Andromeda Romano-Lax

"The Deepest Lake is a mesmerizing, twisty page-turner combined with a complex mother-daughter family drama. Andromeda Romano-Lax’s insightful interrogation of the confessional memoir culture and the nature of obsession will stay with you long after the novel’s last nail-biting pages. I couldn’t put it down."

—Angie Kim, NYT bestselling author of Happiness Falls and Miracle Creek 

                                          

An Amazon Editors' Pick 

CrimeReads Best Psychological Thrillers of May 2024 Selection

Observer, Top 10 Best Travel Thrillers

In this atmospheric thriller set at a luxury memoir-writing workshop on the shores of Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, a grieving mother goes undercover to investigate her daughter’s mysterious death.

Rose, the mother of twenty-something aspiring writer Jules, has waited three months for answers about her daughter’s death. Why was she swimming alone when she feared the water? Why did she stop texting days before she was last seen? When the official investigation rules the death an accidental drowning, the body possibly lost forever in Central America’s deepest lake, an unsatisfied Rose travels to the memoir workshop herself. She hopes to draw her own conclusion—and find closure.  

When Rose arrives, she is swept into the curious world created by her daughter’s literary hero, the famous writing teacher Eva Marshall, a charismatic woman known for her candid—and controversial—memoirs. As Rose uncovers details about the days leading up to Jules’s disappearance, she begins to suspect that this glamorous retreat package is hiding ugly truths. Is Lake Atitlán a place where traumatized women come to heal or a place where deeper injury is inflicted? 

Praise

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“An incisive critique of our cultural fascination with personal narrative and its concurrent demand that people — and women especially — divulge their deepest secrets for the purpose of voyeuristic entertainment. The plot keeps things moving forward at a brisk clip, but it is the deeper psychological concerns that elevate the novel.”
—Toronto Star

“As a seasoned novelist, Romano-Lax takes readers into Rose’s point of view and also that of her daughter, Jules, to get to the bottom of this great mystery, which is as deep as the lake where Jules presumably drowned.”
—Observer

“With The Deepest Lake, Andromeda Romano-Lax has crafted an unpredictable, juicy, and scandalizing thriller set in Central America; it is exactly the kind of novel that will cause you to miss your bus stop.” 
—The British Columbia Review

“A piercing look at obsession and grief and a vivid portrayal of the Guatemalan landscape and the sometimes-toxic culture created by charismatic leaders.”
—Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

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“Celeste Ng meets Lisa Jewell in this mesmerizing story about a writing retreat that’s as inspiring as it is insular, as alluring as it is alarming—and the mother and daughter who risk their lives to uncover the dark secrets of its leader. Chillingly atmospheric and filled with disturbing twists, The Deepest Lake will have you glued to its pages until its surprising and satisfying conclusion.”
–Megan Collins, author of Thicker Than Water and The Family Plot

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“Immersive, atmospheric, and beautifully rendered, The Deepest Lake weaves the stories of a missing daughter and a mother driven to uncover the truth into a suspenseful, can’t-miss thriller.” 

–Laura McHugh, award-winning author of  What's Done in Darkness

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“The best thriller I've read in years! At once a heart-pounding mystery and a profound take on the dangers of our confessional age.”

—Joanna Rakoff, author My Salinger Year

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“Welcome to the memoir workshop from hell. In dual timelines, a young writer looks for creative inspiration in a dangerous paradise and a mother searches for answers about her daughter's last days. I relished this insider's look at the glittering, intimate, and sometimes toxic world of writing retreats. The Deepest Lake is a gripping yet thoughtful novel about overcoming trauma, meeting our inheritance, and what happens when we seize the power to rewrite our own stories.”

—Alison B. Hart, author of The Work Wife

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“A richly evocative and suspenseful read that plumbs the depths of grief, motherhood, and the endless hunger to tell our stories--along with page-turning twists you won't see coming. Hold your breath and dive in.”

—Amy Gentry, bestselling author of Good as Gone & Bad Habits

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“Atmospheric, psychological, and surprising, The Deepest Lake mines the depths of mother-daughter relationships and the risks we take in the name of creativity. With humor and lush language, Andromeda Romano-Lax has created a taut suspense story . . . I finished this book wanting to call my mom and tell her how much I loved her.”
—Caitlin Wahrer, author of Edgar Award finalist The Damage

“Pulls you into its depths from page one . . . A tense and compelling story of the bonds between women as profound as the lake at its heart.”
—Melissa Adelman, author of What the Neighbors Saw

 

“From the adrenaline-spiked first words, The Deepest Lake pulls you under. What follows are twists and turns that can only be unraveled through the stories these characters tell themselves and others about who they are and who they want to be. Asking provocative questions about motherhood, truth, and what we’ll do to ensure our own survival, The Deepest Lake is one of the most suspenseful, thought-provoking novels of the year.”

—Erin Flanagan, Edgar-winning author of Come With Me 

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“With The Deepest Lake, Andromeda Romano-Lax has crafted a suspense novel rich in emotional insight. This gripping story, set against a captivating landscape filled with unraveling secrets, is an exploration of the depths we travel and the shadowy places we confront along the way.”

—Maggie Downs, author of Braver Than You Think

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