Audiobook Review – Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake, Book 1) by Rachel Caine , Narrated by Emily Sutton-Smith (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Length: 10 hours and 4 minutes
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Release Date: July 01, 2017
ASIN : B072J4KZM6
Stand Alone or Series: 1`st book in the Stillhouse Lake series
Source: Borrowed audiobook and ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars
“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. 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.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Stillhouse Lake series. There are five books in this series and likely will not be more since Caine passed away in November of 2020. I borrowed a copy of this book (ebook and audiobook) through Kindle Unlimited.
Audiobook (4/5): I listened to most of this book on audiobook (the first 80% or s0), I got so sucked into the story I read the last 20% on my Kindle because I read faster than I listen. The narrator did an excellent job on this book and I really enjoyed the narration. The narrator does speak pretty slowly, so I ended up listening to this at 1.2x speed on audible. If you enjoy listening to audiobooks this is one I would recommend, it was very well done.
Story (4/5): This story was intense, heartbreaking, and terrifying to me. You learn in the prologue that Gina is a typical Midwestern housewife who finds out her husband is a serial killer and gets caught up in the case when a neighbor says that Gina knew what was going on (she did not). She has two young kids at the time; her and her kids end up fleeing for their lives after the victim’s families (and others) decide that, despite her acquittal, she should have been guilty. These people are determined to take her husband’s guilt out on her and her kids. After living on the run for many years she has finally decides to stay at her current location and stop running because her now preteen-aged children need more stability and friends. Of course this is when the past comes back to haunt her.
This is an intense story that was a bit of an uncomfortable read for me. I love Rachel Caine as a writer (especially her Great Library series) but find serial killer stories terrifying. However, this isn’t as much about the actual serial killer acts as it is about Gina/Gwen trying to protect her kids and live a stable life. Don’t get me wrong, I was still terrified at parts but it was also a very well done story. The story did start a bit slow for me and takes some time to build but the last half of it is non-stop-edge-of-your-seat type of action and I COULD NOT put it down.
Characters (4/5): The characters in here are amazing and complex and I loved trying to figure out who was lying and who wasn’t, who was guilty and who wasn’t. There is a very heavy psychological aspect to this story which I enjoyed. I love Gina/Gwen and her fierceness about protecting her children and watching how she gets through each day with the intense paranoia she’s developed. I did think a bit too much time was spent on Gwen’s own internal dialogue and that some of her thoughts and feelings were over-explained. I loved her kids too, even though my heart broke for them over and over throughout the story. I also thought that a lot of the darkness in this story was well balanced by some of the intriguing and determined side characters who end up helping Gina and her family.
Setting (4/5): Stillhouse lake was a wonderful setting. The vibe of this small lakeside town is captured really well here. For most of the book I actually felt like I WAS in Stillhouse Lake. It is a peaceful, yet eerie setting that fits the tone of the story perfectly.
Writing Style (4/5): This was mostly very well done. There were enough twists and turns here to keep me interested. I had a lot of guesses about how the story was going to go, but ended up still being surprised at the end. Things get pretty bad for Gwen and her kids, but never crossed a line that made me feel awful. The story was creepy but not unbearably scary (I am kind of a wuss about scary books). The story does start out kind of slow but the end was amazing. I also thought Gwen, her feelings, and her actions were overexplained and there was just a bit too much of this, but this got better as the story went on.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this and am glad I read this, I don’t seem to be having too many nightmares about it so I will probably read the next book in the series. This book does wrap up the main mystery but then leaves the reader with a totally new cliffhanger. I loved the setting, the complex plot, the complicated characters, and the family dynamics here. This was an intense read but different enough from other serial killer thriller reads that I found it very psychologically intriguing, and it wasn’t soooo scary that I couldn’t finish it or had to sleep with the lights on. I plan on continuing the series.
