Audio Book Review: Black Lake by Johanna Lane

Release Date: May 20, 2014
Publisher: Hatchette Audio
Format: Audio
Length: 5 hours 48 minutes
Narrator: John Lee
Genre: Fiction
Buy: Audible | Kindle 

Synopsis: 

A debut novel about a family losing grip of its legacy: a majestic house on the cliffs of Ireland.

The Campbells have lived happily at Dulough - an idyllic, rambling estate isolated on the Irish seaside - for generations. But upkeep has drained the family coffers, and so John Campbell must be bold: to keep Dulough, he will open its doors to the public as a museum. He and his wife, daughter, and son will move from the luxury of the big house to a dank, small caretaker's cottage. The upheaval strains the already tenuous threads that bind the family and, when a tragic accident befalls them, long-simmering resentments and unanswered yearnings surface.

As each character is given a turn to speak, their voices tell a complicated, fascinating story about what happens when the upstairs becomes the downstairs, and what legacy is left when family secrets are revealed.

Review:

This is the story of a family consumed and destroyed by a house that they supposedly love. The house although it is not a person is a big character in the book for without the house this family wouldn't be who they are.

John Campbell inherits Dulough castle but its care and upkeep take a toll on the family finances leading him to turn the castle over to the state to help with the upkeep although they retain ownership. The family moves into the caretakers house as the house undergoes changes and visitors invade what was once their family home.

This was an interesting character study of how a house could suck the life out of a family. As one tragic event leads to another it seems that the bond of the members of the family isn't as strong as the bond they have with Dulough. Beautifully written scenes that make you feel the wind across your face and the lush green of the countryside.