Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC! *The Lake House Children* by Gregg Dunnett is a gripping thriller that masterfully weaves suspense with a haunting atmosphere. Set against the backdrop of a secluded lake house, the story delves into dark family secrets and the chilling consequences of buried truths. Dunnett’s character development is impressive, with each character’s motivations and fears unraveling in unexpected ways. The plot is full of twists and turns that keep readers on the edge of their seats, building to a climax that is both shocking and satisfying. Overall, *The Lake House Children* is a compelling, edge-of-your-seat read that thriller fans won’t want to miss.

I believe the first book I read by this author involved a ghost. This one has reincarnation, when Kate's son starts saying things about his life as her nephew. Even before he could speak he experienced a fear of water (nephew drowned). This all comes out as Kate tries to explain about the fire that killed most of her family. Soon the FBI agent assigned to the case doesn't know what to believe as it seems so impossible. Slow at times, but the plot reels you in as Kate tries to establish how her son knows so much about a boy who died before he was born. The person who set the fire was a surprise too.

Gregg Dunnett is a new author for me, I had never heard of him or his previous novels before reading this book. Now I need to read them, I loved this book. It was totally not what I expected it to be, and that is why I enjoyed it so much. I have never come across a story like this before. The uniqueness this story brings is refreshing.

At first, I felt the pacing was too slow for my liking, but as I got further in, I realised that it was helping to build up the tension bit by bit making me feel incredibly anxious about what's going to happen. The boom! A shocker of a twist that I did not see coming. An omg, no way moment, that totally fit in with the rest of the story. Dunnett skillfully builds the suspense throughout with a clever plot and well written characters that completely drew me in.

I could say a lot about this book, but I feel like it would ruin the experience for someone else. For me, you need to go into this book blind.

A unique, tension building mystery with a cracking twist that will have you reading past your bedtime.

Thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for my ARC.
My opinions are my own

Just wow! My first Gregg Dunnett but most definitely not my last. Characters were fantastic and kept me flipping pages long past my bedtime. I loved how this story fell into place. A bit flirty with endless possibilities in life and death. Felt like a roller coaster ride from beginning to end, and it was impossible to know who to trust.
Thank you NetGalley, Gregg Dunnett and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book

Deception, lies, greed and reincarnation: A detective novel with the best characteristics of this genre.
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Intense and maintaining tension from start to finish. It is the first time that I have the opportunity to read a work by this author and I tell you that it is in my top 5 best of the year.
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A police drama with supernatural overtones in which Dunnet develops the story through one of the few witnesses who have survived this family tragedy, Kate, who from her point of view begins to unravel what happened.
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I felt the pacing was one of the best I've ever experienced. Also the author created great characters, all of them with their own grey personality making you a hard job to decipher who the murderer was.

The reviews were great and the story sounded great too but i couldnt get into the story. I had a tough time just finishing.

This felt like a "cosy mystery" in the opening pages, but the intrigue revved up quickly after that. I love a story with the hint of the supernatural, where you are itching to find out if there really is something otherworldly going on. Throw into the mix a family dealing with more than one tragedy. As the plot developed, more and more secrets were revealed, creating the sort of explosions that made me sit up and take notice. This was fascinating reading and I lapped it right up.

My only criticism is that when they were out in the boat, Jack's speech became more developed.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and Storm Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to the cover of this book originally. Then I read the synopsis and really hoped I’d get chosen to receive an arc.
I really enjoyed this book! This was my first book by Gregg Dunnett and am now interested in checking out some of his other books.
The Lake House Children was different than any other book I’ve read in the genre and I didn’t find it predictable like some mysteries and thrillers tend to be for me. Every time I thought I was figuring it out something proved me wrong and I flew through the second half of the book as I couldn’t put it down.

Kate has a 4-year-old son called Jack, who has memories of being someone in a previous life. Her husband, Nick, is a scientist, someone who relies on evidence to form his personal views – so this puts Kate in a tricky position, particularly as Jack’s comments appear to become more ‘credible.’

Throw in Kate’s two older sisters (one of them particularly bossy), their partners and kids (one of them particularly obnoxious) lashings of internecine aggravation, a beautiful old family lake house, a serious crime, a mysterious death, and you have a riveting blend of drama.

The book starts with the elderly widower father calling a family dinner at the Lake House, a dinner shrouded in mystery. The drama starts there and continues until the last page. There were parts where the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, there were other moments I just couldn’t read on due to the suspense, and the fear of confrontation.

Brilliant, and highly recommended.

Kate becomes alarmed when her young son Jack believes he has been reincarnated as her nephew Zack, who died in a drowning accident several years before Jack was born. Jack insists he is Zack and constantly talks about his other mother.
When Jack/Zack reveals that his cousin Aaron held him under the water, causing him to drown, Kate’s desperate move to prevent the family from discovering the truth leads to a family tragedy.

I absolutely loved this one. The perfect atmosphere for this haunting story…. And I do mean that with some literalism. This was amazingly well written and the characters were phenomenal. An element of supernatural gives this a depth like no other. I could not put this one down and days later it still occupies space on my mind. This is a top your list must read. It covers every base from the characters to the plot to the atmosphere. Beautifully woven. Suspenseful and creepy but with a heartfelt element that makes you want to cry at moments. Amazing

This book was great. Every time I thought I had something figured out, I was proven wrong. Definitely will add Gregg Dunnett to my list of authors to read!

