Vicki DeVine didn't realize her lodger was one of the Others until the day she finds Aggie Crowe about to heat up an eyeball. Unfortunately, the eyeball is the least of her worries as Vicki has a dead man on her property. Vicki has been trying to settle in at The Jumble, slowly renovating the property under the requirements set forth through her divorce decree. Now, Vicki has detectives investigating her for murder and the suddenly quiet world she's been living is full of chaos and confusion.

LAKE SILENCE is the sixth book in The Others and the first book in the spinoff series, The World of the Others. Unlike the previous five books which focused on the Lakeside Courtyard, LAKE SILENCE introduces us to a whole new set of characters. As much as I love Simon and Meg and want to see more of them, I couldn't help but fall in love with Vicki, Ineke Xavier, Wayne Grimshaw, Aggie, and a whole host of other new faces. The tension starts with the very first page (and the discovery of an eyeball) and doesn't relent one moment as we see humans and Others navigating a very sticky situation.

Anne Bishop is nothing short of amazing! Her gift for world building leaves me stunned even now, as the brilliance of LAKE SILENCE only serves to enhance the overall haunting and dangerous beauty we've fallen in love with through her Lakeside Courtyard stories. The world the Others and the terra indigene inhabit is deadly and nightmare worthy- and yet it captivates me like no other world I've explored. I want to see more of the Elders and the Elementals, even as I would fear meeting them as just one accidental brush from them can kill.

And oh, the Sproingers! I have fallen in love with the Sproingers and want to know everything there is to know about them. Anne Bishop has created one of the most unique creatures with the Sproingers, crafting them with an air of mysterious cuteness that you can see turning deadly. In a way, they are the Others' version of the Tribbles I dearly love from Star Trek (and yet they are nothing like the Tribbles; I envision them more as mini kangaroos).

Anne Bishop proves once again what a masterful storyteller she is! LAKE SILENCE is a must read for any dark fantasy fans. Anne Bishop's exquisite use of language paints a hauntingly dark tale where hope still thrives, even as humans and Others seek to find some sort of balance in a clearly unequal world. If you read just one dark fantasy series, make it this one by Anne Bishop!

Book Summary

Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others--vampires, shape-shifters, and even deadlier paranormal beings. 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 such as Vicki's don't have any distance from the Others, the dominant predators who 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 is 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 shape-shifting Others--discovers a murdered man, Vicki finds trouble instead. The detectives want to pin the death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed the victim. As Vicki and her friends search for answers, ancient forces are roused by the disturbance in their domain. They have rules that must not be broken--and all the destructive powers of nature at their command.

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