Thank you to Net Galley and Amber Cowie for the advanced copy of Loss Lake in return for my honest review. Loss Lake is available everywhere November 10, 2020! Go get yourself a copy!

After recently losing her husband of a decade, Mallory moves to McNamara – a small town about a thousand miles away from where she’s lived her entire life. She buys a home, sight unseen, that sits on roughly 100 acres of property with plans to start over. On her first day in the town she learns that someone has died on her property and from there the story of her new town unfolds. Not only has her new home been vacant for years, someone was shot and killed there. McNamara is a small town where people help one another out, but there is said to be something sinister in the waters of Loss Lake. Deaths occur around the same time every year and Mallory works to uncover the secrets that McNamara and its residents want to keep quiet.

Let me start off by saying I LOVED this book. There is something about a story set small town that just immediately piques my interest. McNamara is the type of town where either the people are all related or they have some thread tying them all together. Reading through Mallory’s journey of getting to know the residents of McNamara was enjoyable – trying to figure out which characters to trust and which ones to keep at a distance. I found myself both not wanting to put this book down, while also trying to spread out my reading time because I did not want the story to end. I loved the air of mystery from all characters as well as the town itself and enjoyed the relationships (both platonic and romantic) formed throughout. Absolutely would recommend adding this one to your reading list!

There were aspects of this book that I really loved and others that I struggled with. I thought the author did a really nice job with the story line and the characters. Every time I thought I had it figured out the author would give us more information or a different perspective. For me, this book definitely was not predictable, which I really enjoyed. In relation to the characters, I struggled with remembering what was mentioned about past events and the characters that were involved in those events, along with recalling how various characters were related. I won't go into detail because I don't like to give away spoilers, but I will say that for me, the ending feel a bit flat.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

This book was intense! The protagonist, Mallory Dent, is a recent widow, wants a fresh start. She travels to a small town, but the town has secrets. And, so does Mallory. I was suspicious of just about everyone! Thank you, Netgalley, Amber Cowie, and Lake Union Publishing for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 4 Stars

Loss Lake by Amber Cowie
Mallory is in retreat mode...she has recently lost her husband and in her grief, she decides to leave Vancouver and head north. Sight unseen, she purchases a home on the shores of Loss Lake, and decides to make her home there. But Loss Lake has also seen its' share of tragedy, which serves to remind Mallory of the constant presence of death in her life. As she begins to adjust to her new life, how well does she really know the inhabitants of this isolated town? And what will her future hold?

I found Mallory to be a sympathetic character...and I loved the descriptions of the area, her home and the lovely town. The historical aspect/unsolved mysteries were compelling as well. However, I thought the ending wrapped up a little too quickly, and the ambiguity was not to my taste.

I'd love to read another book by Amber Cowie!

4 Stars

Loss Lake is centering around a much-fabled monster-filled lake and a darkly twisted small town hiding big secrets. Hypnotic and irresistible, you won’t be able to look away. This beautiful, tautly written story is about love and loss, grief and guilt, and how the past always catches up with us.

Well I loved Rapid Falls and Raven Lane by this author. I really wanted to love this one, and am happy to say I did! Amber Cowrie does an excellent job with the setting and making you feel as if you are really there in this small, close-knit lakeside town. The main character, Mallory, moves to McNamara to try and move on from her husband's death and steps right into a murder. The characterization is very well done, but there are a LOT of characters. They did not seem to be all necessary and I did have some difficulty following all of them. I did get bogged down in a few spots, but the story was so interesting that it was not a big issue. Nicely done on the ending! Highly recommend both the book and author!

Thank you to NetGalley, Amber Cowrie and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC.

I felt this book was difficult to get into and "grab" the main plot. I believe, mainly, it was about loss and starting over. I'm sure there are many others that will greatly enjoy this book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

This was a suspense filled, atmospheric story. After the death of her husband Mallory buys a house online in a remote town called Loss Lake. Once she arrives in town and she starts to meet the citizens of Loss Lake she begins to wonder what she has gotten herself into. Her creepy house is also causing her some concern. I wouldn’t have lasted a day in that house! Between the quirky characters and the atmospheric writing this book stays suspenseful and creepy throughout. I really liked the writing! I was engaged in the story and just felt uneasy the whole time reading it. Once you got past one odd event or strange encounter you were on to the next. A perfect book to read during spooky season! This was my first book by this author but it won’t be my last.

