February 2025 Group Read: Stillhouse Lake, by Rachel Caine > Likes and Comments

Welcome to the discussion thread for Stillhouse Lake, by Rachel Caine. Please note: there is also a spoiler thread for those who have either already read it or may be farther along than others. Have fun!

Kept me gripped despite having to suspend disbelief to the point I quickly followed up with the follow up book 📖

It’s been a few years since I read this series, but it definitely kept me hooked! Agreed about the disbelief suspension, though!

With so many votes on the poll for this group read, I would have thought more activity would give me some idea if to buy. But I did and started last night, the prologue was good, but the police actions were a bit over the top, especially with 2 young children present. But then the first chapter showed me that Rachel Caine writes in the present tense and sure enough a lot of grammatical errors. So, I guess I'll just read for the story.

Up to 50% of novel. at least it is a quick read. This is a family drama with no suspense yet. It is exploring the complexities of motherhood to two teenagers in hiding due to husband/father is a convicted serial killer. A day in the life.... and the body found in the lake so far is irrelevant. Maybe it will get better, so I'll finish it, but it is so disappointing!

I enjoyed reading Stillhouse Lake and didn't find it unrealistic as some others have suggested.

It felt a bit look two styles of thriller - the first 80% read like a psychological thriller and the final 20% more like an action thriller. That mix worked well for me because the first part made me feel emotionally involved with Gina so that when the action came, I was very much on her side.

I particularly felt that Gina’s children were brilliantly portrayed. Their mannerisms, their voices, and how they react to what’s happening are all is so realistic that they live on the page. At times, I wanted to shake the children to try to make them realise the seriousness of the situation they’re in and why their mum is insisting on certain behaviours.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable read, although I'd personally only give it 4* instead of 5 because of the lack of action in the first 80% of the book.

I had high hopes for this book and I was trying my best to like it, but ultimately I didn’t like this book at all. I felt like the book wasn’t giving anything substantial and I was very confused about her character and her relationships with people in the book. One minute she was saying that she kept needing to protect her kids at all costs and then the next minute she was allowing strangers in her house in her space And immediately trusted people which confused me so much. She also kept repeating a lot of what she said in the book in regards to the main character and I ultimately got bored. The book was short thankfully for me and I did finish it but I didn’t like it at all sorry. What do others think? Am I the only one in this thought camp?

I was thinking of reading this, but the moderator made no effort to moderate. Disappointing. But it happens more than it doesn't.