Stillhouse Lake

Stillhouse Lake is the first and eponymous novel in Rachel Caine’s six-book thriller series focusing on the character Gwen Proctor (formerly Gina Royal) and her children, Lanny (formerly Lily) and Connor (formerly Brady), in the years after Gwen’s husband, Mel, is revealed to be a serial killer. The subsequent novels in the series are: Killman Creek (2017), Wolfhunter River (2019), Bitter Falls (2020), Heartbreak Bay (2021), and Trapper Road (2022—written with Carrie Ryan). The two last books in the series were published posthumously.

Stillhouse Lake was conceived and written as a series from the outset, and as such there is a narrative arc that applies to the whole series, as well as the narrative arcs within each book. As suspense thrillers, the books lead on from one another and are intended to be read in sequence. At the end of the first book, Gwen and her children have escaped their immediate dangers but are under threat from Mel, who has escaped, and they are still dealing with the various consequences of the events in book one. In this context, the conclusion of the first novel sets up the second and is a narrative “hook” to encourage the reader to look forward to, buy, and read the subsequent installment.