Book Review: In the Shadow of Lakecrest

In the Shadow of Lakecrest

By: Elizabeth Blackwell

Published By: Lake Union Publishing

Publication Date: February 1, 2017

Page Count: 282

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: Kindly Provided by Publisher

Adult - Mystery, Historical Fiction

Elizabeth Blackwell's novel, In the Shadow of Lakecrest, is a great mystery with many surprising twists. It begins with Kate Moore who meets the handsome Matthew Lemont on an ocean liner while she's a nanny for another family. But Matthew finds Kate attractive and very different from the society girls who have been searching him out. Once off the ship, they end up in a whirlwind romance and elope. 

 Matthew's overbearing mother, Hannah, is not pleased with their marriage and tries to pay Kate off to leave Matthew. But she turns Hannah down and decides to stick by Matthew. They end up moving into Lakecrest, which is the Lemont family estate. Kate is not happy about this arrangement, but Matthew insists on it. 

What follows from there is a story woven of mystery, mental illness, and a possible murder. There are many secrets in the Lemont Family and Kate is determined to find out what they are. However, it turns out there is so much so does not know. 

 One of the things I really enjoyed about this story was that I never knew who I could trust. Just when I thought someone was believable, it turned out I was wrong, or vice versa. It made the ending all the more intriguing for me. The ending was actually quite surprising! 

 This is the first novel I've read by Elizabeth Blackwell, but it probably won't be the last. Highly recommended for those who love mysteries and historical fiction!

Summary:

The year is 1928. Kate Moore is looking for a way out of the poverty and violence of her childhood. When a chance encounter on a transatlantic ocean liner brings her face-to-face with the handsome heir to a Chicago fortune, she thinks she may have found her escape—as long as she can keep her past concealed.

After exchanging wedding vows, Kate quickly discovers that something isn’t quite right with her husband—or her new family. As Mrs. Matthew Lemont, she must contend with her husband’s disturbing past, his domineering mother, and his overly close sister. Isolated at Lakecrest, the sprawling, secluded Lemont estate, she searches desperately for clues to Matthew’s terrors, which she suspects stem from the mysterious disappearance of his aunt years before. As Kate stumbles deeper into a maze of family secrets, she begins to question everyone’s sanity—especially her own. But just how far will she go to break free of this family’s twisted past?