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Charlie Tyler

The Cry of the Lake Kindle Edition

by Charlie Tyler (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

792 ratings

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A gruesome discovery unravels a dark trail of murder and madness

A six-year-old girl sneaks out of bed to capture a mermaid but instead discovers a dead body. Terrified and unable to make sense of what she sees, she locks the vision deep inside her mind.

Ten years later, Lily is introduced to the charismatic Flo and they become best friends. But Lily is guilt-ridden – she is hiding a terrible secret which has the power to destroy both their lives.

When Flo’s father is accused of killing a schoolgirl, the horrors of Lily’s past come bubbling to the surface. Lily knows that, whatever the consequences, she has to make things right. She must go back to the events of her childhood and face what happened at the boat house all those years ago.

Can Lily and Flo discover what is hiding in the murky waters of the lake before the killer strikes again?

Print length

263 pages
Language

English
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On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

July 21, 2020
File size

465 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

'A spryly written murder tale unafraid to take risks' - Kirkus ReviewsWinner of The Coffee Pot Book Club, Debut Novel of the Year Award 2020 The Coffee Pot Book Club - Highly Recommended ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a novel that is an absolute delight for readers of quality fiction - Mary Anne Yarde BestThrillers.com An unforgettable small town crime thriller by one of the genre's most exciting new voices. Reader Views A debut murder mystery that bristles with psychological and mystical twists.Read Freely Winner of December 2020 Book of the Month By the time you close the final page you feel as if you've been holding your breath for half an hour with your hands balled into tense fists.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I would highly recommend this for lovers of psychological thrillers - Jo Fenton, international bestselling author ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ There's so much to enjoy; multiple POV narrators, suspense and mayhem. This is an impressive debut and I look forward to seeing what the author has in store next - thebookloversboudoir.wordpress.com @pscottwriter ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [Grace] is one of the most chilling characters I have come across in a book - cookiebiscuit.co.uk @cookiebiscuit ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Cry of the Lake is a delicious mystery to get to grips with. It's written in a dark and twisty manner that keeps you captivated throughout - honestmamreader.wordpress @honestmamreader

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B088PWPMPT
Publisher ‏ : ‎ darkstroke books (July 21, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 21, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 465 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 263 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #968,454 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #849 in Ghost Suspense
- #995 in Kidnapping Crime Fiction
- #1,035 in British Horror Fiction

Customer Reviews:
792 ratings

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Charlie Tyler

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Charlie signed with Darkstroke Books in May 2020 and The Cry of the Lake is her debut novel.

Charlie lives in the UK and is very much a morning person. In fact, she likes nothing more than committing a fictional murder before her first coffee of the day. She studied Theology at Worcester College, Oxford and now lives in a Leicestershire village with her husband, three teenagers, golden retriever and tortoise.

She is currently working on her next novel 'The Serpent Noose'. A dead body is found down a sealed up priest hole within the grounds of Collyhurst Convent; a sixth-form boarding school for girls run by nuns. It is the charred remains of Mother Agnes who went missing ten years ago and is found with an emerald cross stuffed inside her jaw. DS Cally Simmonds is sent in, undercover, to investigate. She must puzzle her way through well-dressed scarecrows, bonfires, emerald crosses and fallen oak trees before she breaks the wall of silence and discovers exactly why Agnes was killed and by whom.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5

792 global ratings

5 star		45%
4 star		23%
3 star		20%
2 star		9%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Teresa Collins

What a confusing beginning

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 8, 2021

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I am really, really torn about how to rate this book. On the one hand, it is a very engrossing thriller. On the other...oh my stars what a confusing book!!! For the longest time, (maybe the first half) I felt like I had started in the middle of the book and I had no clue what was going on at all! I was so tempted to pack it in and give up, but I'm so glad I stuck with it because it was an amazing story. I know a few other reviewers were put off by each chapter being told from the point of view of a different character, but because the timeline wasn't interrupted and the characters appeared in consistent order (Lily, Jo, then Grace) it wasn't too bothersome for me. I just made sure I checked the title of each chapter so that I knew for sure who was telling the story at that point. I will say one thing for Ms. Tyler, she can create characters that her readers love to hate. Some very despicable characters inhabit the pages of this book, but luckily there are many more great characters than bad ones.

I highly recommend this book if you can stick with it and try to ignore the fact that you are sure you have no clue what's going on. It will all become clear and it will be worth the momentary confusion.

