#BlogTour: The Secrets Of The Lake by Liz Trenow @LizTrenow @panmacmillan @RandomTTours #TheSecretsOfTheLake #LizTrenow #RandomThingsTours #5Stars

Book Synopsis:

The Secrets of the Lake is a gripping wartime novel, by the author of The Silk Weaver, Liz Trenow.

‘Masterful storytelling, immersive locations, and characters that inhabit your heart from the first page’ – Gill Paul, author of The Secret Wife.

The war may be over, but for Molly life is still in turmoil. Uprooted from London after the death of her mother, Molly, her father and younger brother Jimmy are starting again in a quiet village in the countryside of Colchester. As summer sets in, the heat is almost as oppressive as the village gossip. Molly dreams of becoming a journalist, finding a voice in the world, but most of the time must act as Jimmy’s carer. At just ten years old he is Molly’s shadow, following her around the village as she falls under the spell of local boy Kit. Kit is clever, funny and a natural-born rebel. Rowing on the waters of the lake with him becomes Molly’s escape from domestic duty. But there is something Kit is not telling Molly.

As the village gossip starts building up with whispers against Molly’s father over missing church funds, everything Molly thought she knew is turned upside down. And on one stormy night, when she sneaks out of the house to try to put things right, Jimmy vanishes. Never to be seen again.

Decades later, Molly is an elderly woman in sheltered housing, still haunted by the disappearance of her brother. When two police officers arrive to say that the remains of a body have been found at the bottom of the lake, it seems like Molly will at long last have her answer . . .

The Secrets Of The Lake is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using one of the links below.

My Review:

The Secrets Of The Lake is an atmospheric, absorbing dual timeline read from one of my favourite authors.

As always I felt completely drawn into the story and into Molly’s life. The author’s brilliant descriptions helped put me into the story and into the sleepy village that Molly’s family go to life in. I felt I could envision the beautiful countryside and the lake so well that I could almost feel the cold water myself. The village is definitely an interesting place which seems an idyllic place to live but which quickly becomes apparent has some sinister undercurrents in it. I really enjoyed learning more about the village and getting to know the eclectic mix of villagers that live there.

Molly was a fantastic main character who I quickly grew to like and felt a great deal of sympathy with. My favourite character had to be Jimmy who was easy to fall in love with and through him it was interesting to see the attitudes of the time towards people with learning disabilities. My heart hurt to read about how awful people were towards him and how much Molly had to protect him.

Overall I thought this was a well written story that just flowed beautifully. The story is interspersed with bits of a children’s book that Molly had written for Jimmy about some of the local folklore that surrounds the village. This helped add a different quality to the book that was almost magical and made the book a fantastic read. I will be definitely be recommending this book to all fans of dual timeline historical fiction or just anyone looking for a brilliant read.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Liz Trenow is the author of several historical novels, including The Last Telegram, The Forgotten Seamstress, and The Poppy Factory. Liz’s family have been silk weavers for nearly three hundred years, and she grew up in the house next to the mill in Suffolk, England, which still operates today, weaving for top-end fashion houses and royal commissions. This unique history inspired her first two novels and her fourth novel, The Silk Weaver.

Liz is a former journalist who spent fifteen years on regional and national newspapers, and on BBC radio and television news, before turning her hand to fiction. She lives in East Anglia, UK, with her artist husband, and they have two grown-up daughters.