This is yet another book where the timeline flips backwards and forwards and I
have to say I am not a fan - I feel it is too disruptive of the flow of the storyline .
That being said I enjoyed the book overall

A woman has come into her inheritance and returns to the island on the lake and
the island home that hold memories both good and bad ....... where as a teenager
she was held responsible for her grandmother's death , where on the same night
her boyfriend disappeared .
As she takes time to make her decision as to whether to sell up and return to her
life in the city or not she is beset by her memories . In the background the are rumbles
stirring all around - was she responsible for more than previously thought or is she innocent
on all counts . The persistent feeling of being watched doesn't help her mood , but
she is also a watcher as she finds her grandfather's telescope in the tower trained
on the lakes other residents and cannot resist peering through it herself .

I did feel that Harper's emotions were too volatile and self indulgent at times ,
who could she trust , who did she really love on those long ago summer days ?
The culmination of the book brings many surprises , some I already could guess at
but there were a couple that took me by surprise

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Amazing! I was hooked on this twisty, wonderful plot. The characters really came to life,and it was impossible to put down! Highly recommend this addictive read, from an excellent author. Superb.

Lisa Jackson always gives us such weave of complex characters and guessing games i love them each time. there is always something much deeper to her novels that keep me both hooked and on my toes. and often even a little bit on edge about just what is going on. the chapters are just long and short enough so that you can think "oh, please just one more" so you want to turn another page and another page.
i became totally invested in wanting to know Harper's story. how can so many bad things keep heading her way? and then Lisa twists me and turns me and helps me find all the answers i needed.
if you haven't read Lisa's books then you need to get on that. she is a top tier thriller write every single time. and i get so much joy every time a book of hers comes along.

I love a story set on or around a lake! This was atmospheric and I enjoyed it although felt it was too long overall. I didn't enjoy the romance aspect as it felt forced, but I liked the crime aspect. My first book by this author but not my last. Love the cover too.
Thanks for the ARC!

I love an eerie thriller that has all the goosebumps. And this one was perfect. Love the premise and the characters. You know from the get go that something is up and that makes this more thrilling of a journey.

I liked how the mysteries kept coming which makes this a fast paced read. Also loved the use of the location and visualisation to make this an atmospheric read. This book has all the right chills and suspicious characters. Definitely recommend!

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

The book has been told through multiple timelines. It’s atmospheric and full of unthinkable happenings. Set on an island. I felt that the characters were so intriguing and secretive. All of them knew something but concealed the truth for so long. A series of unfortunate events keeps happening and they deepens the mystery. Twenty years ago, Harper’s grandmother died and the same night, her boyfriend also disappeared. There is a woman on island who hated harper in the past timeline. There has been mysterious deaths and innumerable disappearances. No one truly knows what actually happened with people who died and people who disappeared. When she returns to Island to sell the house, the memories, mysteries, truth, secrets and unthinkable happenings begins to unfold. The book kept me on the edge. Anna’s story touched me. All the events were connected in a strange way. This is a kind of book that can’t be read in one or two sittings, you need to give it a proper time to able to understand it completely. Author could have simplified things a bit. With every chapter expect a layer of mystery with atmospheric elements deepening the plot.

Thanks to the Publisher

3.5 Stars

It Happened On The Lake by Lisa Jackson is a thriller novel set to be published on the 24th of June 2025 by Hodder and Stoughton.

It's October 1988 and Harper Prescott is returning to her grandmother's house on Lake Twilight aged 37 (the age her Gram deemed her old enough to inherit it). Alone, divorced and with her daughter at university, returning after so many years brings back memories of her time there, with Gram, her Gramps, her father, her late mother (who is implied to have had mental health issues) and tragically killed brother Evan.

One night in 1968, when she was looking after her by this time wheelchair-bound Gram, she is much more focussed on meeting up with her secret boyfriend Chase than playing Gin Rummy well past her Gram’s bedtime. When he fails to show up, disappeared without a trace and Gram dies following a faux pas Harper made, suspicions flare (including her stepmother’s).

In the present (1988), Harper rallies to the lake when she sees a boat on fire, soon realising the woman trapped is Chase's mother, Cynthia. Old wounds and suspicions open, and once again it seems everyone has something to hide and everyone wants a piece of Harper - gossip, inheritance, some things never seem to change in Almsville. Is there more to all the tragedy than meets the eye? A curse? And is Harper more involved than she appears?

If this novel is anything to go by, Jackson is brilliant at writing twisty thrillers. Every time I felt like I understood a situation or felt I knew my opinion on a character, Jackson would subvert it. Although sometimes I found some of their actions unbelievable, the characters themselves are incredibly well drawn. Nothing is cut and dry, and the characters all have so many layers and none are completely good, though a few are completely bad. But even most of the morally bad characters have redeeming qualities, usually not enough to make up for their shortcomings but there nonetheless, much like real life.

My one criticism when it comes to the characters is the lack of diversity. There is the odd character who may be a character of colour and Gram is a wheelchair user at the time of her death, but aside from this it is a very white, cis-het story, which is a shame.

