Out now! Thank you Booksparks and Mary Dixie Carter for the #gifted copy of Marguerite by the Lake for the Summer Reading Challenge #src2025.
Phoenix loves her job as a gardener. Her pride and joy is the landscaping and gardens at Rosecliff. It’s the home of Marguerite Gray, a gardening and lifestyle icon known for her exquisite taste. Marguerite is also the subject of a famous painting which hangs prominently at Rosecliff. After Phoenix saves Marguerite’s husband, Geoffrey, from being crushed by a tree during a storm, Phoenix and Geoffrey begin having an affair. Not long after the affair starts, Marguerite falls to her death and everything changes. Here’s the summary from the publisher:
Marguerite Gray is a lifestyle icon known for her garden parties, high-end business ventures, and being the muse behind the famous Serge Kuhnert painting, Marguerite by the Lake. Her presence is overpowering, her taste, legendary. For the last few years, Phoenix has been the gardener on the famed Rosecliff grounds, home of the Gray family: Marguerite and her husband Geoffrey. Phoenix came from humble beginnings, and now she works hard to craft the landscape that underpins Marguerite’s brand.
When a storm threatens the launch party for Marguerite’s latest book, it’s Phoenix who spots the danger to the guests and rushes to Geoffrey’s side to save him from a falling tree. Geoffrey is grateful—perhaps too grateful. Marguerite is . . . jealous. Phoenix senses the danger of being drawn deeper into their lives but can’t resist the attention, becoming embroiled in an affair that could destroy her career.
But soon after the affair begins Marguerite falls to her death, from the same high point at Rosecliff where she posed for Marguerite by the Lake. Now Phoenix has another secret, one that haunts her even as Geoffrey invites her to move into the manor with him. A secret that Detective Hanna and Marguerite’s daughter—her spitting image—are circling closer and closer to. Phoenix tries to put it all behind her and find her rightful place at Rosecliff. But as every gardener knows, nothing stays buried forever.
I enjoyed this slow burning and atmospheric novel. There’s definitely gothic vibe running throughout the story. This is a story of longing for love and a life that Phoenix is desperate to have-Marguerite’s life, home and husband. The stress of the continuing police investigation into Marguerite’s death and Marguerite’s indelible presence woven into every facet of Rosecliff, personified by the famous painting, eventually takes its toll on Phoenix.
This is perfect for readers looking for an emotional and literary psychological thriller.
What’s more chilling to you: a brilliant psychopath or a subtle manipulator?
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About the Author
Mary Dixie Carter is the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Photographer. Her writing has appeared in TIME, The Economist, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Sun, The New York Observer, and other print and online publications. She worked atThe Observer for five years, where she served as the publishing director. In addition to writing, she also has a background as a professional actor. Mary Dixie graduated from Harvard with an honors degree in English Literature and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.
Here’s the “lake” where I took the photo of the book. It’s actually a beaver pond. There’s three beaver lodges around the pond.
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