14 people found this helpful

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SisbroMom

Hang in there because it’s worth it.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 16, 2022

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The negative reviews for this book are mostly because those readers gave up too soon. The farther you get in the book the more it makes sense. It is like a puzzle where you don’t know the picture but the more puzzle pieces that fall into place the clearer the picture becomes. If you like psychological thrillers in general, this book is quite satisfying in the end.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 20, 2022

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I found the beginning of this book confusing, which is why I'm giving it four stars instead of five. I don't know why I kept reading, possibly because it had so many good reviews. I'm glad I did. As the story evolved and I discovered what was happening, I kept thinking things couldn't get any worse, then they did. Tyler drew a great roadmap of the journey into insanity.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 3, 2022

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This story was a good psychological thriller. I found it hard to follow though. Sometimes you weren't sure who was who. It had a good ending though.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 7, 2021

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The Cry of the Lake is a mystery, a thriller and a suspense novel set in English “cozy” locales all rolled together in a diabolical package. The tale begins dramatically as the reader is dropped right into a murder cover-up. Then it rolls out a twisted cast of characters that all bring their various and separate issues to the plate. This is conveyed through three different narrators’ perspectives and is a lot to juggle. But juggling seems to be Charlie Tyler’s specialty as she masterfully guides the reader through all the turns and intricacies in this very clever plot.

There is so much to admire here from the tautly paced plotlines to the evocative details to the excellent writing. But what I am most drawn to (and in awe of) is the stellar characterization. I love the two teen heroines and their lingo feels so true to life for that age group. Also, in the end, I actually felt sympathy for the unbelievably horrid monster of a villain/murderess. To me, this is a true sign that Tyler has done her job as a writer in being able to evoke that. Five stars! (Wish I could give it six!)

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 2, 2022

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This book was quite unlike anything I have ever read. It definitely had twist and turns. There were a couple of times when I felt it was dragging along but overall it was a great read.

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Shirley in Georgia

Seriously dark, creepy, twisted and captivating!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 30, 2021

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Some reviewers found the different characters confusing. I understand where they’re coming from, but I wasn’t confused. There are two characters who changed their identity to hide in plain sight and you need to pay attention when it’s explained. The story is told by 3 characters....Lily, the main character.....Grace, Lily’s mother, and Flo, Lily’s best friend. I found this story mesmerizing. It was dark and twisted, wrapped around this loving, loyal friendship between two teens. Grace was seemingly normal on the outside but was super scary bad on the inside, teetering on the edge of psychopathy until she fell off head first.
There are only a few characters.....all cleverly intertwined. The book is fresh and entertaining. There was a short walk down a supernatural path. A little out there for some, I’m sure, but this IS a thriller and I thought it was a nice twist in the plot. My recommendation would be READ THIS BOOK, but pay attention and slow down if you get confused. Make sure you understand what you just read before moving on (some things are subtle). The ending was cool!

One person found this helpful

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Haunted Reader

Exceptional debut psychological horror

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 3, 2020

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What an exceptional debut novel! I read it in one session, totally entranced, overlooking sleeping and eating. SO very twisted, this is real psychological horror at its finest (think Henry James). One never knows what is truth, what is reality, what is deceptive illusion, or what is one's own mind clouding the issues. There are so many mysteries and revelations; I could delightfully reread right away! Hold your breath and turn off the phone, lock the doors and sink into a morass of the psyche.

6 people found this helpful

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HelenMK

You Can Judge a Book by Its Cover

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 24, 2020

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Even before opening The Cry of the Lake, I felt a thrill of anticipation. Why? Because it has a standout cover. The kind of cover that summons you to click ‘buy now’ on Amazon, or reach for it on a bookseller’s display table.

But you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, right? Bear with me and I’ll try to explain. The cover has a dark blue background with a floral pattern in a lighter shade of forget-me-not blue snaking across it, a bit like vintage wallpaper. It’s the kind of cover I’ve seen on books like The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry; a cover that says to me ‘literary fiction’. But take a closer look. I have terrible eyesight and didn’t see it at first but, lurking beneath the chintzy weave is something far more chilling: a human skull. Now I know I can expect a thriller (which The Cry of the Lake most definitely is) and that it will be written in a literary style. That could be a heavy burden of expectation for a book. But Tyler pulls it off with great finesse.

The Cry of the Lake grips from the first page where we meet Grace and Lily, two of the main characters, calmly wrapping up a corpse with packing tape before dumping it in the lake. Story questions race through your mind. Who are these people, why are they doing this, who is the victim and why did they kill her? And why is the author revealing so much information so soon? But this is a psychological thriller and the mystery is not so much about the ‘who dunnit’ as the ‘why dunnit’ and this provides plenty of page-turning reading.

In The Cry of the Lake very little is above the surface. All is murky and buried in the past and the novel explores themes of identity and reinvention, notably the identities of central characters, Grace and Lily, which are especially slippery. The third narrator, Flo, is Lily’s school friend and, when the story opens, Grace is in a relationship with her father, Tom.

Seventeen year old, Lily is an elective mute and, while her condition is rooted in past trauma, it gives her a small degree of protection because no one is sure how much she understands about what’s really going on. There are some dark and twisted incidents in the opening chapters as we explore the complexities in the relationship between Grace, Lily, Flo and Tom, and the local police officer, Annie, who just happens to be Tom’s ex-girlfriend. Prepare for some graphic details and gross, fishy smells. Just as you think you know where the plot is headed, a new set of characters from the past, notably the sinister Uncle Frank, are introduced. As the past is uncovered, the pace picks up and violence erupts. No one is safe.

