The Girl in the Lake

Dept of Unexplained Phenomenon #1

by Lauren Oliver

A young girl who claims to remember a past life draws a psychologist into a decades-old mystery in a haunting novel of suspense.

Kate Willis, consultant for the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia, is tasked with interviewing six-year-old Henley Haskell about the girl’s alleged past-life recollections. The evaluation also marks a return for Kate to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and to troubling recollections of her own.

Here, twenty-four years ago, Kate’s friend Becca McGuire vanished from her bunk at a now-shuttered summer camp and was never seen again—presumably drowned in Lake Sauquamet. But the mystery of her disappearance is only deepening. Because Henley’s memories of her “other life” are ones that could only belong to Becca.

For Kate, Henley’s recurring, suffocating nightmares, and her disturbing illustrations of places she has never been, seem to spell out the unbelievable. Somewhere, somehow, the truth about what really happened to Becca is locked inside this little girl. As Henley’s uncanny memories surface, so do old secrets—each one drawing Kate inexorably back to that terrible long-ago summer by the lake.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Adult, Paranormal

321 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 1, 2026

About the author

Lauren Oliver is an author, screenwriter, and media entrepreneur. She is the author of the upcoming novels THE GIRL IN THE LAKE (June 1, 2026) and its sequel, THE SLEEPWALKER (May 5, 2027). Her previous works include multiple New York Times bestselling novels for teens, including Before I Fall (which spent seventeen weeks on the list and was adapted into a feature film released by Open Road), the Delirium trilogy (a two-million-copy-selling dystopian series translated into thirty-five languages), and Panic, which she later adapted into the streaming TV show on Amazon Prime of the same name, for which she wrote every episode and served as Executive Producer. Along the way, Lauren founded the IP company StoryGiants and helped to package and edit nearly one hundred other novels. She is also the co-founder of Incantor AI, a self-scaling digital media engine built on a new and proprietary foundational model of artificial intelligence that respects copyright by providing both IP attribution and royalty shares to contributing sources. Raised in Westchester, New York, Lauren attended the University of Chicago and got her MFA from NYU. She now divides her time between Maryland and Los Angeles. Subscribe to my Substack! laurenoliverbooks.substack.com

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reincarnation stories are catnip for me, and this one had me from the first ripple: a haunted New England lake, a local legend of a gray lady, a vanished teenage girl, and a six-year-old who might be carrying someone else’s memories. I’ve read Lauren Oliver before (and even sought out the screen adaptations), so I came in excited—and this premise sealed it.

The novel follows Kate Willis, a consultant with UVA’s Division of Perceptual Studies, sent to evaluate Henley Haskell, a child describing a “past life” that lines up—unsettlingly—with the disappearance of Kate’s own camp friend, Becca, twenty-four years ago at Lake Sauquamet. As Kate toggles between clinical skepticism and the ache of old grief, Oliver layers present-day investigation with summer-camp flashbacks, and the effect is deliciously eerie: damp docks at twilight, a legend that won’t die, and children who see what adults refuse to name. Henley’s nightmares and drawings carry an uncanny charge, and Kate’s return to Stockbridge unspools a tangle of secrets that feel both intimate and inevitable.

What worked best for me is the atmosphere—Oliver nails that specific New England ghostliness where fog feels like a memory pressing back. The structure hums: short, propulsive chapters; a steady drip of clues; and a moral tension I love in paranormal mysteries—how do you separate belief from wish, and which one is more dangerous? Thematically, it’s rich: grief as an unfinished conversation, the ethics of testing a child’s story, and the question of whether a “past life” can be a map out of the present.

Why not higher than 3.5? A few craft choices held me back. The middle stretch circles some beats (interviews, intel drops) that blunt the momentum, and the final explanations click into place a bit too neatly for a story that otherwise thrives on ambiguity. I also wanted deeper shading for some adults orbiting Kate and Henley; when the core premise is this strong, the supporting cast needs to meet it halfway. Still, the pages turned themselves—and I kept the lights on.

Bottom line: a moody, compulsively readable blend of psychological and paranormal suspense with a premise I couldn’t resist. If the idea of a haunted lake, a gray-lady legend, and a child who might be the echo of a girl long gone makes your spine tingle, you’ll swim through this in a night.

A very huge thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing this intriguing paranormal thriller’s digital ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

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[Brandee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for an eARC to read and review before publishing.

Is The Girl in the Lake my new favorite paranormal/supernatural thriller? Why, yes. Yes, it is.

Lauren Oliver has written a banger of a book with the perfect balance of the exploration of psychology, logical reasoning, and supernatural suspense. Like our main character, Kate, I tend to look for what is rooted in the science of our known world when faced with the unknown. However, through her engaging storytelling Lauren was able to make me suspend my beliefs and wonder if maybe, just maybe, there are situations or encounters that don't have scientific/logical explanations. And to me, that is the power of The Girl in the Lake.

If you are a fan of Yellowjackets, True Detective, The Outsider, or any of Lauren Oliver's other books and television projects, then I HIGHLY recommend you read The Girl in the Lake.

4.5 stars

[Samantha Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this novel.

You need to read this, trust me. Such a fast paced, engaging, atmospheric thriller with an interesting twist. I loved the investigation aspect and the way the story played out in dual timelines. If you love being on the edge of your seat as you read a thriller, this is for you.

