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.

An excellent murder mystery story with plenty of dark characters and suspicious minds. I loved it. And really different from others of similar genre x

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 a woman 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!

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.

Excellent and dark murder mystery involving a whole lot of complex connections between characters.

The story is about a Todd Norman, a man formerly accused of his wife's murder. When he returns to his small hometown in Connecticut after a very disturbing period in his life, 'He wants to start over at a quiet lakehouse, but... a body is found dangerously close to his house,

At the very core of this thriller lie the messed up, unexpected and shocking connections between the characters. It's a story of a dysfunctional family, recent and all but forgotten murders from long ago, some romance and lots of hard feelings. I don't want to reveal any of the plot, but I think The Lakehouse if perfect for fans of small town murder thrillers where the characters have more in common than you would expect.

While I loved the way various individuals were connected with each other, I wish character development was richer because I didn't feel as though I could fully connect with the main characters.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A tale about murder and missing girls in an idyllic New England town, set against the backdrop of the vulnerable, the marginalised and the lonely.
A well written book with characters that have depth and emotion,. This is a story about solving a crime, however, it is also social commentary on the lost and the invisible in society: "Get rid of your demons and the Angel's might leave too'"...Read it!

At times it was exciting but most of the story was either predictable or confusing. The writing itself is okay and consists mostly of dialogue...internal and otherwise, which is what causes the confusion. This story is told in first-person by the two main characters. The chapters switch back and forth between the characters narrations, which I normally enjoy. However, with this book, when the point of view changes no time has passed so it is hard to suddenly be reading from a different perspective, but pick up with the same event in the story. It has some interesting plot twists toward the end, but most I had predicted before they occurred.

Bottom Line: It was interesting but became confusing at times remembering which character was speaking. The story itself had sufficient mystery to keep my interest. The story of each main character became so entangled I was eager to see how the author would unravel the mystery in the end. It was not entirely surprising.

The Lakehouse is a fast read because Joe Clifford keeps you guessing as to who did it. The reader feels an urgency to discover the truth because Clifford's characters feel like friends. This is the first book I've read by this author and I'm looking forward to reading more. I want to thank NetGalley and Polis Books for an early copy to review.

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.

#thelakehouse #joeclifford #netgalley #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreads I’m so torn on how to review this book. You know when you meet a book and you’re all #itsnotyouitsme well I think that’s what happened to me here. From the book description I was so excited to start my #falldays🍁 with a cozy murder novel 😂 #judgeme but whether it’s my #autoimmunediseases making my brain not work or the book itself .... I just feel so #confuzzled so for those that read it please fill me in 😂 a man loses his wife. He states it’s from a stranger #breakingandentering everyone else suspects he did it. But when he is tried. And cleared. Moves back to their hometown ..... girls go missing. All eyes and fingers point to him. Did he do it? #bookaholic #bookstagram #booklover #booksbooksbooks📚 #reviews #bookstagrammer #bookworm

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!

This thriller was a little more complex than I expected. It is worth reading. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Polis Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Greg Norman was recently found not guilty of the murder of his wife. Despite this, everyone in the small town in Connecticut, where he is building a house on the lake, believes he is guilty. Then a body washes up on the shore near his house, making everyone suspicious all over again.

This book was overall pretty good. When I thought I knew who was guilty, I was sort of right but there was more to the story. The story was told from a number of perspectives and it kept me guessing as to who was guilty of what. I would probably read more from this author.

Not as good as his Jay Porter series, but still a good book about small for secrets and the people who keep them. All in all, it kept me intrigued and interested all the way through. Had a couple of surprises I didn't see coming which added to the allure of the book. I would still recommend this to readers.

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.

Greg Norman was accused of killing his wife, April, and once innocent moves back to her small town in Connecticut to build a house on the lake. When a woman is found dead on the beach near his house, the sheriff sets out to prove that Norman is guilty of both crimes.

3.5 stars. I liked the set up of the book—it was immediately interesting and suspenseful, trying to figure out if Greg Norman was as guilty as everyone made him out to be, and connecting the dots of the characters across this typically sleepy small town. While I was immediately suspicious of some of the characters, the back stories of motivations, secrets, and linkages unravel throughout the pages, leaving the Sheriff in the middle trying to piece it all together.

At times it was difficult to keep straight the many characters and their connection points. While I somewhat guessed the big reveal in the end, I am still left with so many questions after finishing the book. I haven't figured out yet if I just missed some details or it wasn't all tied up nicely. Check this one out for a quick and interesting thriller taking place over New England’s distinct four seasons.

The Lakehouse sounded intriguing. A man acquitted of murder moves to a small town where a woman's body is discovered meters from his newly refurbished lake house. Unfortunately, the dead body is quickly dismissed by the local police and the accused, Greg Norman, who should be the most interesting character barely surfaces throughout the pages. All of the other characters are unlikable and one dimensional. The story, not quite a crime novel nor a drama story, was incredibly bland and boring. I seem to be in the minority with this one so others might enjoy this but this story should have been right up my alley.

Thanks to Polis Books and Netgalley for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story is told from a four different viewpoints: Greg Norman, who was accused but cleared of all charges of murdering his wife; Tracy Somerset, a single-mom, who was down on her luck in her love life; small-town Police Chief Sobczak; and Dr. Bakshir, the local psychiatrist. Greg returns to his late-wife's small hometown to finish building a house they had started together. While cleared of all charges, the small-town isn't receptive to Greg's arrival, particularly when a dead body shows up on the beach next to his house soon after. The small town fights hard to keep secrets, as the Chief tries to solve the case.

The story started out well, the characters were well-developed, and the plot began slowly unfolding. The plot was a slow-burn for me. While the book did keep me guessing until the end, there wasn't a lot of suspense and mystery throughout the book to really entice me to keep reading. The characters, though fairly stereotypical for a small-town, were vivid; however, I wish there had been more dialogue among them, especially where the smaller story lines overlap.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this book!

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!

This was a quick, short read which i finished in one day. It was also a great thriller. Todd Norman, who has recently been found not guilty of murdering his wife, moves back to her small close-knit hometown to finish building their lake house. His appearance does not sit well with the local crowd especially when the dead body of a woman washed up on the shore of the lake near his future lake house. Todd meets Tracy, a single mom at Walmart one night and they hit it off. But nothing is easy.
This story seems simple but the more I read, the more intricate it got with different, dysfunctional characters being introduced and intermingled with guilt cast on others, besides Todd, as it progressed. Great characters with interesting backgrounds and a very interesting story that kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. Definitely a great thriller! Do not miss this one! Quick easy read perfect for vacation or the beach, unless you are at a lake.....thanks to NG for the ARC!!!