Analise is living a quiet life, with a sensible if unrewarding job and a place of her own in a nice, peaceful little town. However, after facing some career uncertainty and health problems, her calm existence begins to unravel at a terrifying pace. Worst of all, she becomes haunted by dark dreams, which start to blur with reality. Are they really just the workings of her fevered mind, or some sort of message from her subconscious about the strange mysteries of the past that she finds herself drawn into?

The Girl from the Lake is Alexandra Simones’ debut novel, and the author does an excellent job of building a powerful sense of uncertainty and helplessness as Analise is drawn deeper into the dark cloud that begins to engulf her as the story progresses. The reader cannot help but feel for the good natured but self-doubting twenty something as she is dragged down by battles with physical and mental health even as she moves closer to uncovering the answers she seeks. The family relationships portrayed are interesting and add a solid foundation upon which the more fantastical elements of the story can be built.

I really enjoyed this book, particularly the slow build-up of tension as we first begin to learn more about the central mystery, and I would recommend it to anyone with a taste for thrillers with just an edge of darkness about them.