Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle

About the Book:

When Charlotte married the wealthy widower Paul, it caused a ripple of gossip in their small lakeside town. They have a charmed life together, despite the cruel whispers about her humble past and his first marriage. But everything starts to unravel when she discovers a young woman’s body floating in the exact same spot where Paul’s first wife tragically drowned.

At first, it seems like a horrific coincidence, but the stranger in the lake is no stranger. Charlotte saw Paul talking to her the day before, even though Paul tells the police he’s never met the woman. His lie exposes cracks in their fragile new marriage, cracks Charlotte is determined to keep from breaking them in two.

As Charlotte uncovers dark mysteries about the man she married, she doesn’t know what to trust—her heart, which knows Paul to be a good man, or her growing suspicion that there’s something he’s hiding in the water.

Stranger in the Lake

Kimberly Belle

On Sale Date: June 9, 2020

9780778309819, 0778309819

Trade Paperback

$17.99 USD, $22.99 CAD

Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological

352 pages

My Thoughts

So that was..........fantastic!!! Yes, Kimberly Belle managed to pull it off again. I literally couldn't put this book down. I flew through this in just one day.

Charlotte or Charlie- depending on who you ask...has found the man of her dreams. A small town girl that was raised by a drug addict in a trailer park that was under deplorable conditions- marries the town millionaire....hmm this is going to be interesting.

When Charlotte marries Paul.... well people are going to talk. Gold digger anyone?? You be the judge..but the town has branded her as a gold digger as well Paul's wonderful mother. I mean couldn't it just be love? Paul is not only a millionaire, he is "the man" of the tiny town. Everyone knows Keller Architecture and everyone knows of Paul. See Paul lost his wife to a drowning accident, even though she was an excellent swimmer. She was also more loaded than Paul. Soooo you do the math.

I loved this book! It was mysterious from start to finish. I didn't know if I should love Charlotte or hate her. Am I #teamcharlotte? Read for yourself and I think you will figure it out. I especially loved the whole secluded lake environment. It gave the story a creepy vibe. The Kellers had a gorgeous home that Paul had designed, with huge windows that faced the lake. Which was fantastic during the day, but at night...well night is a different story. The windows are so huge they don't have window dressings, what is the need anyway, they have no immediate neighbors. Yet as a murder happens right in front of their windows, unbeknownst to them...well it got a bit creepy. Who is out there and who is looking in?  I am getting goosebumps thinking about it!


One dead body in the lake, well ok...two dead bodies in the lake...umm ok...three dead...Houston we have a problem! Mysterious, creepy, page-turner! This book had it all for me. Add it to the list of all the other books I love by this author!

Loved it ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️  5 big hearts for this one!!!!!

About the Author:

Kimberly Belle is the USA Today and internationally bestselling author of six novels, including the forthcoming Stranger in the Lake (June 2020). Her third novel, The Marriage Lie, was a semifinalist in the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Mystery & Thriller, and a #1 e-book bestseller in the UK and Italy. She’s sold rights to her books in a dozen languages as well as film and television options. A graduate of Agnes Scott College, Belle divides her time between Atlanta and Amsterdam.

Social Links:

Author website: https://www.kimberlybellebooks.com/

Facebook: @KimberlyBelleBooks

Twitter: @KimberlySBelle

Instagram: @kimberlysbelle

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/kim

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WNX6ZZS

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stranger-in-the-lake-kimberly-belle/1133065677

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/books/stranger-in-the-lake-original/9780778309819?aid=0 

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780778309819 

Books-A-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Stranger-Lake/Kimberly-Belle/9780778309819 

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/stranger-in-the-lake

Happy and You Know It by Laura Hankin

 

Well hello....mommy club book! What a refreshing book this was. I flew through this entertaining read in less than 24 hours. Not being a mommy myself (except for my adorable dogs) I wasn't sure if this would be a book I would click with. No worries here! If you have a sense of humor, like some entertainment and like a little mystery and frenemy type behavior...this is it!

This book was a snarky adorable look at motherhood struggles, life struggles and fricking funny all wrapped into one. Get this...it opens with a "rich looking" woman running down the streets of NYC in a fur coat in the middle of August..with vomit all down the front of her...with a group of women chasing her...in their heels...wth right??? Don't worry no spoilers here, that is literally from Chapter one.

