Marguerite by the Lake is a slowly developing standalone mystery thriller by Mary Dixie Carter. Released 20th May 2025 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
Very slow to develop with a number of morally grey characters and an often awkward dual-timeline narrative mechanic that is not always very well delineated. This is a reverse mystery; the denouement and guilty party are part of the prologue, and the story gets filled in as it progresses. Antihero Phoenix is generally unlikeable and difficult to vibe with, her affair with Geoffrey is both lackluster and unrealistic. Readers should absolutely bring a prodigious suspension of disbelief to the read.
The writing is competent and readable, but the story never really clearly settles in any camp; it's not horror, not really mystery, not engagingly thrilling, not paranormal (though there's a lot of talk of being haunted and feeling hunted on the part of the female MC (narrator voice: it's her guilty conscience)).
Three stars. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, possibly for a buddy read or book club selection. It might make a diverting holiday read.
Very much in the same subgenre as Jessa Maxwell and Rachel Hawkins. Fans of those authors will likely enjoy this one also.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
