Family drama, paranormal, twists I didn't see coming. Overall a good book, but started a bit slow.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

The beginning was a bit slow and dragged on some. The ending was a great page turner! Some shady things I expected but some was absolutely nuts! Thanks netgalley for my ebook arc!

Starting with an unexpected tragedy, it leads to further events of death, deceit, lies and more, including the supernatural. An excellent, well-written storyline from start to finish with good, believable characters.

Through this story, we follow the FMC, Kate, who is telling her story about a fire at the Lakehouse her family owned, killing 4 of its occupants. However, there are many twist and turns along the way. Her little boy Jack might not be what he seems. Everyone has secrets in this book and they are all revealed at their own times in perfect format. I truly enjoyed this book. It was more of a slow who did what sort of thing, but the kind that made you want to keep reading to get all of your answers. Do check your trigger warnings as there is some dark subjects to this story. Great read!

Oh my, hooked from the beginning to the end as I couldn't put the book down. The story starts when the Marshall Family get together at the Lake House, when their Dad, Don, is living for a family weekend. The story is told over different time periods and the start is there has been a fire where there are 4 victims, we don't know the identities. The main character is Kate Marshall and she is trying to explain the events to Agents McGee and Robbins to how it all unfolded. All the sub plots come together with an extraordinary ending that I would never have seen coming.

This was my first time reading this author. I do love all kinds of books and do dip my toe into some with reincarnation even though it’s not my favorite due to beliefs but this was done so well that I was captivated by this story. I will definitely read more books from this author. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the gift of this book.

I am always disappointed when I finish a Gregg Dunnett book, because I know I have to wait a while for his next one to come out. Gregg has a way of drawing the reader in and into their own head. The Lake House Children is a bit of a different direction for Gregg, yet doesn't disappoint. An interesting cast of characters and events that will shock lead the way to an open-ended ending open for interpretation. Gregg spent a lot of time researching reincarnation and allows the reader decide to believe what they want to believe. Another great book from Gregg!

A quirky little tale that really held my attention. Not my usual choice of genre but enjoy changing occasionally. Would recommend to readers who enjoy a quick read that keeps the reader’s attention. A couple of twists I was not expecting . I did feel the mother asked leading questions so not quite a 5 rating.

Terrific thriller from Dunnett about the investigation of a suspicious fire resulting in the death of some family members and the story told by Kate, a daughter and sister, involving family secrets, possible reincarnation, sorrow, guilt and new beginnings. There's much going on here and Dunnett handles it quite well, creating a slew of intricate characters who each have a story of their own. I've read a lot of books by him, and this is up there with some of his best. There are some real surprises here leading to a revelatory ending that doesn't disappoint. I've been a Dunnett fan since I started his Rockpool series, and he continues to deliver the goods. 4-4.5 stars. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who generally prefers thrillers grounded in reality, I tend to steer clear of books with supernatural elements. I wish they were more clearly marked as such, but I suppose that’s life. If you share this preference, you might want to skip this one. However, once I accepted the supernatural aspect, I found The Lake House Children to be a gripping read—I genuinely didn’t want to put it down.

Unlike other thrillers where the supernatural twist is a late reveal (and also share the lake house theme… looking at you, Riley Sager), Dunnett makes it clear early on, which I appreciated. The story is told through the lens of investigators interrogating Kate, whose family has tragically died in a fire. Her responses unfold as a series of detailed flashbacks. Initially, I was concerned that this back-and-forth format might come across as corny or overdone, but I was pleasantly surprised by how masterfully it was executed.

One thing that caught my attention was the characters' diction. Despite being set in Maine, some of the phrasing felt distinctly British, which puzzled me until I confirmed in the "about the author" section that Dunnett is indeed from across the pond. It wasn't distracting, but rather became a bit of a fun game for me as I read along.

Overall, despite my usual reservations about supernatural elements, I thoroughly enjoyed The Lake House Children. It’s a well-crafted story that kept me hooked from beginning to end.

This book was not what I expected, but in a good way. At first, I wasn't really into the whole reincarnation angle, but once I realized where the story was going and how it was being used, I loved it.

I went into this book with no expectations and never having read anything by this author. I was definitely impressed and enjoyed all the twist. I thought I had the ending figured out but I didn’t?l! Highly recommend!

I have read Gregg Dunnett books before and enjoyed them but this book I struggled with, not to give up I kept going and happy I did. The police interview with Kate had you thinking hard on the story of how the family had come to be at the lake house. So many twists and turns and yes in comes the “ I never expected that “ . This book is not just a mystery but a bit spooky as well with lots of questions building as you read on. Loved it !
My thanks as always to NetGalley and Storm Publishing and author for another excellent read.

