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Louise Douglas

The Secret By The Lake Hardcover – 18 April 2022

by Louise Douglas (Author)

5,342 ratings

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'Chillingly atmospheric and utterly compelling.' Tammy Cohen

When a tragedy forces the family Amy works for as a nanny to retreat to a small lakeside cottage, she realises they desperately need her help and support, so she agrees to go with them.

But Amy finds the cottage by the lake unsettling, even sinister. The house is where the children's mother spent her childhood - and the place where her seventeen-year-old sister disappeared mysteriously.

Before long, ominous truths begin rising to the surface, and Amy becomes bewitched by the missing sister's story. Can Amy unlock the secrets of the past before they repeat themselves?

Bestselling author of House by the SeaLouise Douglas returns with an enthralling and captivating novel, perfect for fans of Barbara O'Neal, Lucinda Riley and Rachel Hore.

'Crackles with repressed longing . . . the explosive ending took my breath away.' C.L. Taylor

Praise for Louise Douglas:

'Kept me guessing until the last few pages and the explosive ending took my breath away.' C.L. Taylor, author of The Accident on Your Beautiful Lies

'Beautifully written, chillingly atmospheric and utterly compelling, The Secret by the Lake is Louise Douglas at her brilliant best' Tammy Cohen, author of The Broken

'A master of her craft, Louise Douglas ratchets up the tension in this haunting and exquisitely written tale of buried secrets and past tragedy.' Amanda Jennings, author of Sworn Secret

'A clammy, atmospheric and suspenseful novel, it builds in tension all the way through to the startling final pages.' Sunday Express, S Magazine

Print length

314 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Boldwood Books Ltd
Publication date

18 April 2022
Dimensions

15.2 x 2.4 x 22.9 cm
ISBN-10

1804262161
ISBN-13

978-1804262160
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Boldwood Books Ltd (18 April 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 314 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1804262161
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1804262160
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.2 x 2.4 x 22.9 cm

Customer reviews:
5,342 ratings

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About the author

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Louise Douglas

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Hello and thank you for visiting my author page. I'm Louise, I live in Somerset in South West England & I write contemporary Gothic mysteries mostly set in the countryside close to where I live. Thrilled to have won the RNA Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller award 2021 for The House by the Sea.

When I'm not writing, I love to spend time with my family, friends, kind & funny people and animals - especially dogs, birds and whales. I'm passionate about nature, being outside, drawing wildlife, walking, beaches, fictional drama and books.

I really hope you enjoy my books. If you'd like to connect, find me on Facebook Louise Amy Douglas or @LouiseDouglas3 on Twitter. Thank you x

Customer reviews

5 star		54%
4 star		31%
3 star		11%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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S B Carroll

Not great at all

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 August 2020

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This is a strange book. This is the third book I have read by this author and all 3 involve weak, almost pathetic lead female characters. Who in their right mind would give up a job they loved in order to work for free, live in a cold house, sleep in a dreadful bed and not have much food to eat??? Where did they find the money to buy the gin when they had tabs wherever they shopped?
I felt the editing was flimsy and a few storylines were not finished off, leaving me wondering what happened e.g. where did Daniel disappear to on their first date?
How did Daniel's father go from being a foul, abusive individual to a loving, kind father in a matter of days?
What a palaver over the pendant necklace - why did she not just come clean at the beginning?
Amy left the dog with her father but at the end, the dog appears back at her house - had the author forgotten she had given the dog away?
I found all the characters quite unlikeable - especially the mother.
I will call it a day with this author now.

19 people found this helpful

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little bookworm

A haunting read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 December 2015

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Amy enjoys her position working as a nanny for the privileged Laurent family in France; though all is about to change when tragedy strikes and Julia Laurent and her daughter Viviane find themselves forced to retreat to the village of Blackwater in Somerset where Julia grew up a child. Amy determines to stand by Julia and her daughter as they battle with their grief, yet moving to the desolate cottage near the edge of Blackwater Lake, she finds herself having to contend with more than she bargained for. There is a strange and eerie presence in the cottage, with odd noises coming from the empty bedroom of Julia's long dead sister Caroline. Still more disturbing is the fact that young Viviane has a new imaginary friend, who also happens to be called Caroline. As the atmosphere becomes increasingly creepy and events take a chilly turn, Amy finds herself trying to discover more of what happened to Caroline and why she has such a black name in the village. Will she discover the dark truth of the past, and can she prevent the current danger that lurks?

