Buddy Read with my seeeeester

Ever feel like you just found out you don't really know someone you thought you were close to?
Now Gina has pulled a badass switch and reinvented herself as Gwen.
leaving her kids to try and play catchup through the constant changes to stay ahead of the trolls
They think they may have finally landed at Stillhouse Lake.
But when a psychopath has nothing better to do than stock you from inside prison, on death row, you can never be sure who you can trust.
All the red herrings come out to play in this story but ultimately the true 'little helper' is revealed.
Set up for a strong second is presented but thankfully it is not really a cliff hanger, I hate those.

A nice light read with just enough twists to keep you turning those pages.

Fun buddy read, lots of talking points!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2056539939

A good read. Suspenseful and twisty, it's got good characters and a plot that keeps you turning the pages. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

Still house lake by Rachel Caine.
Book 1 of Still house.
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.
Brilliant read. I love this author. I always know her books are gonna be ones I can't put down. 5*.

I just devoured this in one sitting, and immediately went and bought the next book. Such a thrill ride! I rooted for Gwen the entire way, as she showed herself to be one of the toughest women I've had the pleasure of reading about. Do not corner a Mama Bear. It will not end well for you. Her children were a strength unto themselves, forming such a bond that I was grateful when some of the twists untwisted and for how things turned out. Somethings I didn't see coming, some I did, but it was still well worth the ride,

A good suspense book that shows the horrendously horrible sided that humanity has to offer without going into unrealistic extremes.

For me this book was a lot of equaly destributed like and dislike moments.

For example I liked gang hnr book shared so clearly and hoenskgx jos her poor family -especially the clearly innocent children!- of murderers are being treated.
Those members of the family that ha nothing to do with it all, are being treated and shamed as if they did something wrong. And epscially in this time where's it is so easy to be fearless siting behind a screen and simply having to type mean and horrible things and nevernight having to thing about it again since it doesn't affect that person all, while he poor person that is being abused in the intent has to achtkantig fear for their life.

I especially liked how the author shows that a lot of people that shouldn't even have or share their options have a so clear and unbelievably loud voice about something they don't even understand but don't care at all that's their loud, negative and violent voice carries a lot of power.

I think the author did a beautiful job in sharing how hard it is in today's world to be safe and feel save and still live a halfway normal life if something news worthy happened to you.
Even though the internet can be a beautiful and connecting place, it can also be a damning and horrible place that helps people do horrible things.

So I liked how the author showed those sides of it all without being preachy or lecturing about it. Without saying the internet is the devil, without shaming it all, but simply showing the bad side of it.


And talking about the bad side, the thing I didn't enjoy about this book was how repeative (little ironic since I just spend a good amount of lines repeating myself about the inner thing above in this review!) mentions on how paranoid and unsure the situation made the mother. How she has to learn and be constantly vigilant, constantly on edge and fear for her and her children's life's.
And yes, I get it, I mean I don't relate thankfully! But I do understand that it has to be horrible to actually get death treats, to be treated as if you are a murder if you didn't do anything wrong at all. So I get the paranoia. How does that quite go? "It's not paranoia if hohes are really out to get you?" Something like that.
So I get it.
But I don't need the author more or less repeat the constant vigilant and over the should watching on ever page for at least the ist half of the book. After a few times and mentioning I got it. I understand why and how she is doing it. I don't need the repeated explanation of why and how and all of that.

So that wasn't my personal favorite writing style.
But I can see other people enjoying it.

I also didn't like the ending.
Don't get me wrong the action was fantastic and the entire chase was great and written in such a heartracing kind of way! BUT the actual real ending was unnecessary for me personally.
I never liked it when first books in a series end in this dumdumdummmmm kind of as that try to make the reader pick up the next book because there are too many questions left unanswered.
I always enjoy second books much more when each story can Alois stand on its own and I want to lock up the next book because I want to counting on with the characters, the writing of the twists the author managed.
But again I see why it was done and how others can enjoy it.
But my review, may rating. So points subtracted for that.

Still all in all? Great start in a series or even readable as a fantastic standalone!
Wonderful topic and nicely done plot and characters.

Dfeifnalty worth a read!

Such a great series about the wife of a serial murderer who had no knowledge of his doings or did she? Depends on who you ask.