There can't be a monster in the lake, can there? This is the story of Mallory, a recent widow who has moved to Macnamara, which seems so bucolic. But it's not. Not only is a woman found dead in the lake right in front of her home, Sgt Joel Benson informs her that a death occurred at her new home. There's urban legend about the lake, there's creepiness and there's the fact that Mallory might just be an unreliable narrator. No spoilers from me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a fast entertaining read.

What a totally stunning and terrifying thrill-ride. Wish I could experience this again for the first time.

An atmospheric setting, an urban myth, new beginnings and unspoken dark secrets all form part of Amber Cowie’s latest mystery, LOSS LAKE. I knew I was in for a treat as soon as Mallory arrives in her recently purchased log cabin on the shores of the eerie lake that forms such an integral part of the story. There is usually an ember of truth in every urban myth, so what really lies behind the story of the monster of Loss Lake?

Mallory, a widow at forty, has set out to make a new start in the small town of McNamara, in a cabin in the woods purchased with the money that came to her from the untimely death of her husband Graham. We soon find out that behind her grief lie other emotions, but Mallory – like the small town of McNamara – likes to hold her secrets close to her heart. She is shocked to find out that a man died in a terrible hunting accident right in the front room of her little house, a tragedy that seems to be linked to other untimely deaths the small town has witnessed since the dam rupture that originally formed the lake. Mallory is a nurse, and her scientific brain doesn’t believe in monsters. But will her curiosity and determination to find out the truth put her in danger? Or will it threaten to reveal some of her own tightly guarded secrets?

I loved both the atmospheric setting as well as Mallory’s unreliable narration, and both kept me frantically turning the pages. Most of all, Cowie’s writing beautifully evoked the landscape, the autumn woods, the eerie lake, the little cabin nestled amidst the wilderness. I wondered how long it would take for ill-prepared city girl Mallory to get into trouble here, and didn’t have to wait long. There wasn’t really anything supernatural going on here, but the remote setting and the lonely cabin’s dark history themselves created an aura of vulnerability around Mallory that made me shiver.

Cowie knows just the right time to reveal her clues, and I really appreciated the constant ambivalent feelings of empathy and distrust it created towards the main character. With a finale that was utterly unpredictable and yet somehow fitting, the book managed to get in a final stab of surprise that will make it stick in my mind as much as the images of the eerie lake it had created.

In summary, if you enjoy slow burning, character driven mysteries revolving around small town secrets and featuring a remote, atmospheric setting, then LOSS LAKE should definitely be on your list. I really enjoyed Cowie’s writing style and look forward to reading her other novels.

Thanks to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
Mallory travels many miles north to start her new life, leaving her grief for her husband behind, she has chosen a remote small town, McNamara to rebuild her life, her new home has a beautiful lake front view, postcard.
Her husband, Graham has recently died, she has purchased her new home without seeing it, she feels ready for change and new beginnings.
McNamara is a small town, everyone knows everyone, they work together as a community and one large family.
At town gatherings there are always long looks and silences, secrets about those who have lost their lives to the lake or other accidents. Mallory would like to know the truth about the past in McNamara
The story is about murder and grief, greed, family connections and loyalties. Mallory goes to great lengths to discover the dark hidden truths
Great descriptive writing, I could hear the icy snow crunching under Mallory’s boots, feel the ice cold wind, feel her heart pounding as a prowler moves around the outside of her home.
Great read.

I will leave a review on Amazon or B&N on Nov 10, 2020

Loss Lake by Amber Cowie, this was a new author for me. Overall I found her book very well written, and it certainly was action packed. I did enjoy Mallory's character, and as the story unfolded you knew something big was coming. Having said that I was very disappointed with the ending of the book. I always suggest everyone read and make their on opinion with books that don't really grab me, because I know not everyone enjoys the say books.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher Lake Union, and this is my fair and honest review.

I really struggled with this book. There were so many plot holes and things that just did not make any sense. I can see how someone might get to the end of the book and decide in hindsight that all those weird things came together to make sense, but they really didn't and the fact that no one noticed they didn't make sense during the course of the story also didn't make sense and added to the unbelievebility of the whole thing. Specifics that won't give the story away include Mallory moving to a new town and having nothing to sleep on the first night. No furniture, no sleeping bag, nothing. She is quickly interviewed by the police about a death that occurs on a beach and they are trying to determine if she is negligent because it is on her property, they suggest that she block it off from public access but then a few days later in the story the town is holding a festival on the same beach. Make up your mind! Issues like this make enjoying a book really difficult.

