Into the Lake by LK Chapman
A whirlwind romance. A drowned girl. And somebody wants vengeance.
When Natalie reluctantly agrees to attend her school reunion, she hits it off with troubled former classmate Josh and finds herself swept up in a whirlwind romance with him.
Then she receives the messages:
Josh Sparkes is a murderer.
Why don’t you ask him what happened all those years ago?
Ask him about Mikayla.
Ask him about the lake.
As abusive messages keep on coming and shocking secrets are exposed, Natalie has to put herself in the path of a killer to get to the truth. Can she discover what really happened, or will she be next?
Into The Lake is a twisty, thoughtful and compelling read where dark and difficult pasts are laid bare as an eighteen year old mystery refuses to stay buried.
From the author of the nail-biting No Escape trilogy and suspenseful and shocking page-turner The Stories She Tells.
About the author.
LK Chapman writes psychological thrillers and suspense. She published her first psychological novel, Anything for Him, in 2016.
A chilling thriller about obsession, jealousy and revenge, Anything for Him has now become a three book series with two sequels (Found You & Never Let Her Go) creating the No Escape trilogy.
She has also written two standalone psychological novels, The Stories She Tells, and Into The Lake.
LK Chapman’s books are inspired by her studies in psychology, and she has always been fascinated by the strength, peculiarities and extremes of human nature.
As well as working as a psychologist, Chapman volunteered for mental health charity Mind before starting her journey as an author. It has been an incredibly exciting journey and she is so grateful for the support of her readers!
www.lkchapman.com
Twitter @LK_Chapman
As part of the blog tour I have an extract of the book to share with you.
Into The Lake by LK Chapman
Natalie
1
February sunlight filtered through the front window of Verity’s Events, illuminating the small wedding and party supplies shop and its treasure trove of sparkling contents, from table decorations and invitations to confetti and artificial flowers. Though the shop was pretty to look at, and many people popped in to admire the objects inside, the real heart of the business lay in planning the weddings and parties. At a round table by the window, Natalie sat and quietly read through the notes from the meeting they’d just had with a bride-to-be. Verity, beside her, tapped the paper. ‘This is my favourite bit,’ she said. ‘A sushi bar at a wedding. That’s one request I haven't had before.’
Natalie smiled. ‘Sounds fun though.’
Verity stretched out her arms and then stifled a yawn. As always, the meeting had been long and in depth; Verity had an eye for detail and an incredible skill at drawing out exactly what the clients wanted, even if they didn't quite know themselves. It was fascinating to watch her work, and Natalie hoped that after a couple of years helping her out in the shop, some of her sister-in-law’s skill would have rubbed off on her.
‘Valentine’s day soon,’ Verity said, as she pushed her unruly chestnut hair away from her face. ‘Have you got any plans?’ She asked the question casually enough, but her eyes glinted mischievously. She was hoping for a revelation, or at least a piece of juicy gossip. Natalie had nothing to offer. ‘Yoga class, then an early night with a book,’ she said.
She’d meant the words to come out defiantly – to show she didn’t mind her lack of plans – but they came out sounding hollow. Did she mind? She’d had plenty of experience spending Valentine’s day alone, and it didn’t usually bother her. Anticipating that Verity would start matchmaking, Natalie jumped in first to stop her. ‘What about you and Rob?’ she asked.
‘We’ll probably just have a quiet one. Isabelle and Daisy will be at home, and I don’t fancy our chances of finding a babysitter–’
‘I’ll look after them,’ Natalie said quickly.
Verity’s eyes lit up. ‘You wouldn’t mind?’
‘Of course not! Spending the evening with my lovely nieces, or a night on my own – there’s no competition.’
Verity’s face broke into a wide grin. She had the biggest, most infectious smile of anybody Natalie knew, and a dimple appeared in her right cheek, her hazel eyes twinkling. ‘Thank you, Nat. I really appreciate it.’
Natalie nodded, but her mind had drifted elsewhere. Valentine’s day was the least of her concerns, after the invitation she’d received the day before.
‘Now, are you going to tell me what’s been distracting you all day?’ Verity asked. Natalie blinked, startled. Was it that obvious? Verity was leaning forward eagerly, leaving Natalie in no doubt that she wouldn’t let it go without a satisfactory answer.
‘I can’t get anything past you, can I?’ she said.
‘Nope. And it’s not like you to be so quiet.’
Before Natalie could answer her, the door opened with a gust of cold air and a young couple came in.
‘Verity, you have to help us,’ the bride said, her cheeks pink with emotion. ‘After our meeting with you yesterday, we’ve had so much to think about and we were up until midnight talking about wedding favours. What do people usually do? We want something different, but not too different, and what do we give the kids that are coming? We don’t want hundreds of kids running about on a sugar high, but what else do kids like?’ She paused for a quick breath. ‘Also, what do favours go in?’ she continued. ‘I like the idea of having little organza bags tied up with some nice ribbon, but he–’ she nudged her fiancé ‘–says that they would look naff.’ Abruptly she ran out of steam, and looked at them both helplessly.
Quickly getting to her feet, Natalie helped Verity take control of the situation and before long they became embroiled in a lengthy discussion about favours and table decorations. It wasn’t until the end of the day, as they closed up the shop, that Natalie found a chance to speak to Verity again.
‘I got an invite to a school reunion,’ she said, showing her the message on her phone. ‘It’s nothing too formal, just a Saturday afternoon in August, so people can bring their families.’
‘I’m waiting for the but,’ Verity said.
‘Well, it’s one thing just going to a party,’ Natalie said. ‘I rarely turn down a chance to do that. But a party where everyone knew you as a teenager? I didn’t even think people had school reunions nowadays – I’ve never heard of anyone else going to one. It’s not even a proper anniversary of when we graduated or anything.’
‘Who’s organising it?’
‘They’ve set up a website for the event,’ Natalie said. ‘It says a bit more about it on there. There were these four girls – I used to hang out with them a bit – they were good friends and all got together recently, like a little mini reunion. They started wondering how everyone else was getting on, and, well, here we are.’
‘I’ve never known you to be worried about a party.’
Natalie read the invitation again. Verity was right, of course, she would normally be in her element. And there was nothing particularly threatening about the event itself – a big marquee in a country park on the edge of town, plenty of space for children to play, barbecue food, lawn games, and a chance to see some old photos and reminisce. What was there not to like? Yet she was filled with unease about the whole thing, and the reason was, quite literally, written all over her face.
Verity touched her arm gently. ‘Is this about the accident?’ she asked. ‘About your injuries?’
