Book: LAKEVIEW HOUSE
Author: Helen Phifer
Pub Day: April 8th 2022
About the Book:
Icy water laps against the wooden jetty. But the girl doesn’t notice the cold as she slips slowly under the freezing surface…
Running from a devastating relationship that almost cost her everything, Maddy Hart impulsively accepts a job as a live-in caretaker at imposing Lakeview House. She has no memories of having visited the crumbling mansion on the banks of Lake Thirlmere before, but when she arrives, something about the house feels familiar…
The more time Maddy spends in the house, the more unsettled she feels. Why does the local story about the last woman who lived here, who drowned on her wedding day, chill Maddy to the bone? By day, she clears out the dusty rooms, but in the dead of night it’s hard to explain away the eerie noises or crackly radio she hears hours after she turned it off. Slowly, Maddy begins to fear that her worst nightmare is coming true, has her past caught up with her…?
When a soaking wet wedding dress is left on Maddy’s doorstep she feels completely trapped. It is her exact measurements. Is her ex trying to send her a message? Or has Maddy’s digging uncovered an even deadlier secret? Will this perfect escape become the perfect trap?
A gripping thriller that will have you turning the pages until the final breathtaking twist. Perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Lisa Gardner and Ruth Ware.
Lakeview House was previously published as What Lies Below.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'LakeView House' by Helen Phifer. Previously titled 'What Lies Beneath'.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Helen Phifer, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 8th April 2022.
This is the seventh book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'First Girl To Die', 'The Hiding Place' , 'The Girl In The Lake,' The Killer's Girl', 'One Left Alive' and 'Find The Girl' which I also recommend anyone read.
I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching and stunning cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'A gripping thriller that will have you turning the pages until the final breathtaking twist. Perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Lisa Gardner and Ruth Ware.' I am a huge fan of Lisa Gardner so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Helen and if this is half as good as' First Girl To Die', 'The Hiding Place', 'The Girl In The Lake',' The Killer's Girl', 'One Left Alive' and 'Find The Girl' it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue and 81 chapters. The chapters are short in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in the Lake District, UK 🇬🇧 The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. I have actually been on holidays to the Lake District and specifically to Keswick so it will help me picture everything and I'm looking forward to reminiscing while reading.
This book is written in third person perspective with the main protagonists being Madison Hart, Connor Wood, Stella and Seth Taylor. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
'LakeView House' discusses some topics that may trigger some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Helen discusses/includes domestic violence.
Wow!!! Just Wow!!! Bloomin heck woman WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!?! I did NOT in a million years see THAT coming!!!
Do NOT even try and read this until you have cleared your schedules as you will NOT be able to put it down!!! I smashed this in one sitting and could not sleep until I finished it which ended up being 3am!!!
Yet another absolutely unputdownable page turning book from the extremely talented Helen Phifer!!! Fantastically written and such an addictive and compelling read. Excellent descriptions making it so easy to imagine what's going on. The book cover and synopsis suit the storyline perfectly. This page turner was previously titled 'What Lies Beneath' but I think either of the titles would have suited this immense thriller!!
The storyline is an absolute roller-coaster ride filled with suspense, crime, romance, friendship , drama, red herrings and absolutely anything you could ask for in an addictive psychological thriller that will keep you up until you have read every single page!!! There is also some heartbreak over a certain character and what happened to them. I won't say more as not to soil it for future readers. Did not see that one coming at all so well done Helen. It gets harder and harder to surprise me when it comes to crime books after reading so many yet that was a shocker. I loved the twist and just loved watching it all unfold. The storyline itself was very realistic and I would say that Helen has done quite alot of research in regards to the area plus more which shines through when your reading. I have never actually read a standalone by Helen before so was slightly worried about how it was going to turn out as I immediately missed the characters from her 'Detective Morgan Brookes' series but I had absolutely nothing to worry about and absolutely LOVED IT. I cannot wait for her next book whether a standalone or I meet Morgan and her team again. I was just gobsmacked by the twist and this is a book that will stay with me for a long time. The atmosphere was perfect for the storyline with the creepy, gothic atmosphere and the hints of a creepy ghost story. It was just perfect and has even hit my top 3 books which is a major feat!!! I love how things went with a certain person but I will not mention more as not to spoil it for future readers!!! A huge congratulations Helen on what promises to be a best seller. I would LOVE to see this turned into what will be a sell out movie!!! I would also like to congratulate Helen on including the topic of domestic abuse and weaving it into such an intriguing storyline. Topics such as domestic violence need to be talked about more to help victims and survivors come forward and speak up and if this book helps one person, male or female, then Helen may have saved a life.
