Excellent 5 Star addition to this series...

This is the fourth book in the Stillhouse Lake series. This book can be listened to as a stand alone but I would suggest listening to the series in order. Throughout this book there are references to the previous books and there are also changes in relationships.

The publisher’s summary probably gives more information than it should. Gwen Proctor is the protagonist. She’s up against an offshoot of the cult she was embattled with in the previous book. Her family is in jeopardy and it’s a race against time for Gwen to rescue them.
Like the others in this series this book is very fast paced.
This book is FREE to borrow with the Kindle Unlimited edition.
The narration is excellent.
This book is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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29 people found this helpful

These are starting to sound the same.

I've listened to all of the books in this series and while I have enjoyed them, I find I am also glad when they are over. The narration for the main character is not my favorite, nor are the very repetitive thoughts of "I am super-woman. I protect my children. I protect my man. I am responsible for every little thing. I plan for every single thing, how could I have missed this?" I'm a mother, I get it. Please stop beating me over the head with it. I feel like this series could be great if the main character could relax just a little bit. And maybe all the bad things don't have to keep happening to her people. Maybe she could save some new people while her children and her man stay safe next time. All that aside, this book is still better than many books I have listened to. Since it is a free listen to Kindle Unlimited subscribers, it is definitely worth a listen!

9 people found this helpful

No disappointment!

Rachel Caine is one of my newest favorite authors. I love her style and the riveting storyline. This is edge of your seat listening. My only disappointment is having to wait for the next book.

3 people found this helpful

Concept is great, execution is VERY poor

I want to like this series. This is the third book in the series I listened to just to see how the characters grow with her writing style. But I have the following problems (that reoccur OVER and OVER).

1. Characters are super careful and then they aren't to make the story go in a direction that is unbelievable.
2. The emotions described are unbelievable.
3. I don't care (and they don't matter) when the kids start kissing others or feeling a certain way about a love interest.
4. People don't partner with people in high risk situations if they don't like each other AND they don't trust each other.

Over all, it takes so much away from the story -- that I can't listen anymore and I can't purchase anymore books by her.

Basically, it's not my style, at all.

2 people found this helpful

Doesn't get better than this!

This series has been an awesome experience. I say experience because it was not than just listening to a book. Although the earlier books gave me more than a little pause and flashes of PTSD, I found joy in the strength of the main character 's evolution and growth. Her dogged persuit of freedom from the chains of past abuse are an inspiration for all of us who have suffered.
Her deep devotion to her children and now partner Sam, has also been touching. Although this is probably the last of this series, I hope that Rachel will follow with other stories of families like the Proctors. I'm sad to see them go, it's was as if they've become close personal friends of mine.

2 people found this helpful

4th book of Series

I've gotta admit, Connor grew up pretty quick in book 4 and carried his weight. A good listen.

1 person found this helpful

Savage LIfe

This was a great end to a raw and gritty series. I greatly enjoyed the entire series, but it's really not for the faint of heart. Not because of it's intensity, it's violence, or it's possible triggers. All of those are there in some measure...but it's the combination of those factors combined with the author's unwillingness to pull any punches. Nothing is softened for a reader who might be sensitive or unaware of the harsh nature of the world. That's the point, I think, of the series in a general way. Gwen Proctor: general nice lady and sweet mom, average suburban housewife trying to live an ordinary life, had no idea what sort of monstrous things were going on in her own house. She and her children will apparently pay for that the rest of their lives, even though they are innocent, and the evil man who committed those despicable acts is now dead. Anybody that ever said life was fair was lying to you.

Gwen Proctor is a great character, though. She's kind of like the Terminator's mom. She got dealt a really bad hand in life, but when she realized it, she figured out how to reinvent herself and keep her family safe. It's a bad idea to underestimate her. Her kids are pretty amazing considering what they've been through. They're tough at times, and whiney stupid kids at other times. Kind of how I would expect them to be. Then there's Sam, who joined the family along the way in the series through a remarkable path, having started as an enemy of Gwen's. He's since fallen completely in love with Gwen and the kids.

While this novel is the last in the series, it is possible to read it as a standalone. Be aware, if you do that, you'll definitely want to go back and get the full story on this remarkable family. So it will be best enjoyed in order, beginning with "Stillhouse Lake."

1 person found this helpful

White knuckle fear

This family has endured so much already that I wasn’t sure they would survive more terror. Somehow they are stronger than the white knuckle fear that gripped me.

Best in the series!

This was my favorite book in the Stillhouse Lake series. I couldn't stop listening.

I should have stopped at book three

The first two books were excellent, and I thought the third book helped show that the main character’s life is starting to take a shape she can control. I was hoping book 4 would continue along those lines, helping her emerge further away from the horror she lived through the previous years.

It’s just getting worse. Book four had me in fight or flight mode for most of the book. That is frustrating because it doesn’t feel like any of the character’s lives will ever see a glimmer of improvement. Essentially life is The Terminator for them.

I’ll read the reviews for book 5 before purchasing, but Book four already showed some foreshadowing of things worsening for them with the mention of an upcoming podcast their main group of internet trolls will be releasing. I’ll see after the reviews... Constant vigilance, hyper paranoia, caustic enemies, dumb bully hicks, incompetent authority figures, and enemies with deep twisted roots and support systems. It’s getting to be too much.