Happy September!!! I’ve been a little remiss at publishing two reviews a week lately, but I will continue to strive for that. I’m so excited that fall is almost upon us and I am dreaming of long lazy afternoons of reading with a blanket wearing slippers and leggings.
And of course drinking something that is Pumpkin Spice flavored! I know there are a lot of haters, but I am a fan.
Hope you are enjoying your Labor Day Holiday. Here’s my review today:
From the Publisher:
The lead homicide investigator in a rural town, Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is deeply unnerved when a high school classmate is found strangled, her body floating in a lake. And not just any classmate, but Rosalind Ryan, whose beauty and inscrutability exerted a magnetic pull on Smithson High School, first during Rosalind’s student years and then again when she returned to teach drama.
As much as Rosalind’s life was a mystery to Gemma when they were students together, her death presents even more of a puzzle. What made Rosalind quit her teaching job in Sydney and return to her hometown? Why did she live in a small, run-down apartment when her father was one of the town’s richest men? And despite her many admirers, did anyone in the town truly know her?
Rosalind’s enigmas frustrate and obsess Gemma, who has her own dangerous secrets–an affair with her colleague and past tragedies that may not stay in the past. Brilliantly rendered, THE DARK LAKE has characters as compelling and mysteries as layered as the best thrillers from Gillian Flynn and Sophie Hannah.
My Review:
High school, we all remember it well, right? For better or worse. I loved the premise for The Dark Lake. What does a small-town detective do when the IT girl from her high school turns up dead, 10 years after graduation?
The situation is just so juicy because even though we are all over high school (right?), the thought of something happening to one of the untouchables is so gossip worth. We want to talk about it, we want to speculate and Sarah Bailey really taps into that natural human desire to pry. It’s like pulling back the curtain on a mystery of life. What separates those who seem so special from the rest of us?.
Bailey’s writing really shined as the story unfolded and we got to know Gemma, a woman who is so grounded in many ways and yet so wild in others. It becomes clear that Gemma has skeletons in her closet from high school and she’s having a bit of trouble “adulting”. She’s a bit of a mess, but her character is so well portrayed, for me she was the glue that held the story together.
The Dark Lake is Bailey’s first book and I found it a worthy debut. I did want to know more about Rosalind, and the ending was a little Scooby Doo, but I think that can happen a lot with suspense to give a twist. Overall I enjoyed the book and look forward to more from Sarah Bailey!
Definitely for fans of Tana French and suspense. The book releases October 3, 2017! Happy reading:)
Thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review.
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