The Lakehouse By Joe Clifford

Debra

Todd Newman who has been cleared of his wife's murder has returned to her small Connecticut town to finish building their Lake House. He wants to start over and crawl out from under the shadow of suspicion of doubt and suspicion that surrounds him. Everyone believes he is guilty and when a young woman's body washes up on the beach next door, naturally he is the first suspect, but did he do it?

Tracey Somerset is a divorced single mother raising her two-year-old son. She is not looking to meet someone when she drives to Walmart to get some medication. But there Todd is, and she enjoys his attention and speaking with him. She has no idea at the time she is speaking to a man dubbed "The Banker Butcher".

The book is told through the POV of Tracey and the Sheriff, Sheriff Duane Sobczak. Through them, we learn their thoughts and feelings concerning Todd Newman and the investigation into the young women's deaths.

This will go into the category of liked not loved it. The story was good, but I wish it was as good as the ending. I enjoyed the last parts of the book the most and the last chapter titled "A year and a half later." Throughout the book, we get to see that the town is full of secrets and that some will do whatever they must to protect their secrets.

**an interesting thing, I see that some reviewers are calling Todd Newman "Greg" Newman. In my version of the book he is Todd Newman. I wonder if the Author changed his name.

Thank you to Polis Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tina Loves To Read

This is a thriller. I got a little lost a couple times reading this book, and I think it was the writing style that made me get lost. I cannot say I was thrill during reading this book. I also feel the pacing was off in this book (the beginning was ok then it got boring and slow). I did not like or love this book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Polis Books) or author (Joe Cliffod) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Erin Clemence

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

Expected pub date: September 22, 2020

“The Lakehouse” is the newest domestic psychological thriller by author
Joe Clifford. Clifford is a new writer for me, so I was eager to give his writing a try.

Greg Norman was arrested for the murder of his wife years ago and, although he was found not guilty and cleared of the charges, his small home town of Covenant doesn’t forget. So when Greg moves back after years away, and starts building a lake house, the townspeople do what they can to remind Greg that he isn’t wanted. When another girl disappears, and then another, Greg is thrust into the spotlight once again. But Greg’s new girlfriend, Tracy, is convinced Greg didn’t commit the murder and she is willing to risk it all to prove his innocence. However, the father of the victim, the town and even the chief of police are all convinced Greg had a part to play.

This novel is told from the perspective of Tracy, the divorced single mother and recent love interest of Greg, and the police chief, who also has a personal connection to the murder Greg was charged for (and acquitted of) . Both tell their sides of the story and through this, an easy bond is formed with the reader. Both characters are likable, honest and are easy to root for, even though wanting one to succeed means the other has to fail. Even Greg, so dubbed the “Banker Butcher”, has his moments of being charming and likable, even though right from the onset, it is difficult to believe he is any kind of killer.

I found some of the writing, especially toward the end of the story, to be a little bit choppy. Perhaps this was just my advanced electronic copy, but there were a few passages I needed to re-read as I wasn’t sure who was supposed to be talking and what was going on. This happened so infrequently though, it did not prevent me from enjoying the story itself. And, to those of us who are familiar with this type of genre, the ending of the novel was not exactly surprising, although I did really enjoy the final plot twist.

An intriguing novel about undiscovered secrets, hidden pasts and the lies we tell to protect those we love, “The Lighthouse” is an entertaining story full of intrigue and suspicion. Clifford has definitely piqued my interest and I’m keeping an eye out for his future works!

Christina

This book had a lot of potential. It’s very well-written, and has a great beginning, which was giving me Twin Peaks vibes. Tracy Somerset moves to a small town after a rough divorce, and meets a handsome stranger, Greg Norman. Things are looking up! Until she learns that Greg was tried and acquitted for murdering his wife years before. Greg has (somewhat inexplicably) moved back to the small lakeside town where the crime occurred. She decides to date him anyway. This development is sort of rationalized and then set aside.

