This is the first book I have read by Nuala Ellwood and I would definitely read more by her. She has a lovely writing style and the book is very atmospheric, given the setting of a mysterious house by a lake. I enjoyed the dual narration from the 'soldier' and Lisa and the characters were well drawn as was the setting which was like another character, I didn't guess any of what happened and enjoyed the twists of the plot. Only negative was the child was annoying during the first half as all he did was whine, but that's probably just me!

A really enjoyable thriller and thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This turned out to be dark ,twisted ,emotional rollercoaster of a book ,that really questions your belief in the inherent goodness of the human race at times. There are two timelines running in parallel throughout the story that deliver twists And information in snippets .The first, current story ,is that of Lisa who has fled a controlling marriage to Mark with their 3 year old son Joe ,who is obviously a Daddy’s boy frightened of his mum by what he has experienced in his short life. Unfortunately the only place Lisa can think of to flee to is a house a friend told her about in the middle of nowhere in Yorkshire . It turns out to be gothically brooding ,dilapidated and totally unsuitable for living in which adds to the growing sense of horror in the story. The house and setting and their desperate plight do nothing to help the fragile relationship between Lisa and her son
The second story is that of Soldier ,who’s gender we are unsure of at first, who turns out to be the friend Grace that gave Lisa the address and directions for the house. Soldier lived in the house, off grid, with her ex forces father who seems to think he’s still in the army in charge of a “soldier” and behaves accordingly so., it’s increasingly obvious he has untreated probably undiagnosed ptsd .Your heart breaks at times for the girl who Grace could never be and for the fact that the locals turn a blind eye to what may or may not be happening in the house. The village also have secrets that spill over into the story of Lisa and Joe .
The setting, December in a dilapidated ,isolated, large house by a lake adds to the horror of the story and makes it one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read in a while ,mainly about women who are controlled by different men ..Enjoyable isn’t a word that springs to mind about the book but it was certainly thought provoking ,made you wonder how on earth things like that can still go in in a supposedly civilised country and will stay with me for a while .

A really dark thriller. Set in a creepy house in Yorkshire with a backstory of a previous family living there. Lisa is staying in the house with her young son after escaping her marriage. I found the two stories a little slow and repetitive but it was a unique setting and a different read. Very atmospheric and chilling.

This is a real page turner. A gripping book which tells the stories of soldier and lisa simultaneously.

Soldier is a young girl who is brought up by her ex SAS father in a remote house in Yorkshire.

Lisa is a mother who is running from her abusive husband.

The book has plenty of twists and turns in it and the identities and connections between the women is slowly revealed. Becoming evermore complicated the story unfolds of how Lisa ends up travelling to soldier’s childhood home.

The books talks of identity and relationships, it shows how complicated these things are and how the truth is often never fully known.

I was somewhat disappointed at the end not to find out if there were any consequences for Mark. Although the lives of the women were all tied up (with a little bit of assumption for Isobel).

A gripping read.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author, who again surprises the reader with twists and turns. The isolated location, in a small village add to the tension - classic thriller setting.

With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

The House on the Lake is the intertwining stories of two families who lived at Rowan Isle House in.Yorkshire.

In 2002 eleven year old Soldier lived at Rowan Isle with her father who she called Sarge. Sarge suffered from paranoia and hallucinations probably due to PTSD. Soldier did not go to school or have any friends, instead Sarge taught her army skills and survival techniques. On Soldier's eleventh birthday she was given her first mission to accomplish.

In 2018 Lisa and her three year old son Joe moved into Rowan Isle after escaping an abusive relationship. Lisa had been given the keys by a friend to be used as a place of safety.

However she was dismayed to find the house had been abandoned years ago and had no electricity or running water. Lisa didn't seem very confident and Joe seemed to be slightly wary of Lisa.

I enjoyed both Lisa and Soldier's stories and couldn't wait to find how the stories were connected. I felt so sorry for Soldier because she didn't seem to realise her life was unusual.

