Marguerite by the Lake - by Mary Dixie Carter (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Marguerite Gray is a lifestyle icon known for her garden parties, high-end business ventures, and being the muse behind the famous Serge Kuhnert painting Marguerite by the Lake. Her presence is overpowering, her taste legendary. For the last few years, Phoenix has been the gardener on the famed Rosecliff grounds, home of the Gray family: Marguerite and her husband Geoffrey. Phoenix came from humble beginnings, and now she works hard to craft the landscape that underpins Marguerite's brand. When a storm threatens the launch party for Marguerite's latest book, it's Phoenix who spots the danger to the guests and rushes to Geoffrey's side to save him from a falling tree. Geoffrey is grateful--perhaps too grateful. Marguerite is jealous. Phoenix senses the danger of being drawn deeper into their lives but can't resist the attention, becoming embroiled in an affair that could destroy her career"--

Book Synopsis

From Mary Dixie Carter comes an atmospheric, tense novel about the death of a glamorous garden designer, a widower trying to keep his secrets buried, and the beautiful young gardener who finds herself entangled in their lives.

Marguerite Gray is a lifestyle icon known for her garden parties, high-end business ventures, and being the muse behind the famous Serge Kuhnert painting, Marguerite by the Lake. Her presence is overpowering, her taste, legendary. For the last few years, Phoenix has been the gardener on the famed Rosecliff grounds, home of the Gray family: Marguerite and her husband Geoffrey. Phoenix came from humble beginnings, and now she works hard to craft the landscape that underpins Marguerite's brand.

When a storm threatens the launch party for Marguerite's latest book, it's Phoenix who spots the danger to the guests and rushes to Geoffrey's side to save him from a falling tree. Geoffrey is grateful--perhaps too grateful. Marguerite is . . . jealous. Phoenix senses the danger of being drawn deeper into their lives but can't resist the attention, becoming embroiled in an affair that could destroy her career.

But soon after the affair begins Marguerite falls to her death, from the same high point at Rosecliff where she posed for Marguerite by the Lake. Now Phoenix has another secret, one that haunts her even as Geoffrey invites her to move into the manor with him. A secret that Detective Hanna and Marguerite's daughter--her spitting image--are circling closer and closer to. Phoenix tries to put it all behind her and find her rightful place at Rosecliff. But as every gardener knows, nothing stays buried forever.

Review Quotes

An Amazon Editors' Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense (May 2025)
One of PEOPLE's "Books to Read After Watching Top 2025 Streaming Shows and Movies"
One of Kirkus Reviews's "Hottest Books of Summer 2025"
One of Zibby Owens's "Summer Reading List: Books to Die For"
One of SheKnows's "Incredible New Books That You'll Want To Get Your Hands on in 2025"
One of Beyond the Bookends's "May 2025 Book Releases"
One of Criminal Element's "Unmissable Mysteries of Spring"
One of Brit+Co's "Darkly Twisted Books To Read If You're Obsessed With 'The White Lotus'"
One of She Knows's "15 New Books We Can't Wait to Read in Summer 2025"
One of She Reads's "For The Girlies Who Love Drama in Their Fiction Not Their Life"
One of Criminal Element's "Beach-Worthy Mysteries & Thrillers for Summer 2025"
One of Brit + Co's "Ten Best Books to Read this Memorial Day Weekend"
One of PEOPLE's "Anticipated Summer Reads - Recommended by Kimberly Belle"
One of the Morning Blend's "Recommendations for Reading Outside Season" on TMJ4 - WTMJ - TV Milwaukee

"A searing contemporary take on Daphne du Maurier's classic neo-Gothic Rebecca . . . Not to be missed, and definitely not to be imitated."--Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"Readers will be mesmerized by the pulse-pounding suspense, dark twists, hypnotic plot, and cataclysmic ending of Carter's latest gothic thriller."--Booklist (Starred Review)

"Shiver-inducing . . . Carter brings readers into Phoenix's fraying mind, wringing some delightfully gothic fireworks out of her struggle to avoid detection and stake her claim as the new mistress of Rosecliff. The result is a winning homage to Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca."--Publishers Weekly

"Marguerite by the Lake is simmering with secrets . . . heavy on gothic atmosphere. Carter excels at conjuring an unsettling scene."--Book Reporter

"A psychological thriller that immerses readers in a world of wealth, intrigue, and the dangerous consequences of buried truths. With Carter's evocative prose, the slow-building tension keeps readers on edge, drawn into a haunting narrative where the line between sanity and madness blurs. In this world, one may discover that the hell they create for themselves can be far worse than the truth they fear to uncover."--The Best Thriller Books

"Dazzling and atmospheric, Marguerite by the Lake is impossible to put down. A modern-day ghost story, with tinges of Gothic horror, it's as haunting and gorgeous as the painting at its center. I was gripped until the very last page--a final scene I still can't stop thinking about."--Jenny Hollander, USA Today bestselling author of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead

"Tense and richly emotional, Marguerite by the Lake is a deep-dive into toxic love and the danger of wanting another person's life. Carter's prose shines, hypnotic and lyrical as she paints characters and a setting that pop off the page, but it's the story's overarching sense of doom that makes it unputdownable. An engrossing read with an ending that lingers."--Kimberly Belle, internationally bestselling author of The Paris Widow

About the Author

MARY DIXIE CARTER is the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Photographer. Her writing has appeared in TIME, The Economist, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Sun, The New York Observer, and other print and online publications. She worked at The Observer for five years, where she served as the publishing director. In addition to writing, she also has a background as a professional actor. Mary Dixie graduated from Harvard with an honors degree in English Literature and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.