This is where I start to have some problems with the book. I have trouble identifying with a main character who starts dating a guy who was on trial for murdering a woman. Is he maybe innocent? Maybe. Do women do this in real life? Sure, probably. Would I ever take this kind of chance? HELL no. Similarly I have a little trouble identifying with someone who would date this guy for the reasons provided here. The book doesn’t give a very compelling psychological or other reason why Tracy might do this and Greg isn’t especially charming. If it seemed like Tracy was falling under the spell of a potential murderer I might have been more intrigued by this, but Greg is depicted as a wronged nice guy from the start. Sorry about your murder trial dude, but if it’s all the same, I’ll just head back to Tinder and find someone who more definitely is not a murderer.

The book is still well-written and spooky but from that point things become a bit less believable. Also the book moves at a rather slow pace. Towards the end of the book things get more exciting. I was very intrigued by several of the small-town characters like the psychiatrist and the sheriff and liked it when the book let us spend more time with both of them. The ending was also very good.

Overall, for me a mixed bag. I wish we could give half stars because this book is a pretty solid 3.5 - good (if slow) writing, and some interesting characters and ideas. But ultimately I am rounding down due to the mostly slow pace and the fact that I could not really get behind or understand Tracy’s decision to date the potential murderer. If you’re less picky than me about your plot points your mileage may vary, as many others are enjoying this book. Clifford is definitely a talented writer.

Thanks to Polis Books, NetGalley and Joe Clifford for the advance copy!

The Sassy Bookworm

This book was probably one of my favorites from this year. The writing was fantastic. The mystery was masterly written and kept me guessing until the very end. Full of twists and turns. Interesting character's. An atmospheric setting. Honestly, I can't really think of one thing I didn't love about this book.

Alicia Bayer

For the most part, I really enjoyed this mystery/suspense novel. It's fairly well written with a good story line and moves at a pretty good pace. It's told from the POV of several characters and they feel different from each other even if they are a bit 2-D or cliched.

Three things detracted from it being a 5 star book for me though: 1. It's told in the present tense, which I find somewhat annoying ("Tracy reaches for the..." and "Dr. Bakshir wonders..."). 2. I had a hard time keeping the girls straight. The book frequently goes back to what happened in the past with 3 popular girls whose names all started with A (Amber, April and Amanda) and then a group of girls who spent time in a rehab facility together (April from the first group, Shannon, Beiko and Wendy). I found myself forever trying to remember who Amber was, and the three girls from the rehab other than April never seemed like distinct characters). 3. The ending was so confusing and unsatisfying. It leaves as many questions as it gave answers (actually more). Apparently that was okay for many reviewers, as this seems to be really well reviewed and some mentioned not needing all the answers, but if I read a whodunnit I really want everything explained. I found myself going "What?????" constantly in the last few chapters, even re-reading in order to see if I could make it make better sense. I still don't know a couple of big things and there's one character's story that is just completely left unwritten... I think, unless I've got her confused with someone else.... I have no idea, but it felt kind of like the last bit of the book was one of those movies where a main character or director died and someone else had to just quickly wrap something together. I would love to see the ending polished up with more answers and clearer events, and for the main characters to be a bit more humanized from the cliched small town burly police chief, lonely single mom and strong and stoic wrongly accused man. Despite all that, I enjoyed the book and read through it quite quickly to find out what was going to happen.

I read a digital ARC of this book via Net Galley.

Jen

This was a quick read, though the end was unsatisfying to me and left many unanswered questions. The story centers around a guy named Todd who was acquitted of killing his wife, April, 5 years prior, and returns to her hometown to build a lakehouse that they planned on building together (though his intentions related to returning to her hometown is mentioned in the synopsis and never in the actual book). Though Todd is the main focus of the story, he is a rather underdeveloped character who we never really get to know, and the chapters alternate between the voices of Tracy, a divorcee who falls in love with Todd, Sobczak, the chief of police convinced of Todd's guilt, and Dr Backshir, the local psychologist.

There is a lot going on in this story, and a lot of tertiary characters. You see a lot of the connections between people who have spent their lives in a small town, some of which were a bit cliched but felt (for the most part) believable. I liked the chief's character and felt that he was the most developed of all of them. I had an idea of who the villain was, but felt that the story arc was incomplete even when it was revealed.

