3.5 Stars. Slow paced, but not boring. Damaged and not entirely likable main character. About halfway through, I had figured out the ending. Yet, in spite of all that, I still liked it , and think the author did an excellent job tying in the past and the present.

<i> The Dark Lake </i> is well written overall but somehow lacks that compelling quality I look for in a mystery. I chose to read it based on it's comparisons to Tana French, who I adore, and while it's not quite made it to French levels of page turning mastery, it's a reasonable police procedural and it was still an enjoyable brain vacation.

I will warn you, however, that the main character is inherently unlikable, so if you hate books with unlikable narrators, this one is not for you. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a dark & gritty crime story.

The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey is the first book in a new series featuring Detective Gemma Woodstock. This book takes place at Christmas time in Australia and revolves around the murder of Rosalind Ryan, a former high school classmate of Gemma's. Rosalind's body was discovered in a lake by a morning jogger and it's up to Gemma and her partner, Felix, to solve the case. Gemma and Rosalind have a twisted past with each other which comes to light. Does this past history have anything to do with the murder? Read and enjoy!

It’s amazing what you can keep buried when you want to.

A body is found in the small Aussie town of Smithson. She was Rosalind Ryan, a local drama teacher and pregnant. Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is assigned the case with her partner, Detective Sergeant Felix McKinnon. The detectives find out this is not a cut and dried case, and how is Gemma’s history with her old schoolmate, Rosalind, connected to the case? There are a lot of secrets to be discovered, and Gemma and Felix have a lot to lose if their affair is one of them.

There a lot of twists and turns in this story and several characters are introduced. It is a bit long and drawn out in that I knew who the killer was early on and, in my opinion, it could have been wrapped up then. The title of the book is fitting as the story is dark throughout and many of the characters have dark secrets. It was a mediocre story at best.

I am always skeptical about books that promise that they will satisfy fans of Tana French (the Dublin Murder Squad series), but this one fits the bill. Set in a small town in Australia, this debut effort is told from the (sole) perspective of detective Gemma Woodstock. A teacher from Gemma’s alma mater, her former classmate, has been found dead. It falls to Gemma and her partner to expose the victim’s life while protecting their own secrets and negotiating their own complications. Like the Dublin detectives, these cops are real people with real flaws that sometimes get in the way of their jobs. A great page-turner and nearly big (i.e., 500 pp.) book. I’m looking forward to more from Sarah Bailey.

Read if: You can’t wait for the next Dublin Murder Squad. No, seriously.

This mystery novel, the first in a new Australian series featuring Gemma Woodstock, is a combination of mystery/police procedural and character study. The author has created a flawed and complex character in Gemma, the lead homicide detective. The tone of the book was dark and gritty and the hot Australian Christmas season added to the atmosphere.

The case is an interesting one. A childhood classmate of Gemma’s, Rosalind Ryan, a local high school teacher, is found dead in the lake behind the school. Gemma and the beautiful, perfect Rosalind (Rose) have a complicated history dating back to their high school years. The details of that history and why Gemma keeps it a secret are slowly revealed throughout the novel. It seems just about everyone has secrets in this small town and there are surprises and twists along the way that kept me flipping the pages.

Gemma’s home life is a bit of a mess, creating a very flawed, damaged character. Maybe a little too damaged. I admit I grew weary of all her angst and drama, along with some of her actions. Readers who prefer likable characters (I’m not one of those), will be disappointed. When the long held secret is finally revealed Gemma’s emotional state suddenly all makes perfect sense, although some of her actions still made me want to shake some sense into her. Thankfully, the ending gives the reader a little hope that things will turn around for Gemma in the next book.

The mystery of who killed Rose is multi-layered and laid out perfectly for the reader. I would have preferred the author cleared up some inconsistencies regarding the victim’s character, but, overall, this is an excellent debut. I still have some questions and wonder if a key piece of information in Gemma's past will ever be revealed to Gemma. I suspect this will be a series that will need to be read in order and I look forward to book #2!

* thanks to Netgalley, the author and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of the e-book for review

If you liked The Killing and Broadchurch, then you'll enjoy this procedural from Australia. It has everything you want in a thrilling weekend read - beautiful and mysterious dead female, illicit affairs, taboo relationships, flawed detective. The lead character has a lot of depth and I found myself rooting against her at times, but still liking her enormously. There's room to make this a series, but author Bailey tied up loose ends in a Hallmark way at the end that was a bit disappointing. Otherwise it's a fantastic debut.

I generally enjoy Australian authors, and this one is no exception, the writing is excellent. The story, on the other hand, is just a wee bit boring. Frankly, I didn’t like Gemma Woodstock. Oops. It’s not great when you take an almost instant dislike to the main character. It’s kind of a book killer, in fact. The book is redeemed somewhat by an interesting murder mystery. This could easily have become a 4 or 5 Star read had Gemma not flip-flop constantly in her thoughts. Does she love her live-in boyfriend, the father of her son, or hate him? Does she love or hate the partner she’s having an affair with? I’m sure she loves her son, but otherwise Gemma is a dilemma.

The biggest dilemma is her obsession with the murder victim, Rosalind. I wondered if the two had been more intimate than was told in the story. Gemma sounded like a jilted lover instead of a jealous one. The questions of who Gemma loves or hates goes on and on...and on. It was tedious. The truth is that, had the writing been just a little less, I might have never finished this book. The author knows how to string words and phrases together well enough that I thought it deserved to be read. It’s a long book. Editing out a hundred or so pages might have given the story more snap. Maybe. I will recommend this book with the qualification that you expect a fairly unreliable narrator. I don’t think Gemma can be trusted.

