Maddy Hart’s first book was a best-seller but her second attempt has seemed to hit a wall. Not only is she struggling with her writing, but she is also dealing with an ex-boyfriend. So, when the opportunity presents itself to be a live-in caretaker of an old house while it’s under renovation, she immediately applies. She’ll be able to escape her controlling ex-boyfriend and jump-start her novel. But, of course, there are complications she doesn’t anticipate.

Lakeview House has such a good premise and the beginning certainly caught my attention. But that quickly fizzled as the pace became increasingly slow. I found it difficult to connect with the characters and almost from the beginning they were making inexplicable decisions that only made matters worse and more fraught with danger.

Meanwhile, Maddy’s ability to fall almost instantly in love was not very believable and her best friend’s actions were equally mystifying. Mostly, I just wanted to shake them and ask them what they were thinking. Finally, it seemed as though when something did occur there was a lot of screaming. Several characters always reacted with a scream or series of screams and that repetition became irritating. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

Thank you Bookouture and Helen Phifer for this read!

I'm a massive Helen Phifer fan now and this book has been on my netgalley backlog for so long so I'm glad I finally picked it up.

This book had the perfect creepy setting, short chapters with mixed POVs and a great twist. It was suspenseful and atmospheric. I do feel however it was a bit slow for the action to kick off so I felt it dragged on a bit.

I am glad I stuck with it because everything tied up nicely in the end. I love this author and need to continue to read her backlog!

Wow........ what a thrilling roller coaster of a read I enjoyed the twists and turns and the edge of your seat moments this was a fantastic thriller

This is a psychological thriller. The pace starts off slow but then builds up. There were plenty of twists. However I couldn’t connect to the main character at all

A good read, full of twists and surprises. It moves along at a good pace and kept me hooked. Really enjoyed it.

This book was published in 2020 with the title, What Lies Below. It is certainly a good psychological thriller with young Maddie cleaning out a remote house. She is using the time to write and escape her past. When a wet wedding dress appears on the doorstep of the house, she is plunged into fear as the legend goes the last occupant of the house died on her wedding day. The ending left a little to be desired for me but opens up a whole new possible book. Thank you NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy!!

Lakeview House by Helen Phifer just received a glowing 4-star review! Readers are loving the suspense and the incredible attention to detail that Phifer brings to each page. If you're looking for a captivating mystery novel, Lakeview House is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. Check it out today!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat! It was riveting suspenseful ! Everything you want from a book

Thank you Netgalley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I am very conflicted about this book. On one hand, I did enjoy it, but for me, it had a lot of issues. I liked the 1st storyline of Maddy leaving London to escape her crazy ex-boyfriend and living in the Lakeview House. But the other storylines, I could have done without. There were too many POVs and too many stories as if the book was trying to be too many things. I still did enjoy the book.

A brilliant read that had me engrossed right from the very start. This is a complete page turner that i couldn’t put down.

This book was creepy, eerie, suspenseful and will leave you wondering WTF you just read!! Brilliantly written and truly unputdownable. I definitely recommend this one to my fellow thriller lovers!

I left this book halfway through and came back to it at a later stage. I have often mentioned that I rarely choose to read thrillers nowadays since I do not get along with many of them. I thought this was going along that road and decided to take some time and space and return with a fresher perspective. That decision helped, as did the twists in the book, in ensuring I finished and liked the book.
I think fans of the genre will be more appreciative of the content than I was, but it was quite a surprise.
We first hear the thoughts of the villain in the piece, someone who has been on a killing spree and enjoys his privacy. Then we are introduced to our central character, Maddy. She is a well-known thriller writer currently hiding from her boyfriend and struggling with inspiration. She stumbles upon the job of live-in caretaker of an almost abandoned home on a lake. She takes it and reaches there to find it spookier than she expects.
On the home front, her boyfriend is letting his inner psycho out by trying to find her. The atmosphere is quite oppressive, but I felt like things moved a little too quickly in every instance. If the pacing was slightly slower, I think I would have appreciated the book even better. When I say slower, I do not mean the dragging of the events that occur, but the actual twists or information being provided - it seemed a little too quick (This is the best way I can explain what I felt off about it).
I was hoping for the ending to come soon, thinking I knew how things were going to go, but then when the finale did arrive, it took me entirely by surprise. This made me glad I gave this book a shot!
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Reading Between the Wines book review #82/135 for 2022:
Rating: 4 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book 📱: Lakeview House
Author: Helen Phifer
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
Available now!

Sipping thoughts: This book full of mystery and a flair of supernatural and eerie undertones. I was creeped out so much in this book but not scared away. Phifer always creates a mystery that the reader cannot wait to finish. I loved how reading the Morgan Brookes series they reference the lakeview house. I was able to figure out this mystery from the beginning but still loved waiting on the reveal.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @Bookouture for an advanced copy of @LakeviewHouse.

#LakeviewHouse #HelenPhifer #Bookouture #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #TeensAndYA

This book was brilliant. I was guessing who did it right until the very end. Very well written . A mixture of a crime, a domestic thriller made it worthwhile reading.

Wow !!! What a twisty read ! I highly recommend ! Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book ! Opinions are solely my own ! #Netgalley #Bookouture #LakeviewHouse

This book was published in 2020 with the title, What lies below. It is certainly a good psychological thriller with young Maddie cleaning out a remote house. She is using the time to write and escape her past. When a wet wedding dress appears on the doorstep of the house, she is plunged into fear as the legend goes the last occupant of the house died on her wedding day. The ending left a little to be desired for me but opens up a whole new possible book.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Lakeview House by Helen Phifer.

There isn't anything quite like a mysterious lakeside mansion in a small town with a sketchy history, especially if the main character is about the stay there while she works on her novel. But it doesn't take long for danger to turn it's sights on her. She is receiving ominous messages about her stay there, and they are hitting a bit too close to home.

My only big beef I had with this story was the almost willing blind infatuation that these female characters displayed. Like, hi, I'm a known abuser, but look at how handsome I am, aaaand, that's all it takes? Come on dude.

Otherwise, pretty solid. I liked being left guessing right up to the end. The atmosphere was delightfully cold and creepy, and it was full of great twists and turns.

Helen Phifer’s Lake View House is the story about Maddy Hart who moves to the Lake District to be the caretaker of an old mansion. Escaping an abusive relationship, Maddy hopes this will be the perfect location to write her new book. I voluntarily read this complimentary copy of this well-written, suspenseful book that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end!

Absolutely brilliant! This stand alone thriller was so good I really enjoyed it. Had me sitting up until late reading it in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down. I’m a big fan of Helen Phifer and this did not disappoint. A really clever story that made you think. Loved this so much, it was thrilling. Deserves five stars.

Wow! This author is one of my absolute favourites. She never disappoints. I wait eagerly for her books and this one- wow! With this one she's raised the bar even higher. Loved,loved,loved this amazing book.