[Mia 🌸 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a haunting, eerie read that totally pulled me in. I loved the mix of psychological suspense and the whole past-life angle—it made the mystery feel so unique. The setting by the lake added to the creepy vibe, and I was hooked trying to figure out what really happened to Becca.

Kate was such an interesting main character, and Henley’s parts honestly gave me chills. It slowed down a bit in the middle, but the ending definitely made up for it. Overall, it was a chilling, emotional story that kept me on edge the whole time.

Thank you to Netgalley & Thomas & Mercer for this arc!

[Mari · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect read for a stormy night like this one.

What a story! It was “I Know What You Did Last Summer” meets “Pretty Little Liars” meets the paranormal. And it did not disappoint!

The story follows Kate, a psychologist, studying a little girl who claims to have memories of someone else’s life…someone who is no longer alive and hasn’t been for decades. Someone who Kate is connected to in a big way. Kate gets thrown into her past that she has long run from for the sake of facing and discovering the truth.

I didn’t start figuring out the mystery until the latter part of the book, which meant this was a wild ride and such a good book for me! I’m stoked to read more in this series and this author because she knew how to write the eerie vibes and draw you into a haunting story.

Highly recommend if you enjoy mystery with a touch of the unexplainable.

Thank you to the author and publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Lupita_333 (on a break) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting of the lake and camp was very chilling. The ghost of the lake was also scary and I like how well it mixed in with Becca’s situation. I really enjoyed the constant POV switch between past and present.

Even though the past life story line was what drew me in I was skeptical of Henley’s portrayal of her supposed past life. I had predicted the outcome of the situation with Henley early on in the story but it was still so interesting to see Kate trying to fix a mistake she deeply regrets. It gets emotional during the moments of Kate’s grief. The lack of police help made me believe that this story was heading in a different direction. The culprit of who was killed Becca was also predictable.

I disliked how some things were over explained. Especially the things that didn’t need an explanation for. Still liked the story though!

I loved this authors other book Before I Fall.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kayleigh Galletto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wasn’t even on my radar. My first book by this author, but I’ll definitely be looking for more. This was my Amazon First Reads pick this month - and y’all. If you haven’t picked one yet, pick this one!

Kate and Becca were best friends until one summer, Becca vanished from summer camp. Assumed drowned, everyone has moved on. Now, Kate is a psychologist interviewing a six year old girl who says she remembers a past life - Becca’s life.

The cases of children involving reincarnation have always fascinated me. So when I read the synopsis for this one, I got really excited and downloaded it right away. If you liked Riley Sager’s “The Last Time I Lied”, this book gives similar vibes. Dual timelines as we jump back and forth between friends at summer camp and present day. Paranormal tones. Lots of back and forth and whodunnit suspense.

The gore was kept to a minimum. No spice. Pacing was a little slow in the beginning, really ramping up towards the end. It read like a movie 🍿 It got a little repetitive in some places, but I think it just helped to build that suspense and questioning. The medical jargon was a bit… smarter-than-thou from time to time, but that was my only real complaint. For that I should probably rate this one 4.5-4.75, but I had such a good time reading it, I just don’t care.

So like I said, if you haven’t grabbed your Amazon First Reads book this month, you can get this one. Or buy it next month when it’s officially released.

[✰ Bianca ✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate is back in Maine.
26 years ago she spent her summer in a camp there - for the last time - at 14 years old. Becca - one of her best camp friends disappeared that year.
Kate became a psychiatrist and she's now being called in for a case close to the old camp.
A little girl seems to remember a life she lived before. And the more Kate talks to six year old Henley and the more research she does about the old camp case... could Henley be talking about Becca? Kate doesn't believe in 'those kinds of things'. What is happening? READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT!

I really enjoyed reading this. I'm just like Kate - I do not believe in anything supernatural.
This was a really great suspensy mystery with a great mood. Kind of sad and heartbreaking.
What should be amazing memories of childhood summers spent at that camp are forever bad memories now for Kate. And now she's back and it all connects back to that last summer. But how?

I loved reading it.
And I can already see the TV show! Gimme!

Can't wait to see what will happen in book #2 - Kate already got a phone call from a lawyer for a new case!

If you can't click the buy-links
from your phone - click ► HERE!


💜 💜

[Nicole]

The synopsis gave me chills & if Lauren Oliver is pouring, I am bringing my biggest mug

[Kara Sabbagh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable!!!!!!!!! I cannot sing enough praises for this book. Lauren Oliver’s young adult reads have stuck with me for over a DECADE in how strong their impact was, so I absolutely jumped at the opportunity to be an advanced reader for The Girl in the Lake. With how spectacular this read was, I can only guess that she’s going to become a favorite author of mine as I dive deeper into her back catalogue. Absolutely everything about this read soars from the chilling, atmospheric, and too real environment of the old summer camp by the lake, to the LIMITLESS cast of characters keeping readers absolutely engrossed and on the edge of their seats. Truly, this cast and community were so spectacularly woven and intricately painted that each new introduction opened a whole new world of possibilities. Never once did it become obvious what would happen next, repetitive, or less thrilling as you make your way through this tangled web of connections. This was truly such a joy to read, and I’ll be first on the next release in the series. This will be a HEAVY summer recommend for me, and I can’t wait to share Oliver’s work with my library community, both young and old.