I thought Lisa was brave to escape her marriage and was shocked when I realised her POV was unreliable. I liked how the author successfully linked the two stories together. As the whole story was unravelled I was hooked, it was pure genius.

I highly recommend this book. and will read more from Nuala Ellwood.

Another great read again from Nuala Ellwood When Lisa decides to leave her controlling husband she takes her son and goes to stay in an old house a friend who she met in prison had told her about but nothing prepares her for what she finds The house holds many secrets and she has has some dark moments before eventually discovering what really happened to the former occupants of the house on the lake

This is a very sad story of fractured childhoods and marriages and how future lives are affected. Very easy to get hooked into the story but very frustrating. It doesn't say if the coercive control by Mark was ever addressed so it was rather an unfulfilling conclusion

A story that at times seems quite gothic and dark.

Told in two timelines 2018 Lisa arrives at Rowan Isle House with her three year old son, she is running away from her controlling husband, but seeing the house and the dilapidated state is in is quite daunting, is it safe to bring a three year old here, it’s isolated which is what Lisa wanted, but the isolation could also be quite dangerous as well. Miles away from the nearest town. When a local woman comes calling, Lisa realises she may not be as safe as she first thought.

2003 a girl and her father live in the house, the father had been a soldier. He raises his daughter in a regimented way, he has PTSD and she has to deal with that as well. The girl knows the house, it’s her life, despite the state it’s in its all she has ever known. Until she leaves, spreading her wings she then realised how claustrophobic the house was. But maybe not just the house, the only company she had had was her father. You want her to be ok, you want her to survive and live her life.

Lisa has been told by her husband how useless she is for years, after hearing that you begin to believe it. How can you survive if you truly believe what you have been constantly had drummed into you for so long? How can you even think of leaving? Can you survive if you stay? What would that do to your young son? What can Lisa do when her past catches up with her?

What connects the characters? There are some twists within this story, but it takes a while to come in to the story, I would have liked a slightly faster pace.

This is at times a chilling read, with the setting of the old house. It’s very atmospheric. What secrets does Lisa hold? Everything slots in nicely at the end. But this book didn’t grab me as I had hoped it would. But if you like a story with a slow pace and a creepy house then this may be a book you enjoy. Expect a lot of atmosphere, but a shortage of action.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #Penguin for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

Abusive husband so wfie on the run with young son. I thought, mmm sounding familiar but just wait patiently and it will all unravel. It's not based on this abusive relationship but the house used as shelter. A different idea of a father and daughter relationship here. Unique. Loved the ending of the daughter. Quite touching really.

Told through two parallel timelines, The House on the Lake is an interesting and easy reading thriller, if that’s fair of a book that tackles themes of abuse, PTSD and coercive control. The problem with it for me is that the two timelines are not equally interesting - the girl being brought up by a traumatised father is far more intriguing than the present day story - at least to begin with. As the present becomes the focal point, the earlier story becomes less convincing and more melodramatic until the two parallel stories come together and lies are inevitably exposed. Ultimately it all starts to feel a bit silly, and the earlier suspense can’t hold up. Nonetheless, it’s a good holiday thriller, no more, no less.

The House On The Lake is an eerie thriller that is very creepy.
Lisa is in a car with her son Joe, they are escaping her husband and Joe’s dad as she has had enough of his behaviour that leaves Lisa thinking she is worthless. It is obvious that Joe is a child that is struggling with not being with his dad and to be honest is a nightmare at times. They have been given a bolt hole called Rowan Isle House, this place is the pits, it’s creepy, no electricity, no water and no lock on the door!
The book alternates chapters between Lisa and Joe who are there in 2018 and another father and daughter who are there in the beginning of the 2000’s. The father is bringing the daughter up like a soldier while he struggles with PTSD, living a solitary life and known in the village as the local nutter but nowadays would be offered help. These two different stories intertwine and although I got it fairly early in in the book it didn’t deter my enjoyment of the rest of the book.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Books UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t read many books in the mystery & thriller genre, and I’m glad to say that I was given the opportunity to read and review this book. I enjoyed this book, so much so I know that I could read it again. I don’t say that very often about the books I read so this tells you how much I enjoyed reading this book. The book is full of mystery with many thrills along the way.

