Two entwined stories twenty years apart with lots of twists bringing them together. Another gripping story from Nuala Ellwood

Oh wow,
It has been a long time since a book has gripped me as much as this one did right from page one it pulled me in and didn't let go till the very end. I read in one sitting I just couldn't put this book down.
The house on the Lake starts of when we meet Lisa a women on the run with her son Joe from her controlling Husband. as the story unfolds it is full of twists and turns I never seen coming. I kept questioning myself, thinking I had an idea of where this story was going and I was so wrong.

Such a great written story and I can't wait to read more from this author.

Amazing read, I couldn't put it down and actually read it in one go! I loved the fact that I had no idea where this book was going and had to keep reading as I needed to find out how it ended. Brilliantly written to keep you wanting to read and it just flows so easily. I love the way that the author expresses two characters stories so brilliantly in a way that is so easy to keep track of.

Melancolic and deeply troubling. This is a stark and raw read. Two women abused by the men in their lives in vearious different ways. There's a runaway mother whose husband has abused her and so put their son's life at risk. She flees to a cottage in the middle of nowhere for ...what she doesn't know but she hopes it's safety of some sort.

The house where she flees to is called Rowan House and it's in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales, A house meant for sanctuary and salvation but also one which has not been lived in for some time. The second story however shows another couple living near here - Two soldiers - a girl and her father hiding out in the forest like survivalists. There are clearly issues of control here, a mind which has been injured, PTSD and so much more. They mistrust the locals and hide away from the world.. The story switches from these two stories with ease.

And all the while, this house is the setting which links the two. And what a setting. It's remote, claustrophobic,lonely and unsafe. It's just enough for both women at different times - they both need the protection if not the dirt and decrepit state its in.

The main character however is that of Control. The control is the one who determines how each woman in the story has to act, feel and do what they need to do to survive. The house protects them in different ways but their struggles are at times painful to read. You just know these men are not going to give up.

There's a lot of pain and yet hope in this novel.It's a slow burning read, like a slow motion chinese burn of a read.You feel the pain and the anguish and the anticipation of both and it hurts in different degrees. The reader is inside the heads of these characters from the off. Powerful stuff.

A lot of pain wrapped up here - but a stark reminder of what absolute power and control can do and how women can fight back.

Grace lives in a secluded area, away from the town in a big old house near a lake. She is 11 and lives with her dad, an ex army solider who she names Sarge. Grace doesn't leave the house much and does not have any friends, until she meets Isabel one day when she was selling the eggs that their hens freshly laid. It is a way for them to make a little money for supplies. Grace is besotted by Isabel and calls her 'her Isabel'. The story also tells of a desperate mum (Lisa) hiding away from her emotionally abusive husband and how Lisa, the house, Grace and Isabel all entwine.

This was a good book, it kept my interest the whole time. A spooky setting and so well written that you can almost feel the chill of the house, smell the musty mouldy smells and feel the fear.

Unfortunately this book just didn't appeal to me. I didn't like either of the threads: the abused wife arriving at an unheated abandoned house with a toddler in the midde of the night, or an young girl being brought up in a bizarre manner by an obviously mentally unwell father. Other readers will lie it but it wasn't for me.

This was a well written psychological drama, interweaving the stories of two broken people with the third main "character", the old and delapidated Rowan Isle House. The sense of breakdown and decay spread out from the house to the lives of Grace and Lisa and was irrevocably intertwined with their stories.

I found it quite difficult to "like" either of the main human characters and their relationships but maybe this is part of what was essentially a very sad story about two very broken people and how their misery had been caused bu others and not themselves.

A good read set in my home county of Yorkshire - thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this third novel from Nuala Ellwood.

Thanks net galley for letting me read this early edition of this great book, I loved it.
Lisa had to run away, she wanted to take her son joe away from her husband, and when she was offered a house in the middle of no where to occupy she took the.chance and ran away with her son so Joe could not find her.
But the house was in a terrible state, dirty and very cold.
Then a lady called Isobel befriended her, and that is when she found out who the house had belonged to and who had lived in it.
Great book great great great.

I wish I could give this more than 5 stars, it's a tense and gripping account of abuse for two of the characters Lisa and Solider One later revealed as Grace and the story goes back between now and 19 years ago to when Grace was a child and living in the same house as Lisa does now,. It's an excellent book with an unexpected ending that I definitely would never have guessed. I would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me have the book to review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own views and are completely unbiased.

Ive been looking forward to reading this one, I've been a fan of Nuala from the beginning and this book did not fail to capture everything I love about a Nuala Ellwood novel. This story is about how the lives of three women intersect, creating a vivid and emotional story about belonging and home. Whilst this book - for me - wasn't typically fast paced, it was a slow gradual build up, with a great ending. If you're an Ellwood fan I would recommend, and if you love an emotional yet psychological story this one is for you. Thank you Net Galley for an advanced read!

