One Night at the Lake

Book excerpt: A tragedy on a hot summer night at a lake house forever alters the lives of two best friends—and the man they both love. But the truth isn’t as simple as it appears in this intricate novel of love, friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness. Leah has been waiting for this moment a long time: Her boyfriend, Ollie, is taking her to his family’s home on Seneca Lake for a week of lazy summer bliss, boating, and barbeque. The couple have been together four years, and Leah is convinced that Ollie is finally going to pop the question. Leah can’t wait to share the joyous news with her best friend, June, who is joining them on their getaway, and whose presence will make everything feel more real. Seven years later, the moment June has been dreading has finally arrived: Her fiancé, Ollie, is taking her to his family’s lake house. But this is not an ordinary visit to an ordinary place; it is a house haunted by June’s long-buried memories of her lost friend Leah—and the connection that appears to remain between Leah and the man for whom June’s love is as deep as her grief. Alternating between the two women’s vibrant voices, One Night at the Lake is an emotional novel that explores a complex tangle of friendship, loyalty, and betrayal, all driving toward one question: Can love overcome what happened on that hot summer night? Praise for One Night at the Lake “Captivating and compelling . . . This is the perfect book to slip into your weekend bag for your own trip to the lake this summer.”—Jill Santopolo, New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost “With gripping prose and a setting that is as sentient as the characters who inhabit it, Bethany Chase draws a tale that is immediate and real, the kind of story you’ll feel to your gut.”—Michelle Gable, New York Times bestselling author of A Paris Apartment “Chase has crafted the perfect blend of fully realized characters and a burning question I couldn’t wait to have the answer to. You won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough.”—Tracey Garvis Graves, New York Times bestselling author of On the Island and The Girl He Used to Know