This book has two different timelines one in 2018 and the other in 2003.

In December 2018, Lisa runs away from her husband Mark taking their 3 year old son Joe with her. Her husband is a control freak when it comes to Lisa. He treats her like a child that can’t do anything without being given instructions. He criticises her on everything and anything. Making Lisa think and feel as though she is incapable of doing anything, and he is even worse when it comes to looking after their son Joe.

The day she decides to run from her husband Mark. All Lisa has are a few things she hastily packed and a crumpled piece of paper with an address with a couple of instructions, that a good friend had given her. Telling her that she could stay there anytime free of charge. The place is called “Rowan Isle House” and it is situated in rural Yorkshire.

When Lisa arrives at the house the daylight has just faded, so she can’t make out much of the house. While her son Joe is still sleeping in the back she grabs her torch and heads to the front door. On the piece of paper it said that she didn’t need a key to get into the house. All she needs to do is put her weight against the door and it will eventually open.

Once she has gained access to the house she shines her torch around the foyer looking for a light switch. Unable to find one she slowly moves further in to the house and starts to look around as much as she can. While she’s looking around it’s starting to dawn on her that the house has no electricity, running water or heating. The house is quite dilapidated, but what can she do? She only has a small amount of money that would run out in a few days if they went to a hotel.

With no other options available to her she, decides to go back to the car, drive back to the village and get a few supplies. On getting back to the car her son Joe is screaming down the place, as he has woken up alone and constantly asking for his daddy. Lisa does what she can to appease him all the time thinking what sort of mother would put her child though all of this. Except she knows that is Marks voice she keeps hearing in her mind not her own.

They finally settle down as best they can in the cold and damp living room, where Lisa managed to light some candles and try and make out to Joe that they are camping inside. She doesn’t think she will sleep, but at some point she must have. On waking the next day she sees exactly what state the house is in and she feels nothing but despair. When there is a knock at the front door.

It turns out that it’s a woman from the village. She came because she thought that her friend had come back home, as she’s not seen her for years. Not after a tragedy happened at the house which she will not elaborate on. She befriends Lisa and keeps turning up with excuses to help her. Lisa has odd feelings about her and about this house, she feels that something very bad happened here but she can’t seem to find out what.

Jump back to 2003 when Grace an eleven year old girl and her father who she calls Sarge not dad live at Rowan Isle house. Sarge is an ex-soldier and he is bring Grace up to be self sufficient, as well as teaching her how to survive in the wilderness and how to protect herself against the enemy and to be his number one soldier. As the enemy are everywhere.

Due to this Grace’s life is very basic, there are no home comforts and she doesn’t have any friends. Sarge doesn’t like the people in the village he insists they are dangerous. Except one day when Grace is out at the front of the house near the road selling their eggs and produce that they grow in the garden, a girl from the village turns up to make a purchase.

The girl keeps turning up and eventually over time she and Grace become friends. All of this happens without Sarges knowledge. If Sarge were to find out Grace would be punished.

At times Sarge’s behaviour is off, he becomes very distant towards Grace and he also becomes more demanding. She also finds him arguing with himself and it’s usually when he has been reading a certain book. She once came across the book and when Sarge found her with it she was punished badly.

There are a couple of times when Grace is punished badly by Sarge, especially when he finds out about her friendship with the girl from the village. He locks her up in a room with no windows only giving her a small amount of food and water and then questioning her, as though she is a traitor. On an other occasion he almost drowns her in the lake. With him doing these things to Grace her feeling towards him are changing, but how will she get out of this life?

