I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Lake Silence by Anne Bishop Series: The World of the Others #1
Published by Ace Books on January 29 2019
Genres: Adult, Urban fantasy
Pages: 402
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Imaginative and character-driven, Lake Silence is a wonderful start to a new series. I know you’ll fall for these characters just as hard as I did!
If you’re a fan of Charlaine Harris, then you are going to love Lake Silence. Harris’ Midnight, Texas series immediately came to mind as I was reading this book, as it’s also full of delightful and quirky characters and unusual world-building. There’s a feeling that for the most part that these are good people, interested in helping their neighbors, taking care of the land, and most of all, respecting the Others, the terra indigene who own and rule the land: vampires, shifters, mermaids and more. Of course, there are plenty of bad guys, but it turns out most of them are human. This is a spin-off series from Bishop’s very popular The Others series, but you don’t need to read that first in order to enjoy this book.
Vicki DeVine lives in the small human town of Sproing and owns a resort called The Jumble, acquired in the divorce settlement from her ex husband Yorick Dane. Her goal is to restore The Jumble to its former glory, and she’s been working diligently doing just that when one day, a dead body is discovered on her property.
Officer Wayne Grimshaw is sent to investigate, but the investigation is sidetracked when Vicki’s ex husband shows up with a document stating that due to a loophole in the paperwork, Vicki has not fulfilled her end of the bargain—finishing the renovation on The Jumble within six months of the divorce—and so the ownership has now reverted back to Yorick Dane. Luckily for Vicki, she has plenty of humans—and non-humans—on her side who will do anything to help rid Sproing of Yorick and his sleazy cop friend Swinn and get her property back, including her attorney, a vampire named Ilya Sanguinati.
I loved this book! The world-building is so unusual and wasn’t at all what I was expecting. First of all, if you’re not familiar with Bishop’s series, this world is a complete fantasy world, with unfamiliar continents (Afrikah, Brittania, Thaisia) and even days of the week (Earthsday, Moonsday, Windsday), so in that respect it doesn’t feel like your typical urban fantasy. The Others are powerful creatures who control the land and waters of the world, after winning a war against the humans. Now most humans try to live peacefully among the terra indigene, but there are strict rules to follow, and breaking those rules could likely result in death. For example, humans are allowed to swim and fish in Lake Silence, the lake that borders the town of Sproing, but the Others don’t allow motorized vehicles of any kind in the water. It’s sort of a tense stand-off which mostly seems to work, but of course when you add horrible people like Vicki’s ex husband into the mix, you know there’s going to be trouble.
There’s plenty of exciting action in the story, but honestly, this is mostly a character-driven tale that had me smiling the entire time. Vicki has a quirky sense of humor, but because she came from an abusive relationship, she’s wary around men and is prone to panic attacks. That makes her extremely vulnerable, but she’s also strong and manages to rise above all the abuse thrown at her by not only Yorick, but his buddy Swinn. Vicki is surrounded by a wonderful group of both humans and terra indigene who are determined to protect her from the bad guys, and although I tend to bristle a bit when I read about a woman needing to be protected, I have to admit in this case I didn’t mind.
And wow, there are so many characters to love in this story! Officer Grimshaw is out of his element in Sproing, as he’s been a Highway Patrol officer for years, but he immediately senses the injustices that Vicki is suffering and he agrees to act as Police Chief in Sproing during the murder investigation, and later on during Vicki’s struggle to get back her property. Then there’s Julian, an old friend of Grimshaw’s who now runs a bookstore called Lettuce Read (LOL!). Julian is an Intuit, someone who can sense things about a place, like impending danger. He’s suffering from PTSD and seems a little on the fragile side, but he and Vicki have a special friendship, and I loved the way they supported each during the mentally tough times. Then there are the Others that I absolutely fell in love with. Aggie is a member of the Crowgard, a shapeshifter who can turn into a crow. And just like crows, Aggie loves shiny things and spends a lot of time trying to find them! Ilya Sanguinati was one of my favorite characters, a vampire who owns a lodge at one end of the Lake and acts as Vicki’s attorney. When Vicki first meets him, she refers to Ilya as that “yummy vampire attorney.”
Bishop adds so many sweet and heartwarming moments to her story. I loved the Sproingers, little kangaroo-like creatures who hop around town, begging for carrots. I also loved that Julian’s bookstore plays such a big part in the story. There is one scene in particular where Vicki acquires a couple of terra indigene roommates named Cougar and Conan, and she decides to teach them to read after they show an interest in stories. There are many more moments like these, quiet moments that don’t necessarily move the plot forward, but serve as wonderful character development.
