The titular character in Mary Dixie Carter's intense psychological thriller Marguerite by the Lake is a wealthy lifestyle influencer and author who is famous for her gardens, parties, and style advice. Marguerite Gray is also aloof, entitled, and jealous of anyone who takes attention away from her. Her portrait, titled Marguerite by the Lake, painted by famed artist Serge Kuhnert, whose works sell for millions, looms in Rosecliff, her Connecticut mansion with stunning lake views.
During an elegant garden party to launch Marguerite's new book, gardener Phoenix Sullivan notices a 100-year-old spruce tree about to fall; she rushes to save Marguerite's husband, Geoffrey Gray. The guests and Geoffrey credit Phoenix with saving their lives, but Marguerite is oddly cool, almost resentful. Geoffrey and Phoenix soon begin a clandestine affair, but little escapes Marguerite. A confrontation between the two women at a precarious cliff edge ends with Marguerite accidently falling to her death. Despite how it looks to the staff and the police investigating the death, Geoffrey and Phoenix ramp up their relationship and Phoenix moves into Rosecliff.
Carter (The Photographer) skillfully adds echoes of Daphne du Maurier's classic gothic thriller Rebecca, with touches of Vera Caspary's Laura, to her sophisticated plot. Phoenix, who comes from a humble background, is overwhelmed by living at Rosecliff, where "Marguerite took up all the space in the house." Phoenix comes to believe that Marguerite's ghost permeates Rosecliff and spies on her through Marguerite's portrait.
Carter artfully develops deliciously creepy undertones as Phoenix's uneasiness about Rosecliff and Marguerite's presence dismantles her mental state. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer