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In the Shadow of Lakecrest Kindle Edition

by Elizabeth Blackwell (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 12,479 ratings
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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?

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  1. Print length
    284 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Lake Union Publishing
  5. Publication date
    February 1, 2017
  6. File size
    1720 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“…expertly crafted…The simmering undercurrent that something ominous is about to happen runs throughout the entire novel, resulting in a true page-turner.” —Publishers Weekly

“Elizabeth Blackwell has created incredible, dynamic characters, and will hold readers enthralled… America in the '40s - fashion, culture, and news of the day all become the backdrop for Kate's story. Impeccably written… put this on your reading list…”—Long and Short Reviews

“[In the Shadow of Lakecrest] is a spooky story with a gothic feel and deep, shadowy secrets that come trickling out of the floorboards… an excellent mystery and gothic story well worth a read."—Historical Novel Society

“Compelling... Blackwell ably melds romance and mystery into an alluring American historical novel."—Booklist

“An exquisitely crafted and consistently compelling read from cover to cover, "In the Shadow of Lakecrest" reveals author Elizabeth Blackwell as having a genuine flair for creating a truly engaging novel that will linger in the mind and memory long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf."—Midwest Book Review

"Fans of good, old-fashioned gothic romances will be delighted to discover Blackwell’s latest expertly crafted novel… Elegantly written and deftly plotted, In the Shadow of Lakecrest is a rare treat."—Reader to Reader

From the Publisher

When Kate, the plucky heroine of In the Shadow of Lakecrest, marries into a family with a wickedly sordid past, she has only an inkling of what she’s getting into. The world in the 1920s didn’t have the benefit of today’s quick Internet searches and online histories. Kate has a sense that something’s not quite right, but no proof other than her own observations and creeping sense of unease. She can’t help but notice how overly affectionate and close her husband and sister-in-law seem to be. Meanwhile, her mother-in-law is a little too interested in Kate producing an heir. Nevertheless, Kate sets her worries aside, convinced that any family is better than the one she was born into.

It’s not until her mother-in-law restricts a very pregnant Kate to the dark, dank confines of the family estate that Kate realizes she’s really in trouble. This is where the book takes a delicious turn that’s a little bit Flowers in the Attic and a little bit Rebecca. Trapped, Kate must rely on her wits to unravel the family secrets to protect what’s her own. And what she uncovers is a shocker that will surely make anyone think twice before grousing about their in-laws ever again.

- Jodi Warshaw, Editor

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01IH81XZC
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lake Union Publishing (February 1, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 1, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1720 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 284 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 12,479 ratings

About the author

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Elizabeth Blackwell

Elizabeth Blackwell

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Elizabeth Blackwell is the author of RED MISTRESS, ON A COLD DARK SEA, IN THE SHADOW OF LAKECREST and WHILE BEAUTY SLEPT. A graduate of Northwestern University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, her hobbies include reading, sleeping and road trips to places with lakes and tall trees. She lives outside Chicago with her family and piles of books she is absolutely, positively going to read someday. See what she's up to at elizabethblackwellbooks.com or follow Elizabeth Blackwell Author on Facebook.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
12,479 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Chris W.
4.0 out of 5 stars Glad I picked this one up!
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2017
Verified Purchase
I'm not usually one for historical fiction, but this one looked interesting enough to pick up for Kindle First for January. But, I do like myself a good family drama (maybe because I can actually relate on some level, to some of it), and this one looked interesting enough to pick up. No regrets at all! One of the few books recently that I've looked forward to picking up where I left off, whenever I could steal even a few minutes to get some reading in.

The book is written in first person, and we get the story through the FMC's POV.

Ms. Blackwell has painted a dark, intriguing story filled with wealthy families, family secrets, violence, and a little touch of incest (never in detail, though). Set the tone from page one all the way through until the end. I liked both the protagonists and enjoyed watching them support each other as they tried to work through their own demons. The MMC's family...well, I think a lot of us can relate to the overly close sister or domineering mother in one way or another. The writing was superb, as well as the descriptions of the scenery, and I found myself easily imagining what Lakecrest and the surrounding areas looked like, and could almost see myself right there with them. But, there wasn't so much description that it bogged the story down. It truly felt like you were in the 1920s, and could clearly see the world through her eyes.

