An Amazon Charts and USA Today bestseller.Gina Royal is the definition of average—a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor—the ultimate warrior mom.With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake. … home on remote Stillhouse Lake. Though still the target of stalkers and Internet trolls who think she had something to do with her husband’s crimes, Gwen dares to think her kids can finally grow up in peace.
But just when she’s starting to feel at ease in her new identity, a body turns up in the lake—and threatening letters start arriving from an all-too-familiar address. Gwen Proctor must keep friends close and enemies at bay to avoid being exposed—or watch her kids fall victim to a killer who takes pleasure in tormenting her. One thing is certain: she’s learned how to fight evil. And she’ll never stop.
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LOVED this book! I listened to the audio version as told by Emily Sutton-Smith, and it was fantastic. The characterization, the twists and turns, the details of the back story released with timing perfection, the red herrings… All of these elements made for an incredible and thrilling read… or listen.
This is such a well written, tightly plotted book with compelling characters. It really is one of the best suspense novels I’ve read this year (2017). I highly recommend it.
For my full review, check out my reviews on my website. http://patriciakeelyn.com/2017/12/stillhouse-lake-by-rachel-caine/
A stunning thriller by a master of suspense!
Gina Royal is living her best life. She has two adorable children, a caring husband and a happy home. That is until a drunk driver crashes into her husband’s workshop and destroys everything she thought was real.
Now Gina/Gwen is on the run from a host of internet predators determined to make her family pay for the sins committed by the serial killer she had for a husband.
Determined to never again feel like a victim, Gwen takes up a strict physical fitness regime along with shooting skills. If anyone tries to hurt her children, they’ll have to go through her first.
But when a murderer strikes close to home, Gwen is once more suspected as an accomplice and it soons become obvious her ex-husband isn’t finished with her yet.
This book freaked me out on so many levels!
Imagine finding out that the man you love, the father of your children, is a sadistic monster wanted for several murders.
Caine does a fantastic job placing the reader in the mind of the protagonist. I felt her confusion, fright, anger and the need for revenge. If it were my kids in danger, I’d do whatever it took to protect them, just as Gwen does.
The twist at the end was not unexpected, but it still sent shivers up my spine.
I give Stillhouse Lake 5+ Scary kisses- A lights on read!
Palpable Desperation Kept Me Riveted
I enjoy reading many genres, but maybe none more so than psychological thrillers. When I saw a book promising to focus on the family of the serial killer rather than the killer, the hunted, or the cops investigating the crimes, I was intrigued. A few paragraphs in, I was hooked.
The author now has a new fan.
Rachel Caine already has a huge following, and I can see why. This book is written in first person, which I always say I don’t prefer. But the premise of the story made me willing to risk it. And now, I can’t imagine a different perspective. I was completely drawn into the main character’s inner turmoil. I am a proud mother, so I understand the character’s Mama Bear desperation to protect her kids. I am not, however, in a situation remotely similar to hers. Yet I feel like I was. My heart pounded right along with hers, my stomach lurched when hers did. Such a vibrant rendering of a character is difficult to do, and Caine made it look effortless.
The pace was fast but easy to follow. The setting, at times serene and at times frightening, became another character and advanced the plot. The supporting cast was every bit as nuanced as the main characters. The way all the threads came together while the villains’ plans unraveled was a joy to witness. Authors don’t often surprise me, but I have to admit it took me longer to guess who the true adversaries were than usual. And I loved that.
I read this book in one day, and I’ve already downloaded other Caine titles. This was an easy five-star recommendation from me.
I am flying through this series. The action follows the ex-wife of a serial killer and her two children as they flee to avoid Internet harassers and copycat criminals. So many twists and non-stop action!
This book has been on my TBR list for two year and I am happy I finally decided to read it. I enjoyed it a lot, and I thought the characters were all very interesting. The story was unpredictable, which I loved because I love getting hit by plot twists. Not knowing what is going to happen next increased the suspense for me. That is why it didn’t take me long to finish the book. I was hooked, and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next, and how everything would unfold. Gwen is a very strong woman/mother and I can’t imagine the things she had to go through. She was very protective of her children, and just wanted the best for them. I thought Stillhouse Lake was a great suspenseful read. I am definitely invested in the characters, and I look forward to seeing them grow even stronger in the upcoming books.
