Black Lake

Johanna Lane

A book to read in one sitting! Life in an Irish country house is not as easy as it might seem. John, faced with financial ruin, hands it over to the government to run as a tourist attraction whilst retaining ownership. The family find this hard to come to terms with and drift apart. When a terrible tragedy occurs relationships disintegrate. Atmospheric and slightly unsettling but a thoroughly absorbing novel.

Extract

Philip took one look at the people from the government and went inside. He hoped there weren't any more of them lurking about the place, that they were all safely penned up in the drawing room. The patterns of his old home had changed. Before he was able to say to himself, 'Mummy is in the drawing room, Daddy is in his study, Kate is in the kitchen with Mrs Connolly ...' they would revolve around each other like planets on a pre-set course. But now there might be a chance encounter with a stranger as he went up to his room, a stranger who would tell him that he shouldn't be there.

Parallels