The Lake Club

by Lina Patton

A sizzling, soapy summer debut, in which two women in a wealthy lakeside suburb clash over a cute male nanny, pulling the town’s darker secrets to the surface.

When Danika Crawley attends events at the Aldon Lakes Country Club, heads turn. Danika has it all—beauty, money, a successful husband, and two perfect children. She plans on making this summer her best season yet and has a secret weapon to secure the envy of her neighbors.

Augie Elling has lost it all. Reeling from a post-grad scandal amidst her now-former life in New York, she returns to Aldon Lakes with her tail between her legs. Augie wants to keep her head down, save money, and find a way to leave her hometown for good, but someone keeps distracting her.

Danika and Augie have one thing in they are both a little obsessed with Chat, the male nanny Danika hired for the summer. But, unbeknownst to either woman, Chat’s appearance in town sets off a chain reaction that threatens Aldon Lakes' carefully maintained ecosystem. As the heat rises between the three of them, the truth behind a long-buried scandal comes to light, and everyone at the club must reckon with the consequences.

The Lake Club is both an addictive, rollicking beach read, and a stylish, deft exploration of a lesser-known region of American wealth.

Genres: Fiction, Summer, Thriller

320 pages, Paperback

Expected publication June 16, 2026

About the author

Lina Patton is a writer, illustrator, and teacher. Originally from Maine, she moved to Minnesota at thirteen, trading the ocean for 10,000 lakes. She holds a BA from Elon University and an MFA from George Mason University. Her work has appeared in ELLE, The Cut, Narrative Magazine, and Driftwood Press, among others. After seven years living abroad, she and her husband currently reside in Washington, DC, with their two very good, very bad dogs. The Lake Club is her first novel.

Reviews

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took a minute for me to get into, but boy that ending! Originally this was going to be a 3 🌟, however, the way the author pulled everything togeeat the end was too good. I went from hating the characters to finally understanding them! This was definitely a drama filled novel though, lol.

[Sowmya Viswanathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I expected this to be a fluffy palate cleanser between more serious books—boy, was I wrong. This book has it all—a voyeuristic glimpse into the lives of wealthy suburbanites, romance, unsolved mysteries, and much more. The characters were well developed (although I would have enjoyed more background on characters such as Teuta and Leah). And I never would have guessed the insane plot twist—did not see that one coming. It’s giving midwestern lake community White Lotus vibes.

[Kayda Noelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the setting of this one, I just really struggled to stay entertained. Don’t get me wrong, the wealthy suburban country club drama was definitely there, it just didn’t feel high stakes at all to me. I couldn’t find any connection with the set of characters, so I lacked investment. It felt very slow up until the end. I thought the flashback New York plot was going somewhere much more intense than it did.

I originally requested because it said for fans of Tell Me Lies, but I unfortunately didn’t get that connection. Overall, this was not bad by any means…I think this wasn’t for me, but I can see how this would appeal to many who like these kinds of books.

Thank you to William Morrow, NetGalley, and the author for the advanced eARC!

[Ellen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved how packed full of drama this book was. A feisty look at suburban life with all its drama and secrets, I couldn’t put it down! Each character was so fascinating and I could relate to different quirks of each one. Loved the male nanny aka manny Chat and how Augie and Danika are both obsessed with him. Augie was a very likeable character and I was really rooting for her. This book has plenty of scandal and shocking twists between the 3 main characters. An ideal summer read, I will be reading this one again and again simply because the drama is so juicy! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kelsie Gilkey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lake Club
Publication date: June 16, 2026

Lake Club takes place in a posh Minnesota town, Aldon Lakes, where the rich enjoy country clubs, golfing, and extravagant dinner parties. One Aldon Lakes resident, Danika hires a male nanny, Chat, to care for her children over the summer. Quickly, it becomes clear that Danika has hired this specific nanny for a reason and she doesn’t want anyone to know why. Another Aldon Lakes resident, Augie, a newly graduated 22 year old, is home for the summer after a scandal caused her to lose her first big city post-grad job. Soon, Augie returns to her high school job at the country club and runs into Chat, whom she is shocked to see after they had a fling the previous summer. Danika makes it known that she dislikes Augie and doesn’t want Chat around her. But why?
I enjoyed this book and am rating it 3 stars although I’d probably put it closer to 3.5.
I found the setting to be fun and unique, mostly taking place within the country club and the homes of the rich. There were a lot of unlikeable characters in the book which made it fun to read but hard to connect with most of the characters, although some had redeeming moments in the end.
The relationship between Augie and Chat felt forced to me, minimal chemistry between the two, although it helped drive the plot. I also felt some of the dialogue between characters was cringey at times.
Besides that, I think the plot was really interesting and new. It felt like a low-ish stakes thriller in some ways. I think it would be fun to read by the pool in the summer!!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

[Madyson Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danika is just getting back into home design thanks to her husband, and is excited for everyone at the Lake Club to see Chat. Her new “Manny” as they call him, is now here to help Danika take care of her two kids. He is young, and handsome and she is excited for everyone at the club to start talking about him.

