The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV, Álvaro Martínez Bueno, Jordie Bellaire

 
The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV, Álvaro Martínez Bueno, Jordie Bellaire
My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from DC Entertainment through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Every one of Walter’s friends knows he’s a little odd. He seemingly loves with his whole heart and cares about his friend’s lives more than his own. When Walter invites a select group of friends to vacation at a fancy lake house, no one thinks much of it. Plus, they each need a vacation of some kind, so why not do it while catching up with old friends? Sure, Walter is adding a little mystery to it by giving everyone a code name, but he’s always been on the eccentric side. At least, that’s what everyone thought until life as they knew it flies straight out the window.

When I picked this up, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into other than what was sure to be an excellent horror story since I’m familiar with the author’s other work. When I tell you that this volume goes from zero straight to 100, I am not joking. We follow a select group of Walter’s friends expecting a nice vacation with a little mystery thanks to whatever mini games and such their old friend has planned. What this group of people doesn’t expect is for the world to be turned upside down all while finding out that Walter is not who they thought he was. Did they ever really know Walter, and was the friendships they each had with him just a game? Every possible question is on the table as they find themselves stuck in the fancy lake house for the foreseeable future.

I honestly can’t think of a single bad thing about this volume. If anything, I’m left extremely interested in the follow up volume and I really want to learn more about Walter along the way. Right now, we know the bare minimum about who he truly is other than he seemingly really does care for the friends he chose for this so-called vacation. There’s enough mystery here to keep the story going for however long it’ll run, whether it’s a long or short one, and I know I’m going to be here for every volume.

That said, I do hope we get some character development along the way. Right now, we don’t know a whole lot about the characters given how early they are into the situation they’ve found themselves in. I’m really interested in seeing where this goes and what we’ll learn along the way. This is the type of TV show and movie I would sit down and watch, so I’m excited to see where the series goes.