[Lydia Hephzibah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

setting: Massachusetts
Rep: n/a

This was a really solid mystery and a great start to a new series. I love this kind of setup, where the protagonist isn't in law enforcement but part of a relevant field that helps them solve a mystery - in this case, Kate works for a university's department of unexplained phenomena, dealing with children who claim to be reincarnated. the story kept me engaged and I enjoyed the multiple mysteries aspect, and I will certainly continue this series!

[Lauren Thoman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this twisty, atmospheric mystery that constantly had me questioning whether the ghost was real, a ruse, or something in between. Really loved the back-and-forth perspectives between the present and the past, and although all the clues were cleverly laid out, the ending still managed to surprise me. Very much a "just one more chapter" book that keeps the pages turning until all of a sudden it's two in the morning and you've accidentally finished the whole thing.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tense thriller with an explosive ending. One of the fastest page turners as you are desperate to find out what will happen next. I love books with quirky characters and this has plenty. Add to that long buried secrets and you have the perfect mix. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Ruthie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My Vibe Check

* My emotional state while reading: 🥱🤔🍿🙄

* If this book were a snack, it'd be... a tofu burger posing as a hamburger.

The Good Stuff

1. Vivid descriptions. You can easily imagine the setting.

2. Mental disorders and resurrections are two of my favorite subjects. This book has both. It feels like a treat. 🍬

3. Ghost and mysterious deaths add more to the intrigue.

4. Camp nostalgia.

5. Struggling between the truth and self-preservation. 🩶 morally grey.

Things That Made Me Go Meh

1. This is just a personal preference, but I don’t like lush writing. I don’t like metaphors in prose. The first chapter irked me so much with its attention to the trees that I almost DNFed. It was so hard to settle into.

2. I feel like the delivery didn’t do the story enough justice. The story is very interesting, but the writing not so.

3. The walls of text are putting me off. I feel like only old books should be like this, since readers then had longer attention spans. I like my paragraphs digestible. And I can’t even adjust this on my Kindle to put spaces after paragraphs to give my eyes rest.

4. The camp girls remind me of Pretty Little Liars girls for some reason.

5. The Gray Lady aesthetic was giving Viola Lloyd (The Haunting of Bly Manor). Also, her tale/legend is somewhat lame.

6. A typo in Chapter 14. “Becca looked at her sideways”. Should’ve been Emily.

7. In the end, it’s just 40 chapters of whodunnit. And I’m pretty underwhelmed because the breadcrumbs weren’t breadcrumbing.

My Overall Thoughts

* Would I recommend this book? Well, I wouldn’t stop anyone from reading it. But I’m personally not obsessed, which is sad because I wanted to be.

* Who should read this? Whodunnit fans.

* My super-scientific rating: 3.5. Solid read, but I’m not obsessed.

—MAJOR SPOILERS START HERE.—

The Gist (or else I’ll forget)

The story opens with a flashback: fourteen-year-old Becca and thirteen-year-old Kate promise to be best friends forever.

Twenty-six years later, Kate—now a divorced psychologist and professor at the University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies—drives back to Massachusetts to interview a child named Henley, who claims to remember a past life.

On her way, Kate stops for coffee and notices an ad from an old camp friend, Mari. The ad stirs memories of the summer they spent together nearby as kids.

At the Haskells’ home, Henley’s mother, Emily, shows Kate her daughter’s drawings before Kate meets the child herself. Henley recoils at the sight of her, refusing to engage.

Seeking closure, Kate visits the site of their old camp but can’t make herself go in. Instead, she reconnects with Mari. Their reunion quickly turns tense as talk of Becca’s death resurfaces. Through Kate’s recollections, we see that Becca, once her best friend, was manipulative and cruel. Kate storms out, furious that Mari seems to have forgotten their shared guilt in Becca’s death.

Back at her Airbnb, Kate studies Henley’s drawings. One depicts a yellow house resembling Becca’s grandparents’ home; another shows an underwater graveyard, reminiscent of Fair Isle—the legendary island at the center of the “Gray Lady” ghost stories. The final drawing unsettles Kate so deeply that she decides to visit the lake again. There, she meets a kind stranger named Matt.

That night, Kate dreams of Becca, recalling how she, Becca, Mari, and Lennie once planned to visit Fair Isle to find the Gray Lady.

When Kate meets Henley again, the girl suddenly claims that her name used to be Becca.

A flashback shows the night young Kate and Becca saw the eerie, grinning face of the Gray Lady.

Disturbed, Kate visits Becca’s old house, then confronts Emily, who insists she never knew Becca. Emily adds that Henley has said she’s met Kate before—and that Kate was there the night she went to the graveyard and never came back.

Haunted, Kate researches Becca’s case online and contacts Becca’s mother, who confirms that many of Henley’s “memories” are frighteningly accurate.

Back at her Airbnb, Kate reads Emily’s notes and recalls the night she, Mari, and Lennie left Becca trapped and screaming.

The next day, Kate borrows an old camp yearbook from Mari and shows it to Henley. The girl recognizes herself as Becca and reveals she didn’t drown—Kate locked her in a dark place, and the Gray Lady took her.

