The Lake

 Book 81 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from November 14 - 16

The Lake by Natasha Preston

published 2021

Summary (via the book jacket)

Esme and Kayla once were campers at Camp Pine Lake. Now they're back as counselors-in-training. Esme loves the little girls in her cabin and thinks it's funny how scared they are of everything - the woods, the bugs, the boys...even swimming in the lake. It reminds her of how she and Kayla used to be. Before...

Because Esme and Kayla did something terrible when they were campers. Something they've kept a secret all these years. They vow that this summer will be awesome. Two months of sun, s'mores, and flirting with the cute boy counselors. But then they get a message:

THE LAKE NEVER FORGETS.

The secret they've kept buried for so many years is about to resurface.

My Opinion

4 stars

I picked this book out in March from a bookstore while visiting my daughter at college.  It felt basic but also very readable.  I keep starting sentences and then deleting them because I want to talk about the book with someone who has read it but can't say anything to those who haven't.  

I gave it 4 stars because of how quickly I read it and how shocked I was by the end but I also recognize this is an entirely subjective 4 stars.  If I start to think about it and pull at the threads of plot developments it would unravel with questions so I'll just let it be.  It may not stand up to scrutiny but it was a great ride.