"The Lake" was a fast paced thriller which was at times predictable. The book started off really promising and I could personally feel the sadness and pain of the character. But as the story progressed, I found it quite repetitive and one dimensional. After a point, the ending and the culprit became quite obvious and it was just a waiting game. I had hoped for a different twist in the end to make it more interesting.

The narration was in first person and was singular. The writing style was articulate. The language was lucid. The tone of the book was of revenge and anguish. The theme of the book was to get a justice. I think if there were multiple POV's, it would have given more structure to the book. It could have been shorter as well instead of meandering in the middle phase of the book.

The story was about a mother, Kate who lost her 15 year old son Michael, 6 years ago to a drowning accident. She has been convinced that there is more to it. But no one wa s interested in her thoughts. Her husband, Adam never liked her son and was more interested in forgetting about him. Her mom suddenly fell ill and she was forced to go back to get childhood home. There she found Michael's old diary and phone. It showed that Michael was in a secret relationship with a person called " Diving Fish". She was supposed to meet him at the Lake on the day he died. Who was this girl? Was she involved in his death? Read to find out.

If you like slow burn thrillers, read this one.

-Afreen

This book was better than I thought it was going to be I found that Kate was really the strongest character in the book. The book is pretty much her investigation into her son's Michael's death which she knows is not accidental. The police investigation was mediocre and it seemed they just to wanted it to be over. Her own support was abysmal, and included her husband, who was a real POS, to say the least.

One of the turning points was when Kate finds her son's diary and learns he had a huge secret. It is obvious someone else knew this secret and why her son will killed and it was not an accidental death. The rest of the book, was her Kate finding this person and brining them to justice. I very much dislike when the huge climax is in the middle of a book and the rest of the book is like a filler. However, this book is still readable and has some "OMG" and "WTF" points throughout, so I still recommend it.

Overall, a decent review and I look forward to more books from this author in the future. Thanks to Netgalley, Louise Sharland and Avon Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 3/18/21

This was an interesting read that kept me glued to my Kindle. It centers on Kate, whose 15 year old son drowned 6 years ago- it was ruled an accident but Kate can't get past the fact that Michael was a star swimmer and believes there has to be more to the story, despite the fact that her family and friends are pushing her to move on with her life.

I felt sorry for Kate and thought it was terrible that she didn't have much support from those around her. The story was unique in that a big chunk of the 2nd half of the book is spent on the retreat she attends to do her investigation and it almost reads like a different story; this was done in a good way, though- Kate took all the things she had learned in the first part of the book and used them to figure out what happened in the 2nd part, and enough time was spent to build out the characters around her at the retreat and to finally give her a support system.

There were a few things that caused me to have to suspend my disbelief, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. I did feel like the storyline around Kate's mother's stroke didn't add much to the story and probably didn't need to be there at all, but I suppose it could help the reader better understand her family dynamics.

The ending of the book was somewhat abrupt, but it did tie everything that happened up to that point together, and provided a little surprise twist beyond the main event that I didn't see coming.

Overall, I liked the book and raced through it to find out what happened. I'd give it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4, and would recommend it to those who enjoy mysteries. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kate's world falls apart when her teenage son drowns in the waters by his school. She’s convinced it wasn’t just a tragic accident, but no one will listen.
This was such a tense suspenseful book! It had me hooked from get go. The characters were raw.... Felt what Kate was feeling and I just love that in a book!
Thanks NetGalley Publisher and Author for this erc

A thoroughly enjoyable and poignant read covering some very moving, controversial and sad themes. The main character is seeking to find answers about how her only son died six years previously whilst also coming to terms with the mortality of her parents, a deeply religious upbringing, teenage pregnancy, an underage relationship with a teacher and an unhappy abusive marriage. Sounds like a lifetime’s caseload for a counsellor! All of the above, however, are explored sensitively and I felt a real connection and empathy with the lead character. The plot develops beautifully, unfolding piece by piece and you really feel you’re on the voyage of discovering, taking the highs and lows with her. Stunning and a book that will stay with me for a long time.

I really wanted to like this book, but it missed the mark for me a little. It felt like 2 separate books, the first half seemed to function as a way of making the main character truly unlikeable.
The second half was much more enjoyable, right up until the utterly predictable ending.

I was thoroughly disappointed in this book. It had so much potential. Points of interest were introduced & then abandoned a moment later. The relationship with The Brethren could have been explored much further, along with the relationship with Micheal's father.

There was so much potential for this to be great, unfortunately it didn't really get there.

I requested this book as the cover and blurb really appealed to me. It promised to be a thrilling, addictive page-turner and although it was good, it could have been better.

Katie/Kate/Kat (I don't know, she is called by all three at some point or another) is a grieving mother. Her 15 year old son drowned in a lake 6 years ago and not only has she not gotten over it but she is convinced that his drowning was not an accident, but something far more sinister.

Kate had a very close relationship with her son. She fell pregnant with him as a teenager which caused her family to be cast out of and shunned by their religious group (brethren) and thus causing the relationship with her mother to be very strained.

As you read along, Kate ends up at her mother's house where she discovers her son's diary and she begins to realise that there is a lot about his life that she didn't know. She is inspired to start her investigations again.

Her husband and sister do not think this is a good idea at all and try to prevent her from looking into things further. They say it is in her best interests and it is hinted that she had some sort of mental breakdown in the past but it doesn't really go into any detail about this.

I really felt for Kate as a character because she just doesn't seem to have any real support. Her husband is a doctor and although in the beginning you think that he is well-meaning, as you read further and delve deeper there is a manipulative and controlling side to him that I really didn't like. Kates sister has always disliked him and so did her son, describing him as, "threats-behind-closed-doors Adam" in his diary.