Nobody was perfect in this story, and it was one of the things I loved about it. A nice peek into how the wealthy live and the secrets they hide, and it was nice to see it from an outsider's POV.

Just two quibbles, though. The entire mystery is pretty much unraveled in one huge infodump toward the end of the book, which is about 5-10 pages long. I find that it usually works better to weave in information. Because of this, I personally felt like the book dragged in some places, in the middle. Also, this is up for debate, the ending. While I felt like it was fitting, I do wish it was a little happier.

All in all, I'm glad I picked this one up! I absolutely fell in love with Ms. Blackwell's writing and characters, and have downloaded one of her other books, While Beauty Sleeps, onto my Kindle, and look forward to reading more of her works in the future.
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5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed this read, and would purchase this author again
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2017
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I did not read the reviews before getting this book....I usually look for my favorite reviewers to see what they thought. So: the book was evenly paced, and each surprise was a little bit larger than the one before; which, of course, keeps one reading (nosey me; wondering what will happen next). Was the books premise sound? Hmmmmmm; rich boy marries pauper, (well how many of us dreamed of that?) BUT getting the mother-in-law from hell, and some of the other "left-handed-wedding gifts; missing sister-in-law, drugs, hidden rooms...... oh just throw the entire Aggie Christie bits in, and even had I not been hooked I would have kept reading. The world went on without me during this time reading, Or so the kids say, one in particular claiming I had not fed them for hours and hours.....(if this one had opposable thumbs he could cook up some doozies, I am sure, but we all know you cannot trust the truth to come for adorable kittycats). It was an engrossing read, not a middle of the night read but engrossing. And I am glad to have given this author a go.

Now, all you left-handed folks: I am woefully left-handed and old so I have the right to use that old phrase that many will not know....a left handed compliment ; in the old days; was usually a slight, slam, a dig at the recipient and mean-spirited. Yes, I am very OLD! Do they even use this phrase any more? Who knows I live in books.
3 people found this helpful
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AmazonCustomer
3.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Shallow, Given Blackwell's Education
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2017
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I prefer to give 3 stars when I'm reasonably impressed but left wanting more. All in all, this book is harmless, not as "dark" or terribly depraved as some reviewers have warned, but some of the efforts oddly misappropriated ... the depth Blackwell goes into regarding Cecily's devotion to Greek mythology could have been better spent on setting / historical interest and social norms, songs / art / fashion of the period. Had I paid for it, I'd be miffed. But I didn't.

This book kept me turning the pages once things picked up around the 12th chapter. That said, I'm sort of vexed it was so shallow. The characters were all lacking any sympathy and I could not pick one I liked. Kate, the protagonist is calculating and in the end, a horrible person.

Blackwell graduated from Northwestern and then got her masters at Columbia J school... you'd think with that level of education, she would be more adept at fleshing out characters and throwing together a somewhat cliche ending in a tidy package in less than 3 pages. I agree with others who said it felt rushed ... I'll add "convenient" to the list. I did end up feeling a shred of sympathy for the matriarch, Hannah.

I chose the book because the manse on the cover reminded me of the grand city homes in Buffalo, NY and Detroit, MI., so I was excited to see how she would interlace history (not terribly much -- barely any mention of women's struggles or flappers more than once and no great overtones of overarching patriarchy -- no examples, really) with architecture (disappointingly light -- some of the most amazing American mansions were built amidst the Great Lakes in that era), industry, politics (who was president? What was happening in the world?) save for the one phone in the massive eponymous home.

I've read other reviews and the mentions of incest in those reviews are more inflammatory than the actual mentions and incidences of it in the book. Blackwell barely mentions sex between anyone with much more than a Catholic schoolgirl's fifth grade fumbling for the scandalous terms (which was surprising given the protagonist's ulterior motives, familial background and sociopathy foisted upon her by other reviewers and by her own admission). I definitely related to how generations of money makes people weird.

All the above aside ...

Lots of people have written about Kate's glibness and her lack of feeling and how that detracted from the book, but I want to say, that despite my frustration with Blackwell's lack of intensity / historical depth in this book -- it's written in first person, so that demands that we see things THROUGH Kate's sensibilities and limitations, so (while I defeat my own proposition...), Blackwell serves up an appropriate level of shrewdness in her Kate, but I join the chorus who wanted more...

