Lake Silence by Anne Bishop

Lake Silence
by Anne Bishop
Read: December 16-22, 2017
Published: March 6, 2018 by Ace
Source: NetGalley (Thank you Penguin Random House)
Category: Adult, Urban Fantasy, Shifters, Mystery
Series: The Others #6
Find: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Indiebound

Book Description: In this thrilling and suspenseful fantasy, set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, Vicki DeVine and her lodger, the shapeshifter Aggie Crowe, stumble onto a dead body . . . and find themselves enmeshed in danger and dark secrets.

Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others–vampires, shapeshifters, and paranormal beings even more deadly. And this is a fact that humans should never, ever forget . . .

After her divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human town that is not human controlled. Towns like Vicki’s have no distance from the Others, the dominant predators that rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world. And when a place has no boundaries, you never really know what’s out there watching you.

Vicki was hoping to find a new career and a new life. But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe–one of the shapeshifting Others–discovers a dead body, Vicki finds trouble instead. The detectives want to pin the man’s death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed the victim. As Vicki and her friends search for answers, things get dangerous–and it’ll take everything they have to stay alive. 
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NOTE: Lake Silence can be read as a standalone, although it is a companion to the previous 5 books in The Others series. Those books start with Written in Red and focus on Meg and Simon and the Lakeside Courtyard. I would highly recommend reading them if you haven't already, because they are amazing. 

Although I miss Meg and Simon and he Lakeside Courtyard, I am so totally invested in this world and this book was just as addicting as all the rest. I enjoyed getting to know a new part of the country and following Vicky, Aggie, Grimshaw, Ilya, Julian and all the rest of the cast of humans and Others. I especially loved the new addition of the Sproingers. 

Lake Silence follows many similar elements of the previous books. A mystery involving terrible humans - this time when a Crowguard finds the eyeball of a dead man - necessitates the involvement of the local terre indigene (The Others) population in human town's affairs. As usual, The Others' are vastly underestimated by the terrible humans. This mystery also brings about the collaboration of The Others and the good humans. This time, the human at the center of the conflict is Vicky Devine, who has unwittingly inherited an Others' settlement in a nasty divorce agreement. Although Vicky seems fragile at first, and she's no match for any of The Others (no human is), she also has steel behind her that many miss, and I enjoyed seeing that come out. 

The characters are one of my favorite parts of these books, and I loved watching The Others band around Vicky, and she and other sympathetic humans around them. Together they work to solve the mystery of what is happening at her lakeside inn before the danger gets too close to her. There is also a sweet and tentative friendship that hints at a romance between Vicky and another character, though as per usual, it is a very quiet and minor part of the plot. 

The mystery and focus on this part of the world appears to wrap up by the end of this story, and I believe the next book will take place in another area of the country. Hopefully, out west. But wherever the book is located, I will be reading it as soon as I can.

Love Triangle Factor: None - (Spoiler: A very small romance is hinted at here, but it's a tiny side element.)
Cliffhanger Scale: This is a fully complete story/companion in The Others' world.