A review by yvo_about_books
Black Lake Manor by Guy Morpuss

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

Finished reading: March 31st 2024


“And the wolf ate time.”

I was blown away by this author's debut Five Minds when I read it back in 2022, and I've been meaning to read this second book ever since it was published that same year. I'm not sure why it took me this long, especially since I have a weak spot for locked room thrillers... But better late than never right? I'm glad I finally did read Black Lake Manor though! While it didn't quite hit the spot as his debut, there was still a lot to love in this story. There are three main timelines in Black Lake Manor: 1804, 2023-2025 and 2045-2046. The main focus seem to be on the last two though, as the majority of the story switches between those timelines. In fact, I kind of wish the 1804 timeline would have been developed more, because as it is it mostly felt like an afterthought... That said, I absolutely loved the time travel angle with everything it entails including its history. The fact that the characters only go six hours back in time makes the time travel subtle, but it was interesting to see the little changes. Certain parts of the story were a lot slower than expected though, and as a result it took me longer to actually finish this story. The building up of suspects in this locked room thriller is well handled, and it was interesting how Ella reacted to the shifting situation. Could I have done without the love triangle vibe? Most definitely. Were there cliches involved that distracted at times? Again yes. But as a whole Black Lake Manor is a cleverly constructed sci-fi thriller that takes you on a journey that will become more apparent (and more powerful!) over time. I also loved Ella's connection with the octopus Scarlett! All in all a solid second book, and I will be looking forward to read whatever this author will come up with next. 
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