A nice fun read, but nothing that leaves me really wowed. Could have been really great. I'll go read "Rebecca" now because lots of reviewers state this book basically plagiarized it.
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Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2023
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I really bought into this. Well written, the implication of much more to each of the characters added an air of mystery. It was more about what you didn't know, rather than what you did. Excellent.
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MountainWitch88
4.0 out of 5 stars A solid mystery
Reviewed in Australia on June 12, 2017
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Very well written and intriguing tale. However the female lead displays annoying idiosyncrasies that are difficult to get past (more than capable of lying/scheming to obtain her marriage but absolute pushover when it comes to controlling mother in law).
A good read for fans of historic drama and those who enjoy Flowers in the Attic/ Crimson Peak types.
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Aafke
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in Canada on March 24, 2017
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I did not enjoy it a great deal and found the ending bizarre.
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I OFarrell
5.0 out of 5 stars Gothic thriller romance
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2017
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When Kate comes to Lakecrest having snagged a rich husband, she arrives with a truckload of secrets. What she doesn’t realise is that Matthew’s secrets are bigger and more destructive than hers. The more she delves the harder it gets to keep her sanity and with her mother-in-law’s cruel treatment of her, she wonders if she will get out of it unscathed.
This book immediately gripped me and I appreciated the gothic romance that reminded me very much of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. This story had a very similar style of narrative and a familiar chilling danger the protagonist seems to border on. It made me nervous and I couldn’t put the book down because I had grown quite attached to Kate. The uncomfortable subjects that Blackwell touches on only add to the mystery and suspense that carry the reader through the book.
As for placing the book in a specific genre, I would classify it as a gothic thriller romance with a historical backdrop.
15 people found this helpful
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NicShef❤️Reading
5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing...
Reviewed in Australia on January 1, 2017
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Oh my what a saga... ! Is it Downtown Abbey or Flowers in the Attic?! This book asks...Is it possible to be haunted by the future?
The year is 1928. From the most innocent flirtation on a boat bound for the US... the two most unlikely pair - Matthew and Kate become acquainted...
"Why would someone like him be interested in someone like you? I had no answer. There was nothing to set me apart from the hundreds of prettier, more sophisticated girls Matthew must have met in his lifetime. I still couldn’t quite believe it myself."
Kate Moore is looking for a way out of her poverty stricken life but she can't quite believe it when the handsome heir - Matthew Lemont seems so besotted by her, despite her social standing... she thinks she may have found her escape from her tiresome existence—as long as she can keep her past concealed. But of course nothing is as it seems. The Lemonts have this motto, ‘It is done.’ It means they always get their way. Kate realises soon after moving into Lakecrest - the family manor that she has hardly escaped at all. "My life felt like the grounds of Lakecrest: trapped under a layer of frost, as lifeless as the bare trees that formed a stark tableau against the lake. "
She fears the home, the family and especially her mother-in-law - Hannah. "Hannah looks at me sometimes like she’s biding her time until the baby comes, but after that, who knows? They have this cell in the basement, and she could lock me up, anytime, without anyone knowing. She’s got all sorts of doctors in her pocket who could declare me crazy."
I simply adore our heroine, there is an ongoing theme through-out the novel of relying on herself and making her own luck, she was incredibly self determined... "I had to pretend none of that mattered. I’d risen above the miseries of my childhood because I was determined not to let my past define my future. Self-confidence was the only advantage I had." ..."I’d known, from as far back as I can remember, that I had to make my own luck. I may have come from nothing, but that wasn’t how I intended to end up. "
Elizabeth Blackwell is a story-telling genius. Her mesmerising writing weaves a spell that will enchant you. I Was delighted with this book.. it's a saga indeed...
There's something The Talented Mr Ripley about it... the facade that is so well contrived but you know something is simmering beneath, you are just not sure how sinister, or if as the reader you are imagining things between the lines, it takes a clever writer to get that balance...
"The creations of unhinged minds, designed to drive me insane..."
The ending was quite unexpected - I had to reread it 3 times to believe it.
Perfectly intriguing .. really... Great Kindle First pick of the month.
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