The Lake of Dead Languages

by Carol Goodman

Book Overview

"A gothic and elegant page-turner."-- The Boston Globe Twenty years ago, Jane Hudson fled the Heart Lake School for Girls in the Adirondacks after a terrible tragedy. The week before her graduation, in that sheltered wonderland, three lives were taken, all victims of suicide. Only Jane was left to carry the burden of a mystery that has stayed hidden in the depths of Heart Lake for more than two decades. Now Jane has returned to the school as a Latin...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345450892
• ISBN13: 9780345450890
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A gothic novel

This book reminded me of The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It has the same feeling of things, mysteries, hidden beneath the surface. Jane Hudson, an instructor at Heart Lake, teaches at the same school she once attended. While a student there, her two roommates killed themselves. Now, girls in the class she teaches seem to be coming to the same end. Jane has to come to an understanding of what happened in the past in order to help her students now.This is a dark, gothic novel, full of mysterious alliances, secrets kept, and secrets told. This is a really good read on a stormy weekend with a cup of tea at your side. You wind up caring for all the characters, and wondering what will happen to them in the end.

Great book!

I picked The Lake of Dead Languages up because I read a great review of it. It was better than I'd expected--a mystery, suspense, detective story and psychological thriller all in one. The characters are perfect--human, flawed, quirky, and they develop as the book goes on. The relationships between the characters are so honest and true to life, they leave you marveling at Carol Goodman's understanding of human nature. This just became my favorite book. I highly reccomend it.

Beautiful and satisfying read

I enjoyed this book so much, but I am not sure I am able to explain why in a way that would encourage you to read it. It reminded me of the old gothic novels I used to read, but has much more substance than that. There is a mystery that drives the story, but the most important thing is how this book is written. I am so impressed with this author, her ability to make the reader feel, smell, see, and hear what the character is experiencing. I can't encourage you enough to read this book. I envy you the time you will have wrapping yourself up with this book. When I finished it, I knew that I would be reading this book again, unusual with a mystery, but that is how much this writing affected me. I look forward to Ms. Goodman's next book.

Sheer pleasure to read

The Lake of Dead Languages begins with one of the most intriguing first sentences I've read. From there, the author weaves a delicate and delicious story. Many sentences I reread for the pleasure of hearing them again in my head. This book is part poetry, part suspense, part mystery, and all-absorbing. I left the phone unanswered, dinner unmade, and appointments unkept. I look forward to hearing more from Goodman!

A good, well-written read!

I'm not normally a mystery reader, but was really intrigued by the cover and the description of the book. When I started reading "Lake of Dead Languages", I was pleased to find a really well-written, descriptive book where the language is used to evoke emotions and "memories" of places that the characters have experienced. An added plus is that the book is easy to read, but doesn't talk down to the reader.I liked Ms. Goodman's use of transitioning between past and present, and was stumped for the entire book about the identity (in the past) of the evildoer (from the present). And since one of the reasons I'm not normally a mystery reader is because I figure out the "whodonit" before the story completely unfolds, I really enjoyed having to wait til the end of the book to find out!I'm looking forward to more books from Ms. Goodman, and heartily recommend this one.