Book Review - The Night Lagoon by Jo Morey

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Title: The Night Lagoon

Author: Jo Morey

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: 3rd July 2025

Rating: 3 Stars

It's a liar's paradise

Wittering Lodge, Stann Creek, Belize

In the dead of night, lying in her father’s jungle lodge, Laelia watches her partner Aid sleeping – her mind racing with everything that’s brought her to this moment.

The heady Caribbean holiday when they first met.

The rum-fueled passion that, day by day, creeps into something darker.

The secrets she discovered in a hidden nook of the lodge, revealing a devastating past.

Above all, she thinks about the impossible decision she must make before dawn.

Does she stay silent and protect their newfound paradise? Or does she confront the lies which run as deep and dark as the lagoon – surfacing a dangerous truth from which there’s no return…

A transporting book club novel with the pulse of a thriller, The Night Lagoon is about the secrets and lies that simmer just beneath the surface of paradise.

What a slow burn this is but it does grow in tension and intrigue to a satisfying conclusion. 

However I was at times slightly confused as to what was real and what wasn't, and I couldn't really shake that confused feeling. 

In between though I was absolutely interested in the descriptions of Belize, especially the jungle. I love an exotic setting and this one felt incredibly well researched.  I could feel the heat, humidity, could feel how the jungle is a leaving breathing entity of it's own.  

I also loved how Laelia's children adapted to life in the jungle, a much simpler life than that of London, with simpler pleasures. 

Equally the more I learnt about Aid, the less I was liking him and as a result the less I was overall sympathising with Laelia, especially in light of her past.  

It was though very interesting to have a character with a hearing impairment, and seeing how that can affect day to day life.  Always good to have more representation in novels. 

I did enjoy reading this, and i was happy to keep going to the end.  I think I just prefer a bit more pace to my stories, or for me to be less confused generally. 

Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.