there lived an unnamed girl with a military father who is trying to mold her into the perfect soldier and in the present Lisa and her 3 year old son Joe have arrived at Rowan house on the run from her ex partner.
This novel has lots of twists and turns, keeping up the suspense right to the final chapter. Definitely worth a read.