It was the end that I questioned the most- I reread the last couple chapters a couple times and I am still not sure exactly what happened- I can't decide whether the author intended it to be confusing in order to make it mysterious, or if I just missed something I should have figured out. Either way, I left the book feeling that there were a great deal of loose ends that needed to be tied up.

Overall, it was a quick read but I can't say it was super memorable for me, other than the fact that I am left with questions. I hear great things about Clifford's books and think I might try another one, but this one didn't really do it for me.

Craig Buck

I've read a few of Joe Clifford's other books, which I enjoyed very much, but they were somewhat limited in their breadth by the urban-druggie genre. With The Lakehouse, he's written a book with a much broader appeal and he's done it with terrific style and pace. The story moves like a thoroughbred, and the characters are both original and engaging. The premise--a man acquitted of murdering his wife, then moving back to her small town, where almost everyone believe he's guilty, to build the lakehouse his wife had always dreamed of--is stuffed with promise, and Clifford fulfills it to the brim. All in all a terrific read. Highly recommend.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Diane Merritt

This started off good then slowly just slowed down for me. So many people to connect with. Had a hard time picking it up and wanting to continue to read. The premise was good the characters just didn't draw me in enough.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Net Galley for an early release of this book.

Madeline (always_reading1)

What an ending! So many things left to interpretation but I enjoyed it.

Mary

The Lakehouse by
Joe Clifford is a (super) slow burning mystery that left me feeling confused. Not the best way to start a 4-star review right? But even though there was confusion, and it was a bit slower than I maybe would have liked, I still REALLY enjoyed this book. My friend kindly lent me the physical copy to see if it matched what I had on NetGalley (it did), and I literally cannot get over how gorgeous and fitting the cover is. I do love a good slow burn but be advised the pacing is particularly slow here. I still found the book utterly captivating though so in this instance it didn't really bother me.

The part that confused me the most was all of the "A" names. The Sheriff's daughter's name is Amanda, and then there is also an April and an Amber, all of whom were friends at one point. Mix this in with all the other characters and for some reason I found myself a little lost. So if I had to do anything differently, I would have written everyone down. I also found the very end to be a bit ambiguous for my liking and it went over my head. After speaking to the same friend that loaned me the book, who actually got it, I understood though and that made me like the book even more.

I thought the mystery was good and there are quite a few moving parts. I apparently wasn't smart enough for this book, but I did really appreciate the ride. The Lakehouse is said to be a domestic psychological thriller and I have to say I agree although the thriller part felt more like a mystery to me. The book is told from Tracy and Sheriff Duane Sobczak’s viewpoints along with a couple of other characters and does jump around a little bit. Overall I was a fan, and I will definitely be reading more from Clifford!

Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Jim Thomsen

For me, THE LAKEHOUSE didn't work as a thriller, with its plodding pace, its lack of incremental dread and pleasurable uncertainty, its reveal of a villain without much presence. But while the sum isn't much, some of the parts are pretty interesting. Joe Clifford seems more interested in exploring — and over-exploring — the inner lives of some of his characters (others, like Todd Norman, the lakehouse owner, never really register). In that respect, THE LAKEHOSE feels like a throwback to some of the sleepy character-study small-town mysteries I enjoyed in the late 1980s, like Martha Grimes' THE END OF THE PIER and Judith Guest's KILLING TIME IN ST. CLOUD, or the suburban mysteries of Mary Higgins Clark or Susan Isaacs.

But Clifford scores some points of insight through Pastor Bob, the aging hippy leader of a church that takes in runaway teens; Dwayne Sobczak, a small-town police chief who manages to stay just ahead of the complacency that wants to consume him in the (usually) sleepy town of Covenant, Connecticut; Amanda Sobczak, his daughter, a teen queen who has never moved on from high school; and Tracy Somerset, a single mom who can't help her attraction to an accused murderer even as her eyes are wide open. (Others, like Dr. Bakshir, a therapist with good intentions and deep weaknesses, are dwelled upon too long and register damply on the page to little resonant effect.)

