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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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.
You won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough. Dark adventure.
Draws you in from the start. Very difficult to put it down. Kept me guessing, more often than not lately I can figure out who the “bad guy” is, not the case here.
I can’t imagine in reality people being so horrible with the threats and stuff, though I know it probably does happen. I just don’t necessarily believe in the idea of guilt by association. The cliffhanger ending did have me cussing at my Kindle, but I’m glad, gives me another book to look forward to (pre-ordered Killman Creek). I’ve also found a new author to follow, thank you Kindle First!
STILLHOUSE LAKE by Rachel Caine is the first book in the Stillhouse Lake series, but not the first book by her that I have read. I have certainly been missing out on a great start to a new series. Gina Royal is a typical Midwestern housewife with a husband and two children. However, a car accident reveals that her husband had another life as a murderer of young adult women. With her ex-husband in prison, Gina has had to move and change identities multiple times due to threats from those who think she was an accessory to the murders and /or they think she and/or her children should be punished in addition to her ex-husband.
While the novel starts in Kansas, it mainly takes place in Tennessee on Stillhouse Lake where Gina is now Gwen Proctor. She, Connor, and Lanny have purchased a foreclosed house and fixed it up and are trying to live a quiet life. However, trouble has followed them to this rural setting.
The characters are compelling and someone you can root for. They felt real and three-dimensional with clear goals. However, I cannot imagine never going into a room or building on my property. That part of the initial prologue was unbelievable for me. The relationships between the characters are believable and not contrived. The stakes are high in this book making this a page turner. Most of the plot twists were believable and unexpected. Despite not being surprised by the culprit in this book, I felt this was a fantastic read. The author did a great job of world-building.
The novel is full of tension and suspense. It is disturbing and frightening. Overall, I was immediately drawn into this impactful and well-written novel. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Nail bitingly good read. Great story, lots of suspense, wonderful characters.
Well written and realistic
Wow! This is my first book by Rachel Caine and I was totally blown away. Most books, even those I love I can close my kindle when I’m exhausted and go to sleep. Not this one!She kept me on the edge of my seat all the way to the very end and then–yeah, then she has me begging to know what’s next.
Gina Royal is on the run, not from her serial killer husband who is in prison on death row, but from a group of internet trolls that believe she’s as guilty as he was. Changing her name and the names of her children she continues to hide out in small towns hoping to finally find one that feels like home.
The house on Stillhouse Lake is perfect–until the body of a young woman drifts up from the bottom of the lake. She’s been murdered–exactly as her ex-husband killed his victims. Gina prepares to run, but it’s too late. She’s on the police radar and her identity has been blown. The trolls are coming and they’re out for blood.
A fabulous 5* read which will leave you gasping.
When her husband is convicted as a psychotic serial killer, Gina Royal has to recreate a new life for herself and her children. Because Gina was arrested and tried as a possible accomplice, numerous death threats were made against both her and her children.
After several moves, and new identities, she finally finds refuge on Stillhouse Lake near a small Tennessee town as Gwen Proctor. But just as she begins to feel comfortable, a woman’s body is found in the lake, and the crime is eerily reminiscent of her husband’s crimes.
I’m usually not a fan of first-person and certainly don’t care for present tense, but this author did it right so much that I was barely aware.
The book begins with a shocking opening, and for the most part, the action is fast-paced. I started to get bogged down in a couple of chapters, but I was intrigued enough to continue.
I was able to guess a couple of things about mid-way, but it isn’t often I don’t figure out a killer’s identity before the end of a book. However, the author threw in enough twists to leave me guessing if my assumption was correct.
While there is a solution to the Stillhouse Lake murders, the overall story arc is incomplete, which left me feeling unsatisfied. I don’t care for storylines that take several books for a resolution.
I’m undecided as to whether I will purchase and read the second book of the series, as I wasn’t captivated enough to care what happens next.
I’m rating this book three stars, but if 3.5 were allowed, I would give it that.
I couldn’t put this book down!
This story takes you through the life of a wife of a serial killer, what happens to her and her children, and one mother’s never ending battle to keep her children safe. Even if that means keeping them safe from police and her ex.
Gina Royal is a suburban Wichita, Kansas, housewife whose life implodes when her husband Melvin is revealed to be a serial killer who tortured women, flayed them in the family garage, and dropped their remains into a lake.
Acquitted of the charge of being his accomplice but hounded by revenge-seekers and serial killer groupies, Gina is now Gwen Proctor, living on the run with her two kids. She relies on a shadowy hacker for false documents and safe houses.
Gwen left shrinking violet Gina far behind. She’s a Sarah Conner figure who knows how to fight, shoot, and run, not necessarily in that order. Every night she checks online for the threats that never go away, sets a million alarms, and wards off anyone or anything that gets too close.
The current safe house overlooks rural Stillhouse Lake in eastern Tennessee. Gwen practices at a gun range run by a former Marine and warily meets the neighbors, including a retired Air Force pilot named Sam Cade and friendly police officer Lancel Graham.
Her manipulative serial killer ex-husband might be on Death Row, but flayed female bodies float to the surface of Stillhouse Lake, evidence of copycat murders.
Page-turner doesn’t begin to describe the swiftness with which I read this book. Narrated by Gwen, it fairly sizzles with her desperate and forceful inner voice, as well as the primal need to protect her children.
I usually do not read this type of book, but from the first chapter I was hooked. The setting was great, the descriptions vivid, and the main characters believable. You just never knew to who to trust, who to believe or not believe. Lots of twists and turns. Anyone reading this book will enjoy it!
I borrowed this book through Kindle Unlimited last fall and finally got around to reading it. I finished it four days ago. The reason it’s taken me this long to post a review is because I’ve been totally caught up in Killman Creek, the second in the series. As soon as I finish THAT one, I expect to be moving on to the third. I see a fourth is due out the beginning of 2020, and it’s going to be really hard to wait that long.
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 that is how Gwen thinks of Gina—as a completely different person. After the beginning, you see things from Gwen’s POV as she fights to keep herself and her children safe.
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.
I had wanted to read this book for several months since I found it on Amazon. I decide to listen to the audiobook. The story was interesting, but certainly not what I expected. However, I found the story so real and more truthful than most stories you would expect. I love how the author is able to show the story of a woman made strong through tragedy and how she is able to move forward through continuous tests of strength. The story is a bit dark obviously at some points, but overall I saw it as a story about the desire for a better life and the hope things will get better. I look forward to seeing where the next one will go.
Review:
I stayed up until 3:15 a.m. to finish. This book is really good. It’s creepy, and once the sh!t started to hit the fan, it only cranked up the tension, the action, and the suspense. I enjoyed this a lot and am going to read the sequel.
I am about ten chapters into this book and wow – it’s good! It sucked me right it. I’ll keep you posted!
If you enjoy a book that keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat, this is the book for you!
Couldn’t put it down. Great plot, great characters. Loved it.
Wow!! Rachel Caine is a new author for me but wow can she write. I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat.
I enjoyed this well written suspenseful book.
Great book, keeps you reading. I am reading the second in the series now
Caine’s offering to fans of the psychological suspense genre is one to devour. Well written and engaging prose pair with dynamic and interesting characters to provide a suspenseful plot with lots of twists and turns.
The audible version is well paced and the narrator does a fantastic job of conveying the emotion of the book.
I highly recommend this first in a binge-worthy series.