Leads Scarce, Suspects Numerous…
Book one in the Detective Chris Bailey series finds the detective deep in a complex case of missing persons coming hot on the heels of the drowning of an unidentified one. Leads are scarce but suspects suddenly numerous. As another body surfaces the detective realises that there may well be a pattern emerging. Enjoyable and engaging, character driven suspense with plenty of twists and an immersive narrative. The denouement, when it comes, may not be as predictable as first thought.

Too much inane talking and not enough action. Good if you're trying to fall asleep. I don't think I'm going to be able to stick with it unless I'm absolutely desperate for something to do read.

I really enjoyed this book, it was well written with good character development and a good storyline. I enjoyed the multiple narratives within the text as this really added an extra depth and I really felt that I got to know all of the characters. It was suspenseful and mysterious and I couldnt put ti down.

This book was great! I loved reading from all different perspectives of each character and it definitely kept me engaged from beginning to end!

I really enjoyed The Lakehouse, there was friendship, a love triangle, murder, suspense. This book was extremely well written, very descriptive and hooked me from the start. I was excited that this is a series and can’t wait to continue reading! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this amazing book!

This was an enjoyable read that had me fighting sleep at night because I wanted to keep reading. Likable characters, a good plot, but what felt like a rushed ending. Still a worthwhile, enjoyable read with just a hint of spice.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Lauren Matthews heads to the lake on vacation with her boyfriend, Drew, and his best best friend, Rob, but it is not the relaxing week they hoped for. On their first night, they hear a scream, but can't decide if it is a woman or an animal. The next morning, Lauren sees their voyeuristic neighbor, a bestselling crime author, lug something big and heavy into his boat, and a day or two later he reports his wife missing. As detective Chris Bailey investigates her disappearance, he begins to think there may be a link to the body of an unidentified young woman that found drowned in the same lake the summer before, cause of death undetermined, especially when the body of another young woman is found floating in the lake. Drew and Rob were also there last summer around the time the first body was found, as was the neighbor, putting them all on Bailey's suspect list. This was a quick read and overall I enjoyed the book. Sometimes I found the writing a bit awkward and I had to reread sentences to make sense of them. You feel like you know who the perpetrator is for much of the book, but there are surprises at the end.

All I can say is what have I just read, brilliant book and I was glued to it from page one and could not put it down, twists and turns galore, it was so good .

2.5 stars rounded down to 2

Detective Chris Bailey Book 1

Lauren Matthews, while lounging on the shore, sees a man lugging something heavy into a boat the morning after she and her friends hear a strange cry ring out across the lake in the dead of night. Detective Chris Bailey is stumped. He's trying to solve the mystery of a drowning with an identified victim. But with no leads, he's getting nowhere. And now, at the same lake, two more women suddenly have gone missing. Chris suddenly finds he has an array of murder suspects but no bodies.

I do dislike when I have to write a negative review. After all, someone has put a lot of work, time and effort into writing a book. There was a couple of times when I thought it as showing more potential, but I was wrong. I didn't like any of the characters, they were a bit one-dimensional to me. I'm sure I will be in the minority and lots more readers will enjoy this story.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #JoffeBooks and the author #KateWetterson for my ARC of #TheLakeHouse in exchange for an honest review.

The book plot is promising but it quickly goes down the hill and I couldn't bring myself to finish it.

The three friends go on holiday and (too) much attention is given to the fact that they all are physically very attractive in addition to the girl also being very intelligent. There is a lot of tell but nothing to show or substantiate. There are no inner thoughts or some development, the writing style is mainly dialogues and they are not that interesting and topics are almost forced, so the development of these characters is very superficial. We are really to believe that these two "hot" dudes in their late 20s who fly the world and have high careers are looking for a girl to settle down and have children with?

There is a crazy murderer next door who stalks the friends and the reader is provided all the details. When other reviewers talk about the suspense, it made me wonder if they read a completely different book. There is really not much suspense here and if the author pulled out some crazy surprise angle at the end of it, it was probably unrealistic as the whole book.

30% into the book we are introduced to some detectives, But the more I read about them, the more I wondered why we are wasting pages on these secondary characters. It seems that the author paved the way to the new series with a new detective and in the process ruined the book.

A very superficial book, a very superficial story. It held a lot of promise so I am very disappointed. I think the author was just not bothered to put more effort and it shows.

Thanks NetGalley for a free copy in exchange of the honest review.

The Lake House by Kate Watterson was an entertaining read. Characters and plot were well developed. I found the book to be a bit complicated and had some difficulty making connections and following the tale.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Joffe Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


Intense, suspenseful read that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Tgis was an atmospheric and intrnse read. It was well written and gripping and kept me guessing from start to finish.

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
I was looking forward to reading this book, but just couldn't get into it. The 3 main characters, 2 best friends and the girlfriend of 1 of them spend a week at a beautiful lake house in the country. One has come with his girlfriend and his friend secretly covets her and she him. The men are very good-looking, the girl is beautiful and I found all of them vapid and couldn't care less about them. There's a neighboring murderous writer, a murder or 2 and a detective who will feature again in this series. Unfortunately, this book was not for me and I won't be reading the follow-up, sorry!

Three friends are at a lake house for what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation. There is tension already because both men, long time friends, like the woman with them on the trip. Soon they are involved with a mystery, a missing woman and a dead body, along with a creepy neighbor. There is plenty of suspense in this book along with a romance. I had read this author years ago, like her then so I decided to try her again. This book was just as good as the previous ones I read. I will definitely be adding her to my list of authors. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Two missing women.
One unidentified victim.
A witness who may have seen too much.

Lauren Mathews, while lounging on the shore, sees a man lugging something heavy into a boat the morning after she and her friends hear a strange cry ring out across the lake in the dead of night.

Detective Chris Bailey is stumped. He’s trying to solve the mystery of a drowning with an unidentified victim. But with no leads, he’s getting nowhere. And now, at the same lake, two more women suddenly have gone missing.

Chris suddenly finds he has an array of murder suspects but no bodies. At the center of it seems to be a young woman, Lauren Mathews. He doesn't know what role she plays, but he does know she is of interest to at least three of the men under suspicion.

But a pattern is emerging. Another body surfaces.

The killer will stop at nothing to stay hidden. But as he draws closer to unraveling the mystery of dead women, Chris begins to fear Lauren will be next on the killer’s list. I really enjoyed this book. It was hard to put down as it drew me in immediately and before I knew it I was in the middle of the book!

Good book! This book had suspense, intrigue, and a great who done it plus some crazy twists and turns I will definitely recommend reading this one! Its worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!