My Thoughts:
Lately, I've been in the mood to read thriller books. It's unusual for me because it's not my usual genre. I think it's because there has been a lot of hype for the thriller genre lately on booktube, and I watch a lot of booktube. I see Stillhouse Lake all the time on Amazon, and it catches my eye, so I decided to pick it up. I loved everything about it.

Stillhouse Lake was a suspenseful thrill ride every second that I spent reading it. Just when I thought that the book was going t be predictable because I had everything figured out, the plot would go in a completely different direction, and throw me off again. It kept me second guessing everything I thought I knew. I never did figure out the two big plot twists before they were revealed. I was shocked. I just sat there thinking "No, this can't be happening, this can't be right!" as I was reading. My jaw dropped.

Rachel Caine has a way of writing that makes it easy to be drawn into her character's worlds. I loved the main character, Gwen. She was a strong woman that did whatever it takes to keep herself and her kids safe, no matter what else she has to sacrifice along the way. It's a sign of a great writer that can make you feel all of the emotions the main character is reading. When Gwen was scared, I felt myself tensing up and having anxiety as I was reading. There were several times where I cried as well, due to the situations she was going through, and being able to feel her emotions.

I loved Stillhouse Lake so much. The book is one of my favorite thrillers that I've read over the past few years. I can't wait to read the next book in the series, Killman's Creek. The ending of Stillhouse Lake absolutely killed me with the somewhat cliffhanger that happened. I need ot know what happens next, especially between Gwen and a certain side character that I really trusted and liked that betrayed her. I will probably end up starting Killman's Creek today, and just marathoning the whole thing in one day because I can't get enough.

I give Stillhouse Lake: 5/5.

I enjoyed this book. It was chilling and mysterious. Definitely suspenseful. I didn't realize this was a series when I started, but I'm now looking forward to reading book two. Thank you for the opportunity to read this title.

NUMBER OF HEARTS: 3 1/2
Stillhouse Lake is a great book. It started a tad but slow but there is a lot of back story that had to be covered. But once the book got going it was filled with lots of twists and turns to keep us guess as to who and what was next. I really enjoyed this story and am looking forward to the next book. As Stillhouse Lake ended leaving me with a lot of unanswered questions.
Make sure you read this book before you pick up book 2!!

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley & Thomas & Mercer
in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

Rachel Caine, who is mainly known for her YA vampire stories and dystopian library stories, has now tackled a new genre – criminal mystery. And she has mastered it.

The best way to describe the story is to say: Have you seen the TV-show The Fall? Well, if in The Fall the main characters where the serial killer and the detective, then in this pretty similar story the main focus is on the serial killer’s wife and his children. The wife has been living in total oblivion till the moment, when one unlucky accident exposes the sides of her husband she knew nothing about, and nobody believes her, that she knew nothing about it. So she takes her children and runs, changes their names and their life stories and keeps looking over her shoulder, where ever she goes. Until she thinks, that they have finally found a place to stay and lets her guard down for a second.

It’s a good criminal mystery with good characters. But it just irks me, that as paranoid as Gwen was with everything and everybody and still, Cane allows her to make such an obvious mistake. True, if you do not follow the story very closely you can easily miss the moment when the mistake was made. But the story is interesting and thrilling and you can never be entirely sure, who is the one, who is attacking Gwen and her children.

It’s a grisly but fascinating story!

This book was amazing. I loved the speed of the narrative, the characters were very likeable. The cliffhanger was so annoying, because now I just NEED TO read the second book to see what happens next.
Brillant book, best I've read so far

Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

4 stars
You never truly know the person your heart decides to "love". And this happened to Gwen, the love of her life turned out to be a serial killer, all under her nose. I loved that this book showed the aftermath of the family of a criminal, what happens to them, also how humans after hearing something from someone or reading a newspaper or watching the news they create their own version without really knowing the facts, surely they must've known. It is never that simple, it is not black and white, there are many shades of gray (and not Christian's lol).
It was great suspense and I can't wait to read more...

Summary from Goodreads:

"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."

