#1 Audible Bestseller & Winner GA Author of the Year
In her small town she knows everybody’s name, but not their secrets.
When Charlotte married older and wealthy widower Paul, it caused a ripple of gossip in their small lakeside town. They have a charmed life together, despite the cruel whispers about her trailer-park past and his first marriage. But everything starts to unravel when she discovers a young woman’s body floating in the exact same spot where Paul’s first wife tragically drowned.
At first, her death seems like a horrific coincidence, but the stranger in the lake is no stranger. Charlotte saw Paul talking to her the day before, even though Paul tells the police he’s never met the woman. His lie exposes cracks in their fragile new marriage, cracks Charlotte is determined to keep from breaking them in two.
But as secrets and people from Paul’s past begin to surface, Charlotte uncovers dark mysteries that have been simmering under the lake’s waters for years. She doesn’t know what to trust—her heart, which knows Paul to be a good man, or her growing suspicion that there’s something he’s desperate to hide.
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What People Are Saying
"Absolutely superb. Kimberly Belle is the queen of domestic suspense, and Stranger in the Lake is her darkest, most hypnotic work to date."
— Cristina Alger, NYT bestselling author of Girls Like Us
"Stranger in the Lake is a spellbinding tale of lies and deceit that unfolds piece by devastating piece. Another outstanding novel by Kimberly Belle, masterfully written to lure you in and never let go."
— Samantha Downing, USA Today bestselling author of My Lovely Wife and He Started It
"Kimberly Belle does it again! In Stranger in the Lake, Belle captivates from the first line until the last, crafting a suspenseful, emotional, and fascinating tale of secrets and lies. This fantastic story features a heroine to root for and admire, all the while keeping readers on the edge of our seats as we follow her gripping journey to uncover the truth about her marriage and past. A must read!"
— Samantha M. Bailey, bestselling author of Woman on the Edge
“With Stranger in the Lake, Kimberly Belle once again proves she’s a top-notch thriller author. Brilliantly plotted, smoothly written, and expertly paced, this domestic suspense tale about the consequences of one’s choices will not only keep you guessing, and shifting your allegiances, but turning those pages well into the night, too. Belle has a knack for creating flawed yet relatable characters, and deeply satisfying, powerful endings. This is a killer of a book!”
—Hannah Mary McKinnon, bestselling author of SISTER DEAR
“…well-paced… Belle weaves an intricate web of connections among the characters as the action moves toward the surprising ending. Those who like a message of hope in their psychological thrillers will be satisfied.
— Publisher’s Weekly
"Kimberly Belle explores the shocking depths people will go to keep their secrets buried in her latest slow burn thriller Stranger in the Lake, before building to an explosive and unexpected finale. Belle delivers with lyric prose and an atmospheric, moody mystery that will have her fans begging for more. Must read!"
— Mary Kubica, NYT bestselling author The Other Mrs
"When your history comes back to haunt you-- what secrets are you keeping from yourself? Atmospheric and sinister, this unsettling and twisty story of a new marriage with old memories will yank the rug right out from under you. With a gorgeously evocative setting and a compelling cast of multi-motivated narrators, this terrific and cinematic thriller should be the big screen's next big hit."
— Hank Phillippi Ryan, Mary Higgins Clark, Anthony and five-time Agatha Award Winning author of The Murder List
“Clear your calendar because once you’ve started Kimberly Belle’s utterly engrossing Stranger in the Lake, you won’t be able to tear yourself away! Old and new secrets abound in this tense and atmospheric thriller that will make you question how well we can really know anyone, and how much we might be willing to forgive for those we consider family.”
— Kathleen Barber, author of Follow Me and Truth Be Told, an Apple TV+ series
“Belle’s latest is another riveting, superbly written, didn’t-see-that-coming thriller that will keep you up way past your bedtime. With tension building on every page, Charlotte digs relentlessly for the truth about her new husband, even though it might destroy everything she loves.”
— Kate White, New York Times bestselling author of Have You Seen Me?
Atmospheric and haunting, Kimberly Belle’s Stranger in the Lake pulled me in on page one and refused to let go. A dark and beautifully written thriller, Belle is the queen of creating resilient and fearless female protagonists. An intriguing exploration of friendship, family wounds and secrets that won’t stay hidden.
— Heather Gudenkauf, NYT bestselling author of The Weight of Silence
Charlotte, the narrator of this well-paced novel set in Lake Crosby, N.C., from Belle (Dear Wife), was raised in poverty, but she has achieved her dream of a better life by marrying Paul Keller, the richest man in the Appalachian tourist town of Lake Crosby, N.C., despite the local gossip that Paul drowned his first wife four years earlier. Then one day she’s disturbed to spot a nervous-looking Paul talking to a strange woman. The next day, Charlotte finds the woman’s body floating under their lakefront dock, just like Paul’s first wife. When shown the body, Paul tells the police he’s never seen the woman. He later takes off without telling anyone where he’s going. Frightened and confused, Charlotte turns to Paul’s two best friends for support, one the town crazy, the other the police chief’s son, both with dark secrets of their own. Belle weaves an intricate web of connections among the characters as the action moves toward the surprising ending. Those who like a message of hope in their psychological thrillers will be satisfied.
— Publisher’s Weekly
Charlotte Keller is living a life she never imagined, having grown up neglected and poor in the tiny town of Lake Crosby, nestled in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. Now married to a successful architect, Charlotte finds life is a dream, except for the rumors that her perfect new husband, Paul, drowned his wife in the lake four years before. Fortune takes a turn for the worse when the body of a female tourist turns up at the happy couple's dock. Paul swears he had nothing to do with it, but Charlotte's suspicions begin to grow as she tries to reason whether tragedy follows Paul or whether he causes it. A secret from the past that is tied in throughout the story slowly helps the reader piece together the truth of the mystery surrounding Paul. This is a decent slow-burn thriller with good writing and some interesting plot twists. Stranger in the Lake will be enjoyed by suspense lovers and is a good addition to a well-rounded collection.