Atmospheric, suspenseful and dark; for fans of Louise Douglas this is sure to delight. The story is set in the early 1960s, mostly in the remote village of Blackwater, with its vast and brooding lake; and Douglas does a stunning job of bringing her setting to life, capturing the lake in all its shifting moods, the location very much adding to the tense and eerie ambience of the book.

This story strays more into the supernatural than her previous, and is I think her creepiest yet; indeed it reads as more of a proper ghost story rather than her previous thrillers. That said the true underlying horrors in the book are very human and real in nature; the truth once it is exposed genuinely chilling and tragic. As with most of her books, the story is told at a gentle pace, building slowly to the tense climax as secrets are gradually unravelled. As such the book can at times feel a bit slow and repetitive, however, I felt that it fitted and added to the suspense of the book.

Douglas also has a gentle and tender romance evolving between Amy and one of the local villagers, Daniel Cummings; which makes for a pleasant contrast to the darker elements of the story, whilst at the same time Daniel is also an important character in the plot in his own right. I did hazard a guess at some aspects of the plot, though I wasn't sure that I would be right and certainly I didn't manage to put all of it together; however, Douglas does lay her clues throughout the story, which is cleverly told.

A haunting read, and definitely one of my favourites from Douglas.

14 people found this helpful

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H. Lacroix

Avoid.....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 2016

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After the excellent "Black House" from Peter May reading this proved impossible. There was no in depth characterisation,no attention to detail, no style and put simply not the slightest bit of literary talent. I have been extremely careless in selecting what I was going to read recently and have trusted 5 star reviews when I should have been more critical and should have paid attention to the one star ones. The cover too should have rung alarm bells. This smacked of romantic fiction of the worst kind. I didn't finish the book as I couldn't care less what would happen to Amy, her "friend' Julia or Vivi and had not the slightest curiosity towards what had happened to Caroline. I have seldom found myself so unengaged when starting on a new book

12 people found this helpful

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ellebee

Great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 October 2020

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Loved this book and its twists and turns in unexpected ways. It’s very descriptive of events and sights so much so I could scan and skip a few pages if I was getting impatient yet less descriptive in what the characters looked like. I’m on another book by the author now which is positive as never heard of her before

3 people found this helpful

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A Lovely, Intriguing Story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 January 2016

Verified Purchase

This was a lovely, intriguing story with no mistakes so an easy 5* for me. I loved it. It has a little of everything. Murder mystery, historical saga, romance, humour......very good indeed. A gorgeous cover as well.
My only criticism is she still uses American spellings !! That's a bugbear of mine, I have to say, especially in a really English-set story. I enjoyed the inclusion of Bess the dog, too. However, I didn't have a great deal of time for Julia. I thought she took advantage of poor Amy, even when she was helping her out voluntarily as a friend !! She needed a kick up the backside more than once. I liked Daniel and Caroline's characters a great deal along with little Vivi.
I had pre-ordered it for November but only just got around to it. I hadn't long read Kate Morton's The Lakehouse and as it sounded a little similar I waited a while......the very final sentence had me howling but that's a mark of a great story as well for me.

4 people found this helpful

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Jan Erlam

Four and a half stars in my recommendation.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 January 2016

Verified Purchase

I had recently read Kate Morton's new novel and it was excellent so I must admit I expected the next book I read to leave me flat but this book was wonderful. It was a perfect read, not padded out, a real page turner, didn't know where to leave it because I wanted to know more. the recipe for a good book. The mystery was perfectly paced. Amy loves her job and is disappointed to leave to go home to the UK but a tragedy soon has her returning to her employer Julia to a cottage in Somerset, where Julia grew up and where her sister died. The haunting mystery of Caroline unfolds and has Amy believing the cottage is haunted as Viviane her charge speaks of Caroline as if she is still alive. The only thing I didn't find out was how Julia's story was resolved in France but this did not spoil it for the reader. I recommend it four and a half stars in my book/

5 people found this helpful

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