In flashback, we see how Becca’s cruelty drove her friends to the breaking point.

Still skeptical, Kate suspects Mari has somehow planted the idea in Henley’s mind. She convinces Mari to meet at the old camp, where we find out what happened. Becca had bullied Mari into entering the mausoleum. Mari snapped and pushed Becca inside; Kate and Lennie locked the door. When they returned, Becca was dead. They put her body in a canoe and sank it in the lake. But her body was never found.

Later, Kate learns from Jenny Lin—another former camp counselor—that three canoes were missing from the boathouse that night, though the girls only used two. Meanwhile, she discovers Matt is actually a lieutenant who has reopened Becca’s case.

Kate visits Henley, who identifies who were there that night—Mari, Lennie, and Natalie, Becca’s enemy. Kate tracks down Natalie, who confesses she tried to scare the girls by posing as the Gray Lady. But Becca already knew and wanted to use Natalie to frighten her friends. Natalie never killed Becca; she only felt guilty, realizing she had been mistaken for the Gray Lady that night.

Kate consults Martin, a local historian, who connects the Gray Lady legend to past mysterious deaths on Fair Isle—including that of a boy whose body resembled Becca’s in death.

Soon after, Henley attacks a playmate, disturbing Emily, who cuts ties with Kate and the DOPS.

Kate’s memories resurface: the frantic search for Becca, the guilt, and Cameron—the camp boy who once comforted her. Investigating further, she discovers a link between Cameron and someone we’ll call “Fireball whiskey boy”.

When Kate confesses her involvement to Matt, he advises her not to leave the country. Back in Virginia, she consults a toxicologist friend, learning about sodium nitrate poisoning—a possible cause of Becca’s death.

Emily calls again: Henley has received a note reading, “Remember we had an agreement.” Meanwhile, the “Fireball whiskey boy” is identified as the real Cameron, proving the camp’s Cameron was an impostor.

Kate realizes Mari keeps a Becca shrine containing the same lighter described in the case. Visiting Mari’s house, she meets Mari’s son, who reveals he had babysat Henley and told her the Fair Isle story—explaining part of Henley’s knowledge.

Mari and Kate piece together the truth: the fake Cameron—actually Gregory Owens’ stepbrother Richie—killed the real Cameron, assumed his identity, and murdered Becca because she knew him and used it for leverage.

When Richie kidnaps Henley, Kate tracks them down. The confrontation ends in supernatural chaos: the Gray Lady appears, saving Kate and Henley—perhaps with Becca’s help.

[Krysta Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️3.0 🌶️0.0

✨Thank you to NetGalley and Lauren’s team for this ARC✨

Ok so this book was definitely out of my comfort zone. I’m not a big fan of the narrative style but I was HOOKED. There were so many twists and turns - I couldn’t figure out how the story would end. Some parts didn’t feel right to me, like I’m still kind of confused on Mari’s whole deal.

All in all, I’m glad I was approved for this ARC. It was a great read for a cold raining week. I would recommend this to anyone who is wanting to get into the mystery genre.

[Heather Stalker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grateful to @netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the e-ARC of “The Girl in the Lake” by Lauren Oliver.

I don’t usually drift toward the otherworldly—I like my stories grounded, explainable—but this one pulled me under.

A now-abandoned summer camp. A long-buried mystery. The fragile, feral edges of girlhood. And a child who remembers a life they shouldn’t.

I devoured it.

Fast-paced and quietly haunting, with an ending that lingers in that delicious space between answers and questions—and somehow, it works. Even better, there’s a final tug on the line that reels you straight into the next book… and I’m already hooked.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Out June 1, 2026—add this one to your TBR!

[Pav S. (pav_sanborn_bookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of this book immediately drew me in, and I didn’t realize it was part of a series until after I started reading. I’m genuinely excited for the sequel because I found this story captivating.

A young girl claiming past-life memories entangles psychologist Kate Willis in a decades-old mystery in Lauren Oliver's suspenseful novel. Kate, working with the University of Virginia's Division of Perceptual Studies, interviews six-year-old Henley Haskell about her recollections, which eerily mirror the disappearance of Kate's childhood friend, Becca McGuire, twenty-four years prior. As Henley's nightmares and drawings reveal unsettling truths, Kate confronts long-buried secrets from that tragic summer, leading her closer to uncovering what truly happened to Becca.

The book begins with intriguing facts about past life memories in children—a concept I’ve come across in a few other titles. It’s fascinating to delve into this phenomenon, which, while not fully explored, feels quite plausible. The narrative unfolds along two timelines: one set in the past and the other in the present, allowing us to fully grasp each character's motivations and the driving force behind the story. We follow Kate and Becca as children, and now Kate is uncovering new memories tied to a current case she’s investigating. Her task is to analyze Henley’s memories to determine whether the child might be being manipulated. As the plot thickens, Kate reconnects with her roots and old friends, raising the question: what could possibly go wrong?

Reincarnation stories and well-crafted paranormal mysteries are hard to resist. The atmosphere was so vividly described that I could picture days on the lake and the moments the girls spent at camp. It felt dark, secluded, and hauntingly real, sending chills down my spine! The legend of the Gray Lady is a tale that I can imagine was shared around a campfire but experiencing it firsthand through the story added a perfect touch. Everything came together seamlessly, showcasing the author’s fantastic writing style, and as a newcomer to her work, I was truly impressed.