But those good moments made THE LAKEHOUSE absorbing in fits and starts, and there's just enough there to have me hoping that Joe Clifford fully harnesses his talent for human insight and someday writes the first-rate thriller I get the feeling he's capable of.

Allison Speakmon

Who is looking for a good mystery? If you are than The Lakehouse is perfect for you! Set in a small town in New England, this is the story of the gritty underbelly of small town suburbia. How, in a town where nobody locks their doors and the Sheriff is the only full time employee of the police departments, secrets run wild. And in small towns, it’s even harder to not let public opinion interfere with your own ideas.

Clifford does a fantastic job of weaving together a seamless plot, and there were multiple red herrings that really helped to increase the suspense of the story. Clifford’s writing is excellent and the monty crew of characters is prefect for this story. I really enjoyed getting to know each character, and understanding what drove them to do the things they do, was intriguing for me.

It’s hard to get too into the plot without giving away keep aspects of the story. Just know that this was a fabulous story and I can’t wait for more from Clifford.

This book comes out September 15th, make sure to pick it up!

I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on The Lakehouse If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books. Huge thanks to Polis Books for my advanced copy!

Kourtney

Having recently read "Skunk Train", I had extremely high hopes for "The Lakehouse" and Joe Clifford did not disappoint!!!

Greg Norman, whose wife was killed, moves to her hometown to fulfill a promise they made to build a house on the lake. Let's back up and mention that Greg was accused of and stood trial for her murder and was cleared of all charges....unfortunately, the townsfolk do not believe in his innocence...and when a body is discovered near the site of the lake house, any chance of clearing his name is out of the question. It gets worse when more women start to disappear and the plot thickens.

This story has so many rich characters, brilliantly interwoven into a great story that shows the ripple effect of things that happen in a small town and how the dead don't stay buried. I could not put this book down, every layer that was exposed made me want to unravel the mystery more!

If you haven't read anything by Joe Clifford, please do yourself a favor and pick up one of his books! They will keep you up reading into the wee hours of the night!

A special thank you to NetGalley, Polis Books, and Joe Clifford for providing me with an ARC.

Ghada

#TheLakehouse #NetGalley
Thanks NetGalley, Polis Books and Joe Clifford for an early copy for review.
This is way difficult to review. A man who was suspected and cleared off murdering his wife returns to her childhood hometown to build their dream home, A single divorced mom falls for him and believes in his innocence unlike the whole town who turns to angry mob fixated on him.
The book is engaging, keeps you hooked till the very last word till you suddenly find no more words but still need unfulfilled answers. I felt like it was the perfect mystery as I feel I never knew the full story, who did what and who didn't do what.
The uncorrected copy has lots of typos, even in the characters names.
I enjoyed the book as a whole and will try another book for Joe Clifford.

Mona Garg

My thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC.

Everyone knows everyone. They have history and look out for their own(most of the time). News travels fast. Such is the nature of small towns. Covenant, CT is no different.

It suits some. But, for others who would prefer to remain anonymous...not so much. Greg Norman is one of those "others." Labeled the "Banker Butcher," he was charged with the murder of his wife. That he was acquitted and found innocent was beside the point. April Abbott, his wife, was a hometown girl. He was not banking on a warm welcome from the community. His sole purpose was to fulfill a promise made to his late wife : finish building their dream house on Shallow Lake.

Chief Duane Sobczak runs the Covenant Police Department, if you can call it that. He and his deputy, Tom Kies(who also happens to be his son-in-law), are the only full-time employees. The rest of the staff are volunteers. Nearby Holland police provide back-up. There was never a need for anything more. Nothing ever happened in Covenant. Until now.

A body of a young woman has washed ashore. Right next door to Greg's lake house. The investigation that follows is messy, implicating and exposing many Covenant residents, including the chief's own daughter. Nobody, including myself, could have imagined who the culprit was.

Divided into four parts, representing the change of seasons and told from alternating perspectives, this was an absorbing thriller that kept me guessing.

