Drama Fuelled..
An inheritance, a deadly past, a small town, a lake with memories. Drama fuelled suspense in this atmospheric tale of past and present colliding with a deftly drawn cast of characters populating a slow burn, tension fuelled plot with an underlying vein of menace. Compelling.

Stefanie London’s The Vow is a twisty, darkly compelling thriller that expertly blends suspense, secrets, and complex female friendships. Perfect for fans of Sarah Goodwin and Lisa Jewell, this novel delivers a gripping narrative that keeps readers on edge from the first page to the shocking finale.

The story centers on three former school friends—Sofia, Ellie, and Rose—who made a vow twelve years ago to never speak of a fateful night in their youth. Years later, they reunite for Ellie’s destination wedding, expecting a glamorous celebration. Instead, the weekend becomes a tense minefield as things start going wrong and it becomes apparent that someone is intent on punishing them. With a shared secret and enemies unknown, suspicion and paranoia take hold, forcing the women to confront both past sins and present dangers.

London excels at creating atmosphere and tension, setting a luxurious wedding backdrop against a growing sense of unease. Her characters are multi-layered and relatable, with flawed personalities that make their decisions and reactions feel authentic. The narrative’s pacing is expertly handled, with revelations carefully timed to maximize suspense and keep readers guessing about motives, alliances, and the identity of the avenger.

Themes of friendship, loyalty, and betrayal run deep, giving the story emotional resonance alongside the thrills. The novel balances high-stakes suspense with sharp psychological insight, ensuring that the twists are both shocking and satisfying.

Verdict: The Vow is a masterfully plotted, darkly entertaining thriller full of secrets, lies, and unforgettable twists. It’s a perfect choice for readers seeking suspense, complex relationships, and an edge-of-your-seat page-turner.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – A twisty, suspense-filled thriller that brilliantly explores secrets, friendship, and revenge.

At almost 600 pages, the pacing of It Happened on the Lake often drags, especially in the second half, where excessive detail slows the story and deflates the tension. It’s a very slow burn, almost frustratingly so at times.

Overall though, patience pays off in the richness and intricacy of the story. The atmosphere is moody and immersive, bordering on gothic, with a sense of unease. The decaying house, preserved as a time capsule, lets Harper’s lost relatives remain an unsettling, ghostly presence that weaves in and out of the story. There’s a creeping sense of dread in moments that initially seem innocuous, adding to the slow-build suspense.

Even though Harper is our narrator, her guarded thoughts create a sense of distrust and discomfort that amplifies the haunting tone. I really enjoyed the time jumps between the 60’s and 80’s, with both periods vividly drawn and cleverly interwoven to deepen the mystery. With so many deaths, mysteries and unreliable reporters, it was hard to see of Jackson would close this tale off, but it draws to a satisfying conclusion.

I’d recommend this to anyone wanting to sink their teeth into a lengthy, but layered, suspenseful and moody mystery.

Thank you to the publishers for an advance copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

Harper divorced and estranged from her daughter moves back to her Grandmothers mansion on a private island. Her plan is to sell the property and move on but unsettling memories resurface and strange things are happening and Harper has the feeling of being watched across the lake.

I always enjoy a duel timeline and this did that well gradually feeding in the story from the past timeline. I do think that this book was longer than it needed to be and I struggled to stay engaged at times but was still overall an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley, Hodder and Stoughton and Lisa Jackson for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Lisa Jackson book and I really enjoyed the multiple POV's and past & present timelines.

The book kicks off strong with a woman setting herself on fire in the middle of a lake.

I found myself struggling through the mid section as the story slowed and felt repetitive of information we had already learned from other characters.

There was a surprising and satisfying twist at the end and I would love to pick up another Lisa Jackson at some point.

It Happened on the Lake is a twisty crime thriller by American author, Lisa Jackson.
In short, Harper returns to her inherited old house by the lake after most of her family’s suspicious deaths which many believe Harper was at the core of them!
It’s another good twisty plot loaded with plenty of drama & suspense all played out in the close community surrounding the lake with its secrets, lies & consequences finally being exposed. Lisa Jackson always writes an assured thriller so no surprise that this is another well written enjoyable book.
Big thanks to Lisa Jackson, Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

The first thing I took away from this book is to always make sure your blinds are shut tight at night or when doing personal business. You never know if a neighbor has a super strong telescope to peek in! That really upped the eerie creepy factor in this book, along with hundreds of dolls, a grand house on its own island in disrepair, and several unexplained deaths and disappearances that have happened on this lake.

Yes, the book is a bit long in revealing little details, though it keeps up the suspense and guessing nicely, and though I think it could have been a bit shorter, I still had fun reading it. Especially when it all comes together at the end with so much action, a few more bodies, and answers finally found to bring closure to the survivors. I really liked Harper, even if she is surrounded by so many dead family members. She does not run at the first sign of trouble and tackles that huge house, plus threats (which include the aforementioned dolls and cat carcasses) with grit (and perhaps a bit too much alcohol) but I still admire her. My favorite part of the book though dealt with her grandma and the story about her and her grandfather (that was delightfully wicked!).

This was a fun read and really makes it true that secrets cannot remain hidden with those super powerful telescopes spying on everything! Plus a life and death chase to reveal long lost bodies and possibly a love interest. :)

This was a slow-burn that kept me invested as the secrets unravel. Overall I loved the Gothic vibes and plenty of twists and turns.

DNF. I read about half of this book, but it just felt far too long with far too little happening, which is a shame because I loved the premise and Harper (the main character).

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC and the opportunity to share my honest review.

I had high hopes for this book, as I have enjoyed the author's previous works, but unfortunately, I found it somewhat underwhelming. I felt the story was unnecessarily lengthy and could have benefited from more concise storytelling; it failed to fully capture my attention.

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.