The "villain" of the story is revealed around halfway through and the latter half is all about Kate collecting evidence against this person. It was interesting but overall it felt a little bit slow with no real, hard evidence ever collected. That "spark" wasn't really there. In all honesty I found the discovery of the villain to be a little anti-climactic and I would have loved it to go into more detail with more twists and shocks.

That being said, I found the characters to be interesting and engaging and I read the whole book in less than a day. There were no points in the book were I was bored but neither were there any where I was really thrilled or absorbed. It was a good read but not a book I would ever be likely to pick up for a reread.

I could not get into this free copy sent to me for review for Netgalley. That is not to say that others won’t like the story. Try it.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kate is still mourning the loss of her teenage son and is determined to find out what really happened the night of his death when some more evidence comes to light that sends her on a mission for the truth.

Things were going really well with this book until probably the last quarter of it. I liked how it set up the character of Kate and the back story with her husband and family. It just seemed to go off in a tangent then, the overall ending was ok just a bit predictable and it just seemed to leave some threads unresolved. Not a bad read but a bit of a unsatisfactory conclusion.

Kate's son died after drowning at a local lake. Unconvinced it was just an accident Kate tries to discover the truth after finding his diary.

I loved this book. I enjoyed how it played out. Like most thrillers there is a slow burn element but it kept me interested in finding out. I enjoyed the twists in the storyline and how she worked it out. I loved how it all unfolded. Brilliant read.

I received an advance copy of, The Lake by Louise Sharland. I found this book was to long and boring. Others might enjoy it, but I did not.

I found this gritty, tense and couldn't put it down. I craved it when I wasn't reading it. Kate's son is involved in a tragic accident, Kate doesn't think all is as it seems so goes on a hunt to find out what really happened that night. What she finds out is truly shocking and the story takes you on a path that brings out secrets and she realises that she did not know her son at all. I will be looking out for more of Louise's books as this one was a brilliant psychological thriller.

This book tells the story of Kate, a mother who lost her 15 year old son in an accident six years previously. The storyline was interesting but the speed with which I read this book showed the need for a little more depth.
Kate is desperate, bordering on obsessed, with finding out the truth surrounding her son's death following an open verdict at inquest. I found it slightly irritating that answers fell into her lap with such ease and an unbelievable amount of good fortune.
Definitely worth a read but probably not a book I would return to a second time.

3.5 stars rounded up on this debut! It was a very entertaining plot but it could have been told a little faster with a little more intensity. I felt awful for the mother, Kate, who just wanted the truth of what happened to her son. She wanted closure and it was slightly far fetched on how things fell into her lap at times but I was intrigued nonetheless. Her support system was crap at best and I struggled with understanding her relationship with her own sister. And her husband, he is the definition of divorce he was ruthless and bothered me but that was good writing for me to have that much emotion towards him.

Overall it was a good book I just wish it wasn’t so spread out and a little more thrill to be added.

**SPOILERS**

3.5 stars - Great read. The author has a fantastic writing style. The last 25% of the book or so (when the poetry retreat starts) is kind of slow, and the 'evidence' Kate thinks she's gathered really is just opinion isn't it? The biggest thing that annoyed me was that "Diving Fish" was supposedly Michael's swim coach. But then during the canoeing she said she couldn't go because she couldn't swim. (But she was the swim coach?) Then later when they fell in the Loch, suddenly she was swimming. Then somehow something "pulled her down"... doesn't seem plausible.

Also Kate didn't seem to grieve much when her mother died? And she claims she left her husband but I don't think HE knew that.... lol.

I did LOVE that none of the book's locations were in the United States! Loved the Canada-UK connection also!

Great book! Engaging from the beginning to the end. Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommended!

When Kate’s teenage son drowns in the pond near his school, authorities deem it a tragic accident, but Kate doesn’t believe it. Six years later, when Kate finds Michael’s diary, she finally has the chance to prove her theory. It’s only when she delves into the diary that Kate realizes she didn’t really know her son at all, and it may have been better to have let the past, and her son’s secrets, stay buried

This novel focuses on a desperate quest by a mother to find out the truth about what happened to her son that drowned in a lake next to his school. Excellently written!

The blurb for The Lake promised an addictive page-turner and while I did finish reading it in a day, I am still as ambivalent about it as I was while reading it.

Kate Hardy, a grieving mother has been living in limbo ever since the drowning of her 15yr old son, six years ago. Though she suspects foul play considering that Michael was a good swimmer, no-one is willing to believe her. And with a haphazard investigation, the lukewarm support of her family and her controlling husband, Kate has been unable to move on. Things quickly take a turn when she discovers Michael's diary and figures that her son was hiding a huge secret, probably one that got him killed. Armed with a renewed sense of purpose, Kate begins her own investigation into her son's death. The villain is revealed midway through the story; the rest of the plot is about bringing the person to justice.

The story premise had great potential as the author has touched upon sensitive issues such as loss of a child, emotional abuse and underage abuse. While the first half of the book maintained a steady pace, the latter half drags by. The story itself was intriguing; my curiosity to find out what happens next kept me reading till the end. But the writing style was not to my taste. For eg: Though not an expert, I would suppose that a diary entry would be written in the past tense not in the present or present continuous tense. Also the repetitive use of certain lines (How many times have I said this? Why does everyone keep asking me this?) quickly got old. Not to forget the very convenient, coincidental way Kate found out the location of the antagonist.

The character of Caleb seemed like a forced addition to the plot, provided only to give Kate a happy-ever-after. The story was off to a great start but slowly peters out. The anguish of a mother is portrayed well as well as the insecurities of an emotional abuse victim. Overall, I would say the book was average.

A big thank you to Avon Books and Netgalley for approving my request for a digital copy of this book in return for an honest review.