One Night at the Lake by Bethany Chase #bookreview #mystery

Title: One Night at the Lake

Author: Bethany Chase

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Publication Date: June 18, 2019

Page Count: 289

My rating: 3 1/2 stars

About the book:

A tragedy on a hot summer night at a lake house forever alters the lives of two best friends—and the man they both love. But the truth isn’t as simple as it appears in this intricate novel of love, friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness.

Leah has been waiting for this moment a long time: Her boyfriend, Ollie, is taking her to his family’s home on Seneca Lake for a week of lazy summer bliss, boating, and barbeque. The couple have been together four years, and Leah is convinced that Ollie is finally going to pop the question. Leah can’t wait to share the joyous news with her best friend, June, who is joining them on their getaway, and whose presence will make everything feel more real.

Seven years later, the moment June has been dreading has finally arrived: Her fiancé, Ollie, is taking her to his family’s lake house. But this is not an ordinary visit to an ordinary place; it is a house haunted by June’s long-buried memories of her lost friend Leah—and the connection that appears to remain between Leah and the man for whom June’s love is as deep as her grief.

Alternating between the two women’s vibrant voices, One Night at the Lake is an emotional novel that explores a complex tangle of friendship, loyalty, and betrayal, all driving toward one question: Can love overcome what happened on that hot summer night?

One Night at the Lake by Bethany Chase is a mystery that involves the death of a girl while on vacation at their lake house seven years before. The story alternates between the voice of Leah from the past leading to her death and June, Leah’s best friend, living with the memory of losing her friend.

Seven years earlier Leah, June and Leah’s boyfriend Ollie had all been good friends so when June needs some cheering up Leah invites her along to Seneca Lake. Leah is expecting Ollie to finally propose while away at his family’s lake house so not only does she want to cheer up June she also wants her best friend around to celebrate.

However, things did not go as planned seven years ago and June and Ollie returned from that lake without Leah who had been the glue that held the friendship together. The years went by without any contact as both dealt with their grief then one day June and Ollie met up again. Before long they were a couple and as hard as it may be they needed to return to the lake house.

Despite the tragedy happening years earlier in One Night at the Lake it was still a rather compelling read. Readers are unsure what had happened back then and how the current relationship had formed with both loving Leah so the pages flew by as the story slowing unfolded. I have to say though as much as I was enjoying the read I did kind of feel a bit let down at the end and felt it should have had more to it leaving this one at 3 1/2 stars.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online: 

Goodreads  /   Amazon

About the author:

A native of Virginia’s Blue Ridge mountains, Bethany Chase headed to Williams College for an English degree and somehow came out the other side an interior designer. The craftsmanship and creativity that surround her in the design world are a continual inspiration for her novels, which include USA Today Bestseller The One That Got Away, Results May Vary, and the forthcoming One Night at the Lake (June 2019). She lives with her husband and son in New Jersey.