Title: Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle
Publisher: Park Row
Genre: Contemporary, Domestic Mystery, Suspense
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
Charlotte didn’t know her greatest risk was saying, “I do.”
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.
Review:
Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle is a captivating domestic mystery.
Following a bit of a whirlwind romance, Charlotte and wealthy widower Paul Keller are now happily married. Despite her domestic bliss, she can never quite escape the whispers that she married him for money. She and her brother Chet lived alone with their drug-addicted mother after their father went to prison. Charlotte is deeply in love with Paul and she puts no stock in the rumors that he had anything to do with the death of his first wife, Katherine, who drowned in the lake in front of their home four years earlier.
Although Charlotte is a little troubled when she sees Paul talking with a stranger, she believes him when he denies knowing her. But when Charlotte discovers the woman’s dead body floating in the river, she begins to entertain doubts about her husband. Especially since he lies to the police then quickly leaves to locate his friend Jax, the town “crazy” who lives in the nearby woods. With Chet temporarily staying with her, Charlotte tries to find out the truth about her husband. But what will do she do once she finds the answers?
Charlotte is a smart woman in her mid-twenties. After her tumultuous, unstable and poverty stricken childhood, she vows to be nothing like her addicted, irresponsible mother. Charlotte genuinely loves Paul and while they are quite happy, she is still a little uneasy with his wealth. She is no longer accepted by her former friends nor has she found friendship in her new life. Luckily, Paul’s best friend Micah Hunt welcomes her into the fold.
After Charlotte discovers the stranger’s body, Micah is the first person she calls for help since Paul is out for his daily jog. Micah is the police chief’s son and he is a trained diver. Once the deceased has been brought to shore, life as Charlotte knows it soon ends. Despite desperately wanting to believe Paul has nothing to do with this latest death, his actions and evasions contribute to her growing suspicions. It soon becomes clear that something is going on, but Charlotte is having trouble determining exactly what that is.
Stranger in the Lake is an extremely fast-paced and clever mystery. Charlotte is a gutsy and tenacious lead protagonist with a strong moral compass. The storyline is compelling and weaves back and forth in time between present day and twenty years earlier. With a stunning turn of events, Kimberly Belle brings this riveting domestic thriller to a twist-filled conclusion.
I highly recommend this brilliant domestic mystery to readers of the genre.