This book is advertised as thriller but 30% in it still felt very much like contemporary fiction/drama with a dash of suspense thrown in. I think if you go into this book with thriller expectations you will be let down, but overall the writing and story was good and engaging, just not for me.

A very atmospheric and autumnal thriller, set in a small Northern Canadian town that reminded me a lot of the Rockton series from Kelley Armstrong. A woman flees to the forest to escape trauma in the city, stumbling upon a town full of secrets and suspicious deaths. There were some good twists and turns in this book, and you'll have to pay attention to family trees to really understand the drama, but there were also some things that annoyed me. For example, am I supposed to believe that a woman from the city would consistently forget to lock her doors at night? There is a sense of unease throughout the book but some of it is caused by the character being careless. I was also annoyed by how many details were repeated -- I am not sure if this was intentional by the author to hammer home certain plot points, or whether it was to emphasize that a small town tells the same stories to a newcomer? Either way, it felt like some of the history of the town was repetitive. Overall, I liked it but probably not very memorable.

There's a lot to unpack in this story about a woman starting over.
What I can say after finishing, is maybe this wasn't the best location for her to do so. Or maybe it was the perfect place.
Make sense? Probably not.

After the death of her husband, Mallory Dent moves to the small town of McNamara, north of Vancouver. At first, it seemed like the best place to move. Peaceful and a very welcoming community that quickly embraces her arrival. But this story has so many subplots which deal with loss and make Mallory begin to second guess her choice. And of course, Loss Lake is at the center of that loss that haunts the town's history.

At first, I liked most of the people in this community. But as truths about the past are revealed, I began to doubt each of them for different reasons. On top of that, Mallory's own story about the death of her husband, began to change. And those changes made me trust her less.

I can't reveal much more without giving things away, but there's an eery unexplained element to the story, which you'll either like or not. I myself am not sure what to think about it. But I will say, that last sentence was very impactful. Definitely didn't see that coming.

"Sometimes, loyalty requires sacrifice."

This story falls into the mystery/gothic thriller genre, so if you are looking for something new, check this one out.

Loss Lake was a well-written, atmospheric thriller with many twists and turns. The author describes the setting so clearly and vividly that I felt like I was a part of the story, living in the house by Loss Lake in the cold winter in Northern British Columbia. The story is well-paced and engaging. There are supernatural elements of the story but those did not appeal to me and detracted from the third part of the book. In summary, the author is very talented and this novel is one that many readers will like.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for,this advance copy of the novel.

What i liked: There was a sense of unease through much of the story. Which built good tension. I was wondering what is happening here?! The whole time. I enjoyed the romance elements intertwined within the story.

But I was hoping for more. The premise had me excited. I expected a bit more excitement. But to be honest, i was quite bored throughout. There were little snippets here and there that had me intrigued or thinking ok it’s picking up. Only for it to fizzle out. I was also a bit confused trying to follow the characters and who was who. So many characters we didn’t even meet who were brought up and trying to track and remember who they were was a bit difficult. Especially because they were essential to the developments made.
I was also dissatisfied with the ending. There wasn’t much of one... it just ended abruptly. And left you with a few questions. That just bugs me. I can’t say it’s a slow burn. But the last 100 pages or so was better. Overall, i just felt like it was not enough for me. I wanted more.

LOVED! Amber Cowie returns from her smashing debut Rapid Falls and followup Raven Lane, with her best yet —LOSS LAKE.

There is a monster. Is the monster in the lake, or is it within us? Often it is right in front of us.

Superbly written, LOSS LAKE is evocative, dark, deep, chilling, gripping, emotional, and atmospheric— a spellbinding thought-provoking blend of a riveting suspenseful mystery, with elements of mystical, psychological, and literary thriller fiction rolled into one with a Hitchcockian twist!

Forty-year-old Mallory Dent (former nurse) travels 1300 miles north on a new journey and a new chapter in her life. She is leaving all the grief and people behind and moving to a new small town of McNamara. A beautiful remote lakefront home. She senses the lake is awaiting her as much as she has been anticipating her new life.

A recent widow from Vancouver, her husband Graham, recently died with a lingering illness. She had contacted the real estate agency and purchased the small ranch house without seeing it and told herself it was a gift to be reckless for change. It was time she leaves her home and its memories.