I loved this book! Could not stop reading it once I picked it up. Between the mystery of Zack and the family dynamic I was hooked.

The Lake House Children by Gregg Dunnett was an okay read for me. Readers do need to suspend their imagination a bit to understand the story.

Overall, the story was good; it had solid writing and interesting characters. The story had a good ending.

#TheLakeHouseChildren #NetGalley @Stormbooks_co

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a great book!! Such a good thriller/mystery! Perfect writing style and that plot twist!! PERFECT!!

4.25⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book
Publication date is for September 18th!!

A family reuniting in the old lake house surrounded by unspoken lies… a FBI agent called for his last case before retirement, will he find out what happened?

I went into it almost blind since I’d read just the introducing phrases written in the site and got really intrigued by it.
I was literally glued to the pages; I kept scrolling page after page until I got to the end COMPLETELY shocked.
I liked a lot the structure and the way it was written, very fast paced, maybe just too much descriptions sometimes. There were always things going on throughout it that I needed to stop and realize what I just read (in a good way obv), but little did I know the speechlessness it was going to deliver me from the epilogue.
Really looking forward to read more of Gregg Dunnett’s books!

If you want a thriller that will keep you interested, wanting to know more and more and with a little supernatural turn, this is definitely the one!!

A family's lake house becomes the center of this drama when long ago secrets are finally revealed. You thought this would be an inheritance fight over the lake house? Way more comes to light as the family must face the past in the most unexpected way.

Whether you believe this is a story about real life or magical realism, either way Dunnett will take you on a twisty ride of death, past lives and betrayal.

To start off with a positive, this was a fun one!

At the beginning of the story, I struggled with the way the author wrote. I felt the writing was short, detailed sentences that were borderline obnoxious. What I mean is every movement was noted, no fluff. At first this annoyed me, but as I continued reading I got used to the flow and found myself enjoying the writing style.

The plot line was even more of a doozy. It started out with the father's reveal, which I won't mention because I was surprised. Then it didn't go anywhere. It didn't add to the story at all. This happened one too many times in the book. Creates a bit of a distrust between author and reader. Was the author trying to sneak in a political statement (as some reviews believe?) or was it filler to distract the reader from he main story line.. I’m really not sure. Although hindsight, I don’t understand how it plays out but I'm still not annoyed reading about it.

The scenarios the author chose to put into the story, whether you consider them real or magical realism, were so far out there I was kind of blown away. It kept me fully engaged because I’ve never read anything like this before. The entire storyline was completely odd and unexpected. I absolutely loved it. I found myself unable to put the book down as I never knew what the author would throw at me next. It was a breath of fresh air for me as I've been in a rut of reading some formula style books lately.

Finally, the way the author overall structured the book with the back-and-forth between Kate talking to detectives and then going back to 'present day' of Kate's story. I found this odd way to tell the story as a lot of irrelevant stuff was taking place. It was a bit unbelievable.

Yet, it worked. It all worked into an odd little thriller that completely captured me. I couldn't put it down. Anyone who picks up this story will be equally captivated and possibly left a little confused, but captivated nonetheless. I would recommend this to my reader friends.

Amazon Link - The Lake House Children By: Gregg Dunnett

***Thank you to Storm Publishing, NetGalley and of course, the author Greg Dunnett, for a  copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Publishing September 18, 2024.

Kate’s life is seem to be full of loss. She has lost her mother, her nephew & now her father. Making this even harder to deal with is the having to deal with her own son, Jack, claiming be to the reincarnate of her nephew that died from drowning years before he was even born. What will she do with this & who can she tell? Her husband doesn’t believe it. She doesn’t feel like she can tell her sister, the mother of her nephew. The knowledge that Jack has of his cousin is unreal. Jack has knowledge that will turn Kate’s family lives upside down. This story will leave you reeling…

The Lake House Children starts innocently enough - three sisters and their families meet up with their father at the beloved lake house for dinner. At the time, they think the "big news" coming is that their father is planning to marry a woman he recently met so they come to the dinner with ideas on how to halt this rushed engagement.

Boy. Did they have it all wrong!

I won't spoil it, but let me tell you - within the first 50 pages, you get your first big twist in the story. There are several good plot twists in the story, but I only predicted two of them.

After that (wow!) twist, we settle into the family dynamics - the sisters, their partners, the cousins. The author does a great job of character development and there are a lot of personalities to intertwine. Sometimes the background seems a little redundant but I think it was all necessary to set up the end of the plot.

This book is referred to as sci-fi, but don't let that scare you away if that's not your normal reading jam. The "sci-fi" part refers to a storyline about reincarnation. I'm not normally a sci-fi gal but this was actually pretty fascinating. Gregg Dunnett also includes scientist characters that both believe and debunk reincarnation which gave a good balance.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC.
I did like this book very much. Not so much a page turner, can’t put the book down type of like. More the uniqueness of the story and the likability of Kate and Jack.
I also enjoyed the different perspectives of the storytelling. Past and present.
A good solid 4/5 for this one.