The Lodge
The Wilson family's winter getaway to The Lodge was meant to heal old wounds. Mother-in-law Angela insisted. But perched precariously on a cliff edge, surrounded by an unforgiving blanket of snow, this imposing glass-fronted sanctuary feels more like a prison.
Danni, the new wife, walks on eggshells, trusting no one, not even her own husband. Is she as innocent as she claims? Fiona, the scorned ex-wife, struggles to mask her bitter jealousy, her gaze burning holes through the new family portrait. Angela, the orchestrator, claims to seek peace, yet her meddling hints at a darker agenda. And Scott, the man at the center of it all, is a tangle of lies, his secrets threatening to unravel everything.
After a night of explosive arguments, a single scream pierces the frosty morning air. This was never a holiday for happy families. Someone arrived at The Lodge with a far more sinister purpose. Someone came for revenge.
- Fiona - Scott’s ex-wife
- Sam - Fiona and Scott’s son, 18
- Georgia - Fiona and Scott’s daughter, 17
- Scott - Danni’s husband, headteacher
- Danni - Scott’s second wife, teacher
- Olivia - Danni and Scott’s daughter
- Angela - Scott’s mother
- Jenna - Danni’s former friend
- Nick - Fiona’s ex
- Pete - Danni’s ex
- Scott and Danni started having an affair when they both worked at the same school. They used to sleep together at the school after hours, and someone took photos and anonymously posted them online, but they never figured out who did it.
- The family gathers at a rented lodge to celebrate Angela’s seventy-fifth birthday.
- Danni is shocked to see that Jenna will be spending the vacation with them to serve as their chef.
- Jenna recently got fired from her job at the school after Danni told Scott she was dealing drugs to students.
- Danni had demanded that Scott call the police, but he refused and fired Jenna instead.
- Fiona is concerned that her ex Nick may be stalking her after she recently broke up with him.
- Police arrive looking for information on a fatal hit-and-run just down the road.
- The tire tracks lead to the lodge where the family is staying, so police instruct everyone to stay put while they investigate.
- The next day a snowstorm blocks the roads.
- Someone punches a hole in the birthday cake that Danni made for Angela.
- Angela loses her walking stick in the snow.
- Fiona and Scott have been sleeping together for the last four months.
- Danni goes missing and Scott calls police.
- Danni is three months pregnant.
- Police return to the lodge and interview everyone.
- Police reveal that Nick was the hit-and-run victim and he was married with children.
- Everyone denies knowing him, including Fiona.
- Scott tells Fiona that the night before she disappeared, Danni told him that her unborn baby was her ex’s, not Scott’s.
- Sam tells Fiona that he is gay.
- Sam asks Fiona about a small dent on her car, prompting her to reveal that she killed Nick. After she broke up with him, he kidnapped and raped her, but she didn’t report it to police because she feared he would retaliate against Sam or Georgia. Nick followed her to the lodge, where she accidentally hit him while trying to drive around him. She then backed up over him, knowing that killing him was the only way to stop him from coming after her.
- Danni’s last day: Scott tells Danni that Jenna threatened to report Georgia for dealing drugs to students if he reported Jenna. Jenna had photos and other proof of Georgia’s involvement.
- Police find Danni’s body along the road.
- Danni was killed with Angela’s walking stick.
- Angela confesses to killing Danni because she was angry that Danni was pregnant with another man’s child.
- Angela is the one who smashed Danni’s birthday cake.
- Epilogue: One year later
- Angela is found not guilty of Danni’s murder by reason of insanity due to undiagnosed dementia.
- Police never solve Nick’s hit-and-run.
- Fiona finds Danni’s phone hidden in Sam’s clothes.
- Fiona confronts Sam, and Georgia admits that she killed Danni because she thought Danni was Jenna.
- Jenna was blackmailing Georgia into giving her money.
- Georgia posted the affair pictures online after confiding in Jenna, who convinced her that exposing the affair was the best way to stop it.
- Sam and Scott helped Georgia cover up the murder.
- Angela confessed to Danni’s murder to protect Sam, Scott and Georgia.
- Fiona decides to keep the secret to protect Sam and Georgia.
- Jenna is caught with drugs on her way to Thailand and ends up in prison.
I liked the setup of The Lodge because a snowed-in family gathering full of secrets and suspicious behavior has all the ingredients for a twisty thriller. The story switches between Fiona and Danni’s POVs in the present, and I was curious to see how everything would unfold as the secrets started coming to light.
Unfortunately, the story became repetitive well before the halfway point. There was too much focus on who hated whom and all the childish drama between the characters, without enough happening to move the plot forward. I also struggled to care about either Fiona or Danni. Both came across as immature and spiteful in their own ways, which made it difficult to get invested in their stories.
The investigation didn’t help matters, either. The police seemed so incompetent that the plot started to feel unrealistic, and the ending did little to make up for the earlier problems. There was a huge information dump in the lengthy epilogue that explained everything I had been waiting to learn, but the execution was so poor that even potentially good twists got lost in the mess. I wanted a more satisfying payoff after all the secrets and suspicious behavior, but the resolution left me disappointed.
If you like snowed-in settings, family secrets, and multiple POVs, then you may enjoy this book.
- Nick - Dead - Killed by Fiona in a hit-and-run
- Danni - Dead - Killed by Georgia
- Angela - Alive - Living in a secure mental health facility
- Jenna - Alive - In a Thai prison for drug smuggling
- Georgia - Alive - Attending medical school
- Sam - Alive - Attending law school
- Fiona - Alive - Continuing to protect her children
- Sam - Alive - Single parent to Olivia
- Stalking
- Infidelity
- Murder
- Kidnapping
- Rape
- Blackmail
ISBN: 9781837904419
Publication Date: October 19, 2023
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