However, once she arrived in this small, close-knit rural town with its hardware, real estate, grocery, pub, and families—a place where everyone knows your business. Everyone seemed to be connected or related.

The house is older and built in the mid-60s, and soon after she arrives, she discovers some shocking news. Sergeant Joel Benson (hunk) arrived on her doorstep to inform her someone had drowned. Also, she soon discovers he was killed in her house (shot)—a fact she did not recall her real estate agent informing her. Here she is trying to leave her grief and past and now this.

She quickly meets up with several colorful ladies and neighbors. Some friendly, some not. Many of these people seemed angry and did not welcome new people very quickly.

However, the lake has its monsters. Mallory soon learned there were horrors and deaths. Legends of a monster in the lake.

The lakefront was picturesque and surrounded by forest, and this Sergeant Joel Benson seemed intriguing and sexy. She is attracted to him for some reason.

His sister Kylie befriends her, and Mallory wants to know more about this town. She continues to hear the talk of the monster in the lake. Seemed these deaths took place in October and started with the flood in 1974. The lake takes those who are evil.

She is not sure she feels safe being here after being a spoiled urbanite and maybe was too hasty to move here. This was supposed to be a place to heal, not to be fearful. Slowly Mallory realizes things are not right, and everyone seems to be related to one another with something to hide. From the strange requests of hunting on her land to the snow globes and talk of monsters.

If someone were killed in her house, could someone be after her too? She soon learns it was the brother who was killed. After all these years, they have not found the killer? She begins her own investigation.

Now another accident/murder/suicide? However, what is scarier is she knows this person and is the last to see them. She must learn more about the deaths, this town, its history, and the people. However, she puts herself in danger by getting too close. Someone is stalking around her house, and she no longer feels safe. She may uncover more than she wants.

But the question is, who are the monsters? Often the monsters can be right in front us of. Often they are within fighting the battle between good and evil. Out of the characters, you will meet, you must decide who is the killer and why and who is part of the cover-up? The truth is easy to miss when its right in front of us.

In Cowie's skillful hands, this story of obsession, murder, grief, and the search for truth is both a compassionate character study and a compelling psychological mystery thriller. What I enjoy about Amber's novels that set her apart: her books make you think. That is why I love reading. People may read the same books and have a different takeaway.

I have read many reviews stating they did not like the abrupt ending. I cannot think of any other way to end and thought it was perfection. Is she setting it up for a possible sequel (let's hope) or a future book, or is she leaving you to draw your own conclusion?

I love her settings (I am a nature gal at heart). There is always a hidden meaning with her books, and often the skilled author allows the savvy reader to seek and find the answer or draw a conclusion. A metaphor, symbol, a teaser —she always keeps you guessing.

Her well-developed characters have something to hide. Good stories do not give up their secrets early on. She may not tell you everything, but slowly their demons and inner turmoil are unraveled. The author smoothly mixes red herrings and sprinkles clues. Readers who like a good psychological puzzle will be rewarded.

There are themes of grief, guilt, greed, and loyalty. Something or someone may be weighing them down. The outdoor elements and settings draw you in. Water can be beautiful, but dangerous. The same with people. Good vs. evil. LOSS LAKE would make for an excellent series for the small or widescreen!

Monsters: But are they part of myth, legend, or monsters within us? Are they real?

Some characters are seeking absolution, retribution, resolution, and some escaping or hiding their past. Some want to start over, but their past haunts them. Some things can weigh the soul. Some try and protect themselves or others. Our actions or those of others cause consequences.

LOSS LAKE is vivid, symbolic, and full of dark family secrets in this small rural town—the perfect eerie setting for Halloween!

In my opinion, her writing moves to a different higher level. Both plot and character-driven, Cowie delivers an addictive, totally unputdownable thriller with an explosive killer jaw-dropping ending. Trust NO one! I highly recommend it if you like sophisticated literary mystery thrillers.

I cannot wait to see what is next from Amber! Stay tuned for Nov 10th pub day with an unforgettable Elevator Ride with the Author Interview to discover more about the story behind the story and this exciting author.
In the meantime, I highly recommend (read my reviews) Rapid Falls, Raven Lane, and check out her fabulous essays, short stories, articles, and blogs on her website. Check out my Q&A with her debut Rapid Falls!

A special thank you to #Lake Union, the author, and #NetGalley for the honor of an advanced reading copy.

#JDCMustReadBooks