It Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson

Harper Reed Prescott returns home after being gone for over 20 years. She is now the heir to the family’s Victorian mansion and the private island it sits on. Sounds like a dream come true – right?

Wrong – so very wrong.

Over 20 years ago, Harper’s grandmother died suspiciously while in her care. On that very same night, her boyfriend, Chase also went missing. His body was never found. Chase’s mom, Cynthia, always hated Harper and blamed her for Chase’s disappearance. People whispered about her – pointing accusing fingers. She left. Now she’s back to take care of her estate.

The 3 story mansion is in disrepair. The caretaker’s cottage is decayed. The walls are faded, wallpaper peeling, broken tiles. Two huge creepy gargoyles guard the entrance. Her family home now has serious shades of a Stephen King novel. She’s tempted to sell it and be done with it all.

But something nags at her. Maybe she should consider rebuilding her life here on the estate. But more importantly, maybe now IS the time to lay those rumors to rest by finding out the truth.

What she finds shocks her. Chase’s mother, Cynthia, seems to be descending into madness brought on by the loss of her son. Chase’s dad passed several years ago from an accidental drowning. Harper’s own mother was found floating in the lake, also an accidental drowning.

The longer she stays, the more she realizes too many people around her died before their time. The lake has claimed multiple lives over the years, and all paths seem to lead back to the disappearance of Chase. Even Chase’s best friend, Rand, now a cop, knows something. But he’s gone silent.

Harper and Chase were just teenagers the night he disappeared. That night Harper snuck out of the house to secretly meet Chase on the dock where he’d be waiting for her on his boat. But the boat was empty, no sign of Chase. Did he fall overboard and drown? Was he ever even there? He was young, tough – did he mess with the wrong guy and become a victim of foul play?

Chase’s disappearance affected so many lives not just in the past, but twenty years into the future. Suicide, murder and random accidental deaths. The lake “knows,” but just like Rand, has gone silent.

As Harper begins to put all the pieces together, someone is trying to scare her. Someone is taunting her. Someone wants her “gone!” But everything happening makes her more determined than ever to find out the truth about Chase. Is he dead or alive? She’s not leaving until she finds out.

It Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson is a mesmerizing mystery is hard to put down. Yes, the truth will set you free, but at what cost?

A copy of this book and cover photo were provided by Kensington Publishing.