As the final days of October approach, grab your pumpkin-spiced lattes and blanket to settle in for this bone-chilling read. The Lake by Natasha Preston embodies the spirit of Halloween, evoking haunting secrets from the past. The novel follows the main character, Esme, as she returns to Camp Pine-Lake after 9 years, accompanied by her best friend, Kayla. This time, instead of being campers, they return as counselors-in-training (CITS). Having revisited the site of a dark childhood secret, it seems as if everyone has forgotten the unfortunate events of that summer, but the lake never forgets.
Esme and Kayla endure summer as they battle eerie whispers inside their dorm. Although every wall seems clear, Esme swears she hears murmuring details of their past crime. After a series of unfortunate events unfold, it is clear that someone remembers what happened that summer. And they are not ready to forgive. As paranoia grows, the secret they buried years ago starts to resurface—or perhaps it was never buried. Preston uses guilt as a tool rather than a mere emotion in the novel. She weaves guilt into every detail of the plot, showing the unique tapestry of each relationship. Rather than allowing her characters to feel remorse, she makes them feel immense guilt, which impacts and dictates every character and action as the story unfolds. Preston utilizes guilt as a tool in three distinct categories: identity, friendship, and psychology.
Preston transforms guilt into a shaping force that defines her characters rather than something they simply experience. Readers perceive that Esme and Kayla’s sense of self is inseparable from the secret they carry about their past actions. Guilt is not an external feeling; it’s embedded into their identities, a hidden layer that controls how they think, act, and perceive themselves. It symbolizes how guilt never truly leaves a person; it becomes buried under new memories until it silently shapes every thought and action. Likewise, Esme and Kayla’s every attempt to seem carefree only exposes how fractured they are underneath. Preston uses this inner conflict to question whether a person is ever truly separated from their past, suggesting that guilt is not an emotion to be managed but an identity that must be lived with.
The novel also weaponizes guilt as a tool that distorts friendship, turning what should be a bond of trust into one of silent manipulation. Esme and Kayla’s relationship was initially built on shared loyalty, but that loyalty is poisoned by their guilt. Their friendship survived not because of genuine closeness, but an unseen fear of what may happen if they break the pact of silence. Through this, she exposes how guilt corrodes the foundation of intimacy, transforming friendship into an uneasy alliance. In the book, when Esme notices threats from a stalker, she’s apprehensive about consulting them with Kayla, in fear that she does not have the same sense of guilt as Esme. Preston’s portrayal of the girls’ relationship reflects how guilt isolates people even within connection; it makes them cling to each other out of fear, not love. In addition, Preston uses guilt, psychologically, as the story’s true antagonist. The horror and tension of The Lake do not stem only from external threats, but from the constant psychological pressure that guilt exerts on the characters. It drives paranoia, nightmares, and impulsive decisions, mirroring how repressed guilt festers in the subconscious. She structures the novel so that suspense arises naturally from this inner turmoil; the reader is not only anxious about who might uncover the secret, but also how long the characters can endure their self-torment. By allowing guilt to dictate behavior and perception, Preston exposes its control over the human mind, making it clear that the scariest part of the novel is not the danger outside the cabin, but the guilt the girls carry within themselves.
Alongside using guilt as a tool to design the novel, Preston explores the theme of the inevitability of the past. The novel’s ending, when the antagonist, Lillian Campbell, kills all the CITs and frames Esme for their murder, serves as a stark depiction of karma and the inescapable consequences of past actions. Preston uses this shocking climax to illustrate that the secrets and wrongdoing inevitably return to punish those involved, even indirectly. While Esme is innocent of the actual murders, her past complicity in hiding critical truths makes her vulnerable to Lillian’s manipulation. This outcome emphasizes that moral actions or inaction carry long-term repercussions, and attempting to escape responsibility is futile. Furthermore, Preston frames karma not as a mystical force but as a consequence of human behavior. By doing so, she underscores a broader theme of the novel: that one cannot outrun karma, and that the past has a way of asserting itself unexpectedly.
The Lake is a phenomenal thriller, exciting the reader in a way that keeps them longing for more. Every sentence is packed with tension, every chapter is layered with twists that keep the reader on edge. Few authors capture the essence of suspense like Natasha Preston, who blends murder plots with deep psychological insight. Her characters are nuanced, haunted by inner conflicts that make their reactions feel raw and believable. Preston’s endings are particularly striking, delivering unexpected twists that leave readers teetering on the edge of revelations and dread. Even with her signature cliff-hangers, readers can’t help but wait for the next book; this spooky season, you should pick one too. Perhaps Preston’s world of horror will bring more thrills into your world this coming season.