Whitney created a mommy club for NYC mommies to share and bond with their daily struggles. The club is a great support but often turns into a bit of a competition between the mommies. Whitney has made the club "famous" by splashing their picture perfect mommy moments all over Instagram.

Enter Claire...the hip musician the mommies hire to entertain their babies. Hold up...do people really do this?!! Claire has secrets of her own..why does she flip her you know what when she hears the ever so popular song Idaho Eyes? Can she bond with these mommies?

My favorite character was Amara. Real to life, often questioning how she got herself classified a "mom." I loved her snarky behavior and my heart went out to her as she struggled in her new role.

Surprise!! I didn't expect a bit of a mystery rolled up in this one. There is a mastermind behind the mommy club..yep you heard me! Some twists and turns that completely caught me off guard.

This book was so entertaining. I often felt like I was reading about The Real Housewives of NYC mommy edition! BTW I would watch that show! #guiltypleasure  Rich, poor you all get pooped on the same!

Thank you so much to Berkley for this ARC via Edelweiss. I highly enjoyed it!

The Wife Stalker by Liv Constantine

Hang onto your husbands ladies! Piper is in town! Whew! This was once again another twisty thriller by this dynamic duo. Always on the must read list for me, they did not disappoint yet again. This book kept me up late into the night as I had to know what this sneaky Piper woman was up to next.

The Wife Stalker is just as it sounds...Piper is a woman that knows what she wants when she sees it....a yoga center, a membership to the yacht club, her Alfa Romeo Spider...oh yeah and your husband! When Piper moved into town she decided to start over- new name, new career, new man. All she needs is the new man...oh hey Leo you will do just fine.

Who is this mysterious newcomer? No trace of social media except for her current recent accounts...but what about her past? A glam girl like Piper and noooo trace of her? Hmm seems odd since Piper is all about social media now...what happened? Trust me Joanna has looked and there is.....nothing.

Oh my heart went out to poor Joanna. Just trying to keep the family together. Cooking, cleaning taking care of little Evie and Stelli. Yet Leo seems oblivious to it all, does he even appreciate her efforts?! She has been in Leo's life for years and yet here comes Piper to replace her. OMGGG I despised Piper!!! How dare her try so desperately to take Joanna's place! Is there no shame in her game? Nope! Piper is all out for herself and her sights are set on Leo and his family.

Well just when I thought I saw it all...Liv Constantine throws in that twisted end that left me speechless! I never in a million years saw that coming.

Huge shoutout to HarperCollins for this gorgeous finished copy of The Wife Stalker in exchange for an honest review!

A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight

It was a good marriage...until it was not! This book had alot going on in between those pages. A murder, a key party, lawyers, lovers, losers and liars! Whew this book had it all. I was all in from page one.

After attending a key party, a woman is brutally murdered in her home. First off- do key parties really exist? I thought that was something from the 1990's??? No, I am wrong? Okay well I will be first to admit that I am NOT into that. Yet, this made for some great reading material! So this murdered woman was at the so called key party, so who murdered her? Well after digging into this you will see that there were plenty of people with motive. It started out a bit of a slow burn for me, as I got to know all the characters. There were alot of players in this book, which normally I don't enjoy. Yet I did with this book because it just made more suspects!

As I did my super slething and came up with.......nothing...the author kept adding players aka suspects to this game that might want this girl dead. People from her past, secrets were revealed. The author did a great job of developing her characters so we got a feel for each personality. There were some very strong personalities in this group! I mean a bunch of lawyers..who would think it?

I loved that this was a mystery that I was constantly trying to solve..I failed by the way. The author managed to keep me guessing all the way until the end. Then it all came together nicely in the end...well not for the dead woman, but I sure enjoyed it! It almost had a legal thriller type of feel to it because there were so many lawyers...so many..yet it had alot of family/backstory drama as well. While the kids are away at camp, the adults will play! It kept me glued to the pages until the end! This was my first book by this author and I need more!!!!!!

Huge shoutout to HarperCollins for this stunning finished book in exchange for an honest review! You guys rock! I loved it. Thank you for introducing me to another great author.