The Souls of Lost Lake

By Jaime Jo Wright and Jamie Jo Wright

Book Overview

"Wright has proven time and again with her masterful storytelling in exceptionally crafted novels that she is a trailblazer extraordinaire in the niche genre combining horror, intrigue and spirituality."--Booklist starred review

To save the innocent, they must face an insidious evil.

Wren Blythe has long enjoyed living in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, helping her father with ministry at a youth camp. But when a little girl in the area goes missing, an all-out search ensues, reviving the decades-old campfire story of Ava Coons, the murderess who is believed to still roam the forest. Joining the search, Wren stumbles upon the Coonses' cabin ruins and a sinister mystery she is determined to unearth.

In 1930, Ava Coons has spent the last several years carrying the mantle of mystery since the day she emerged from the woods as a thirteen-year-old girl, spattered with blood, dragging a logger's ax. She has accepted she will never remember what happened to her family, whose bodies were never found, and that the people of Tempter's Creek will always blame her for their violent deaths. And after a member of the town is murdered, and another goes missing, rumors spread that Ava's secret is perhaps more malicious than previously imagined.

Two women, separated by time, must confront a wickedness that not only challenges who they are but also threatens their lives, and the lives of those they love.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764238329
• ISBN13: 9780764238321
• Release Date: April 2022
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Fabulous dual timeline suspense

"We're all lost in our own ways. Some of us just hide when we shouldn't. We hide in our grief, in our minds, in our pain... in the woods... or in a story, like Ava Coons." Once again, Jaime Jo Wright beautifully brings to life a dual timeline story of mystery, murder, and intrigue wrapped around a timeless theme of grief, sense of displacement, and a hunger for belonging so central in our human experience. Though the story starts out with a scary campfire story, it's definitely less eerie and chilling than the author's previous books. The suspense and mystery components in both timelines are really powerful with twists and turns in the plot that will have the reader perplexed and absolutely invested in figuring out the villain. It will keep you up way past your bedtime. This book should be made into a movie! Told in third person perspective, but only in the women's voices, the narrative moves swiftly and pulls the reader in from the first page. Ava and Noah in 1930s are an interesting pair. Ava is uncouth in her backwoods ways and Noah is often conflicted regarding his feelings and actions toward Ava but they somehow complement each other. Wren and Eddie in the present time are best friends working at a Bible camp. Theirs is the story of a believer’s unfiltered grief and pain in losing a loved one even as they find each other in the midst of their suffering. Search and rescue for a lost little girl in the woods ties Ava and Wren’s stories together as the truth in the ghost stories of Ava Coons comes to light. I received the book from the publisher and was under no obligation to post a positive comment. All opinions are my own.