This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys stories where the past resurfaces, filled with complex emotions between friends, the thrill of solving a mystery with a paranormal twist, and the exploration of unresolved child grief and trauma. It was all tastefully done, keeping me glued to the pages so much that I found myself looking up a few facts on the phenomena mentioned—because why not? I love reading books that spark an urge to learn more and inspire me to conduct a little research of my own. This dark, atmospheric, and suspenseful slow-burn mystery has left me eagerly anticipating the sequel. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to dive back into my research to keep up! Ha!

Thank you, Thomas & Mercer (Amazon Publishing) and NetGalley, for the DRC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Nicole Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lauren Oliver dives into the murky waters of memory, guilt, and the unexplained in “The Girl in the Lake,” the first installment in her new Department of Unexplained Phenomena series. Combining psychological suspense with a touch of the supernatural, this story is an eerie, thought-provoking exploration of what happens when science and the paranormal collide. There isn’t a cliffhanger at the end, though Oliver leaves the book open for the next unexplained phenomena case.

The story follows Dr. Kate Willis, a clinical psychologist known for investigating supposed cases of reincarnation and other “paranormal” claims only to expose them as hoaxes or misunderstandings. But her newest case hits too close to home. Six-year-old Henley, a bright and strangely mature little girl, insists she remembers a past life — one belonging to Becca, Kate’s best friend who vanished and was presumed dead when they were both fourteen.

At first, Kate is certain there’s a rational explanation, perhaps manipulation, false memories, or attention-seeking behavior. But as the investigation unfolds, the details Henley knows are impossible to dismiss. How could a child know secrets about a camp that closed decades ago? Or recall the final night Kate last saw Becca alive?

Oliver structures the story in dual timelines, alternating between Kate’s present-day investigation and flashbacks to that fateful summer at camp. Through these glimpses into the past, Becca’s true nature and the circumstances of her death slowly surface, revealing that her disappearance was far more complicated, and much darker than Kate ever imagined.

Kate’s character is compelling, if at times frustrating. A brilliant but emotionally closed-off scientist, she struggles with alcoholism, guilt, and a growing obsession with the case. Her skepticism begins to unravel as she confronts her own buried trauma and the possibility that not every mystery can be explained away. Though she did feel a cold and distant at times, her flaws make her feel real as she is a woman shaped by regret, fear, and the need for redemption.

The pacing is tight and the mystery absorbing, filled with subtle clues, psychological tension, and a few unexpected twists that keep you guessing. The mystery is well-developed and has several layers that are unpredictable but incredibly engaging as the plot becomes more complex. Oliver strikes a good balance between science and the supernatural: while the story’s premise leans into reincarnation and ghostly echoes, the tone remains grounded, always tethered to the psychological and emotional reality of her characters.

The ending is satisfying and action-filled, and it resolves a bit neatly given the complexity of the setup. The final revelations about Becca’s fate and Kate’s role in it are both haunting and cathartic, setting up future cases for the series.

Overall, “The Girl in the Lake” is a smart, atmospheric examination of science and the supernatural; it’s a mystery that’s as much about guilt and memory as it is about ghosts. Fans of psychological thrillers with a speculative edge will find themselves hooked. Lauren Oliver’s transition into adult mystery fiction feels seamless, and Kate Willis is a protagonist worth following into whatever strange case comes next.

[Weronika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book and, on paper, it had everything that I do enjoy: an author whose work I appreciated (Oliver's "Delirium" young adult series is one of my favorites and I was so curious about her venture into thriller), a solid intrigue and a writing style that makes it a page-turner, and a competent 40=year old female protagonist with a Ph.D. in psychology.

Kate investigates unexplained psychological phenomena from a standpoint of a rationalist and usually refutes the explanations that her patients or society consider "paranormal": for example, in her past she had discovered that some parents manipulated their own children to recall their "past lives." At the beginning of the book, Kate takes a case of a 6-year old girl Henley who claims to have memories of her "past life." However, Henley's mother seems loving, there seems that nobody had a reasonable opportunity or cause to feed the girl false information/memories, and... Henley claims to be Becca, Kate's friend who mysteriously vanished when they were both fourteen and at the summer camp. The plot is interwoven with flashbacks from the camp which add a nice mystery vibe, include interesting lore pieces/ghost story, and are entertaning to read since Oliver's YA background shines here and she captures teenage personalities wonderfully. Unfortunately, adult characters and Henley herself fall flat in comparison: Kate seemed more like a series of tropes (a formerly alcoholic investigator...?) than a realy character, the supporting cast lacked chemistry, and reading about a six-year old with supposed memories of a fourteen-year old was somehow both creepy and not creepy enough (like, it could be taken to a next level to truly shine and right now it was just uncomfortable). Moreover, I found it hard to care about both Kate and Becca's disappeareance: Becca is an unsympethetic character (which I appreciated and could get over, teenage girls can be mean and her causes for rebellion and cruelty against her friends were explained) but so is Kate (with her obsession to solve the past case and lack of empathy towards Henley and her family). I also grew annoyed by the portrayal of Kate's supposed competence: she has a PhD and other degrees and had written numerous books, but somehow psychological phenomena are explained to her by her own grad student and she's sent on missions by her supervisor? I feel like she deserves more agency in her field! What's worse, while the action was engaging at the beginning, it started to drag in the middle and the ending felt a bit rushed.