Romanticamente Fantasy

Lulu' - per RFS
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Covenant è una tranquilla cittadina che si affaccia sulle rive di un lago. I suoi abitanti sono una piccola comunità, tanto che vi è un solo sceriffo, Dwayne Sobczak, che, insieme al suo vice, nonché genero, Tom, rappresenta le forze dell’ordine in una località dove i crimini sono ben pochi e di basso profilo. In questo scenario sonnacchioso vive anche Tracy, uscita da poco da un matrimonio disastroso e che ora vive sola con il figlio di due anni, che incontriamo nel primo capitolo intenta a barcamenarsi fra le mille difficoltà di una madre single. Con lei conosciamo anche un altro personaggio chiave di questo intrigante thriller, Greg Norman, il quale aiuta la povera Tracy all’interno di un supermercato Walmart e riaccende in lei la speranza di un futuro meno solitario.

Un quadro idilliaco con le normali difficoltà della vita di comunità, fin quando il ritrovamento del corpo di una donna sulle rive del lago non apre un varco tra il passato e il presente oscuro di questa comunità. Mentre ognuno dei personaggi principali e di quelli che man mano si aggiungono deve fare i conti con segreti più o meno noti, altre donne scompaiono e, sebbene inizialmente il passato di Norman lo pone fra i principali sospettati, nulla sembra definitivo.

Sarà davvero lui il terribile assassino? O è ancora una volta un innocente inascoltato dalla comunità che gli addossa ancora l’omicidio della moglie per cui è stato assolto?

Mentre questo dilemma corrode i nostri protagonisti, altri personaggi si affacciano sulla scena e il passato a gran voce chiede di essere svelato.

La casa sul lago è un thriller ben costruito, in cui i colpi di scena abbondano e non sono mai scontati, la trama è avvincente e i personaggi ben delineati, tanto da aiutare con la loro caratterizzazione a rendere il mistero ancora più oscuro e la suspense crescente fino al finale per nulla prevedibile o scontato. Un libro che mi è piaciuto dall’inizio alla fine e che mi sento di consigliare a chiunque per la sua trama ben costruita. Buona lettura!

Lisa Konet

+2 just for the amazing cover,
+1 not predictable
-1 not a lot of dialogue
-1 been there, read that kind of story
+1 still readable even with many errors in ARC proof

So the idea and premise of this book is not anything new, but can we talk about the great cover? So pretty! I want that house and the view! Todd Norman is accused of murdering his wife nut gets a not guilty verdict at his trial. He changes his name and moves back to Shallow Lake Connecticut to fulfill the promise he made to his murdered wife to build their dream house. All is going well until neighbors get nosy and another body washes up on the beach by his new house. The police detective is convinced he is guilty and everyone in town knows who he really is "the Banker Butcher." There a lot of misunderstandings, and someone is obviously setting up poo Todd Norman. Is one of his angry former NY bank clients or someone from his deceased wife's old town that is jealous?

I am surprised I liked this as much as I did given there really was not much character dialogue but I was rooting for Todd to the fresh start he deserves. Easier said than done.. Highly recommended. Joe Clifford will definitely be a re=read author.

Thanks to Netgalley, Joe Clifford, and Polis Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 9/22/20

Natalie "Curling up with a Coffee and a Kindle" Rampling

I enjoyed this, the characters were good and likeable. I would have preferred a more suspenseful read though, ie if Greg was actually a potential murderer. The police thought he did it, but the way Greg is portrayed is too gentle on this and could have helped to add more danger to Tracy's story.

Beth Chats Books

This is my first encounter with the author Joe Clifford and I am mightily impressed. Set in a small New England town, this gripping story takes you on a journey through the gritty underbelly of a seemingly perfect slice of suburbia. Murder, adultery, secrets and cover ups, this book has it all! So well written you just have to keep turning the page. A flawlessly woven plot line that had the perfect mix of suspense and development. A pure pleasure to read. Would highly recommend to thriller fans!