My Thoughts:

Wow - this was such an intense ride and left me beyond ready to get my hands on the second book when I finished. If I had a copy of the second book ready and waiting for me - I'm 90% certain that I would have picked it up and continued on. I enjoyed this book that much and wanted to see what was going to happen next! This book was non-stop when it came to pacing. The author creates this suspenseful and thrilling atmosphere from the very beginning and that feeling didn't end until the very last page of the book. I literally could not stop reading this one because from very early on I became attached to Gwen and her kids. As a mother she is doing all that she can to protect them - protecting them from the twisted legacy that their father has now left them and also protecting them from the public who may want retribution for the horror their father caused. I almost felt that Gwen was paranoid at times and then their were other times when I realized she clearly wasn't. You didn't know who she could trust while reading this book which really helped add to the layer of tension that Caine had already created. I cannot put into words how intense I found this book and how hard it was for me to put down! I believe I read this in two days but really I read the majority of it all in one day. I just could not stop reading! There were a few things I guessed but so many others that I did not. I especially liked the ending because there was enough closure while also clearly setting things up for the next book. I am so excited that I have the next book to look forward to!!!

Overall I really, really enjoyed my time with this suspenseful read which I'm sure you can tell from all of the gushing above. If I gave ratings I would easily give this one five stars based off of intensity alone. It was just so good! I've read this author before - she has an urban fantasy series that I've read a few books from (and enjoyed) but I really feel like she has hit her stride with this series. I hope that she continues to dip her hand in the mystery/thriller waters because I want more books just like this! I can easily recommend this book to fans of suspense and thrillers. I will give you the warning that you may want to have the second book ready to read as well. I sure wished that I did after finishing this one! Highly recommended!

Bottom Line: A five star read for me - enough said!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. Thoughts are my own.

4 STARS!

First off I want to say that I devoured this in almost one sitting. I started and ended it in the same day and over the course of a couple hours. It just kept me engrossed and wanted me to come back for more!

The opening scene of this books comes at you like a bang! The Royal family comes home from being out and all of a sudden they see a car has crashed into their house and somehow Gina (the mom) is being arrested for what the cops found in her house. We then find out that her husband is a serial killer and has been doing his killings in his "man cave" for awhile. All while his family is living their everyday life in their house. Creeeeeeepy.

Everyone then thinks that Gina is Mel's (her ex husband) accomplice and this forces her to pack up and change her and her children's lives. This book goes on quite a journey. Could you imagine always feeling like you are being watched? What if you had to turn the alarm one when you were both home and not home? If people made death threats all day everyday, how would you keep your children safe?

Then one day there is a crime that happens near her house and then suddenly another. Gwen (formerly Gina) has to figure out, does she run or does she stay in the place she nearly started to call home?

This book had me turning the pages so fast so I could find out what happened. It really was a solid thriller and I'm looking forward to reading Killman Creek (the 2nd book in the series) next!

I really, really enjoyed this book! Although I had an inkling of who the "bad guy" was, the story kept me guessing.
Exciting, suspenseful, and sometimes hard to read. I can't wait to dive into the followup book, Killman Creek!

Rachel Caine didn’t disappoint. Not only her stories are engaging, they are well-written, too. She sure got me so engrossed in this latest series of hers. I definitely like the plot as it is something you won’t normally come across with. Gwen is an engaging character. I was immediately gripped by her story and didn’t let go until the end. Like her, I don’t trust the other characters, either and that added to the mystery of who’s the bad guy. Though, honestly, if you read enough mystery stories, it won’t be that hard to guess. The pacing slows down after the first few chapters and the repetitions can be a bit boring but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the story. Stillhouse Lake is an intense, quick read that is full of suspense, twists, and turns that will keep you turning page after page until you hit the end and even then still crave for more. I will be picking up the next book real soon because I need to know what happened.

The atmosphere, the setting and tension of Stillhouse Lake was A+. Though I did find it a little slow for the first 40% – which I chalk up to an over-explanation of how Gwen was running away and what her “routines” were. But once you get passed that point, there is no return. There is never a moment of calm again.

Gwen’s character development went exactly the way you wanted it to. You know by the end that she’s definitely not a victim any longer.

It’s suspense right up to the very last sentence.

Loved.

My Review:


What I Liked:


Characters. Besides the plot and great suspense the best aspect of the novel were the characters. The novel is told from Gina Royal, now Gwen Proctor, who four years ago discovered that her seemly perfect husband was a closeted serial killer. The novel mainly focuses on her two kids and their struggle as they are the run from harassment because of what their father did. It focuses a lot on Proctor's children because of her need to protect them but they were also great characters. I enjoyed the focus on family along with the thriller aspects and the fact that Caine did amazing character development. The other side characters that come along are interesting as well because the reader has no idea who the killer is out of the group.