This seems to be a start of the series and while psychological phenomena that are described in the book (and will presumably be further explored in the series) are informative and interesting, the way they're explained to the reader is a little bit heavy-handed.

Thank you NetGalley & Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Caroline | dogtailsandcrimetales · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★

Meet Dr. Kate Willis, a psychologist tasked with interviewing a young girl, Henley, who claims to have memories of a past life and a violent death. Could this be reincarnation?

As Kate interviews six-year-old Henley Haskell, it quickly becomes clear that Becca, Henley’s previous body, is not a stranger to her. But what does Henley know about the night Becca died? Did Kate have anything to do with those tragic events? Is this a genuine case of reincarnation, or something far more explainable?

Reincarnation has always fascinated me, and if the many reported cases around the world are any indication, it seems widely spread. Yet there are clusters, perhaps suggesting it is closely tied to religious beliefs and culture. That tension runs through this book. A constant pull between wanting to believe and questioning everything, and it is reflected so well in our FMC.

Kate is highly logical and analytical. Her upbringing, along with the sudden illness and death of her mother, seems to have shaped her into someone more pragmatic than most. At the same time, her connection to Becca, especially their shared memories from summers at camp over the years, adds an emotional layer that is difficult to dismiss. Every doubt she has is countered by a deeply personal memory that only she and Becca should know. Admitting it could be real raises so many unintended consequences. Where does one personality end and the next begin? Is there even room for a separate new personality, a new life, a new person? What does that mean for one’s identity, and what about nature versus nurture? How much carries over from experiences that have already shaped a young life?

The mystery of Henley and Becca is perfectly set against the moody New England backdrop. The seemingly happy place summer camp embodies, the lake where so many bright memories were made, contrasts with the darkness that creeps in from Fair Isle, with its mysterious past, its ruins, and the long-told stories of The Gray Lady. Another unexplained phenomenon, blending history and folktales, retold year after year by the fire and reignited again and again.

Have I made up my mind about reincarnation? Nope. Do I want to know what qualifies as unexplained phenomenon? Yes, very much. Am I excited to continue the series and find out what this department is really about? Absolutely. I am nosey and I need to know!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lauren Oliver, and Thomas & Mercer for the gifted copy. I am already looking forward to the next installment. All opinions are my own.

[peckidge · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

It took a bit after I finished this to actually put my thoughts into writing, not because I didn’t like the book (I did), but because I had that feeling of something making me feel a bit…inadequate I think is the word? Not with reading this nor was it anything to do with the story, I just felt like I should’ve loved it more than I actually did.

Don’t get me wrong, I really did enjoy The Girl in the Lake. And for Lauren Oliver’s first foray into adult fiction, I think she did an amazing job with it. The narrative was a bit dry, for lack of a better word, though not uninteresting. It seemed to me though that the protagonist was not fully realized within the story. She felt a bit distant even if she had plenty of things to make her grounded into the story, and unfortunately for me, those things didn’t serve their purpose in the long run as I exceedingly found myself more interested into the side characters than I ever was into the protagonist.

I think the pacing contributed to this in a way, because the voice of the protagonist coupled with the speed at which the action took place made this feel more like a literary introspection into the protagonist’s mind, rather than a conventional thriller. There were a lot of moments I thought that everything was moving too slow and that we won’t ever find out anything, but she tied it up neatly in the end and not without making my heart beat with adrenaline every now and then at those last chapters.

There is something to be said about Lauren Oliver’s writing, she is incredibly good at her craft and whenever she publishes another book I’ll make sure to be one of her faithful readers. She just has a way of pulling in the reader into the story without them realizing it until they discover they’re addicted to her sentences and can’t get enough, and that’s precisely why I’m hoping with all my being that this series will get another book soon, because I can’t get enough!

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Girl in the Lake follows the story of Kate Willis, college professor who performs research on perceptional studies. Kate returns to a place of her childhood to investigate the claims of a young girl, Henley remembering a past life. She is shocked to find out that Henley's past self is none other than Kate's childhood best friend, Becca, who mysteriously vanished/drowned during their last summer at camp. As Kate's past and present collide, she must investigate not only Henley's claim of reincarnation, but also Kate's role in Becca's disappearance and presumed death. Trying to unravel an almost 30 year old mystery, Kate finds herself questioning everything, including her long-held belief systems.

This book was...fine. There were some good elements. I love when the story shifts between past and present and this is done seamlessly by the author. It can sometimes be choppy, but that wasn't the case here. I also liked Kate's job and the idea that maybe Henley was a reincarnated Becca. The author added some nice details and easter eggs that had the skeptical Kate and even the reader guessing if Henley was truly Becca.

There were some things that I was not a fan of. A lot of this felt done before. The whole girls at summer camp and one of them mysteriously vanishes? A bit played out, recently, in my opinion. Additionally, there were really no high stakes in this story. Yeah it's mysterious, but there's not a whole lot at stake for Kate here for the majority of the book. The police weren't even mentioned until about halfway through. It was just...slow. I will say the plot picks up around 75%, but then it all feels a little rushed to tie up loose ends. I just wasn't invested by that point, seeing as how it took me over 2 weeks to finish it. I also felt nothing for any of the characters and did not particularly like any of them.

