The Secret of the Lake by Liz Trenow
n a quiet village, a terrible secret threatens to break the surface....
The war may be over, but for Molly life is still in turmoil. Following her mother’s death, her father uproots them from London for a new start in a quiet village in the Essex countryside. Soon after their arrival, Molly and her disabled brother Jimmy befriend Eli, a reclusive WW1 veteran who tends the graves in the village churchyard. He tells them of a local myth about a dragon that lives in the nearby lake. If it is disturbed, he says, evil things will happen in the village...
The young Molly dreams of becoming a journalist and finding a voice in the world, but most of the time she has to be 10-year-old Jimmy’s carer. When she falls under the spell of a local boy, the charismatic and rebellious Kit, rowing on the waters of the lake with him becomes Molly’s escape from her domestic duties. But there’s something Kit isn’t telling Molly...
Then church funds go missing and Molly’s father, the new village vicar, falls under suspicion, while Eli’s home – an old shepherd’s hut in the woods – comes under threat. When the summer heatwave breaks into a violent storm, Molly sneaks out the house to set things right but instead that night her brother vanishes, never to be seen again...
Now in her eighties and a successful children’s author, Molly finds the memory of that long hot summer stirred up again when she gets a visit from the police telling her that human remains have been found in a drained lake. Will Molly finally get an answer to the question that still haunts her decades on and discover the truth behind her brother’s disappearance?
About the author.
LIZ TRENOW is a former journalist who spent fifteen years on regional and national newspapers, and on BBC radio and television news, before turning her hand to fiction. The Secrets of the Lake is her eighth novel. The Forgotten Seamstress reached the top twenty in the New York Times best seller list and The Last Telegram was nominated for a national award. Her books are published all over the world and translated into many languages.
She lives in Essex with her artist husband, and they have two grown up daughters and three grandchildren. Find out more at www.liztrenow.com, or join her on Twitter or Instagram @LizTrenow or Facebook at www.facebook.com/liztrenow
Review.
’The Secrets of the Lake’ is a beautifully told tale of growing up in the country, profound loss and anguish, hope and love. Honestly, as I was reading it, it felt as if I was being enveloped in a warm embrace. I was hooked from the first page to the last and I even shed a tear or two.
We find Molly who has just moved to the country as her father has become the new vicar at Wormley. Molly’s younger brother, Jimmy, is mentally handicapped and is Molly’s shadow. At first, it seems a paradise but soon there are whispers about the vicar and missing money, about his behaviour and then disaster strikes when Jimmy disappears.
This is the type of fiction that I love. There is intrigue, amazingly formed characters, an author who shows empathy and understanding when it comes to difficult topics, with a writing style that is sublime. I loved the dual timeline - Molly in the present and also during that summer back in 1950. It made for a reading experience that enthralled and captivated my mind. Plus the addition of chapters from Molly’s book about the dragon was a genius idea. I really want to see that published as a children’s book! The feel of the book throughout was of positivity and adventure, that there was opportunities for Molly and her family. However, in the back of your mind you couldn't help but forgot there was disaster looming.
I was honestly blown away by how great this book was and urge you to read it. It's a delightful book, that although has tragedy makes you feel all warm and hopeful.
Background behind the book!
Says LIZ TRENOW, ‘Although my story is entirely fictional The Secrets of the Lake was inspired by the intriguing legend of a dragon that was said to live in a supposedly bottomless lake close to the village where I was brought up in Suffolk. In a nearby church there is a wonderful stained glass window showing a fearsome ‘dragon’ – obviously a crocodile – with a pair of white legs waving from its mouth, being threatened by a knight on a white charger. After seeing this as a child, and long before they became commonplace in children’s books, tv and adverts, I became fascinated by dragons, and my first foray into writing fiction, aged eight, was inspired by this myth. More recently, a local landlord marked the millennium by cutting a huge dragon into the hillside nearby. I visit as often as I can, delighted to see the legend still being celebrated in this way.’