This was a fun twisted family drama.

This is the first time I’ve read anything by this author and I was hooked!

There was a lot of switching back and forth from past to present but it was done in a way that made the transitions seamless and easy to follow. I haven’t read many supernatural books but this one was just enough supernatural where it didn’t make it seem unbelievable.

Will definitely be reading other titles from this author soon!

Thank you NetGalley, Storm publishing and Gregg Dunnett for this ARC copy!

What an unusual read, I have read a lot of Greg Dunnett books and they all have a quirky element to them which a enjoy and this one is no exception. I am not going to spoil the story in this review as others have. But I loved it

I've been a bit away from reading for a while, but, when I had the opportunity to pre-read this book from one of my favourite authors, it gave me a great reason to dive back into one of my favourite hobbies. I wasn't disappointed. Having read all of Gregg's other books, I knew I would like his writing style. This book a bit of a change in style to his previous books, but don't let that put you off. I liked how the story progressed, most of the characters (I wasn't a big fan of Neil), and the ending. It kept me engrossed from start to finish. I highly recommend this book.

I went into this read absolutely blind. I had no idea what this book was about. I was not disappointed.

We are so close to the start of spooky reading season and this was a great kickoff! This was a slow burn right up until the last second.... I never would have figured out how this story unfolded.

I loved the way we learned the details of this family and how they landed where they were. Kate was a strong FMC who fought for her child. This was an overall really good read.

Thank you Storm Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC for my honest review!

#thelakehousechildren #greggdunnett #NetGalley #StormPublishing

Jim McGee is looking forward to retirement, after working for so many years he is looking forward to slowing down and taking things easy, but before this can happen, he has one more case and this may be one of the strangest he has come across.

A terrible fire has ripped through a holiday lake house and most of the occupants have been killed. Kate Marshall is trying to explain these terrible events but for those she is speaking to, it all seems terribly wrong and implausible. Jim and his off-sider Robbins thought this was going to be quite a run of the mill case but boy are they wrong.

This is a different kind of crime story with a little of the supernatural thrown in, not normally my thing but it works very well in this setting. Then we are taken back to the beginning and the scene is set, one that will capture your imagination and keep you reading.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy of the book, all opinions expressed are my own.

book review 📖 The lake house children by Gregg Dunnett
Genres: PARANORMAL, horror, fiction, mystery, suspense, thriller
Goodreads rating: -
My rating: 1,5 ☆ ☆
Read in: 5 days & 🇬🇧 & 📱

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🇬🇧 Thanks, NetGalley and Storm Publishing for granting me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I really wish I didn’t have to write this review and that I hadn’t asked for an advanced copy of "The House Lake Children" by Gregg Dunnett, because it’s been a while since a book left me feeling this frustrated! I’m sorry if this sounds harsh, but I was so disappointed. To be fair, part of my bad experience is because the book was marketed as a thriller, but it felt way more like a horror/paranormal story. As someone who LOVES thrillers, I want a plot that stays grounded in reality, where the twists could actually happen in real life. So, heads up – if you're a thriller fan and don't enjoy paranormal stuff, this one isn't for you.

I had really high hopes because the premise sounded great, and at first, I was actually into the spooky vibes… until I realized there wasn’t any logical explanation for what was happening. The main character, Kate, drove me nuts! She reminded me of those horror movie characters who hear a noise in the house and then, instead of calling the police, they go creeping around in the dark like, “Hello? Is anyone there?” Seriously?! The scenes with the police were pretty weak too, and the whole crime investigation plot got lost in Kate’s confusing storyline. I just don’t think the whole detective angle worked well here. Even though the setup with the fire at the lake house and the mysterious survivor was interesting, the story didn’t deliver the way I hoped it would.

FBI agent Jim McGee has one last case to solve before he retires. It involves a house fire that destroyed a lakeside property, killing some of the occupants. Along with his partner Billy Robbins, he is interviewing survivor and suspect, Kate Marshall. She is one of the three sisters who owns the house, left to them when their father died. All three sisters, Kate, Amber and Bea and their families were at the lake house that weekend celebrating the completion of recent renovations to the property.

The events leading up to that day are narrated in an original and interesting way, through Kate’s interview with the FBI agents. She has quite a story to tell them beginning with a tragedy that occurred seven years ago. The agents find elements of her story hard to believe, but also hard to explain otherwise. The reader might also not buy into it, but it works well as a technique, ultimately leading up to the motive for the fire and subsequent deaths.

I enjoyed the unusual technique used to narrate this psychological suspense and Kate’s story made for addictive reading. It also works well as a family drama with three very different sisters and their families finding it hard to get along now their father has gone.