By Kelly Bridgewater
Wren Blythe has long enjoyed being among the
Northwoods, helping her father with programming at a youth camp. But when a
little girl in the area goes missing, an all-out search ensues, reviving the
decades-old campfire story of Ava Coons, the murderess, who still roams the
woods. Joining the search, Wren stumbles upon the Coons cabin ruins and a
rotting porcelain doll. But even more terrifying is seeing her name etched on
the doll's foot like a sinister omen.
In 1930, Ava Coons has spent the last ten years
carrying the mantle of mystery since she emerged from the forest as an
eight-year-old girl, spattered with blood, dragging a logger's axe. She has
accepted she'll never remember what happened to her family. When a member of
the town of Tempter's Creek is murdered, rumors spread that Ava's secret is
more malicious than previously imagined.
Both women discover that to save the innocent,
they must face an insidious evil.
My
Thoughts:
The
Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright is all the
creep factor with the cleanliness of a good story. I love how she started the
story like kids sitting around a campfire learning about Ava Coons. It was
interesting. Right away, I wanted to know what happened to Ava’s family. Did
she kill them? Did someone else kill them? I was intrigued and kept flipping
through the pages. I could not put the story down. Of course, this story is a
time-slip novel, so readers have two timelines to adjust to. I have heard that
some readers have a hard time with keeping the two eras correct in the
imagination as the story moves from chapter to chapter. With Wright’s stories,
I do not, personally, have this problem. Most time-slip novels, I usually favor
one time period over the other, but in The
Souls of Lost Lake, I actually enjoyed both time periods. The past with Ava
Coons ties nicely with Wren in the present. One of my favorite elements is
Wright’s ability to craft a foggy lake with the possibly of dead bodies in the
lake and a burnt-out cabin with a hidden cellar. The wording sets the tone.
Nothing too graphic, but her word choices make goosebumps raise on the arms. If
readers are interested in a good spooky story without all the blood and graphic
details, then this is a book to pick up. I will definitely be owning this novel.
I am glad that the world of Christian publishing is making a name for itself in
the spooky genre, then the simple, play-it-safe romantic suspense novels. Not
that there is anything wrong with them. I do read a lot of romantic suspense
novels too. Anyways, I highly recommend readers who enjoy to be a little scared
when reading but enjoy novels that must be read in one sitting to pick this
book up.
I received a complimentary copy of The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo
Wright from Bethany House Publishing,
but the opinions stated are all my own.
Purchase The Souls of Lost Lake
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