Now the epilogue? I'd rather read that story!

[Supriya K · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

“You should not laugh, you know. Forever is a long time.”

Book Name: The Girl in the Lake
Author: @lauren_oliver_books
Pub Date: May 05, 2026
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers | General Fiction (Adult)

Description:
Kate Willis, a consultant for the Division of Perceptual Studies at UVA, is sent to evaluate six-year-old Henley Haskell, a child who remembers a past life. But this is not just any caseHenley’s memories match those of Becca McGuire, Kate’s childhood friend who disappeared twenty-four years ago from a summer camp in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. As Henley draws haunting scenes she’s never seen and relives suffocating nightmares, Kate is forced to confront the dark secrets buried beneath Lake Sauquamet. The deeper she digs, the more the past refuses to stay hidden.

My Thoughts:
I’ve always loved past-life memory and reincarnation stories, so I picked this up with high expectations, and it delivered so well.

Lauren Oliver creates a haunting atmosphere where psychological tension blends with eerie supernatural possibilities. Henley completely spooked me. Her nightmares, her drawings, and the way she spoke about her other life made the whole story feel unsettling in the best way. The Gray Lady terrified me, and Richie gave me chills.

The now-and-then narrative slowly reveals the truth about the past while building suspense in the present, and this structure makes the mystery even more gripping. I loved how the story unfolds piece by piece, with sharp twists and an ending that was intense and genuinely scary.

Kate and Henley were my favourites. Their emotional connection and the weight they carry in this story made it even more powerful.

A chilling, atmospheric, twist-filled read that kept me hooked from start to finish. I would absolutely recommend this book.

Thank you @netgalley and @thomasmerceruk

#TheGirlintheLake #NetGalley

[William de_Rham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazon First readers who believe they might enjoy a novel of suspense that includes a cozy kind of mystery, a ghost story, and the possibility of reincarnation will want to seriously consider choosing Lauren Oliver’s “The Girl in the Lake” as their pick for May. It’s a finely written tale with well-drawn characters that’s designed to keep readers guessing.

Psychologist Kate Willis has been sent by the prestigious University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies to determine whether six-year-old Henley Haskell’s memories of a past life can be attributed to a cause other than reincarnation. Kate travels to Henley’s hometown of Stockbridge, Mass—very near Lake Sauquamet where, many years ago, Kate went to sleep-away camp as a young teen—only to find that the past life Henley remembers is that of Becca McGuire, Kate’s best friend at camp, who disappeared and was presumed drowned at the end of their last summer together. Has Becca really been reincarnated as Henley, or is something else at work? And what, exactly, did happen to Becca? Did she meet with an accident, or foul play at human hands? Or might her disappearance be the work of the lake’s legendary ghost, The Gray Lady?

Author Lauren Oliver has given us a women-centric novel that deals as much with issues of teen friendship, loyalty, and rivalry—and with failing and/or self-redacted memories—as it does with the paranormal. She does a good job of explaining some of the non-reincarnation reasons for claims of past-life memories. That her main character is a reincarnation sceptic but still struggles mightily to explain the earthly cause of Henley’s memories, adds much to the novel’s tension and suspense.

Finally, Ms. Oliver writes knowledgeably and realistically about the sleep-away camp experience, an added bonus for those hoping to relive, or at least revisit, their own summers away from home.

A solid four-star read.

[Roslyn Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy of The Girl in the Lake from NetGalley, and this was my first read by Lauren Oliver. I was immediately pulled in by the eerie, atmospheric setup dealing with past‑life memories, a decades‑old disappearance, and a psychologist forced to confront the ghosts she thought she’d left behind. The story follows Kate Willis, a consultant for the Division of Perceptual Studies, who is assigned to interview 6 year old Henley Haskell about her alleged past life recollections. The twist? Henley’s memories don’t just sound like a past life but they sound exactly like the life of Becca McGuire, Kate’s childhood friend who vanished 24 years ago from a summer camp in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Returning to the town dredges up everything Kate tried to bury, and Henley’s nightmares and unsettling drawings only make the impossible feel more real. What I loved is how this author blends psychological suspense with a haunting, almost supernatural edge. Henley’s memories are genuinely chilling, and the way they mirror Becca’s final days adds a slow building dread that kept me turning pages deep into the night. As Kate digs deeper, old secrets start surfacing, family tensions, buried guilt, and the lingering question of what really happened by Lake Sauquamet that summer. The ending of the book ties the threads together in a way that feels both emotional and satisfying. It doesn’t rely on a wild twist just for shock value but instead, it leans into the story’s themes of memory, trauma, and the way the past refuses to stay buried. This book is unsettling, and beautifully paced and a suspense novel with just the right touch of the uncanny. I’m definitely interested in reading more from this author. #NETGALLEY #THEGIRLINTHELAKE

[Aurora]

DNF @ 29%

Kate is a consultant at the Division of Perceptual Studies. Years ago when she was at camp, her friend Becca died in mysterious circumstances. She's been sent to investigate the case of a girl named Henley who claims to remember a past life, and is shocked to discover that the girl claims to remember Becca's life.

