🌲 Dark Waters, Deeper Lies
🌲 Dark Waters, Deeper Lies
Book: The Counselors by Jessica GoodmanGenre: YA Thriller | Mystery | Friendship DramaVibe: Summer nostalgia curdled by secrets, guilt, and grief
Summer at Alpine Lake was supposed to be Goldie’s fresh start — the one place that always felt like home, even when she didn’t fit anywhere else. The camp sits at the heart of Roxwood, a small town that lives and breathes by its summer season. To outsiders, Alpine Lake looks like privilege and tradition wrapped in sunshine, but for Goldie, it’s memories, comfort, and a shot at redemption.
Only this year, something feels off.
When a local teen turns up dead in the lake, everything Goldie thought she knew starts to crack. Her best friends, Ava and Imogen, are keeping their own secrets, and Goldie’s past is threatening to surface. The deeper she digs, the more she realizes that loyalty can twist into guilt — and sometimes the people closest to you are the ones you should fear the most.
Jessica Goodman delivers a chilling summer thriller packed with tension and atmosphere. You can almost smell the pine trees, hear the creak of the cabins, and feel that uneasy quiet just before something goes wrong. But what really makes The Counselors stand out isn’t the murder — it’s the tangled friendship at its core. The love, the lies, the unspoken promises that can’t survive the truth.
Goldie’s story is sharp, emotional, and haunting. This isn’t the kind of campfire tale that ends with laughter. It’s the kind that leaves you staring into the dark water, wondering what’s hiding just beneath the surface.
💀 What I Liked
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The atmosphere. Jessica Goodman knows how to pull you right into the woods — the lake, the creaky cabins, the late-night tension. You can almost feel the damp air and smell the campfire smoke.
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The friendship focus. I loved that this wasn’t just about solving a mystery, but about how complicated friendships can be - the love, the lies, the guilt, and the heartbreak that comes when trust breaks.
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Goldie’s narration. She’s messy, emotional, and real. You can feel her fear and her need to protect the people she loves, even when it’s not the smartest choice.
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The pacing. It starts slow but builds perfectly - every chapter adds a layer of unease until you’re fully trapped in Alpine Lake with them.
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That ending. I won’t spoil it, but it had me staring at the page for a solid minute. Totally didn’t see it coming.
⚡ What I Didn’t Love
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Too many flashbacks. Sometimes the jumps between past and present pulled me out of the story I wanted more time in the thriller moments.
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The friend dynamics got confusing. There were times I had to stop and remember who knew what and when. A few emotional beats could’ve hit harder if the tension between the three girls was clearer.
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A bit predictable at times. Even though the writing was strong, certain clues felt easy to spot early on. I wanted a few more twists that made me question everything.
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Not as dark as the setup promised. I was expecting a little more danger or high-stakes payoff near the end.
☕ Coffee Pairing
Iced dark mocha with espresso foam - smooth but bitter, like truth surfacing after a long silence. Best enjoyed with dim lighting and a blanket you can pull tighter when the suspense peaks.
🕯️ Final Thoughts
The Counselors will satisfy readers who crave slow-burn tension and morally gray friendships. It’s equal parts mystery and emotional reckoning — a haunting look at how far we’ll go to protect the people we love, even when the line between loyalty and fear starts to blur.
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