Great new (to me) author. See my full review on my website. http://patlewin.com/2017/12/stillhouse-lake-by-rachel-caine/
If you’ve ever wondered what life is like for the family of a serial killer, Stillhouse Lake, Book 1 (of 5), by Rachel Caine explores the challenges, obstacles and residual psychological effects. Don’t expect all doom and gloom; at times the story is amazingly tender and gentle, at other times it’s chilling. It is that polarity and dealing honestly with how far an an unaware wife and mother will go to protect her children, that makes this book very relatable, and the fears (Who to trust? Who means harm?) that echo in your own mind imagining yourself in that situation. Compelling read. Well done, Rachel Caine!
I came across this book via an ad on my kindle. I can’t remember exactly what made me pick it up, but I’m so pleased I did!
The main character, Gina, is the wife of a serial killer. The books starts straight into the action with her coming home to discover the horror of what her husband, Mel, has been doing.
The story then takes off some time later, when she’s reinventing herself and running with their two children, over and over, trying to escape her past. Only we all know the past always catches up with you!
I loved this book! I tore through it, completely backing poor Gina and everything she has to go through to protect her children. With so many people around, who can she trust. It’s fast paced and action packed, and I’ll definitely be reading more of the series.
The only negative for me were the insanely long chapters. I think there are only fifteen in the whole book. It took a bit of getting used to (when are you supposed to put it down to go to sleep?), but i didn’t notice it so much towards the end.
This page-turner really grabbed my attention. The author did a great job of writing unexpected, yet realistic, twists and turns. I’m so glad this is the first book in the series since I’ll definitely want to read more.
The suspense is palpable in this tightly bound thriller
When I read the description for this book I knew I would love it, and I didn’t notice anything about a series. After finishing it, there better be another book coming because I need some questions answered! I fell in love with Rachel Caine’s writing with the Morganville series. This book is nothing like that series but her wonderful way of pulling you completely into a story was still there. I was hooked from the first chapter. There were times reading this where I literally had goosebumps. At one point I was sitting in a dark room reading on my ereader and the ice maker dropped ice at a tense time in the story. I screamed and about had a heart attack. Melvin Royal is pure evil. And his poor family with everything they went through because of his sickness. At times the ‘sicko patrol’ seemed unbelievable, but then I remembered news stories on FB or other social media where I’d read comments with people spewing unbelievable hate for people and it made it even sadder to think about what a family in the Royals situation might go through, especially the children. There were a couple of things i figured out early on, but for the most part I was in suspense and as paranoid of everyone as Gwen was. I really, really hope there is another book coming because I want more of the story!! Great suspenseful read!
“Everyone runs from the monster. Everyone except the monster slayer…”
Yes!!! Our heroine is facing the unexpected consequences of her ex-husband’s actions and they aren’t pretty. In fact, they put her and her children at significant risk which means she is always in a proactive defense mode. Like she can’t even breathe. She always has to stay one step ahead of any possible threat and her exhaustion is palpable. But her passion for her responsibility as a parent is even more tangible. I absolutely loved this book.
Stillhouse Lake was a super fast-paced thriller with a strong villain that is oh so easy to hate, characters who aren’t who they say they are, a bad-@ss mother justified in her paranoia, a deadly mystery that puts this family in a spotlight they do not need… all of this culminating into a psychological/suspense/thriller/mystery that will knock your socks off. Beware, this story continues in the form of a series so while I feel there is enough closure for the main mystery of this particular book, there is a cliffhanger that perfectly sets up the next. In my opinion, Stillhouse Lake is excellent and I cannot wait to continue the story. Highly recommend.
My favorite quote:
“…a gun can’t protect you unless you protect yourself mentally, emotionally, and logically. It’s the punctuation at the end, not the paragraph.”
Note: Rachel Caine’s Stillhouse Lake series includes the following installments as of December 2017. Please note this series is an ongoing story and should be read in order.
#1-Stillhouse Lake (July 2017)
#2-Killman Creek (December 2017)
#3-Wolfhunter River (expected October 2018)
Really enjoyed this book. I was on edge through most of it. It did seem, to me, the first part was slow but did not take away from me continuing interest. It kept me guessing who was behind all of this. Even at one point thought the main character was crazy. Well worth the read. I did find a handful of grammatical errors.
