Lake County: A Novel

by Lori Roy

Set in the 1950s, this Southern Gothic thriller by Edgar Award–winning author Lori Roy reimagines the life of Marilyn Monroe, tying her fate to a dreamy teenager whose boyfriend runs afoul of the mob.

Desperate to break free of small-town Florida, Addie Anne Buckley dreams of following in the path of her glamorous aunt Jean—known to the world as Marilyn Monroe. When Aunt Jean plans a trip to Hollywood for Addie’s eighteenth birthday, Addie sees her chance to escape.

One thing stands in her her boyfriend. Truitt Holt is Addie’s first and only love and will be joining her in California. But days before Addie’s due to leave, Truitt does an about-face and gives her a painful stay and marry him, or they’re through. Addie chooses her dream.

Hurt and angry, Truitt unwittingly exposes the illegal bolita game he’s been running in mob territory. Now the Tampa mafia is after him, and he has until midnight to cut a deal that will save his life and Addie’s. What he doesn’t know…his trouble with the mob has already found Addie and her family. She’s already in a fight for her life.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Historical, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

315 pages, Paperback

First published June 25, 2024

About the author

Lori Roy’s debut novel, Bent Road, was awarded the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel by an American Author. Her work has been twice named a New York Times Notable Crime Book and has been included on various “best of” and summer reading lists. Until She Comes Home was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and a finalist for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel.

Let Me Die in His Footsteps was included among the top fiction of 2015 by Books-A-Million and named one of the best fifteen mystery novels of 2015 by Oline Cogdill. The novel also received the 2016 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel, making Lori the first woman to receive an Edgar Award for both Best First Novel and Best Novel—and only the third person ever to have done so. Gone Too Long was named a People magazine Book of the Week, was named one of the Best Books of Summer 2019, and was excerpted by Oprah magazine.

Lori's latest, THE FINAL EPISODE, will hit stores June 25, 2025.

Lori lives with her family in west central Florida.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my free Amazon First Reads selection for May 2024.

You'd think a book with 5 murders, the mob, 2 hostage situations and (a heavily fictionalized version of) Marilyn Monroe would be exciting, wouldn't you? You'd be wrong.

This book is a slog. At almost the very end, there are about 10 pages where a character is changing a tire (in great detail). Earlier in the book, a character spends multiple chapters driving around. It's just dull. But at least Marilyn got a happy ending in this alternate reality?

[CammieOH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blown away! This is not the book I expected! I almost didn’t choose it when I saw “Marilyn Monroe” bc I didn’t want to read a TellAll. That is definitely NOT this book. It in no way disparages the Icon, in fact it is fictional and provides us an alternative to her life. She is somewhat a side character, as the focus is on her niece in a small town in Florida, a place “Aunt Jean” came to decompress from her big life where no one ever called her Marilyn. But she still lives large in a way I’ve never thought about her before and will probably cling to this fictional Marilyn every time I hear her name in the future.

The PLOT! That’s the big character! Organized Crime comes to this small town turning everything on its head. It’s spellbinding and I couldn’t stop reading and loving every minute of this “edge of the seater”. I did not want it to end . This is a book to not miss! 10 million Stars!

[Hannelore Cheney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in Florida in the 1950's, it features Marilyn Monroe as a character. It's a great read that I raced through because I couldn't stop, I needed to know what the neck happened next!
The narrator is a young girl who's in love, but also wants to leave town to become famous like her aunt Jean (Marilyn). But things aren't that easy, fate has carved a different scenario.
Great read!

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trudged through this. Use of the word ‘thriller’ is being extremely generous. There were no thrills to be had.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Multiple POVs, my favourite!!

I loved the 1950's Florida setting. Marilyn Monroe as a character was the cherry on top! It's purely fictional of course but so nice to dream of a much happier ending for the Hollywood icon.

It's crazy to think Marilyn Monroe would have been 98 years old this month/year!!

This was a very clever read. I loved the historical element with the mob. The characters are great and the storyline is unique. I personally wouldn't rate this as a thriller, more of a family drama with mystery.

My thanks to MB Communications and Amazon Publishing for this gifted copy!

[Crista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my monthly selection from Amazon’s free Kindle reads, and I immediately regretted the choice. The first few pages read as elementary; I only kept reading because I sidestepped into researching the author’s accolades and decided they weren’t for nothing, right?

I dug back in, switched my internal narrator’s voice to match what mine would have been like as a teenager on the rural Florida panhandle, and noticed an immediate improvement. This story is from Addie Ann’s perspective, a teenager who has only ever known her small town of Hotka. The writing suddenly fit. I was the one who had been off (and, let’s confess, quick to judge).

Once the story got moving, I enjoyed it. There were strong, good-hearted characters who had to make tough decisions for the benefit of others. Wiley, the town sheriff, feels like a man I would have known from my childhood. Inez, Addie Ann’s mama, is a tough fighter who built her existence out of humble beginnings at an orphanage, where she grew up with Jean. Aunt Jean (known to the rest of the world as Marilyn Monroe) is a disappointing character, though; her “Hannah Montana” switcheroo tease was the reason for my selection, but she doesn’t move past a flatness that echoes the facade of the real Marilyn.

Solid, interesting middle section. Its slow start and spiraled ending leave it at a 3. I’d consider reading one of her Edgar-Awarders, but this book wouldn’t be the reason for me to hunt out more by Lori Roy.

[D.B. Woodling · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 Stars

Mid-twentieth century mobsters and an international clamor for all things Marilyn Monroe dominate this relatively suspenseful offering by award-winning author, Lori Roy.

