***Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review***

Christine Feehan has been a long time favourite of mine. Most readers will be familiar with her long running paranormal series, and Murder at Sunrise Lake is a bit of a departure. Stella is the daughter of a serial killer who has been having visions on and off of murders once she comes into contact, or is (unknowingly) nearby a murderer. Stella has reinvented herself, and hasn't had her nightmare-ish visions in a while. Once they have suddenly returned, Stella, and her friend turned lover Sam try to thwart the killer while staying out of his crosshairs. The pacing of Feehan's latest release didn't quite work for me. The middle seemed a little repetitious, and the action didn't quite land. I like the idea of standalone works from Feehan which are especially accessible for new readers, but Murder at Sunrise Lake just didn't quite land for me.

I highly enjoyed this book it shows that this author can write mystery really well and keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time I also loved the romance. I loved the characters so very much especially Stella and Sam both were interesting to read about I loved their romance I liked that is was not a fast romance. I loved Stella for her strength of character and her determination not to lose anyone else ever again no matter what it takes she was a complicated character that was easy to like. I loved Sam for his fierce protectiveness of Stella willing to do anything to keep her safe he was such a great character. I also loved Stella's friends they were a wonderfully well written group of women that all were so well fleshed out. I loved the plot it starts by telling of Stella's premonitions that started when she was young she is where she is to escape from everything her powers brought she found so many great things wonderful friends and a man she really likes though suddenly the dreams are happening again and she wants to prevent deaths eventually other people find out other things happen and she finds love there is a massive twist and there is an happy ending.

I highly enjoyed this book it shows that this author can write mystery really well and keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time I also loved the romance. I loved the characters so very much especially Stella and Sam both were interesting to read about I loved their romance I liked that is was not a fast romance. I loved Stella for her strength of character and her determination not to lose anyone else ever again no matter what it takes she was a complicated character that was easy to like. I loved Sam for his fierce protectiveness of Stella willing to do anything to keep her safe he was such a great character. I also loved Stella's friends they were a wonderfully well written group of women that all were so well fleshed out. I loved the plot it starts by telling of Stella's premonitions that started when she was young she is where she is to escape from everything her powers brought she found so many great things wonderful friends and a man she really likes though suddenly the dreams are happening again and she wants to prevent deaths eventually other people find out other things happen and she finds love there is a massive twist and there is an happy ending.

Not the usual Christine Feehan, but I liked it. The heat level was a LOT lower than her stuff usually is, and was largely fade to black/behind closed door. The slow build worked for me, and I liked the girl group cast's antics, though they often had little to do with the actual plot or character development.

The mystery was not terribly suspenseful - I had a good idea (correct) of who it was pretty early on. But it was still enjoyable following the characters discoveries. And I think fitting with their characters as to how the realizations were made.

This is very different from her usual style, but I don't think it valid to keep creatives in a box of set expectations, so I'm glad when they branch out. This style has a few kinks to work out, but it's an interesting direction if she chooses to continue working in this way.

This review was originally posted at https://bit.ly/3vde52p.












Stella has been tormented by dreams of murders since she was 4 years old. "Mommy, Daddy is doing the bad thing again." These words will haunt her nightmares each time she helplessly watches the deaths. This time, however, she doesn't want to run. Stella loves her home in the Sierra Nevada's and doesn't want to leave because someone found out who she was. With the help of her friends, and her sexy second in command, Sam, she wants to save as many people in her home as possible.

This book as an impulse download from the Libby app as I didn't have any requested review audiobooks at the time and I love Christine Feehan. One of my previous best friends turned me onto her years ago and my love of that author lasted longer than that friendship. I have read a multiple books across a variety of series by her, but this one was new for me.

In the other books I have read by her they are basically smut with a plot. The Ghostwalkers series, Leopard, and the Carpathians. I love them for this reason, but this was a change of pace. There was it's fair share of sexy scenes, but the plot was a much larger part in it than the sex was. In fact, the sex scenes were largely glossed over in this book. This was more of a murder mystery book by an amazing author who knows how to put you into a scene.

I will admit that I had an idea who the killer was all along, but the author did a great job of casting doubt. Stella was wonderful and I couldn't imagine going through what she had to go through. Not only with her father, but also with her mother. I truly hope that this book becomes a series. Feehan is big on series, so I don't think it will be a problem, but you never know. For now this book can be read as a stand-alone. Most things are tied with a bow, other than Sam's father.

My favorite character in this book was Rena (?) and I want to know more about her history with the underboss. I am sure there are some spicy details in that history. Now, I don't know for sure that they have a history, mind you, but the suggestions are there and it would be a wonderful jumping off point into the next in the series. Can't wait to see what she does!

I have read a lot of other reviews on this book and a lot of people are complaining about the lack of sexual content in this book. It isn't what we typically expect from Feehan. I will give you that. It's not. BUT. Authors are allowed to try new things. They are allowed to write the story as it wants to be told. Not stay within the confines of books they have previously written. While this book has a military man in it, a couple of them in fact, it is NOT a rip off of the Ghostwalkers. There is no lab experiments gone wrong-or in that case right. It is a murder mystery with a dash of contemporary romance. If you don't like it read some of her smut. I know the ones I mentioned earlier are full of it.

I’m a huge fan of the author, but this one was lacking . It was too long I felt 3 ⭐️

My first book by this author so I came jnto it with no preconceptions about how she normally writes. For me, it was a murder mystery with a hint of paranormal rather than a romance and I was left intrigued to see if this was part of a series as there are lots of loose ends for the cast of female friends to be resolved in other books. I would read books about the other characters.

DNF.