Gina Royale is bringing her kids home one day to find the police swarming her house. A drunk driver has crashed into her garage to reveal her husband’s secret lair, along with the dead body swinging from the rafters. Gina’s husband is a serial killer and she had no idea.
The book then fast forwards to Gina living as Gwen in a remote town on Stillhouse Lake. She and her kids have changed their identities to stay hidden from internet vigilantes convinced she assisted her husband in the murders of several young women. How could a regular housewife have no idea that her husband was murdering people in the garage?
Stillhouse Lake is such a clever, gripping thriller. There are times that you feel suspicious of everyone. Could the children be irreparably damaged by their father and have some of his darkness inside them? Could Gwen be lying and actually did help her husband? Is someone in Stillhouse Lake helping either her husband or the internet mob? All of these questions go around and around in your mind as you read the book. And yet it isn’t rushed. There’s a lot of great setup at the beginning which makes you care about the characters when the action begins halfway through.
I really enjoyed this one and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
WARNING: graphic violence appropriate to the genre. Gwen, aka Gina, morphs from an abused wife into a kick-ass defender who will do anything to keep her children safe from their incarcerated, serial-killer father. Yes, he’s behind bars, but his fans on the outside are legion and make it their business to make Gwen’s life as scary as possible. Her move to a quiet, remote Tennessee town quickly disintegrates as she fights off one threat after another. Her ability to withstand all physical onslaughts often smacks of comic book characters, but the twists and turns in the plot keep the reader on the page. Picking up the pieces, building trust, guiding her kids to become strong, and accepting that the past haunts both her present and future are a few of the themes in this well-written first book in the series.
My very first Rachel Caine book, Stillhouse Lake was a wonderful surprise for me. A suspenseful and chilling story about the wife and children of a serial killer trying to make a new life for themselves, this story never let up for a moment! The whole premise of the book is how could Gina Royal, now Gwen Proctor, not know what her husband had been doing? Does anyone ever really know someone else?
I listened to this on Audible and couldn’t turn it off. A true psychological thriller not for the faint of heart, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat. I thought the narrator did an excellent job as well and I gave it four stars. I am now downloading the next book in the series, Killman Creek!
read part and listened to part over audiobook, amazing read, couldn’t put it down.
I love strong female characters, and Gwen Proctor is about the strongest to come down the fictional pike. She started life as Gina Royal, a young and wimpy woman, but when she learns her husband is a sadistic serial killer and she’s accused of being his helper, she toughens up fast—not so much for herself but to protect their two children. The story begins in Wichita, which makes me suspect that the author got the idea for the story from the real life BTK story. However, that location and the fact that BTK’s family knew nothing about what he did are the only similarities. The book is written in third person for the character of Gina Royal, but it switches to the first person for Gwen Proctor, making it clear that is how Gwen thinks of Gina—as a completely different person.
I read some of the one-star reviews on Amazon with their complaints and was amazed at some of them. One complains about the “f” word being used, and I’m okay with that complaint. If it bothers you, then it’s good to mention it in a review so others who object to vulgarity won’t waste their time. But several also questioned how a woman could be so stupid as to live with a man for several years and never go in the garage that he’s locked her out of. All I can say is I’m happy for those people that they’ve never experienced a psychologically abusive significant other. They are out there, and young women especially can easily fall under their control.
I’ve just got one warning for anyone considering reading this book—if you’ve got a lot of important things going on in your life that demand your time right now, wait to start Stillhouse Lake because you won’t want to put it down. It’s a great start to the series. I’ve read the next two, and it only gets better.
What a story! It grabs you from the first pages and pulls you along at top speed, with a couple of rest stops on the way, right to the nail-biting finish.
I loved Gwen, Lanny and Connor, each trying to get over the shock of being part of the family of a serial killer while fighting to survive at the same time. The hostility towards them, the internet trolls, the hate being spewed out, is all so believable in this day and age, a sad sign of our times.
The setting, the narrative, the characters and the writing style all pull you in, keeping you turning the pages until the end. The story does finish, although it’s clear there’s much more to come. I’ve already started book #2 to see what happens next! Highly recommend!