It Happened on the Lake

By: Lisa Jackson

Narrated by: Elisabeth Ashby

In an intense, twisty, Hitchcockian standalone spin on Rear Window from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson, a woman returns to the Oregon town where a nightmare unfolded 20 years ago—and is waiting to engulf her again. For fans of J.T. Ellison, Paula Hawkins, Karin Slaughter, and Riley Sager.

The huge Victorian house on Lake Twilight belongs to Harper Reed Prescott, as does the private island on which it sits. Harper wants little to do with either. Twenty years ago, Harper’s grandmother died suspiciously while in her care, on the same night that Harper’s boyfriend disappeared. His body was never found, and no charges were filed. But the rumors haven’t faded. There have been other deaths, other accidents. All revolving around Harper and her family.

Now Harper’s marriage is over, her college-age daughter is estranged, and Harper just wants to sell the property and make a fresh start. Except returning to the lake has stirred everything up again. Whispers. Memories. And the persistent feeling that, as she gazes out at the houses across the water, she’s being watched in turn.

The whole town has always thought Harper has something to hide, and they’re right. But she might have even more to fear . . .

©2025 Lisa Jackson, LLC. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Kept me guessing!

I kept trying to guess and predict what was going to happen but I was wrong most of the time. Because of that I found the book to be very entertaining. It is a rather slow burn mystery but there is a great amount of tension that kept it going for me. I have been waiting for a mystery book to hook me for a bit so I'm happy I finally found one to fit the bill

I enjoyed the multiple POV and time jumps between past and present.
Harper has had a good amount of deaths surrounding her; her grandfather, brother, mother, grandmother and her boyfriend had disappeared but he is presumed dead.

Thriller!

I always enjoy her work but this book really ratchets up the suspense and kept me on edge. I strongly encourage everyone to read this book.

Underrated

Packed with twists and turns—I was sure I had it all figured out, but the story still managed to completely catch me off guard (which I absolutely love). And the bold move of saving all the juiciest reveals for the last 150 pages? Brilliant. I was literally on the edge of my seat, yelling at the book.

The lake and the Reed Mansion cast a moody, Gothic atmosphere that deepens the mystery beautifully. As the detectives peel back layers of past deaths, the plot unfolds in all the right ways. Creepy, clever, and so much fun to read.

“Life isn’t so bad. It’s just exactly what you make it.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It was longer than it should be

It’s a good book but it was much too long. I found it hard to find a character that I really liked very much. Well I did like the grandmother. It was mostly predictable except one thing did surprise me. It’s worth the credit and listening to.

wondering who was the killer

I enjoyed listening and trying to figure out the storyline. Who was the killer.