The Secret by the Lake

Written by Louise Douglas

Narrated by Karen Cass

When a tragedy forces the family Amy works for as a nanny to retreat to a small lakeside cottage, she realises they desperately need her help and support, so she agrees to go with them.

But Amy finds the cottage by the lake unsettling, even sinister. The house is where the children’s mother spent her childhood – and the place where her seventeen-year-old sister disappeared mysteriously.

Before long, ominous truths begin rising to the surface, and Amy becomes bewitched by the missing sister’s story. Can Amy unlock the secrets of the past before they repeat themselves?

Bestselling author of House by the SeaLouise Douglas returns with an enthralling and captivating novel, perfect for fans of Barbara O’Neal, Lucinda Riley and Rachel Hore.

Praise for Louise Douglas

'Louise Douglas achieves the impossible and gets better with every book.' Milly Johnson

'A brilliantly written, gripping, clever, compelling story, that I struggled to put down. The vivid descriptions, the evocative plot and the intrigue that Louise created, which had me constantly asking questions, made it a highly enjoyable, absolute treasure of a read.' Kim Nash on The Scarlet Dress

'Another stunning read from the exceptionally talented Louise Douglas! I love the way in which Louise creates such an atmospheric mystery, building the intrigue and suspense brick by brick. Her writing is always beautiful and multi-layered, her characters warm and relatable and the intriguing nature of the mystery makes this unputdownable.’ Nicola Cornick on The Scarlet Dress

'A tender, heart-breaking, page-turning read'Rachel Hore on The House by the Sea

'The perfect combination of page-turning thriller and deeply emotional family story. Superb’ Nicola Cornick on The House by the Sea

‘Kept me guessing until the last few pages and the explosive ending took my breath away.' C.L. Taylor, author of The Accident on Your Beautiful Lies

‘Beautifully written, chillingly atmospheric and utterly compelling, The Secret by the Lake is Louise Douglas at her brilliant best’ Tammy Cohen, author of The Broken

‘A master of her craft, Louise Douglas ratchets up the tension in this haunting and exquisitely written tale of buried secrets and past tragedy.’ Amanda Jennings, author of Sworn Secret

‘A clammy, atmospheric and suspenseful novel, it builds in tension all the way through to the startling final pages.’ Sunday Express, S Magazine

'A chilling, unputdownable new novel from the bestselling author of The House By The Sea.

'A brilliantly written, gripping, clever, compelling story, that I struggled to put down.'

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boldwood Books
• Release date: Feb 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9781800486508

Louise Douglas

Louise Douglas is an RNA award winner and the bestselling author of several brilliantly reviewed novels. These include the number one bestseller The Lost Notebook, and the The Secrets Between Us which was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick. She lives in the West Country.

Reviews for The Secret by the Lake

[Priya Varghese · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The mystery was thrilling and exhilarating. Cant wait to read her next book.

[Marrissa Rubscha-Horton · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I kept having to come back around to this, and force myself to finish it. It was slow for me for the most part, but held more of my attention for the last 10 chapters. Even then I didn’t like the direction it went. Not bad, I just had a hard time getting into it.

[Debbee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story was very good, difficult, but good. The narrator was perfect.

[K G · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

2.5 stars. Not great, not terrible. The author seems to have a fondness for time travel - though that is thankfully absent from this story.
The book has a few too many lose threads that don’t make much sense and take away from the story; it certainly would’ve benefited from an extensive editing.
Narration was ok… for the core of the characters she was good, but her pacing/ tempo/inflection was a bit off - adults sounded like children and vice versa, she was loud when the character was whispering, etc.
if you need a time filler, go ahead, but if you’re looking for a solid book, try one of her other books (just NOT the room in the attic!)