Lake Silence ~ Anne Bishop

Bishop, Anne. 2018. Lake Silence. New York, NY: Ace Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. ISBN: 978-0399587245. $27.00 USD.

What a joy to be able to escape into another novel by Anne Bishop set in the world of The Others, one of my favorite series of all time!  Once I started reading Lake Silence, I had a hard time stopping and doing the things I should have been doing at work and home.

In this book, we are introduced to a new location and new characters, but the rest of the world-building coincides with Bishop's The Others series (which begins with Written in Red). In this unique world, Namid created earth natives first, and humans later.  Some of the earth natives, also known as “terre indigene,” have learned to shift into human form, and enjoy the innovations developed by humans.  Overall, however, the earth natives are suspicious of humans and view them as edible prey.

In Lake Silence, the main character is a recently divorced human woman named Vickie DeVine who has been brow-beaten very badly by her ex-husband and his wandering "Vigorous Appendage" (so funny)!!  As part of her divorce she received some property in an earth native settlement that is recovering from a "great predation," when the Elder earth natives got really angry with the humans and wiped many of them from the face of the earth.  Vickie has a tenant named Aggie, who is a member of the Crowgard (crows who can shift into human form), but Vickie doesn't realize that until she discovers Aggie heating up a human eyeball in the microwave for a snack!

From there, a murder mystery is introduced, as well as some really bad villains, interesting interactions between the humans in the settlement and the earth natives, and some quite humorous situations as well. (Oh, and there’s something living in the local lake near Vickie's property that is curious, dangerous and extremely vengeful).

Overall, Lake Silence was an enjoyable read and a lot of fun.  I only wish I could have savored this book more instead of rushing through to finish it, staying up way too late! You will get the most enjoyment from this book if you start at the beginning of the series. Thanks to NetGalley and Ace Books for sharing an early copy with me. Always, always appreciated!!

Happy Reading!