If you're looking for a strong female character who fights back, beats the odds, and never gives up. look no further than the Stillhouse Lake series.
The flagship book, Stillhouse Lake, starts out with a bang when Gina Royal arrives home with her kids to find their yard crawling with police officers. We soon learn that a drunk driver has crashed into their garage, revealing a grisly scene inside: a body, flayed and clearly tortured, hanging from a wire noose.
Gina's husband, Melvin, is a serial killer, and apparently has been for quite some time. He kept it a secret from the family and neighbors by soundproofing his, "workshop," telling everyone he kept it locked constantly because of the expensive tools he had inside. Gina, who grew up very sheltered, married young, and is admittedly rather naive, never had any reason to question this.
She is initially arrested as an accomplice, but is acquitted when the court determines that she had no knowledge of her husband's crimes.
With Melvin in prison, Gina is hoping to leave the past behind and build a new life for herself and her kids. Unfortunately, there are people who believe she wasn't as innocent as she claimed, some going as far as nicknaming her "Melvin's Little Helper," and theorizing that she was the mastermind behind the murders. These people refuse to let her move on, constantly stalking and sending death threats to not only Gina, but her children and extended family, too.
With the help of a hacker named Absalom, they're eventually able to get a few steps ahead of the stalkers and find refuge in remote Stillhouse Lake.
Now using the name Gwen Proctor, she and her kids, now Atlanta (Lanny) and Connor begin to rebuild their lives.
Aside from the trolls on the internet still out for blood, and occasionally receiving haunting letters from her husband, things are actually going well. That is, until a body is discovered in the lake, killed and disposed of in the exact same method Melvin used. With him safely behind bars, it doesn't take long before people start asking questions, and eventually Gwen's true identity is revealed.
Gwen has to protect herself and her kids from the approaching storm: the police, the media, the stalkers, and Melvin himself, as we discover that he is involved in a much larger ring of criminals and killers, extending globally into the dark web.
The next 4 books, Killman Creek, Wolfhunter River, Bitter Falls, and Heartbreak Bay, continue to follow Gwen as she fights back against Melvin and the nightmare he's turned her life into. She's determined to create a better future for her kids and allow them to live as normally as possible, and she'll do anything to keep them safe.
It's hard to talk as much about the later books without revealing the ending of Stillhouse Lake, but I'll share my thoughts on the series overall.
Stillhouse Lake and Killman Creek work nicely as a 2-part series. They wrap up well together and don't leave any questions unanswered. You could easily read just the first 2 books and be content with the ending.
Now, don't get me wrong here: the next 3 books are fantastic, and I'm not saying not to read them. Just like the first 2 installments, they kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. However, they weren't necessary in order for us to get a complete story, and they move away from the Melvin Royal storyline and focus more on Gwen specifically.
I also did find that each book strayed a little farther from reality. Stillhouse Lake and Killman Creek were especially haunting to me because of how easily they could happen in real life. Wolfhunter River and Bitter Falls were a little more far-fetched, but not unrealistic. Heartbreak Bay was definitely the most out-there storyline, but it was probably one of my favorites.
If you're familiar with the series, I know you're probably screaming at your screen right now: "There's a 6th book!" Yes, I am aware. If you weren't, well, there you go.
Our beloved author, Rachel Caine, passed away in 2020, after finishing Heartbreak Bay. She was working on another installment in the series called Trapper Road, which was brought to completion by the lovely Carrie Ryan. I haven't read it, simply because Heartbreak Bay ended so perfectly for me that I'm content leaving it there-for now.
If you want to continue Gwen's journey, though, you should read it! I've heard it's great. I'm sure I will when I'm ready.
I want to close this out by sharing the author's note found at the end of Heartbreak Bay:
"It's a strange place, 2020, when I'm writing this book. We're in the grip of a pandemic. Death tolls are rising. People are frightened, and wanting answers and hope and an end to fear. I'm in a strange place too. My own personal tunnel is very long, and I'm walking toward the light. I have soft tissue sarcoma, a rare, aggressive, and fast-moving cancer. I'm starting clinical trials with a research center in hopes of finding a way through. I don't know if this is my last book. I don't know if I'll make it to the light. But like Gwen, I am on the path. I am walking. Like Gwen, I have enough love because of people like you, who've made it possible for me to be here to tell this story. If this is the last of Gwen's story, then I hope you feel it was worthwhile. I do. I wish you well with all my heart. Choose kindness."
— Rachel Caine
It was worthwhile, Rachel. It most certainly was.
I promise to choose kindness always. Will you?