This was an interesting enough premise, but it wasn't interesting enough for me to read due to the inaccuracies in the way plurality and DID is presented. The characters, supposedly academic researchers on the subject, refer to it as "pluralism" when it is much more commonly called plurality, and although many people include DID under the umbrella of plurality, they continually insist that it is a completely separate thing from dissociation. There's an argument for that to be made, but that's not how the term is typically used, so I would say it is inaccurate. The way they talk about DID is also inaccurate. There are only multiple identities needed for diagnosis; not complete lack of awareness of the other identities. Many people with DID do know some things about their other identities, and it's generally considered a phase of healing to find out information about your other identities, so if you are researching DID you will meet many people who do at least know something about their other identities. Since the question about whether Henley has DID or some other form of plurality going on seemed to be such a key part of the story, I was uninterested in continuing with a story that had so many inaccuracies about the broad topic.

[Jacquelyn Dohoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting one because I went into it thinking I was reading a supernatural thriller. While there were supernatural ideas to it, in the end, the supernatural aspect wasn’t actually there. Still, it was a really great read. It did pose an interesting question though, and I think it was very thought-provoking. I don’t personally believe in the subject matter, but who’s to say that I’m right? That brought rise to other things, and kind of sent me on a whole rabbit hole of thinking! Which is great if a story can cause you to go that deep! I really liked the characters in it, especially Kate. But Becca was the ultimate villain. I think we all knew that one kid in school who was both difficult to be around but still attracted everything into their orbit. I never went to summer camp (which probably explains why I love summer camp novels), but I can only imagine what a nightmare it would be! No way to escape from the bullies and mean girls? No thank you! And yet, Kate still survived and thrived. Still her own beliefs are called into question when she meets Henley. I did know pretty quickly who the killer was, but I couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to know why. And I can tell you, I did NOT expect the why! It was much weirder than I thought it would be! Definitely a book worth sinking your teeth into! I’ll definitely be reading the next in the series!

Huge thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

[Beth Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

While I tend to enjoy the concept of unexplained phenomenon (specifically reincarnation in this story), I haven't seen it in a story that often and it's even rarer for it to be done well.

Kate Willis is recently sober, a faculty member, and a consultant for unexplained phenomenon. When she's called in to investigate a little girl named Henley who thinks she is reincarnated, with her past body being a specific girl who died at a young age, it is even creepier when the girl Henley thinks she is reincarnated as went to camp with Kate when she was young. Of course, it's EXTREMELY convenient for Kate to know this person, and Becca's case was never solved. I did think this could go the seance route, and I was happy to learn that Kate's methods were more traditional.

The pacing of this novel was a little slow, particularly in the middle. But what I really enjoyed was the last 25%. The story came together very well (maybe a little too neatly?), and I liked that there was a lead-in to #2 in this series.

I thought Kate as our protagonist was good. She's not perfect but has many redeemable characteristics. Maybe the recovering alcoholic trope is a little too commonplace with investigators. Still, I'm looking forward to learning more about her in future books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an Advance Reader Copy. My review is completely my own.

It publishes June 1, 2026.

[Laura (crofteereader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure how well this story will scale into a series; I think this really worked because our MC Dr Kate Willis is inextricably linked with the mystery, and I don’t think future cases will be as compelling without that personal collection. But I think I can be convinced.

Most of my critiques are rather nitpicky, but they were enough to give me pause so I think they’re worth noting. Firstly, no one associated with University of Virginia would ever call it U of V - it’s UVA or full government name, and that’s it. For a person with both an MD and a PhD, I found it really hard to believe that Kate needed some fairly basic medical terminology defined “in plain English” for her. Indeed, I found her credentials rather difficult to buy into for pretty much the whole book. But her emotion-driven decisions were, again, excusable given her personal connections to the case; in a future book, I would expect her to be much more clinical/logical. And I found it very difficult to believe that someone could pass for 17-22 years old consistently over the course of a ~30 year period. I’m bad at guessing ages but I’m not that bad.

Oliver has always written pacey books that make it easy to build momentum. This one does a great job of sprinkling in flashbacks, discoveries, hints, and red herrings throughout to keep things moving.

{Thank you Thomas & Mercer for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review; all thoughts are my own}

[Maddie Grigg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Psychologist Kate's scientitic expertise is called upon in the curious case of a six-year-old girl who appears to have lived a previous life.
She heads to a place she knows well - for many years, she used to go to summer camp here, on the shores of a lake where an island in the middle houses the ruins of a mansion, a graveyard and the ghost of the Grey Lady.
As Kate gets to know the little girl, Henley, she realises that the child appears to be the reincarnation of Becca, a troubled teenager with whom Kate was best friends back in the day. Chillingly, Becca met a violent end on the island and Henley reveals things only someone very close to the story - maybe Becca herself - could possibly know.
Professionally, Kate should distance herself from this assignment - she is much to close to the action - but she is drawn into uncovering the truth about what really happened to Becca all those years ago.
This was a pageturner of a novel, told partly in flashback, and was a compelling read. There were parts of the plot that seemed a little contrived and I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief. However, it was written in a very easy, flowing style that made me want to read on to find out what happened. If you like twisty, chilling thrillers, this is a good one.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy of this novel.