Augie left last year to go to New York to work. This failed miserably and she is now back working at the Lake Club for her sixth year, Augie also knows Chat, who was a hookup last year that she wants to forget about.

As they both become more obsessed with Chat, tensions start to arise and cause problems. Secrets start coming out.

This felt like reading a thriller, and watching gossip girl at the same time. I was loving it, i flew through this book and honestly was exited to keep picking it up. Definitely recommend to thriller and drama lovers.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for sending me an Arc to read and review!

[JennPetito · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Lake Club is the kind of summer read that lures you in with a glossy, idyllic setting and then slowly peels back the layers to reveal messy relationships, buried secrets, and rich people behaving badly.

Set within an exclusive lake community, the novel captures that uneasy mix of privilege and pressure, where long-standing friendships come with unspoken rules and even deeper grudges. The atmosphere is immersive you can feel the heat, the stillness of the water, and the tension simmering just beneath the lake surface.

The characters are complex and, at times, frustrating. No one is entirely innocent, and watching their dynamics shift as truths start to surface is what drives the story forward. There’s a constant sense that something isn’t quite right and that it’s only a matter of time before everything unravels.

This isn’t a fast-twist thriller, but more of a slow-burn, character-driven drama where the real payoff is in the tension and the unraveling. If you enjoy stories about complicated friendships, social dynamics, and a little bit of chaos among the privileged, this makes for a compelling summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted copy.

[Emily Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 ⭐️

The Lake Club quickly pulled me into the world of country club politics, expensive homes, and hidden pasts. The main characters, Danika and Augie, are both deeply flawed and almost unlikable. Despite their questionable choices, I found myself invested in their lives and needed to know what they would do next. The tension builds steadily throughout the story to an interesting ending. I also felt the descriptive lakeside setting was well done.

If you are looking for a quick, addictive summer drama, check out this debut!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rich people behaving badly at its core. Set mostly around a lakeside country club, some flashbacks to NYC. Family drama with some mystery mixed in. Thought NYC storyline was going to play a bigger role in the story?? Lots of drama but I wanted more Desperate Housewives vibes.

Decently entertaining and kept me interested enough to be my bedtime read on my kindle.

Would make a good, quick beach read this summer!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC, opinions are my own

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, dramatic read perfect for the beach this summer! Twisty and turny with plenty of unexpected moments that keep you hooked - I read it in a day. I love Minnesota books?! Just needed a supper club in there for it to be perfect 👌🏻

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lake Club by Lina Patton made me realize there is truly nothing more dangerous than wealthy people with lake houses, curated outdoor furniture, expensive wine, buried secrets, and entirely too much free time during the summer. William Morrow Paperbacks, thank you so much to the publisher for the gifted book because this book pulled me straight into the kind of glossy suburban chaos I absolutely devour every summer like it’s a personality trait.

This is one of those books where everyone looks beautiful, everyone smiles too hard, every dock party feels staged for Instagram, and meanwhile the emotional stability of the entire community is hanging together by the world’s thinnest thread.

And honestly? I ate it up.

The Lake Club feels like Big Little Lies packed up its designer sunglasses and moved to a wealthy Midwestern lake community where everybody golfs, drinks too much chilled white wine, quietly judges each other’s marriages, and absolutely knows everyone else’s business before dessert is served at the country club.

Danika Crawley immediately fascinated me because she’s the kind of woman who seems impossible to read at first. She has the beautiful home, the successful husband, the perfect children, the social standing, the polished appearance… but underneath all of it there’s this constant nervous energy simmering beneath the surface. You can feel how desperately she’s trying to control the narrative of her life while everything internally is beginning to crack apart.

Then there’s Augie, returning home after her New York life implodes in humiliating fashion, trying to disappear quietly back into her hometown without becoming the center of conversation. Which, naturally, is impossible in a wealthy lakeside community where gossip travels faster than jet skis.