The Cry of the Lake is a well-written, twisty debut with some unusual themes and a great sense of place. Highly recommended.

2 people found this helpful

Lynda Kelly

I Didn't Get It

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 3, 2021

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This started with a great deal of promise but for me it descended into the realms of unbelievability so I packed it in at 28%. Quite peculiar and too far-fetched for my liking. It also wasn't what I was expecting, either, as it bore little relation to the synopsis we'd been given.
It was really baffling at the beginning as well, trying to figure out who Grace was and how she is related to Lily.....nothing is very clear and just more puzzles are thrown in without really explaining the last one. If I'd been enjoying it more no doubt all would become clear, but I was annoyed that it wasn't sticking to the original description deep-down. I did wonder about the chlorine that was mentioned a couple of times as well.......odd. As was the strange aside when Tom and Grace stayed together one night....all little remarks that just confused the reader too much, I thought. I reached the juncture where some cutting was involved and I'd seen enough......it was all a bit too bonkers for my tastes.
She also has a problem using punctuation and this always manages to get my back up. I think may authors these days consider it an unimportant addition, since so many people choose to communicate in text-speak, but this is the wrong assumption to be making.
There are missed question marks, view-master and facebook should be capitalised, and many, many times she refuses to use commas !! As in this sentence, "You do the champers, darling and Lily you hand out the plates please" which loses a couple, or "Sandwich anyone ?" also needing one.
I'll be interested now to read what other people think of this book now I've completed my review.

Beyond The Books

Brilliant book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 25, 2021

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The Cry Of The Lake by Charlie Tyler is a psychological thriller that is also Charlie's first published book. Well, I am glad that she published this one! I fell in love with the cover of this book immediately and hoped what was inside was just as good as the promise the cover held. I am so happy it really did, and more, if that is possible.
Lily is a young girl who chooses not to speak and Grace is her 'mum', none of them are who they say they are. The book opens with a murder and we clearly know who has done it, but the question is why? As the story unfolds, the treachery is unbearable as the aim is to frame an innocent man for murder. The secrets and lies that come to light are like a spiders web, all spun together and make one extremely large and creepy, horrific story.
I really loved Lily, I felt her every pain and sorrow.She is harangued by Grace at every turn and Grace is such an unlikeable woman, selfish, cold and jealous. I wanted to sweep Lily up and bring her home away from the cruelty of Grace. Even knowing Grace's dark, sad past didn't raise too much empathy within me, as I was horrified at the things she took out on Lily. That takes a cold, hard person, as you will discover when you read the book.
A fast paced story beautifully told with heartbeaking detail. A book I really devoured.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for allowing me to be a part of this haunting novels Blog Tour today.

Bookmarked Reviews

The edge of your seat psychological thriller

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 30, 2020

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This is one of those edge-of-your-seat psychological thrillers. Once you start reading, you find yourself instantly immersed in a tale of intense - almost insane - vengeance, distorted truths and deeply buried, traumatic past. You have to keep going deeper and deeper, until you're totally absorbed by the story.

The narrative is powered by three different perspectives: Grace, Lilly and Flo. Grace and Lilly are sisters, but for reason which are revealed later in the story they pass themselves off as mother and daughter. It is primarily Grace who adopts this new, alien to her psyche personality to ensnare Tom, a man the two sisters seem to have an unfinished business with. He is the father of Flo, the third narrator.

At the outset, you cannot comprehend why anyone would want to destroy such a nice, kind man as Tom. You instinctively loathe the sinister, duplicitous - and murderous - impostors who have snaked their way into his and Flo's perfect family life. Lilly is the weaker of the two, more likely to crumble under pressure. Grace seems unstoppable in her mission of hatred. Slowly, people from their past enter the scene and revelations are made to shed some light on her motives. At times, it makes for a disturbing reading: abuse, self-harm feature among other difficult themes. A great read.

One person found this helpful

Karla

A compelling debut novel

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 21, 2020

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Confession here - at first I didn't think I was going to enjoy this book because I was a bit bewildered by the different characters but that was probably my fault because I started reading it late at night. I persevered because I could see that the book was beautifully written (even though I wasn't sure what was going on) and then, the story began to unfold and I was hooked. The book is told from the perspectives of Lily, Grace and Flo and as each narrator takes over, the intricacies of the plot are unfolded, little by little, as the author teases the reader with each new development. The plot twists and turns inviting you, at first, to hate the murderer but then eventually feeling only sadness and compassion for her as it becomes clear that one truly evil individual shaped her life and moulded her into what she became. A very well constructed and compelling debut novel which has left me wanting to read more by this author.

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