June 8, 2026

Venom Lake, by Emma White

I’ve been disappointed before by books that look like this one, books that have promised tight storytelling, suspense, the kind of grip that really does, genuinely surprising twists, fresh approaches to old tropes. That cover, that setting, a read as compelling as that cottage lit up by the side of a lake, drawing me in, and I’m thrilled to report that Emma White’s debut Venom Lake lived up to all of my expectations—and then some.

The premise is this—a true crime book club in Toronto made up of four friends embarks on a September retreat to the not-so-cozy-sounding Massasauga Lake, and by the time they’re arriving on the island, we already know that the dynamics of this group are seriously awry. Every woman has something to hide, in addition to a reason to seek revenge, and what White does that’s so interesting is make the unveiling of every layer in the narrative fresh and surprising, all awhile the mystery itself (one of these women is going to die, and another one of them will have been the one to kill her) unfolds in a fashion familiar to anyone partaking in the crime or true crime genres—and it definitely comes in handy that these ladies are connoisseurs.

There is fabulous intertextuality, references to real-life Toronto true-crimes, transcripts from a fictional true crime podcast that ends up covering what happens on the island, and layer after layer revealing the story to be not quite what you thought it was in the most engaging and satisfying way.

In a crew of such bitchy conniving characters, who will actually prove to be the most monstrous of the lot? Emma White keeps the competition twisty and fierce right to her novel’s final sentence.

PS Go read Kate Jenks Landry’s interview with Emma White at https://www.theneedleandtheknife.com/home/2026/5/21/10-questions-for-emma-white