A really good book, It had me completely gripped and read it all in one sitting. The 2 stories combining through numerous twists and turns and kept me guessing until the end

A great read. The story flicks between the present day storyline and another set 20 years earlier. Well written fast paced and a different take in control and abuse.

I knew this would be a good book as her previous book, Day of the accident, was an excellent read. But this was so much better and different, about half way through I thought I had guessed how it would end...But I was so wrong.
I finished it in one sitting because I wanted to know that Lisa and Joe got the happy ending that I wanted them to have and to find out what happened to Grace. The twist at the end was so unexpected.
I love reading Nuala Ellwood books and I am looking forward to reading more by her.
Thank you netgalley and penguin for letting me read this advanced copy.

This is another great read by this author. There are two storylines told in the present day by Lisa, who is escaping from her abusive marriage to Mark, taking with her their 3 year old son Joe. The house on the lake is Lisa’s refuge. 15 years earlier Soldier is living at the house on the lake with her father Sarge who is suffering from PTSD.

Although the book is a mystery with a few twists, it’s also quite an emotional read, and by the end I really felt for all the characters and what they had been through.

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

In Nuala Ellwood’s latest novel The House on the Lake we find two stories entwined like the double helix of DNA. A tragic case of PTSD and the taking of a child’s liberty, plus an escape from a controlling relationship to a remote dwelling on the shore of a lake.

It was well written and descriptive but I found it a little slow. Frankly it was only curiosity which kept me reading until the end. Certain aspects lacked credibility especially taking a toddler to an unheated wreck of a building in the middle of winter.

A different read, two storylines running into one. Plenty of interesting characters Soldier, Sarge, Lisa and evening the House itself.

Domestic abuse that even has the baby as a full blown Daddy’s boy ! It’s claustrophobic at times and yet a compelling story of our times where control by parent , partner, state is a common modern theme

Well worth reading

Wow. From first word to last this fast paced, gripping story had me in its thrall. This has all the essential ingredients for an outstanding suspense novel - tension, intrigue, guilt, deception, shocks, danger and so well written. This is the story of Lisa whose controlling husband Mark has undermined her and demeaned her to the point where she takes drastic action. His poison has also deeply affected their three year old son Joe whose treatment of Lisa at times mirrors what he’s seen his father do yet it’s obvious Joe really loves Mark despite the brain washing. Lisa is on the run from Mark and she is given access to the house on the lake - Rowan House. The other part of the story is Soldier Number One who we later learn is Grace. She lives with her father in Rowan House in the Yorkshire Dales. There her father who is known as Sarge keeps her away from the villagers and they live a self sufficient life with army rules. The storytelling switches effortlessly from Lisa to Soldier number one.

The house is also a ‘character’ as it is key to the events in the book. It’s in a decrepit state, it feels malign and is in an almost unliveable condition when Lisa arrives and she struggles to survive there. It symbolises all that Mark has put her through but also is her haven. It functions for Grace and her father but it’s hardly luxury. The descriptions of the house are fantastic and you can really feel it’s presence. There are some lovely original metaphors in the book which I like too. The characters in the story are very well created too and I could picture them easily. It is obvious as you read on that Sarge has PTSD although when soldier number one is young it’s less evident than as she grows up. There are some scary and shocking moments as his condition starts to win. Lisa’ story is sad as Mark’s psychological control deepens and her sense of self worth diminishes. What both lead characters have in common is that they are being controlled, as soldier number one grows up her fathers control deepens.

The storyline is excellent and the tension rises and falls as each girl tells their story and keeps you in suspense leaving you with no clue as to what is going to happen next and tantalises you to keep reading, which I happily did! I genuinely did not see the end coming and it’s a doozy. My only thought about Lisa is that Mark seems to win which is so darned unfair but Grace seems to be embracing her future with great courage. An absolutely terrific read which I highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the ARC

The House on the Lake left me rooting for all the wrong characters! When the truth came out I was gobsmacked. Emotional and extremely atmospheric,
I’d love a book just based on Grace. Her sections were the best parts of the story for me.
Highly recommended.

Nuala Ellwood’s novels are always highly addictive because they manage not only to be dark and twisted but also hugely emotional and often thought provoking.

The House On The Lake follows that trend as we meet Lisa, on the run from a controlling relationship with son Joe in tow, who moves into a dilapidated lake house where amenities are few. Interspersed with the diary of a girl growing up there, past and present are about to collide…

This was a clever and involving story that will often have you catching your breath- Lisa’s story is far from straightforward and this is as much a journey of personal discovery as it is psychological thriller.

The girl from years gone by has a tough, isolated life that will induce sympathy at many points- it is utterly gripping from first page to last.

The setting is gorgeous yet claustrophobic, the writing perfectly paced and descriptive and the whole novel has a beautifully melancholy feel that plays well into the story being told.

Compelling characters and an often heart wrenching narrative add up to yet another great book from this author.

Recommended.