The Room by the Lake by Emma Dibdin

 

Synopsis:

When Caitlin left London for New York, she thought she’d left her problems behind: her alcoholic father, her dead mother, the unrelenting pressure to succeed.  But now, down to her last dollar in a strange city, she is desperately lonely.

Then she finds Jake. Handsome, smart, slightly damaged Jake. And he wants her to meet his family.

He takes her to a lake house in the middle of the woods – in the middle of nowhere.  The community there live off-grid.  They believe in regular exercise and group therapy.   And they’re friendly.  Really friendly.

Turns out they’re not Jake’s real family – but isn’t family exactly what she’s running from.

But as the days drift by, Caitlin starts to feel uneasy. Now that she’s no longer running, does she risk getting lost forever.

 

Review:

This is Emma Dibdin’s first novel which is a physiological thriller and it doesn’t disappoint.

Caitlin is the main character where she describes everything in great detail from the scenery to how she is feeling so you feel connected to her throughout the story. She comes across as someone who is confused in life and very panicky that she is going to turn out like her mother, where the Lake House makes it worse.

With the character of Jake, the man she meets, he comes over very secretive and you just wish he would open up a bit more. The rest of the characters at the Lake House are also very secretive but it all becomes clear at the end why they are like this. You just want to know more about them!!

The story is just at the right pace and the plot is centred around the Lake House which all seems normal but is it? Feel the characters needed to be a bit more in-depth but apart from that a good read.  A dark and twisted plot where you need to find out what happens.

 

Thank you to Iona Karen Waterman for her guest review today.