Rachel Caine | STILLHOUSE LAKE

Plot:

Gina Royal is the definition of average—a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor—the ultimate warrior mom. With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake. Though still the target of stalkers and Internet trolls who think she had something to do with her husband’s crimes, Gwen dares to think her kids can finally grow up in peace. But just when she’s starting to feel at ease in her new identity, a body turns up in the lake—and threatening letters start arriving from an all-too-familiar address. Gwen Proctor must keep friends close and enemies at bay to avoid being exposed—or watch her kids fall victim to a killer who takes pleasure in tormenting her. One thing is certain: she’s learned how to fight evil. And she’ll never stop.

Review:

Rachel Caine's STILLHOUSE LAKE plays out like one of the Lifetime movies that is actually worth watching. The opening is hectic and full of panic, the premise is creepy and anxiety-ridden, and the whole book is just pure entertainment. Another blogger I follow has referred to a couple of books that she has read as "popcorn reads", which are just purely entertaining and fast-paced. This is the book that I would definitely consider a "popcorn read" and it's the perfect thriller for a rainy, windy and relaxing Sunday.

STILL HOUSE LAKE is a good read for a multitude of reasons. I loved the setting to this one. I mean, when you open a thriller that takes place in the mountains by a lake, you know that you are going to be spooked and the imagery with this one is fantastic. I could almost smell the mountain air, hear the water, and feel the dampness in the air throughout this read. Caine does a fantastic job of going against the grain with what you would expect to happen with what actually happens. I think the imagery and the setting with this one really helped her case as she had a lot of difficult scenes to describe and did so flawlessly. 

Gwen Proctor is definitely one hell of a heroine. The character development with her and her children is also exceptionally well-paced. Upon meeting her, she is a terrified woman who has far too many backup plans out of the fear of not only her ex-husband who is a serial killer in prison, but also his "fans" and the people that believe Gwen was apart of his monstrous ways. While Gwen fears for not only her safety, but the safety of her children, the reader is taken on a rather quick journey as Gwen quickly escalates from victim to fighter. She is smart, she is tough, and she is not the woman you mess with. While this novel definitely had some scenes that I wish had been sped up, it wasn't a chore to read through those pages as you really get a realistic feel as to how protective Gwen is and the woman she has become. The dynamic between Gwen and her two children is brutally honest and at times often comedic. I will say as well, adding in the multitude of other characters that live around her was not only easy to adapt to, but Caine also builds some interesting and unforgettable personalities within the pages of this well-paced and entertaining read. The thing that I really enjoyed was that there are three female characters in this novel and an array of male characters. The reason I really enjoyed this as a reader is because the number of red herrings as to who could be committing the killings in this usually peaceful community climbs as you devour the pages. I literally didn't trust one male character the entire time and felt protective over Gwen, her daughter Lanny, and Officer Claremont as I felt these women had a lot of looking over their shoulders to do.

This novel quickly escalated from paranoia to violence to panic seamlessly well as we quickly approach the finale of the novel...and what a finale it was. I was chewing my fingernails as I found Gwen uncovering some rather disturbing details about some of the people around her, her ex-husband, and felt her helplessness as this strong-willed and determined woman is thrown into danger. With fantastic pacing, I couldn't help but find myself anxiously tapping my foot or holding my breath as I approached the final page, leaving me with a cliffhanger that made me hungry for more.

Special thanks to Amazon Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5