PINTEREST
BLOGLOVIN
GOODREADS
Published in ebook and paperback : 7 September 2017
290 pages
About the book
She came at first for answers…now she’s back for you
Amateur viola player Rosie Chandler is the sole survivor of a crash which sends members of a string quartet plunging into a lake. Convinced the ‘accident’ was deliberate, but unable to recall what happened, she is determined to recover her lost memories and seeks out clinical psychologist, Dr Samantha Willerby.
But Rosie is hiding something…
Sam is immediately drawn to the tragic Rosie and as she helps her piece the fragments together, the police find disturbing new evidence which raises further questions. Why is Rosie so desperate to recover her worthless viola? And what happened to the violin lost in the crash, worth over £2m?
When Rosie insists they return to the lake to relive the fatal incident, the truth about Rosie finally creeps up on Sam – but by now, she’s seriously out of her depth…
The second book in the Dr Samantha Willerby series, Lost in the Lake is a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller that will leave you glancing over your shoulder.
My Review
I hadn’t yet read anything by A J Waines but had seen many favourable and positive reviews of previous books and when I was invited to take part in the blog tour for Lost in the Lake, I didn’t hesitate.
Lost in the Lake is book #2 in the Sam Willerby series but can easily be read as a standalone.
When Rosie Chandler, the survivor of a car crash goes to see clinical psychologist, Dr Samantha Willerby it is on the premise that she wants to regain her lost memories of the accident. Rosie was a passenger in the car which went off the road and into a lake. Her fellow passengers have yet to be found and Rosie is convinced that the crash was not an accident but is unable to remember anything.
Memory recall is an area that Sam Willerby specialises in and during their therapy sessions she gradually takes Rosie through each stage of her journey however it seems that Rosie has secrets she doesn’t want to reveal, even to Sam.
This was an intriguing and suspenseful read told from both the perspectives of Sam and Rosie. There was one particular event – quite insignificant if you weren’t paying attention but which I just KNEW would would have repercussions and I was waiting for the penny to drop. Rosie seemed to be the most unstable of characters whose personality changed depending on who she was with. She veered from being clingy and vulnerable to manipulative and at times, downright devious. She was certainly a troubled soul for reasons which later become clear. Although I could feel some sympathy for her, I didn’t trust her at all and all through the book I was trying to work out which part of her story was the truth or a lie.
Despite being a medical professional, Sam turns detective in her quest to help Rosie and becomes as keen as Rosie to know what really happened. Against this backdrop, Sam is also having issues with her own sister Miranda. They have never been particularly close but Miranda has become secretive and Sam, being the older sister is worried. Their relationship would presumably have been more fully explained in book #1 however there was enough history given here to give the reader an idea of the complex relationship between the two sisters.
As the story unfolds the tension increases and the various strands come together and lead to a chilling finale. I have mixed feelings about Sam. I thought she was perhaps a little too gullible at times for someone experienced in her profession and I admit that there were times when I became frustrated with her however I was interested enough to know more about her and will be catching up with the first book.
My thanks to the author for the review copy and for the invitation to take part in the blog tour. For a short time only, the ebook is available to download for 99p – links are below.
About the author:
AJ Waines has sold over 400,000 books worldwide and topped the UK and Australian Kindle Charts with her number one bestseller, Girl on a Train. Following fifteen years as a psychotherapist, she is now a full-time novelist with publishing deals in France, Germany, Norway, Hungary and USA (audiobooks).
Her fourth psychological thriller, No Longer Safe, sold over 30,000 copies in the first month, in thirteen countries. AJ Waines has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and The Times and ranked a Top 10 UK author on Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). She lives in Hampshire, UK, with her husband. Visit her website, blog, on Twitter, Facebook or sign up for her Newsletter.
Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon UK | Goodreads
Click below for buy links for Lost in the Lake
Amazon UK : ebook 99p for short period only
Amazon US: ebook $1.28 for short period only