Thank you to Joe Clifford,Polis books and NetGalley for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Caitlyn DeRouin

I love a good mystery/thriller and based on the description, The Lakehouse seemed to offer just that. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to expectations. The biggest issue for me with this book was the writing, I found it to be disjointed, choppy, and repetitive. There were many times while reading where a piece of information would be presented and I found myself saying, "again? this was mentioned/discussed just a few chapters ago." it felt like the author couldn't remember what had already been mentioned so he put it in the book again. Then there was one short chapter where the author went from writing in a third-person narrative to a second-person narrative for no reason at all. Overall I felt that there was a lack of cohesion that lead to no sense of flow.

Besides the writing style, the other huge issue I had was with the characters. None of the characters felt fully developed. Tracy's entire personality was complaining about her ex-husband, and while I felt that her feelings were justified since he did cheat on her, there are only so many times I can read "jerk of an ex-husband" before I start to roll my eyes. There was so much talk about how Tracy was "born to be a mom" but we never got any reasoning as to why she felt that way or what she found fulfilling about being a mother, and half the time she had her best friend babysitting her son so that Tracy could fixate on the man who may or may not have killed his wife. None of the characters were at all likable and I spent most of my time reading the book rolling my eyes.

The ending felt rushed and honestly didn't make any sense. Usually, when there's a big reveal at the end of a mystery/thriller the reveal makes sense, this one did not. In fact, it was a bit of a let down because it came completely out of nowhere.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of The Lakehouse in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are my own.

Lindsay (TheLiteraryWife)

After Greg Norman- who was accused, tried and acquitted of his wife’s murder- moves back to her hometown to build his lakehouse, a promise made to his wife before she was murdered, a woman’s body is discovered.
Even after the woman’s death is ruled an overdose, chief Sobczack can’t let go of the feeling that Norman had something to do with her murder, I mean, what are the odds that ANOTHER woman would be found dead so close to Norman?
As more women in this small town begin to disappear, the chief makes it his mission to find them and bring whoever is responsible to justice....and it has to be Norman, right?

Joe Clifford takes us on a whirlwind to solve these crimes in the lakehouse, letting the reader experience the story from multiple points of view. There are several protagonists in this book, and each one has such personality and depth that the switch between them is made seamlessly, intertwining each characters story beautifully.
I enjoyed the pace of this book, it was a fast read, with twists I couldn’t predict. The ending was left open, The Who done it vaguely solved leaving me wishing the story was tied up and the last piece of the puzzle neatly put in place.
I still have so many questions that were left unanswered, and that took away from the story for me. Everything that was assumed was not, and so many loose ends were left open in the end leaving me feeling disappointed.

Overall The Lakehouse is a well written, fast read, and if you like a good who done it, I can promise you won’t figure this one out until the very end!

Smut Over Classics

Very suspenseful book. Well written so that the author really gives nothing away. Not my usual read but I really enjoyed this one.

blondethrillerbooklover

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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Todd was recently acquitted of his wife’s murder. He has returned to her small hometown to fulfill his promise to her and finish building their house on the lake. Todd just wants to live a quiet life.
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Late one night, Tracy, a lonely single mother meets Todd in a store. He is so kind and makes her feel a spark that she hasn’t felt in so long.
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A body is found on the shore near the house Todd is building.
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The town is a tightknit community that all believe Todd got away with murdering his wife and is now preying on other women.
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Tracy can’t reconcile the gentle man she met with the man everyone is calling a monster.
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As the investigation unfolds, a link is discovered to the town psychologist and a group home that has been closed down for years.
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________________________________________
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I was completely entralled with this story. It kept me up reading late into the night to find out what happened. Just a fair warning- this one leaves some things open to interpretation, which I personally like.
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I really like this author’s writing. It took me a bit to familiarize with his cadence, but I grew to love his diction and syntax. I will definitely read more of his work.
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Isn’t this such a pretty cover?!

franzi

Rating: 3 stars.

This was a really fast read. I read this in one sitting and the writing style and the pacing were quick and it was easy to understand the story. I really liked the atmosphere, the setting near the lake was intriguing and the cover definitely portrays the vibes this story had.