But fear not, there is plenty of danger, action and even graphic violence, in case “sweet” and “heartwarming” aren’t your cup of tea. The Others aren’t afraid to show their claws—literally in some cases!—and you may never want to swim in a lake again after you find out who dwells in Lake Silence. It’s also difficult to read about the verbal abuse that Vicki suffers from Yorick and Swinn. She spent most of the ten years she was married to Yorick being told that she was ugly and fat and not good enough for him, so you can imagine how her self-esteem has suffered. I personally wanted to strangle both men, but let’s just say the Others are pretty good at cleaning up the messes that show up in their town.
The ending was action-packed and wrapped up lots of loose ends, and despite the nail-biting finale, I turned the last page with a smile on my face. This book has turned me into an Anne Bishop fan for life, and I can hardly wait to read the next book in the series, Wild Country, which comes out in only a few short months.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Glad to know you don’t have to read the original series although I’d still like to give that series another shot. I listened to the first book on audio and there was something with the narrator that super didn’t work for me. I’ve always wanted to try again in print, or maybe I’ll just try the spin off series. Glad to see you enjoyed it! You reminded me I still need to read Midnight Texas, too. lol
Bonnie @ For the Love of Words recently posted…Life’s Too Short – Transcription, The Clockmaker’s Daughter, 99 Percent Mine
I’m not sure about the first part of the series, but it looks like this new spin off is going to be stand alone books. The next book has a different set of characters in a different town.
Such high praise and it does sound like I’ll really enjoy this one. I have to make myself read the last Meg and Sam book. I just know I’ll miss them so much! And I think more people would like Midnight, Texas if they would read the trilogy. But the TV show needs work.
I never watched the TV show, but I have heard other people say the books are better.
This sounds great! I’ve never read anything by Anne Bishop before, but I’ve always had the intent to. Maybe I’ll start with this one, I really like the sound of it. Great review!
This is very easy to jump into. I probably missed a lot by not reading the first 5 or 6 books, but she did a good job explaining the world. And anyway, it’s mostly all about the characters:-)
Ohhhh! I think I would totally LOVE this book! Your review pointed out so many details that sound delightful in the synopsis and will certainly prove to be even more so in the actual reading. And I would read this book even for the simple fact that it sports a vampire lawyer whose surname is Sanguinati 😀 😀 😀
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@Spaceandsorcery recently posted…Short Story Review: DEATH ON MARS, by Madeline Ashby
It was a delight to read! I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’re able to read it:-)
The world-building sounds soooo intriguing. I didn’t even realize it was full-fledged fantasy novel either. And it even has a nice dose of darkness/violence to it! Great review, Tammy! 😀
It’s definitely a good mix of light and dark, but much more skewed towards a happier ending sort of story:-)
I started this one and had a hard time getting into it for some reason. It’s been a while so maybe I’ll give it another try
Lisa @TenaciousReader recently posted…Review: Sisters of Fire by Kim Wilkins
It was not at ALL what I was expecting, but somehow it worked for me:-)
Right – you had me in the opening paragraph when you compared this one with Charlaine Harris – whose writing I LOVE. Thank you for a gripping, detailed review – and once more, Tammy, you’d added to my teetering TBR!
It had that relaxed, small town feel to it, I don’t know any other way to explain it. But Harris’ books have that same homey feel to them:-)
I have this one to read along with the next. Can;t wait to see what I’ve been missing. Lovely review!
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Hope you enjoy it, Laura:-)
I’m so glad this one caught your attention! I’m also a huge fan of the original Others series, and one thing I noticed with this one was that there were a lot of elements that felt too similar for me, but I guess that was one way she could give new readers the same treatment 😀
I always wonder about that, when a series starts to get really long, technically this is book 6 or 7? I’m not sure I’ll ever go back and read the first series, but I will definitely keep up with this one:-)
Wonderful review, Tammy! I’m really drawn in by the Harris comparison! I’m adding this one to my list!
Definitely worth adding, thanks Jennifer!
I have read Bishop for years but have been meaning to check out some of her newer stuff. You have me intrigued with the Harris comparison! May have to check this one out.
I’d love to hear your thoughts if you read it:-)
I’ve not read the other series she wrote but have always wanted to read this author so this seems like the ideal starting point – particularly if it kept you smiling the whole time.
Lynn 😀
Definitely a good place to start:-)
Wow, the world building in this sounds amazing!
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It was pretty cool, I recommend it!
I just love that cover!! So atmospheric and creepy.
These characters sound awesome. Gonna add this to my TBR 🙂
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Waited to read your review until I had written my own, and I agree with all of this! I LOVE how supportive the people in these books are, and that’s even more prevalent in the earlier books, as the lead character was kept in an institution her whole life and doesn’t know how to “human” properly. It WAS a little repetitive, but in a way, these are kind of like Marvel movies: they feel similar, but they’re all really well done and you’re going to enjoy the ride!
Caitlin G. recently posted…WWW Wednesday – 2/13/19
This book was one of my favorite reads of this year.