I was initially daunted by the almost-600 page length of It Happened On The Lake but Jackson kept me hooked all the way, and I wouldn't say that you could criticise the length too much at all. Some books meander, but I think that almost all of this book is necessary considering the 20+ year mysterIES featured within it.

A note on the the star rating (SEMI-SPOILER WARNING):
I was originally planning to give this book 4 or even 4.5 stars, however, the Epilogue and the fact that the two romances were shoehorned in at the end meant I had to lower my score. Both had little chemistry and felt incredibly forced, if anything Harper and Levi would've made more sense as a pairing, if there really had to be one. An ending doesn't need to have romantic relationships to be happy, fulfilling or good, and this one would have been much better without them. To me, endings written so the protagonists are all cis-het and in relationships come across as unimaginative at best.

This was an overall solid thriller, but it was a little too murder-y for me personally. There are lotssss of bodies and lots of murder, and I guess I wanted more of the suspense aspect. I did appreciate the multiple POV's and dual timeline!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

It Happened on the Lake is a gripping thriller that blends suspense, mystery, and psychological drama. The story takes readers on a chilling journey to Lake Twilight, where the past and present collide in a web of secrets and lies. The story revolves around Harper, who returns to her grandmother's Victorian house on Lake Twilight after inheriting it. The house holds dark memories, including her grandmother's mysterious death and her boyfriend's disappearance twenty years ago. As Harper attempts to sell the house, she is forced to confront the town's suspicions and her own buried secrets.

The story is filled with twists and turns that keep you in suspense and the eerie setting of Lake Twilight adds to the book's suspenseful tone. I enjoyed this book although i was able to predict certain parts of the plot but this may be due to me reading a lot of this genre so does not in any way take away from the story and its twists and turns. I found it enjoyable and a good read.

Harper's grandmother died suspiciously and then her boyfriend disappears.. just what is going on??

This is a really good, if not slow, thriller. There are lots of bodies and lots of suspects and is filled with drama.

I loved the descriptions of the huge house on the lake and it is the most perfect backdrop

This book has a Hitchcock style vibe and this is why I loved it so much.

#IHappenedOnTheLake #NetGalley
Lisa Jackson, the queen of atmospheric suspense, returns with It Happened on the Lake, a haunting and gripping thriller set against the eerie backdrop of a secluded Victorian estate on Lake Twilight. Harper Reed Prescott has tried to outrun her past for two decades. Her grandmother's mysterious death and her boyfriend’s sudden disappearance still cast a long, dark shadow over her life. Now, freshly divorced and emotionally estranged from her daughter, Harper returns to the lake house she’s always tried to forget—hoping to sell it and finally move on. But the moment she steps back onto the property, buried secrets start to rise. Locals still whisper, the house seems to hum with memories, and Harper can’t shake the feeling that someone is watching her. As old mysteries resurface and strange happenings occur, Harper is forced to confront a terrifying truth: the past never stays buried—and someone wants to make sure hers stays deadly.
What I Like:-
1 Creepy, Slow-Burn Suspense: The isolated lake setting is perfectly moody, steeped in dread and claustrophobia.
2 Family Secrets and Twisted Truths: Jackson explores how guilt, trauma, and unresolved mysteries can ripple through generations.
3 A Strong Yet Vulnerable Protagonist: Harper is flawed, haunted, and painfully real—making her journey both compelling and heartbreaking.
Overall, It Happened on the Lake is a masterfully written psychological thriller that weaves together past and present, grief and guilt, mystery and menace. Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Megan Miranda, this novel will keep you on edge until the final, chilling twist.
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder Stoughton for giving me an advance copy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’d give this one a solid 3 stars…it was good, but not quite a standout for me.

The story is packed with small-town secrets, drama, and a dual timeline that’s easy to follow, which I appreciated. There’s always something happening, which kept things moving, but ironically, it also made the book feel longer than it needed to be. I think the pacing suffered a bit from trying to do too much at once. There were moments where I wasn’t sure what to focus on, and it left me feeling a little disconnected from the characters and the tension.

I usually enjoy thrillers that are a bit more concise, where the suspense can build gradually without getting lost in too many side plots. This had potential and some great ideas, but a tighter structure might have made it more impactful.

Overall, it was entertaining but didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Worth a try if you enjoy slower-burn, drama-heavy thrillers with lots of moving parts

Not for me. So many dead bodies, so many murderers... One star is for books I didn't finish, two for a book I did not enjoy reading :(

3.5⭐️ Where to start, where to start….

“It Happened on the Lake” is an eerie psychological thriller, with a little peppering of horror, packed full of suspense from the very first page and with a plethora of shady characters - WHO do we trust in this book????? Multiple pov and dual timeline allows us to really dig deep into the mystery of Lake Twilight and the spooky Gothic mansion which lies at its core.

The only thing that really marred this for me was that I thought it was a little bit long, which made it feel really slow at times.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy!