The House on the Lake by Nuala Ellwood #BookReview

No matter how far you run . . .
He’s never far behind

Lisa needs to disappear. And her friend’s rambling old home in the wilds of Yorkshire seems like the perfect place. It’s miles away from the closest town, and no one there knows her or her little boy, Joe.

But when a woman from the local village comes to visit them, Lisa realizes that she and Joe aren’t as safe as she thought.

What secret has Rowan Isle House – and her friend – kept hidden all these years?

And what will Lisa have to do to survive, when her past finally catches up with her?

Once again, a terrific read! I very much enjoyed Nuela Ellwood’s debut novel, My Sister’s Bones as well as her second one, The Day of The Accident, and she’s done it again, it’s another winner!

The House on the Lake is a novel about abuse and control, being controlled as well as taking control. Even though there are two completely different stories told in this novel it’s not hard to see these similarities and to hope for a positive outcome for both of them.

One of the narratives follows Lisa and her three year-old son arriving at Rowan House, a very dark and creepy house. The same house in fact where a few decades ago a young girl lived with her father. The girl is known as Soldier and she calls her father Sarge. She started receiving training since her 11th birthday and while she doesn’t know any better and talks about what she’s going through as if it’s the most normal thing in the world, I really hurt for her. It isn’t a normal life and her father’s mindset is far from fine, yet nobody in the village does anything about it. I became totally engrossed in what happened to her, and my heart filled with fear a couple of times, but I was also very interested to know why Lisa’s little boy didn’t want his mommy, or why she was hiding there of all places.

I had no idea where these storylines were going to lead, and it was very strange to see a character from the past pop up suddenly in the present. Without an apparent link, I had no idea that the storylines would become more intertwined and that long buried secrets would eventually find their way out in a masterfully plotted conclusion.

The House on the Lake is a brilliant page-turner and perfect for readers who love a brutal assault on the heart, as in The Marsh King’s Daughter and Resin.

I received a free ecopy of this novel from publisher Penguin Books via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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