I enjoyed the switching POVs too, although I found the Psychiatrist's POV to be a little repetitive. I really liked Tracy and seeing her emotions and struggles as a mother and her relationship with Norman. However, I found that there wasn't enough dialogue and too much inner monologue, especially in the Psychiatrist's chapters.

The plot itself was solid but not very exciting, although I did enjoy seeing all the little clues and how they fell together in the end. I knew who the killer was about halfway through, but I still enjoyed the ending. The mystery was well-constructed and yet I didn't feel like there was ever any real suspense, it was more like just reading along while the plot happened.

I still kept waiting for one more plot twist which never came in the end, and the book somehow left a certain feeling that not all questions have been answered.

Melissa Ammons

This is the first book I have read by Mr. Clifford. When he posted on Facebook for reviewers, I jumped at the chance as I enjoy meeting and reading for new authors. I was not disappointed!

This book is full of dysfunctional family relationships, missing persons, a murder or two, a couple of accused men, a little bit of romance, a police chief trying to find answers, and a bad guy you don't expect ... all this in the small, sleepy town of Shallow Lake where a lake house is being constructed by Greg Norman. Tracy, the soon-to-be-divorced character, meets Greg Norman and steps up as the only one in his corner, not believing that he committed the crime he is accused of. Why Greg wanted to come back to Shallow Lake has everything to do with his now deceased wife. The question is - who killed her?

Mr. Clifford does an exceptional job of connecting the reader to Tracy and writing a page turner you don't want to miss!

Publishing in September 2020.

EDITED TO ADD: In the final version of The Lakehouse, Greg Norman's name has been changed to Todd Norman.

Alyssa Smith

Uhhhh... is anyone else confused? I love a good thriller that makes me flip back through chapters to connect all the dots, but I was mostly confused with this one. I scoured for spoilers because I just didn’t get it. If you read this, read slowly.

Maggie

The Lakehouse follows several members of a small town as they navigate a formerly suspected murderer taking up residence in their community. Greg is returning to Covenant to restart his life after being acquitted of murder. Despite being proven innocent, the locals are less than pleased at his return. The combination of assumptions about Greg’s past and concerns over current town events lay the foundation for this thriller.

This thriller was very layered without being confusing. I was also quite surprised at times. Twice I audibly gasped. This book offers just enough information for you to put the pieces together while remaining mysterious enough that you will continue to second guess yourself. I appreciate that we get multiple viewpoints. Single mother Tracy, Sheriff Sobczak and Dr. Bakshir, the town psychiatrist, all lend perspectives to the story. I also really enjoyed that there were varying storylines happening with all of them being equally interesting.

My opinion of the ending varies on whether this book is expected to be the first in a series. If so, the ending knocked it out of the park. If not, I am led to believe I must have missed something. To be clear, the ending is not ambiguous. However, it does have that great last line punch that leaves you thinking more is to come.

Ultimately, I gave this book four stars. I enjoyed the characters and setting. I do feel there were a few loose ends, and I am hoping that means more information will be coming in a continuation of this story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Joe Clifford, and Polis Books for the opportunity to read this electronic ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Pgchuis

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I couldn't get into this one. The ARC is full of proof-reading errors: I particularly hope 'different than' is corrected, but there are issues with names ands incorrect words too. However, the writing grated on me anyway: there is a lot of telling and not much dialogue. All the characters seem mildly hysterical with stereotypical 'small town' attitudes to things and I don't want to read any more about them. I skipped to the end, which is 'full of incident' to put it mildly.

Sheri

What an excellent read! This story is filled with a dysfunctional family and their relationships with one another, missing persons, murder, accusations, a bit of romance, a tough police chief who is trying to find the answers, and a bad guy... who you didn't expect ... absolutely stellar!

I would like to thank author Joe Clifford, Polis Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Title	:	The Lakehouse
Author	:	Joe Clifford
Rating	:
ISBN	:	-
ISBN-10	:	9781951709105
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Kindle Edition
Number of Pages	:	320
Publication	:	First published September 29, 2020

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