And then enters Chat.

Now LISTEN. The “hot male nanny causes suburban emotional warfare” plotline had absolutely no business being this addictive.

At first you think this is simply going to be a juicy little love triangle wrapped in country club drama, but the deeper the story goes, the more layered and emotionally messy everything becomes. Nobody here is fully innocent. Nobody is fully honest. Everyone is carrying resentment, insecurity, jealousy, shame, loneliness, or grief in some form. Even the people pretending they have the most perfect lives are quietly unraveling behind closed doors.

Which honestly made this feel weirdly real.

One of my favorite things about this book was the atmosphere. Lina Patton absolutely nails that sticky summer tension where the heat itself starts to feel oppressive. The lake parties, tennis matches, dock days, expensive homes, cocktail chatter, golf carts, and perfectly curated social circles all create this dreamy surface-level luxury while underneath it there’s bitterness and emotional damage quietly festering.

It’s rich people behaving badly in the absolute best way.

And while this isn’t a full-throttle psychological thriller, it absolutely carries that simmering domestic suspense energy the whole way through. The tension builds slowly, almost sneakily, until suddenly you realize every interaction feels loaded and every secret feels like a lit match hovering over gasoline.

I also appreciated that the characters felt genuinely flawed instead of cartoonishly dramatic. Danika especially frustrated me at times, but in a way that made sense emotionally. Her jealousy, insecurity, loneliness, and desperation all felt painfully human underneath the polished exterior. Augie, meanwhile, carries that awkward post-college uncertainty that feels so relatable — trying to rebuild yourself while secretly terrified everyone sees you as a failure.

And honestly? The country club politics themselves almost felt like another character in the story. The passive aggressive conversations. The obsession with appearances. The social climbing. The judgment wrapped inside fake politeness. Absolutely brutal. Ten out of ten suburban nightmare fuel.

Was the pacing slower in the middle? A little, yes. But personally I didn’t mind because I was fully invested in the drama by that point. I needed to know who was lying, who was manipulating who, what secrets were being buried, and which relationships were eventually going to combust in spectacular fashion.

And once the reveals start coming? Everything clicks together in that deeply satisfying “OH… okay NOW I see what you were doing” kind of way.

“There are some summers that split your life cleanly in two.”

That line genuinely lingered with me because it perfectly captures the feeling of this book. This isn’t just a story about gossip and scandal. It’s about identity, reinvention, privilege, resentment, aging, regret, loneliness, and the exhausting pressure of maintaining appearances when your entire life feels unstable underneath.

Also… can we please get more Midwestern summer dramas immediately? Because the lakeside Minnesota setting absolutely worked for me. There’s something uniquely unsettling about beautiful water, expensive homes, perfect landscaping, and emotionally messy people pretending everything is fine.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Honestly, this book feels tailor-made for reading beside a pool with oversized sunglasses and a drink in hand while quietly judging fictional rich people for making catastrophic life decisions.

And let’s be real… those are some of the most entertaining books of all.

Would you survive one summer at Aldon Lakes or would you immediately get emotionally absorbed into the gossip, rivalries, affairs, and social warfare by chapter three?

#TheLakeClub #LinaPatton #BookReview #SummerReads #BeachReads #DomesticSuspense #NetGalley #WilliamMorrow #BooksCoffeeBrews #RichPeopleBehavingBadly #Bookstagram #ThrillerReads #SummerBooks #LakeLifeRe

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for inviting me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this one! It is my kind of vibe.

I love reading about messy rich people problems, especially when it is set at a country club or by the water, which this had both. It is a good book to read while you are sitting by the pool or in the sun.

I also enjoyed it a little more because it was set in the Midwest. I used to live in St. Paul, so while I didn’t know the exact area it was set in, I could relate to some of the stuff it talked about, from living in that state before!

The plot was a little slow moving, but I was engaged the whole time. I was curious to see what kind of trouble everyone would get into.

I really liked Danika as a character. Sure, maybe she was supposed to be unlikeable and you shouldn’t want to root for her, but I did. She is the good kind of unlikeable in my opinion. Maybe it is because I met her first that I liked her so much, but I was always on her side.