Addie Anne Buckley wants nothing more than to leave her trite small-town life behind and, following in her Aunt Jean/Marilyn’s footsteps, embrace the glitz and glamor of Tinseltown. But when a bizarre chain of events derails her plan and threatens the existence of everything she holds dear, Addie begins to question her aspirations, as well as the fanatical admiration she’s always had for her Aunt Jean.

Wonderfully descriptive, adequately paced, with colorful characters to boot, Lake County is certain to not only entertain suspense lovers but leave Marilyn Monroe fans with a wistful scenario regarding her fate.

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up as my "amazon first reads" because I live not far from lake county, and I'm always curious to see how people will portray central florida specifically. this was a bizarre mix of bleh and intriguing. the writing style was just kind of strange and I'm not sure how to put my finger on it. like there were moments where it felt almost middle-grade (just rather matter of fact and straight-forward, not really lyrical) but then the f-bombs would drop or someone would die in a sudden and dramatic fashion and I'd be reminded it's very much for adults. we could also have a whole discussion on how I feel about using celebrity names to bring interest to your read when those celebrities have no real bearing on the story (and of all people, marilyn monroe?? like... let the woman rest. the story would've worked just as well if "aunt jean" had fully been a fictional actress akin to monroe. especially when nothing about this version of monroe had any factual history behind it. she didn't need to be here. I feel icky about it.)

wiley was the best character, he redeemed the whole thing for me.
3 stars because I was genuinely on the edge of my seat a couple of times. but it was also boring. I don't know how to describe it.

[J Kromrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

A reimagining of what could have been.

Perhaps in some ways this beautiful tribute to a talented person who will remain forever in our hearts might be closer to the truth regarding the lovely delicate being known as Marilyn Monroe/ Norma Jean than we could ever imagine.

I especially enjoyed the female empowerment in this novel as well as the organized crime historical side-story (which was both well told and fascinating).

Great job by the author, and the first book I have read of this type, a fictional re-imagining of a nonfiction character.

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book caught me off guard by how good it was! I think fans of William Kent Krueger will like this - definitely similar elements although a really unique plot and storyline in my opinion. Highly recommend!

[Megan Admiraal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprisingly good Amazon first reads book. I still wouldn’t recommended it to people as a really good read, but it was interesting enough to keep my attention. That’s a win for the first reads books 🤣.

[Savana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know why but I didn’t like it.
It didn’t click for me. Not a fan of Addie being first person POV and then everyone else being 3rd person. I also didn’t like the Marilyn Monroe aspect. I think I would’ve liked it better if there was no Marilyn Monroe and Jean was a fictional famous person and if the whole book was 3rd person. Slow first 2/3 then the last act is too rushed. But the writing was good. Might check out some of her other works to see if they’re better.

[Jane Pahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this on Kindle so it took me longer than normal, not because it wasn’t good although it did take awhile to get in to. Great characters including “Marilyn Monroe” and her first photographer, Syrus who was a great character, but not liked. I will read more of Lori Roy’s books, time permitting, lol!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy and appreciate a story where you can't anticipate 'what comes next'... so this was a very satisfying story. Well-done, interesting, and able to keep track of all of the well-defined characters. Excellent writing style. Easy flow. Just great!

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wonder what the point of including a fictitious version of Marilyn Monroe was. And it's not the most flattering portrayal. From the blurb, I expected her to be main character, but she's pretty much irrelevant. She's just a plot device to make something happen. But she didn't add much to the story and wasn't necessary.

It had a few moments, but most of the book was boring and a struggle to get through.

[☕Brenda Loves Books☕ · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Just a reminder I don't reiterate descriptions on books that the reader can easily find on the back of the book or in it's online description. That's just a waste of everyone's time because it's redundant.**

I liked this book.
It had plenty of twists towards the end.
I really felt invested in the characters for different reasons.
Marilyn Monroe was a character in this book but the book wasn't about her.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[GeeGee Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half was good, second half not so good.

[Katie]

None

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that this story was unique and not formulaic and therefore I wanted to keep reading to find out the conclusion. Good book!

[Barbie Bumpus · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was slow to me and not much of a thriller. I also don’t realize Marilyn Monroe was a character until I started reading.

[Bridgewes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lake County is a story of a small Florida town with many secrets. The main character is very likeable. His girlfriend wants to leave and go to Los Angeles to star in the movies. As he is riding his bike home one night he stops to help people change a flat tire. In the ensuing evening he ends up killing a mob member. The story is very good, but perhaps a bit too long. I liked the book, and I would consider reading more by this author.

[Michelle Irwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through the shine

If you take all the shine that surrounded Marilyn Monroe and look through it, you find a real person. That's what's portrayed in this book. You'll love all the excitement and danger in this story.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Very underwhelming for me. Mob bosses, crimes, murder but just didn’t hit the mark.

[Sarah Irwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was less about Marilyn Monroe and more about her niece than I expected. Still a good, fast-paced story though.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Fast paced, gripping thriller set in small-town 1950s. There were a few aspects I didn’t love (some of the characters’ ability to kill, seemingly with little or no remorse was a bit off-putting) but I enjoyed the storyline and finished in one day because I couldn’t put it down.

[Lynne Snowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A different version of a famous person’s life

I recognized who the character was and really liked becoming familiar with what might have been. The other characters in the story were interesting and added the drama necessary for a good novel.

[Elaine Ballard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book about a Marilyn Monroe from a small town and what her family could have been like. The setting is a small town in Florida near Tampa. Several colorful characters and the mafia has some involvement. Light read, very entertaining.

[Cuauhtémoc Kish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fictional tale about MM; kept my interest the entire time; all characters were believable & interesting.

I'd like someone to do a Netflix movie with this story.

[Butch & Penny Morse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kept my interest

I felt the book was slow at first but then i got hooked. It was a good story line and I felt like I wanted it to be true.