Rating: 
Summary: Don't miss this.
Review: I enjoyed this book. It was delicious. I soaked into it. I've lent it out to several people who needed a good read. Everyone reads it quickly and just loves it.
I haven't relished a book this much since I was growing up, despite my undergrad degree in English lit.
I need to read more of Goodman's stuff!
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Summary: A Long Awaited Treasure
Review: God, Carol Goodman has a way with words! I could literally NOT put the book down. My friends are pleading for me to stop recommending it: they'll read already! By the first chapter I was charmed, the second entranced, and halfway through the book I became captivated. Jane, the clever protagonist drew my eyes to the page and my heart to her character. I, too, fell in love with Lucy, coveted Deidre's sexuality, hoped to please Domina Chambers, and had a burning infatuation with Matt. By the time I finally put the book down, I felt like the story was my own. Writing is a passion of mine, even at the ripe age of 15, and I can only pray to achieve the magical style Goodman has!
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Summary: Engrossing Read
Review: This is definitely one of the best books I've ever. It's one of those books that you just can't stop reading. It's full of mystery and will keep you right to the end. I will certainly recommend you this book. I really don't understand why the rating is so low
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Summary: Great Book for Book Clubs!
Review: This book was the first book I read by Carol Goodman. I found her to be a delightful author and I had trouble putting the book down before I finished it. I am choosing the next book for my book club, and this will be it!
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Summary: Wow...exquisitely written and a real page turner
Review: Carol Goodman's debut novel "The Lake Of Dead Languages (LODL)" is an enthralling thriller and a real page turner.....even if the setting and the plot seems oddly familiar - Donna Tartt's classic "Secret History" springs to mind. But nothing about it feels second hand or derivative because Goodman's writing is so eloquent, gripping and satisfying. Unlike murder mysteries and crime fiction in general, Goodman pays serious attention to characterisation, a major strength because it allows us genuine insight into Jane's psyche and motivation. The darkness at the heart of all-girl Heart Lake School is also eerily reminiscent of the ties that bound Muriel Spark's famous Jean Brodie brood, with hints of lesbianism that thrive in an all-women school environment. The action that takes place on iced up lakes and amidst blinding snow storms, moves backwards and forwards in time, with the present mirroring the past so closely you almost forget where you are but Goodman knows how to keep you turning each page faster as you hurtle towards the denouement. Contrary to the opinion of some reviewers, I didn't find the whodunit element in LODL at all predictable, though there are indeed telling signs of who Jane's nemesis might be. Like in the movies, a significant minor character doesn't just emerge from the past for no rhyme or reason, simply to make up the scenery. More often than not, the character takes on an expanded role only in the movie's last frames where its dramatic role is revealed. That's how it pans out here. So far, so good. Yet ironically, it is in the story's final pages that Goodman lets her flawless judgement slip, with a wrap-up that is just a little too pat, betraying a puzzling need for all the loose ends to find their rightful place. Pity, as life isn't at all neat and tidy and Goodman ought to have had the confidence and the courage to resist a Hollywood style ending that spoiled it a bit for me. Nevertheless, I still give it a 5-star rating simply because LODL makes such a fantastic read. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book, page-turner
Review: I really enjoyed this book! I found it hard to put down and hard to forget when finished. It leaves you glad at the ending for the main character, Jane. But at the same time you are saddened and haunted by the endings of several other of the characters. Very quick and easy read.
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Summary: Don't read this review if you haven't read the book yet
Review: Made me miss a dental appointment. At some point I sat on the beach reading, the sun was shining in a hot, humid California midday and I was shivering. So good was Carol Goodman's setting of the frozen atmosphere. I give her a lot of credit for the setting, but the plot lacked. I did not like any of the girls, old or new, and could care less when they plunged beneath the ice. And why doesn't Jane talk to her useless, absent ex husband so he wouldn't mistake her for an unfit mother? She treats her daughter like excess baggage, no wonder he thinks she doesn't care about her. When Jane gets the brilliant idea of calling the police, why doesn't she? Instead she goes into the lion's den, the murderer's house, all by herself. Why not call the police first? This is the late 90's, so where is her cell phone all the way through? The last chapter could have been much shorter. It makes the book lie down and whimper to its slow death. She inherits and gives it up like peanuts on a commercial flight. Pahleez. This woman struggled all her life!!! And last and most important, the divine Helen Chambers. I wanted to read a lot more about her, but she was "offed" instead. What a wonderful character, freezing cold, like the lake, and so alluring. Where was character development there? It made me care enough to write a review, so I give it a four.
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Summary: Good read, but plot line should have been better
Review: The first think I really liked was the title! Puts the focus right where it belongs, on the lake and on the dead who it seems never let go. Although some people complained about weak characters, this book wasn't really about characterization, but about plot and mood. The author creates a great atmosphere, with the ice forming and breaking up, the winter storms, the ice house with doors opening right into the water. You can feel the chill (especially anyone who's ever been on the Northway in a snowstorm, gone to this part of upstate New York in January, or lived in a place where lakes do freeze solid). Combined with the insular environment and isolation of a girls' boarding school, the scene is set. I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 because of the plot twists. None of them surprised me, I guessed them all. I wouldnt call this a Nancy Drew, but the author should not have left such obvious clues, used more red herrings. It's too predictable, plus the ending (which i wont give away) is not only way too pat, it doesn't fit with the rest of the book. I read a lot of mysteries, and this was the author's first novel. I did enjoy the book, and I'd like to read more of this author.
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Summary: The truth shall set you free
Review: When this book was chosen as the monthly read for the What's Cookin' Book Club, I was less than thrilled about having to read it as it's not a genre that I would typically choose. However, now that I've read it, it's a genre I will now consider for future book choices.Jane Hudson is a graduate of the all-girl boarding school on Heart Lake. The drama that unfolds during her senior year, marked by death, suicide, secrets, unrequited love and lies will be the experiences that shape her in adulthood and encourage the choices she makes. After leaving Heart Lake, Jane graduates from Vassar, marries, has a child and a mediocre life as an anxiety prone stay-at-home-mom. When Jane and her husband decide to separate, Jane goes back to her alma mater where she's hired to teach Latin. The same class the beloved Helen Chambers' from Jane's past taught before the scandal cost her her position. When parts of Jane's long lost journal of her senior year start showing up and the experiences she wrote about seem to be re-enacted by her students Jane's security is shaken and she is forced to confront the demons of her past. The truth cannot be uncovered until she uncovers the truth of her history at Heart Lake and the shocking events of her senior year. This book was thoroughly engaging and the many twists and turns in it's plot will keep you on your toes until the end. This book is meant to be read...and shared. I have a feeling the book club discussion I have to look forward to will be almost as exciting as the book itself.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost excellent
Review: I almost loved this book, but instead was left frustrated with its faults. While Goodman was excellent at the suspense, atmosphere, pacing, etc, her character development was so-so. The main character's best friends are so one dimensional we are left wondering why the main character wanted them as friends at all and never saw how badly they were using her. There were never any moments of genuine friendship shown to make us believe any of them truly cared for the others.
Also, unfortunately, the way the plot unfolds requires the main character to at times appear astonishingly stupid and gullible, but at others capable and intelligent. She never really develops as a character and so instead becomes more of a plot device, as do many of the characters throughout the book.
That being said, I did enjoy much of this book for Goodman's ability to develop the atmosphere and lead the reader to the end with her clues (hopefully with a bit more subtlety in the future) and would read more of Goodman's writing to see her develop her skills.
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