I had no interest in Chat and Augie at all. I know we were supposed to root for their relationship, but I did not care. I didn’t dislike Augie, but I wasn’t super interested in her. I thought her big secret was pretty obvious, so I am not sure why there was so much build up to it, but it’s not like that ruined the book. Maybe I wasn’t a fan of her because I liked Danika so much and Danika was against Augie. Chat kind of annoyed me too. I just didn’t like him. Maybe because he didn’t have any personality other than being obsessed with Augie. It wasn’t like I hated him or thought he was a bad character, I just got kind of fed up with him a lot.

I did think it was weird what happened between him and Danika. I expected it to, even though I didn’t want anything to happen between them. It just doesn’t make sense at all, knowing what we find out later. I suppose in a way I can see why, because she wanted to remember what she once had, but it was still really weird I didn’t think it needed to be in there. I would rather it hint at something that could be, than actually letting something happen.

I am glad the kids weren’t a big part of it, but they were in it enough to make sense. No offense to children, but sometimes it can be really forced in a book when there is so much else going on to talk about.

It was interesting for everything to unveil as the story progressed. I knew it wasn’t the couple that the interstitial portion of the book made you think it was, but I was completely shocked by who it was about. I had a kind of out there theory on who it could be, and boy was I wrong!

I understand why the Lyle plotline was brought in, but it also felt out of place to me. Especially because it was brought up once, then at the end again, but never in between. I kind of forgot about it until they mentioned him again. Which maybe was the point but still.

I loved that the ending had a good note to it though. It had a really feel good ending which I actually liked and didn’t expect for a book like this. The last couple of chapters were really sweet and a solid end for the novel. Here is a minor spoiler: I am glad Danika and Augie talked it out at the end. It’s not like they suddenly loved each other, but at least it was amicable and you could see the respect there.

If you are looking for a short summer book to read, this would be a good choice to pick up! If the author’s future books are anything like this, I would read more!

[RUTH GUCKIEAN · Rating 4 out of 5]

if big little lies and summer house had a baby and raised it at a country club where everyone is one mimosa away from committing a felony, you'd get the lake club.

this book is SOAPY. i mean that as the highest compliment. lina patton understood the assignment: give us wealthy suburbs, give us secrets rotting under manicured lawns, give us two women circling each other like they're on a reality show neither of them signed up for, and give us a hot nanny at the center of it all acting as the catalyst for everyone's worst impulses. chef's kiss. no notes on the premise.

danika is the kind of character who would absolutely have a curated instagram grid and a ring light in her kitchen and a five-year plan for social dominance at the country club. she is exhausting and fascinating and i could not look away from her. augie is the perfect foil—messy, humbled, dragging herself back to a hometown she thought she'd outgrown, just trying to survive the summer without imploding. their dynamic crackles. it's not quite enemies, not quite allies, not quite anything clean. it's two women who see too much of themselves in each other and hate it.

and CHAT. the male nanny whose mere presence in this town functions like dropping a match into a gas leak. patton is so smart about how she uses him—he's not just a love interest or a plot device, he's the pressure point that exposes everything this community has been carefully plastering over. every character's reaction to him reveals exactly who they really are underneath the country club veneer.

where i land at four instead of five: the pacing in the back half rushes slightly once the long-buried scandal surfaces. the buildup is so delicious and controlled that the reveal felt like it deserved a little more room to breathe, a little more time to let the consequences ripple through every relationship the book spent so carefully constructing. the dominoes were set up perfectly—i just wanted to watch them fall a beat slower.

but patton's voice is so sharp and the social dynamics are so precisely observed that this barely matters. she writes american wealth with the kind of specificity that makes you feel like you're eavesdropping at someone's pool party. this is a debut that knows exactly what it's doing and does it with style.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Alexandra Morales · Rating 3 out of 5]

****Many thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for an advanced eArc in exchange for my honest opinion****

The beginning had me and the ending brought it home but I have to say the middle sections lost me.

I normally DEVOUR rich people acting bad in beautiful settings, I live and breathe drama in literature. What started off as promising dulled from about 30-70% which left me bored honestly.

Danika could have been SO good. I think her character was dulled with the amount of wine this woman ingested. It dulled her emotions, I wanted spitfire, I wanted more mystery, I wanted to know why she hated social settings, I wanted to know why she hated Mallory and Robin, I wanted to know more how she got into design. Other than the basic one sentence to one paragraph descriptions that we get. I did enjoy her sense of fashion and love of decorating. I just wish some facts were dropped faster so I could have rooting for Danika earlier.

More than anything I really think the obsession with Chat should have been explained a lot quicker, because reading it not knowing what the hell was going on made me feel gross. Maybe that is what the author wanted but... but that is not something I would be intrigued by.

Augie was promising at the start. I wanted to desperately know what happened in New York and why she was back home working at The Club. But if I am being honest I think Augie's POV should have been swapped with Leah's. I think that would have kept my interest better. She was involved in all the drama on all three sides so I don't understand why she decided to go with Augie as a main character. In addition I saw ZERO chemistry with Augie and Chat.

I did like how the author described working in customer service, she was spot on with the interactions and that is something to be admired. I loved the side characters at the club as well TC, Aida I do wish we had gotten more interactions with them spilling hot tea. Would have upped the tension.

Other than the fact the middle section lost me and the absolutely HORRIBLE names this author picked for two main characters (Augie and Chat? Wtf) it came around with a happy ending for almost all the characters. I would be interested to see what else this author comes out with.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Lake Club,” by Lina Patton focuses on two female protagonists and the tension that exists between them. Augie is a recent college graduate who returns to Aldon Lakes, her small Minnesota home town, after a disastrous experience at her job in New York City, which resulted in her losing that job. Now she is working at the “Club,” an exclusive members only complex, where she tries to avoid seeing anyone she knows after her humiliating return to Aldon Lakes. Throughout the book, the nature of Augie’s humiliation is hinted at and slowly revealed.

Danika Crawley is a thirty something wealthy mother of two young sons, who has hired Chat, a “manny,” to look after her sons while she starts a job as a designer at the new residential community being developed by her husband, Bill. Danika despises Augie the first time they meet at the Club, jealous over Chat’s apparent interest in Augie. Augie suspects there is more to Danika’s relationship with Chat than merely employer-employee, but is unclear about the nature of that relationship. During the parts of the book when Danika is the protagonist, it is apparent that Danika is hiding secrets she is keeping from everyone, including her husband.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it is well-written with descriptive prose and well-drawn characters. On the other hand, not much happens in the book until the last 20%, when there is a data dump where everyone’s secrets are revealed. By that point, I had lost interest in what those secrets might be. The majority of the book focused on the mundane day to day lives of the characters. I usually enjoy a character driven novel, especially when the characters learn and grow from their negative experiences. Unfortunately I just couldn’t seem to become invested in the book. This may just be my personal experience with the book and others might have a different impression of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for providing me an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest review.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️

You know those neighborhoods where everyone waves like they’re best friends, but privately hates each other? That’s the vibe here, in the best way. The Lake Club follows two women in a wealthy lakeside community where everything looks polished and effortless on the surface, but there’s plenty brewing underneath. Danika is living that curated, lake-club, summer-mom life, while Augie returns to town after a scandal, hoping to stay under the radar. But when Danika hires a handsome male nanny, old secrets start bubbling up, loyalties shift, and the picture-perfect community starts to crack.

This one definitely falls more into domestic suspense than a full-on psychological thriller. It has that Big Little Lies feel-glossy, gossipy, character-focused drama with secrets simmering just below the surface. This is Lina Patton’s debut novel, and I think she does a solid job building atmosphere and capturing that polished-but-cracking suburban vibe.

I enjoyed the sun-drenched, lakeside atmosphere mixed with small-town gossip and social politics. Watching the tension slowly build as everyone tried to maintain their perfect image kept me engaged. The contrast between Danika’s need for control and Augie’s attempt to move on from her past added just enough emotional pull to balance the drama.

However, I will say the character names didn’t really work for me. They were definitely unique, but a few of them leaned a little cringe and pulled me out of the story at times.

Overall, this was a fun, gossipy lake-community read with a steady simmer of tension. It’s not super dark or twisty, but it’s easy to sink into and enjoy the unfolding drama. If you like stories about messy friendships and perfect-on-the-outside families in small towns where everyone knows a little too much about each other, this one fits the mood.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

[Makayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️ Review — The Lake Club by Lina Patton

Thank you William Morrow for the ARC

This felt like a lakeside summer that looks perfect in photos… but you just know something’s off if you stay long enough.

The Lake Club pulls you into this polished, privileged world where everything is curated homes, friendships, marriages and then slowly starts peeling it back layer by layer. What’s underneath? Messy choices, buried resentment, and secrets that were never meant to surface.

Danika and Augie circle each other like a storm waiting to break. They’re so different on the outside, but there’s this underlying tension that keeps tightening the more their lives overlap. It’s not just rivalry it’s comparison, insecurity, and that quiet kind of judgment that says more than words ever could.

And then you add in the male nanny… which already feels like a situation destined to go wrong and it absolutely does. The dynamic shifts from curiosity to something way more consuming, and suddenly everyone’s making decisions they can’t take back.

What I loved most is how subtle the unraveling is. It’s not explosive right away it simmers. You feel the cracks forming before anything actually breaks, and that slow-burn tension makes it impossible to look away.

It’s less about who’s right or wrong and more about watching how far people will go to protect the lives they’ve built… even when those lives are already slipping through their fingers.

Final vibe: sun-soaked tension, quiet rivalry, bad decisions brewing, and secrets rising to the surface like something you can’t keep buried.

Would I recommend? Yes especially if you love character-driven drama that feels a little too real behind all the glossy perfection.

[Janet Fiorentino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readers looking for a glossy summer drama may be drawn to The Lake Club by Lina Patton, a lakeside story set in Minnesota that centers on Chat—the magnetic object of obsession for two very different women, Augie and Danika. Augie shares a complicated romantic history with him, while Danika arrives with ambitions of her own, creating a love triangle primed for tension.

The premise is strong, and there are moments when the emotional stakes feel genuinely charged. However, much of the conflict unfolds in a somewhat formulaic way, leaning heavily on familiar tropes rather than deepening the psychological complexity of its characters. Chat, in particular, functions more as a catalyst for the women’s rivalry than as a fully realized person, which occasionally flattens the drama. Augie and Danika are distinct on the surface, but their motivations could have been explored with greater nuance to elevate the narrative beyond standard romantic suspense.

That said, the setting is vividly rendered, and the atmosphere—sun-soaked docks, social tensions simmering beneath polite conversation—makes it easy to imagine this story adapted into a glossy series on Netflix. As a breezy summer read, it delivers escapism and intrigue, even if it stops short of offering deeper emotional resonance.

Overall, The Lake Club is an entertaining but uneven novel: engaging enough for a chaise-lounge afternoon, though somewhat predictable in execution.

Three and a half out of five stars.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

**ARC**

I don’t know what I was expecting from this book -
maybe an easy beach read - but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. As a native Minnesotan, the locations, storylines, and characters are like a nostalgic postcard from my home state. I think a lot of the references will be lost on people who don’t live here but you still get the essence.

The story closely parallels Gatsby with the uber rich who live on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. The secrets are dark and the characters aren’t who they say they are. I couldn’t help picturing the summer parties, the country club, and the absurd wealth gilded world. I really like Augie, the MFC, who is not annoying (always a plus) and our humble, working-class heroine. She’s a great foil to the spoiled, waspish Danika Crawley. Initially I thought the book would be about two women fighting over some mid hockey bro nanny but it wasn’t. Chat is actually sweet and loyal even if he goes about it the wrong way.

I appreciate the way the author wove together separate timelines and gave us the major villain but also many really flawed characters who you despise then root for. The story and background scream F. Scott Fitzgerald (once a resident of St. Paul, MN), but instead of tragedy and characters who get to fade into the background, these characters’ stories end differently.

The expectation was meh. But, surprisingly, I really liked it; definitely recommend.

[Jacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC edition of this juicy summer novel based in my own city!

When I first started reading this novel the writing style didn’t lure me in but the plot did. Once engaged enough the plot I opened up to the writing style. The novel switches through two POVs of Augie and Danika set during a summer at our beautiful Minnesota lakes and not just any lake, the affluent suburb of Minnetonka. Many of the places were made up but I was imagining what they were influenced by and small notes of real places being mentioned made me smile such as the malls.
Danika and Augie are flawed, but real, characters and the environment of the country club and all its drama was such a fun read. While this isn’t necessarily a mystery novel, it did have elements of mystery which kept me invested as well. I think the character development is decent. Not sure I believe Danika would do all that in the end, but maybe! As a 35 year old woman and as immature as Danika was, I can relate to seeing youth in Augie and those around her and being jealous. Aging as a woman is tough. The supporting characters were great as well. Overall this is fun, juicy, with points of emotional seriousness and it branching into real topics. A must read for any Minnesotan, country club lover, drama seeker, mystery detective, potential hockey lover and so much more!

[Mal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced reader copy.

The summer at Aldon Lakes, Minnesota is about to get complicated. Augie, an early twenty-something, is back working at the eponymous club after her life fell apart in New York; Danika, a thirty-something mom, is hoping that this will be her best summer yet and that she's take back her Queen Bee crown; and Chat, another twenty-something recent college graduate, is working for Danika as her manny while also trying to make something happen romantically with Augie. The trouble is that Augie and Danika don't like each other. When they're all thrust together at the lake club, secrets and motivations get revealed.

For a debut, I thought this was an easy read. The writing never got in the way of the plot or character development. I found the main characters of Augie, Chat, and Danika to be compellingly flawed and each of the women so self-absorbed that it's clear to the reader how all the conflict comes to the surface. The ending didn't quite land for me, as every storyline (including one that lingers in the background throughout the story) got neatly wrapped up with seemingly no interpersonal fallout. Given how relatable much of the book is, this felt like a letdown. I'll be interested to see what this author does next.

The Lake Club is out June 16, 2026

[Olivia Lanier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

The Lake Club was not at all what I expected. It was drama, mystery, suspense, and more all rolled into one. I think this both helped and hurt the plot. On one hand, there it kept me guessing until the end. I did NOT see the plot twist coming regarding the couple who was having an affair. The story of what actually happened on the night of the boat crash did not surprise me though, which was disappointing.
On the other hand, there were so many storylines in this book that it felt a bit confusing and bogged down. I wish that there had been a couple less threads to weave so that the author could focus on really making them richer. The narrative about why Augie specifically left New York didn’t feel useful to me- I would have been content if the actual reason was the merger that was used as cover up, and had the author spend more time discussing Lyle and his family’s grief. It felt like that was really only mentioned when it was convenient to the plot.
I feel like this book would make a great HBO drama/mystery miniseries. If you’re into those kind of shows I think you would probably enjoy this book! It had enough drama and mystery to keep me turning the pages quickly, and it did leave me surprised by the ending!

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

*****Thanks to NetGalley for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Solid 3.5, I feel really ambivalent about this

The social tensions were interesting but besides that it was kinda bland….if Leah was the MC I think the boat-murder-mystery plot would have hit harder for the last 25%. Also Augie’s general prickliness and Danika’s “woe is me (rightfully so at times) but I’m rich and have to get drunk” vibes did not work for me

Truly having Augie + Danika as MCs seemed puzzling at times. I felt for their backgrounds but it made no sense to really focus on that in relation to the meandering plot (area women subtlety-but-not-really duke it out for affections of the gym-short-wearing “manny”)

For Danika to be Chat’s almost-aunt there needed to be a LOT less makeout vibes in the first half between them….

Also the Bill + Wyatt reveal just felt like it was thrown in there. Good for them I guess but I didn’t care enough to get a whole POV chapter of them😭😭

So this came down to Augie + Chat, together 4ever, and Danika zooming her ex-Latvian jockey player ex-husband, as the two latter ones tried to out-Truman Show each other?

Interesting premise and bones but it just lost steam by the 60% mark

[Leah reading & recording · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a debut novel The Lake Club is fantastic! I felt a part of the community, like I was spending my summer there and re-living all the memories alongside the main characters, all of whom were so unique. Danika in particular was so relatable and easy to root for.

Set primarily at the country club that a number of wealthy families vacation at every summer in Minnesota, this story follows Danika, a seemingly perfect mother of two, and Augie, a new grad looking for a new job while spending one last (hopefully) summer working at the club. As the two move through their respective summers they keep bumping into each other and given they can’t seem to stand one another, this is not ideal for either one. I enjoyed how many people Danika and Augie had in common and how everyone liked both Danika and Augie yet the pair could not stand each other. What’s that saying—something about not liking someone if they remind you too much of yourself? Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed the scene setting, character development, and the way everything wrapped up. Sometimes a summer can make all the difference!

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a chance to read this debut novel ahead of its publication! I look forward to reading many more novels by the talented Lina Patton.

[Second Chapter Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone originally from Minnesota, I was actually excited for the setting here because the lake-country/country club atmosphere felt very familiar. Lina Patton definitely captured that polished-but-gossipy lake community energy well. You can almost picture the boats, the lake homes, the country club politics, and the people trying way too hard to maintain appearances.

That said… this one was just kind of meh for me overall.

The premise sounded like it would lean more into dark secrets, obsession, and high-stakes drama, but it never fully got there. It reads much more like contemporary women’s fiction mixed with soap-opera-style relationship drama than an actual thriller. The pacing felt slow for most of the book, and while there was tension between the characters, I kept waiting for something bigger to happen.

The setting honestly ended up being my favorite part. I also appreciated the Midwest/lakes-region vibe because it felt authentic instead of overly romanticized. But I struggled to really connect with the characters, and by the end I just wasn’t as invested as I wanted to be.

Not terrible by any means — I can definitely see this working as a summer/beach read for the right audience — but for me it was a solid 3-star read.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated how the author indulged the reader’s senses by giving a peek into how the wealthy live, and how life can be more tolerable when you have the kind of money to surround yourself in beautiful things. I had to look up what some of the dishes of food were, and those sounded wonderful too.

There was a love triangle between a wealthy mother (Danika), her manny (Chat), and a local girl (Augie) trying to find her way out of her small, affluent town. The characters were pretty formulaic. Danika was bossy and controlling. Chat was charismatic, attractive, and an all around great guy. And Augie was scrappy, pretty and hiding secrets about her past.

The problem is that the plot didn’t have enough meat on its bones. When I got to the ending I felt like I was missing something. The big reveal about what happened to Augie in New York and the nature of Chat and Danika’s relationship wasn’t jaw dropping or controversial. I kept wondering,”is that it?” Judging by the description I was expecting fireworks, but it ended up being more of a sparkler.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an enjoyable read. It has a lot going for it, particularly the writing style as a whole - mystery is hard, when the author knows the twists but doesn’t want to a) give it all away too soon or b) treat the audience like they’re stupid. Lina Patton does neither- she genuinely had me guessing at the different threads the whole way and I never felt like the characters were catching on more slowly than I was. I was a little bummed that I guessed at the members of the affair that is teased from the beginning. I think if we had gotten 1 or 2 fewer scenes of that, I could have been surprised by the outcome. Her main characters are also very engaging. Augie and Danika are 3 dimensional. They are very dislikable at times but also garner my sympathy at others. They felt very believable and were fun to read. Chat was also intriguing. I think the main limitation was that the story is entertaining, but not lingering. I don’t know that there was a lot to take from it other than a good time. Though it definitely was a good time.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lit Fiction meets a mild mystery.

Danika, Augie and Chat will all collide for a summer that will change everyone's life. Set against the backdrop of a picturesque Minnesota events from both Danika and Augie's pasts will play out as they both vie for Chat's attention.

Tension builds in the story from the beginning both sensual and interpersonal. I enjoyed the first half of this book as the dynamics of the people developed. Interspersed throughout the book are flashbacks. In the beginning it's hard to discern who these are about but it doesn't take long to figure it out- I won't spoil this for you!

It takes on sort of a weird arch as the two women decide how Chat is going to fit into their lives. I'll have to say the author does a tremendous job in painting just how unhappy Danika she is. There is no other word to describe her other than hateful.

Several twists and turns happen before the book comes to a mostly satisfying end.
I did feel the book became a little sluggish in the middle and skipped a few chapters to finish up reading the book and didn't feel like I had lost anything in the skipping.

Overall, its a nice debut by this author.

Thank you to Net Galley and William Morris for the ARC edition of this book!

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, NetGalley, for this uncorrected eproof ARC of 'The Lake Club' by Lina Patton - expected release date of 06/16/2026

ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Decent book for a summer beach read or a book club! This is a soapy, chick-lit book full of lies, drama and so many rich, entitled characters behaving badly. The writing was good but there were a LOT of characters and a LOT of storylines related to them to keep up with. Because of this, some of the storylines felt incomplete, underwhelming and/or rushed once they were fully revealed (EX: the reason for Augie's firing in NY, the affair between two of the characters, the way Josh Mike was associated with the boat crash and his blackmail of Teuta). There was a lot of alluding to things and working up to things in the first 3/4s then so many reveals and a lot of action in the last quarter, probably could've spaced some to come out sooner. Overall though,I'm not mad I read this book.

[Alice.thereader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review of The Lake Club by Lina Patton

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is the perfect kind of summer read. Domestic thrillers are always so fun to dive into, and this one really delivers on that front. The story follows two women in an affluent lakeside community-one a club mom who appears to have it all on the outside, and the other a recent college graduate who has returned home after her career comes crashing down due to an illicit affair.

Their worlds collide over a charming male nanny, setting off a chain of tension, rivalry, and drama.

It’s a quick, engaging read. The pacing is fast without feeling rushed, and the tension builds at a steady, satisfying pace. The dynamic between Danika and Augie is especially well done-charged, competitive, and gradually more revealing as the story unfolds.

Overall, this feels like a fabulous debut from Patton; soapy, dramatic, and compelling in all the right ways.