Plot. I felt that the plot was unique, something that I've read before, and that made me like the book even more. I was not expecting such an intense plot but that was what I received with this new series.



Suspense. The novel does drag a bit in the middle, when the focus is on the main family, but it also does a great job of creating an intense and suspenseful atmosphere.


Opening/Ending. Caine did a brilliant job opening up the novel with an intense prologue. I was riveted during that opening scene. The novel did slow down after that, which was a bit disappointing, but it picked up by the end. I loved the twists and turns that Caine threw at the reader, I binge read the last half of the novel because I needed to know what would happen next. I also did not see the ending or who the killer was coming at all.


What I Disliked:



Pacing. The intense opening chapter set me up for a thriller/suspenseful novel but it took a while for the main mystery to pick up. I understood why the author wanted to focus on the day to day life of the family, to endear the reader to them before their lives were put in danger but it did drag the book out for me in the middle. However, once I got past the middle the whole novel intensified and I was glued to the book until the ending,



My Rating:


4 Stars Out of 5 Stars

Quick, gripping read with a premise unlike anything else I'd ever read. I grew to love the main character as the book went on, even after being initially put off by her. The younger characters were realistically flawed and likeable. While I did manage to guess a bit of what was really going on, it was a wild and enjoyable ride. I'm definitely going to be watching out for the next in the series, which is released in December.

Gwen Proctor underwent a metamorphosis. Once she was Gina Royal, loyal and loving wife and mother but endlessly naive. Gina Royal died when her husband was revealed to be a sick and sadistic serial killer. Now she's Gwen... a gun-toting, smart, paranoid, tough woman who would do anything to protect her two children. There's still a lot of people out there who think she knew what her husband was up to... and a lot of families left broken when Melvin Royal took loved ones from them. They want revenge. She lives an anonymous life now, moving her little family around often and keeping their location secret even from her own mother.

When the threats begin to slow down and her children begin to acclimate to their new environment for the first time, Gwen starts to think they've found a place they can be safe and comfortable for awhile. As the house she bought cheap begins to feel more like a home, she toys with putting down roots in this quiet area next to beautiful Stillhouse Lake. That hope doesn't last very long. A body is found in the lake of a young woman. There are some striking similarities between her demise and the young women her husband tortured and killed. Does he know where they are? Have the random people online hell-bent on revenge found them?

A body found so close brings the police to their door, and Gwen knows it won't be long before they figure out who she really is... but bolting now will most certainly get their attention. Tired of seeing her weary children uprooted, she has a choice... ride out the storm, or run again.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley and Thomas & Mercer, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine is the first book in the Stillhouse Lake series. Gina Royal arrives home with her two kids to find the police in her home. The police discovered a body hanging in her husband’s workshop after a car accidentally ran into it. Gina’s husband, Melvin is a serial killer and Gina had no clue. Gina has changed her name to Gwen Proctor and moved her kids to Norton, Tennessee. They have a home on Stillhouse Lake and Gwen is hoping to get their lives back on track. They have had a rough time with stalkers and internet trolls who do not believe in Gina’s innocence. One morning a jogger finds a body in the lake and it was disposed of in the same manner as Melvin’s other victims. Then she receives a threatening letter from Melvin. Gwen, Lanny, and Connor are plunged into another nightmare and it is up to Gwen to save them from a deadly killer.

Stillhouse Lake starts off with an intriguing beginning. I was captured by the body in the garage. Would you never go into your husband’s workshop? With my curiosity, I would have been inside in no time (and then gone before the guy returned home from work). Then it moves to Stillhouse Lake and the pace slows down considerably. The action only ramps up in the last 10% of the book. I wanted a novel full of twists and turns with an outcome that would surprise me. Figuring out who is behind the killings is child’s play. There was no suspense (for me). We are subjected to many pages of how Gina/Gwen is protecting her family (she made one glaring mistake). The internal dialogue gets monotonous after a while. The numerous precautions she has put into place, her hypervigilance, and multiple identities. It is shame that we do live in such a cruel world. I can imagine people posting horrible things online believing themselves to be anonymous. The book ends with a cliffhanger ending leaving readers to wait until Killman Creek is released. I am not interested enough to continue with the series.