Clear your schedules NOW and pick up this page turner. You will regret it if you don't!!!
I absolutely loved meeting all the new characters and became completely invested in them. Each of the characters played their role perfectly and were all strong and realistic. I absolutely adore the fact that the main protagonist Maddy is an author. The one thing that can make an amazing book even better for me is when the main character has anything to do with books, whether a publicist, author or anything at all. As someone who loves books I become immediately invested in a bookworm character and Maddy was absolutely perfect. I loved all the book talk throughout and I was intrigued by some of the things that she mentioned such as an author who started writing books because they loved reading never having time to read. I wonder if this is something Helen herself faces and it is one of the reasons, apart from not having the confidence to be able to attempt a book, that I would not be able to write a book myself, I just love reading too much!! My heart really did go out to Maddy throughout the story and I would love to meet her again (this is the only problem with standalones, you become invested in characters you may never meet again). I could have killed Stella myself on a couple of occasions. Stella is a friend to Maddy but I don't understand how she could do what she did and then continued to do even worse. Without giving away too much information I dont understand why she didn't give false details out or then not contact the police immediately to warn them. Arggghhh... Right I won't say anymore as I'm worried I will give too much away and I don't want to spoil it for future readers but anyone who has read it will understand what I mean. However, I do understand that if she hadn't did these things then the storyline would be completely different and possibly not as amazing as it was. Moving on to other characters. I absolutely fell in love with Seth and thought he was so romantic and my heart absolutely went out to him on many occasions. I had mixed feelings with Glenys and it took me a while to click with her as I found her to be quite a female dog at first and awful to the sweet Alfie who I really liked and who will stay with me for a long time. However, over the story Glenys did grow on me and I loved that she was "kooky", didn't care what people thought and was a bit of a goth, she actually reminded me of myself when I was younger!! However, she didn't seem too shocked at certain events which left me wondering about her afterwards. I absolutely adored both Aden and Joe who were both sweet guys and the complete opposite to the absolute b"+t%%D of a scum (certainly not a man) Connor who least said about him the better. Anyway, I have probably bored you already so I will leave it there and thank you if you got this far. Love them or hate them these characters were absolutely perfect for this storyline and each will stay with me for a long time for different reasons.
Well done on yet another massive success Helen and here is to the next success in an amazing standalone or series 🥂 🎈 💐. This is EXACTLY why your one of my favourite authors!!!! 😍
Overall another action packed, page turning, addictive, gripping, suspense filled edge of your seat must read by the legend that is Helen Phifer!!
Genres covered in this novel include Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller and Psychological Fiction amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Angela Marsons, Carol Wyer, CL Taylor, Tess Gerritson, Lucy Foley, Lisa Gardner, Ruth Ware and anyone looking for an epic read including you!!!
483 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@HelenPhifer @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio
Helen Phifer is the #1 Bestselling crime and horror novelist of the Annie Graham, Lucy Harwin and Beth Adams series. Helen lives in a small town in Cumbria. Surrounded by miles of coastline and only a short drive from the beautiful Lake District. She has always loved writing and reading since the days she learnt how to in infant school. She loves reading books that make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and make her afraid to go to the toilet, alone in the middle of the night. She is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years. Unable to find enough of the scary stories she loves to read, she decided to write her own. Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Helenphifer1/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/helenphifer1
Website: https://www.helenphifer.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helenphifer/
Buy Links:
https://geni.us/B09TPV9VM6social Audible:
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