Venom Lake by Emma White

We have a set-in-Canada debut thriller from Emma White that features four friends/book club besties who are about to go out for a little reading retreat on a beautiful lake, in a secluded cabin.

This weekend is all about getting trashed on rosé and reading and talking about books, but one morning, a member of their group is found dead on the shore.

But what really happened? These women are all hiding many, many secrets, but how far will they go to cover it all up?

I had the chance to read Venom Lake as an ARC, so first, I’m sending out a big thank you to Emma White for writing the book, and to HarperCollins for sharing the book and NetGalley for facilitating that.

(Also, for any U.S. or UK-based readers, this book is called The Wives of Murder Club for you!)

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thoughts

I think the story's premise really interested me, and I was thrilled when I received the ARC. Unfortunately, it took a long time for me to become invested in the story, and then by the time I was, the events of the book were hurtling towards the end, and it all felt a bit rushed. I also think the book description might be a bit misleading, since the events in the description really don’t start happening until halfway through the book.

That being said, I loved the Canadian setting and the Canadian references to locations in the GTA, cottage country and the Great Lakes. I also wouldn’t say no to reading a future book by Emma White because the second half was quite good.

Venom Lake comes out today, June 2nd! Happy pub day to Emma White 😃

Question of the day

If you had a book club with your friends, would you give your book club a name? Or would you just say you had to go to book club with the girls? Let me know!