Both Grace and Lisa find that they have been betrayed by the same person. Grace’s betrayal being over a decade before Lisa’s, but why? What is their betrayer trying to cover up? If I tell you anymore it will spoil the story. All I can say is that there are lots of twists and turns and the secrets that have been hidden for a long time are finally uncovered.

A brilliant thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat to the very last page.
Every time you think you have cracked it there is a new twist that throws everything in the air.
You just can’t put it down as you navigate the emotional turmoil of the two women at the centre of the story and who can you really trust to tell you the truth

3.5 stars
This is a good read about a woman who seeks refuge in a remote house in Yorkshire with her 3 year old son.
Lisa has run away from her controlling husband and has been told about the house by a friend.
The house is derelict, with no running water but Lisa moves in as she has no choice.
Isobel pays her a visit and starts to help out but as the story goes on we learn more about Isobel and also Lisa.
There’s also chapters from soldier/Grace who used to live in the house and towards the end all the threads of the stories comes together.
This is a good read.
Thanks to Penguin Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Lisa arrives at the dilapidated and creepy Rowan House near a lake in Yorkshire with her toddler son, Joe, one dark evening. There is no electricity, water, telephone or means to get warm but Lisa is on the run from Joe’s controlling father so tries to makes the best of it,

Interspersed with Lisa’s story we hear the story of a young girl who lived in the house 15 years previously with her ex-army father who she called ‘Sarge’. He calls her ‘Soldier’ and, since her 11th birthday, takes her on ‘missions’ to train her to be a soldier and move up the levels of ranking in his eyes. She has little interaction with people in the nearby village with only the occasional visit from the Vicar and his daughter Isobel who comes to buy eggs. Sarge actively discourages any fraternises with the locals.

The stories finally collide and there is plenty of mail biting drama in this well written and tense novel. The pace is good throughout and makes for a real page turner.

With thanks to NetGalley and?? for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book quite interesting, I enjoyed it and found the alternating chapters pulled me in quickly, I wanted to know what was happening to the characters, and the story developed at an enjoyable pace. I will be looking for more books by this author.

This author is now becoming one of my favourites. I loved her last two books The Day Of The Accident and Her Sister's Bones, both were fantastic five star reads. As for this book I have run the gamit of all my emotions. I love the way this author tells a story. A very emotional read with a shocking twist that I honestly never saw coming. Grace has captured my heart and this book just drew me in. Another hit for this author. Haunting, emotional and heartbraking. I loved it and a MUST READ.
Thanks to Penguin UK and Netgalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed the pace of this book, the cliffhanger the whole way through kept me guessing how the story was going to end. I enjoyed there being do many possible explanations that I couldn't guess the ending.

I liked that the author took enough time to wrap the story up and didn't rush the twist at the very end. This meant there was enough time to take all the information on board.

I also liked the epilogue which fully explained where the characters had ended up and gave closure to the story that many books don't.

Lisa and her three-year-old son Joe had driven for hours. Joe was fractious and crying for his dad; Lisa knew it would be difficult, but her escape from Mark meant she had to stay under the radar, and Rowan Isle House seemed to be the perfect hiding place. But when Lisa went inside the house she was horrified. It was old, filthy, smelled of grime and animal droppings – what sort of a mother was she to bring Joe to a place like this?

The appearance of a young woman from the local village shocked Lisa, but Isobel only wanted to help. She had the old stove going in no time and the warmth drew Lisa and Joe to sit beside it. She also had a box of groceries. But Lisa was suspicious. Who was this woman? Why was she being so helpful? The house was creepy; the lake outside their only form of water – candles their lighting. Lisa realized she didn’t really feel safe at all…

The House on the Lake by Nuala Ellwood is the 3rd I’ve read by this author and I really enjoyed it. Narrated by Lisa and Soldier Number 1, with the fifteen years prior building the tension and horror as to what was happening to finally link with Lisa and Isobel. A gritty, tension filled psychological thriller, The House on the Lake is one that I recommend to fans of the genre.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.