A new town, a new life, and a new home—with an absolutely chilling lakefront view.

Two months a widow, Mallory Dent has made the impulsive decision to pack up and move on. In remote McNamara, nestled in the northern mountains, she can escape her grief, guilt, and pain. But the day Mallory arrives, death follows her, lapping just outside her door. A woman’s body is found floating in Loss Lake—and it’s not the first death on these shores. Locals talk about a monster in the depths with an almost disturbing reverence.

Sergeant Joel Benson understands Mallory’s unease. Years ago, his own brother was killed in the home Mallory now owns. But that was just a tragic accident. Wasn’t it? The more Mallory investigates, the more fearful she becomes. Maybe there are monsters in McNamara. Maybe some have followed her there.

As a winter storm bears down, the refuge Mallory sought has become a trap. It’s time to face her past, the secrets behind the town’s friendly faces, and a reckoning that will shatter the eerie, icy calm of Loss Lake.

Amber Cowie is a graduate of the University of Victoria and was short-listed for the 2017 Whistler Independent Book Awards. She has also served burgers at a frontier-themed diner, hot chocolate at the only ski resort in Scotland, and pints at a bar in downtown Dublin. She planted trees in northern Canada and staffed the front desk of a hotel on a remote island between France and England. She has also been a reporter for a small-town newspaper, in-house writer for a snowmobile magazine, and freelance pattern designer for knitwear companies. Now she is a mother of two, wife of one, reader of many, and the author of the acclaimed debut novel Rapid Falls. She continues to write books that make her browser search history highly suspicious. For more information, visit her at www.ambercowie.com.

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“A small town gothic thriller that pokes its toes into the dangerous waters of the monstrous, Loss Lake is a perfect diversion for a long, chilly night. Amber Cowie delivers a mystery that tastes like Halloween, complete with scares and surprising identities behind its masks.” —Andrew Pyper, author of The Residence and The Demonologist

“Amber Cowie is a gifted storyteller. In Loss Lake, she creates a stunning suspense about dangerous small-town secrets that threaten the lives of its residents, and its latest newcomer. Sentence by gorgeous sentence, Cowie reveals an intricately woven, powerful plot, unveiling the depths of the characters and their lies. A magnificent read crackling with tension.” —Samantha M. Bailey, #1 bestselling author of Woman on the Edge

“With Loss Lake, Amber Cowie spins a web of unraveling family secrets, taut danger, and tragic love. Perfect for readers who like their suspense both eerie and atmospheric.” —Jess Lourey, Amazon Charts bestselling author of Unspeakable Things

“Mallory Dent has run to Loss Lake to recover from the loss of her husband. But it’s only as she meets the townspeople of McNamara—who seem oddly connected through multiple tragedies and a belief in a monster who lives under the lake’s surface—that she begins to understand the implications of her own past. Meditative, eerie, and surreal like the best fairy tales are, Amber Cowie’s Loss Lake builds in quiet strength until the final delivery of a knockout punch.” —Emily Carpenter, author of Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters

“Layers of delicate mystery enhanced by loss and grief plunge you into a must read ending you won’t soon forget!” —Steena Holmes, New York Times bestselling author

“More than a novel, Cowie has woven a story that embodies betrayal, loss, fear, and the riveting intricacies of human nature we don’t want to admit within ourselves. Loss Lake is a testament to the fact that the facade of beauty can hide ugly secrets beneath the surface.” —Marin Montgomery, author of What We Forgot to Bury

“With atmospheric prose, a feverish pace, and a conclusion that left me spellbound, I enjoyed every taut second of this compulsive read.” —Minka Kent, Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author

“Amber Cowie’s Loss Lake is a terrific read—a small town teeming with secrets and seething histories, an ominous and unforgiving environment in the wilds of northern Canada, a story of both grief and forgiveness, and an ending I didn’t see coming.” —Kim Taylor Blakemore, author of The Companion

“This is a thriller with a beating heart and a vivid soul. Amber Cowie delivers the kind of breathless page turner we’ve come to expect from her, but Loss Lake has something more: a vivid setting, an emotional undercurrent that will pull you under, a mythical bent that is unexpected, gorgeous and terrifying—and an ending that will stay with you long after you’ve read the last line.” —Marissa Stapley, bestselling author of The Last Resort

“Wonderfully tense and gorgeously disturbing, Loss Lake is richly atmospheric, centering around a much-fabled monster-filled lake and a darkly twisted small town hiding big secrets. Hypnotic and irresistible, you won’t be able to look away. This beautiful, tautly written story is about love and loss, grief and guilt, and how the past always catches up with us.” —Christina McDonald, USA Today bestselling author

“Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water-front property that was supposed to offer a brand new start…The people of Loss Lake look out for their own; as winter encroaches on the remote town, its residents are vigilant to the dangers of both the natural and the supernatural worlds. For grief- and guilt-stricken newcomer, Mallory, her place of refuge turns into a kind of purgatory. A slow-burning sense of sorrow and suspicion pervades this novel, which will appeal to fans of atmospheric suspense.” —Jo Furniss, author of the Amazon Charts bestseller All the Little Children and The Last to Know

“A mystery that explores mourning and guilt over the deaths of loved ones. Under it all is a small town and its secrets embodied in Loss Lake, betrayals that have pulled under generations of families. The characters and shocking plot twists make it impossible to put this book down. The chill stays with you long after the last page.” —Carl Vonderau, author of Murderabilia, winner of Left Coast Crime 2020 Best Debut Mystery