Reading thrillers in January was a great idea on my part. I feel like this helped to kick start 2024 to be a good reading year for me. Stillhouse Lake was one of the most recent thrillers that I added to my TBR. I thought the concept was fascinating. A woman on the run with her two kids to hide away from her serial killer ex-husband. Stillhouse Lake lived up to the hype and I can’t wait to continue on with the series.

Gwen Proctor, formerly known as Gina Royal, is seeking refuge with her two kids. Gwen finds out from a car accident that her husband, Melvin Royal, was a serial killer. Gwen was tried for being an accomplice to Melvin’s crimes but was acquitted. To give her two kids, Lanny and Connor, a normal life, Gwen is constantly moving with them, so no one can put together their identities. While living out of a lakehouse in Tennessee, a young woman’s body is pulled out of a lake. The crime is eerily similar to Melvin’s crimes. The pressure is put on Gwen to prove her innocence along with finding out who is killing these women.

I loved Gwen. She’s fierce and a fighter. Everything she does is for her kids even though it’s clear that her kids have been through a lot. In reading the book, l felt Gwen’s trauma in the way that she lives her life. She has multiple alarms and security cameras, she owns multiple firearms, and she has help in the form of an ally who creates her fake identities. I kept comparing Gwen to Laurie Strode from Halloween. Both are survivors in their own right; although their trauma has molded them into being aware of their surroundings.

While Stillhouse Lake is a murder mystery, it’s also a book about the residents of a small town. All the characters were interesting to read about. There’s Javier who owns the gun range and might be dating Kez, a police officer in the town. There’s Sam, a man who moved next to Gwen, who has an aura of mystery to him. These characters come into Gwen’s life at different moments and help to shape the direction of the story.

Stillhouse Lake thrives on being as descriptive as possible. If you’re looking for a thriller that’s a bit more fast-paced and to the point, this might not be for you. In some of the chapters, the narration provides more background into how Gwen interacts with people in the town, how Gwen’s kids start making friends, and how Gwen goes back to visit Melvin in prison. I think adding these scenes helps to enhance the plot of the book. It adds to Gwen’s character background, but also how much her kids have been through. I think it helped me, as the reader, feel more invested in the book.

Stillhouse Lake was a fascinating read. The first book in a series can be tough because it’s developing a story and creating enough intrigue for readers to want to continue on to the second book. I’m looking forward to seeing how the series develops. I rated Stillhouse Lake five stars on Goodreads.

With February underway, I will be posting my February TBR shortly with all the romance books I’ll be reading this month. It will be a nice departure to read about something a bit more light-hearted in the next few weeks.