Use caution!

2shay

Menacing, unsettling, and intense!

In this debut novel, The Dark Lake, Bailey transports us to Smithson, Australia a small town where gossip and deception run rampant, emotions run high, and solving the murder of the beloved local high school teacher may unearth more skeletons in the closet than anyone could have imagined.

The prose is dark and eerie. The characters, including the scarred Det. Sgt. Gemma Woodstock, are flawed, complicated, and self-involved. And the plot, using a past/present, back-and-forth style is a suspenseful thrill ride filled with familial drama, jealousy, obsession, grief, revenge, infidelity, secrets, and murder.

The Dark Lake is truly a well-written, gritty, absorbing story that highlights that rage and resentment fostered over many years can have devastating consequences.

I fully expected to enjoy this book so I'm quite surprised I didn't. I loved the setting but that's about all. It was quite slow and I didn't particularly care for the main character so it was difficult getting through this. I feel like I may have enjoyed it a bit more had it been written entirely in third person. - and focused less on Gemma's personal life. Considering how slow the book was I was hoping the ending would make up for it but if I'm being honest the big reveal was a bit of a let down.

I loved this suspense thriller from Australia. It was a quick, easy read and I loved the characters, the plot, and the setting. It kept me guessing on who did it! Bravo to the author!

Good debut novel, pace got better, a decent whodunit and police procedures murder mystery novel. And I am glad that is appears that Dark Lake is the first in a series of Gemma Woodstock novels. I would love to read more. I hope that Gemma has her shit together in book two, she is great police officer but not too good of a mother or partner.

The setting of a small town and the character development are the strengths of this mystery making it a series that I would follow. There are a couple of chapters that don't seem to enhance the story in any way but the rest methodically builds in suspense. I guessed the who and the why pretty early but it was still a satisfying read.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

3.5 stars

The Dark Lake started out rocky for me... instead of drawing me in, it drew me out so to speak. I’m glad I stuck with it, as it definitely got better and more interesting as it went along.

Gemma, a homicide investigator in a small town, was not a character I was fond of. She’s a basket case, and not in an endearing way. She turned me off. But as I continued to read and get in to the story, I wanted to solve the puzzle about the death of Rose, an old high school acquaintance of Gemma’s. There are many secrets surrounding her, and no one seems to have answers. In the mix is the old case of Gemma’s high school boyfriend and his suicide. It remains a mystery even now, and Rose’s death drags up memories that would best remain buried.

The setting was rural Australia, but could have really been anywhere in the world. It was not an active character in the book as it could have been. I had to keep reminding myself where it was. That was a bit disappointing for me. We were constantly reminded of the sweltering heat, but that just wasn’t enough to make it come alive.

Overall, some hits and some misses. It seems this is a start to a series, and I will likely read the next one to see if it will be one I’ll follow or not. Worth a read for those who enjoy psychological mysteries & family dramas.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read and honestly review this book*

The discovery of a woman's body in Sonny Lake opens a tantalizing story that floats between present and past as a detective who is too personally involved dredges up reminders of her demons while she searches for clues. The characters involved are well-developed and come with both good and bad features. The dark secrets of a small town in Australia are laid bare as the investigation continues. The writing is clear and straightforward, and the shifts between present and past are documented in the Chapter beginnings. The reader is provided an in-depth introduction to a large number of characters. The book is heavy on the analysis of the many relationships between characters as the action continues. The entertainment value is augmented by challenges to ethics and values for the reader.

Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is the lead homicide detective in a small town in Australia. One of her former classmates is found dead, and there is as much mystery about who she was as there is for who the murderer is. Gemma is frustrated by it, and almost obsessed with her, and Gemma has her own secrets that she is hiding. Her past tragedies aren't staying in the past, either, and the murder investigation is dragging it all back out again.

The book is told mostly from Gemma's point of view, so past unfolds slowly. There are occasional sections told in another's point of view, some with reflections on the past from other characters. Sometimes those sections are helpful, but for some of them, I was left wondering why it was so important for us to know what someone else was thinking. Gemma has her self-absorbed moments, particularly with her romantic relationships; she never really got over her high school love that ended in tragedy, floats around, stays with her current partner without feeling much toward him at all, and is having an affair with her work partner. For all that she has instincts about who to chase down for the job in normal circumstances, she's oddly separated from her own emotional life. Maybe that's why she is so fixated on Rosalind from the start.

There are some doubts as to Gemma's sincerity as a narrator as the book progresses, particularly in the final third. We see some of the secrets she was keeping from her teenage years, and why it seems to be haunting her so much. It's nothing stated outright, likely because she doesn't want to explicitly link her past actions to the present. Some of her relationships seem to be falling apart in this section, but I found it hard to be very empathetic when she was cheating on her partner in the first place. The homicide is solved in dramatic fashion, and the epilogue ties off loose ends for the characters.

Overall, the mystery is gripping and drew me in. The back and forth of "then" and "now" and after in between the dated chapters of the investigation bothered me a little, because it seemed to interrupt the flow at times. One of the final asides makes the teenage secrets that much sadder, because none of it progressed how the characters thought it did, and it turns out had set forth the chain of events in the present timeline. I'm not sure if there is a better way to weave in these flashes of the past while still keeping the story at Gemma's point of view.

The book is written mostly in the detective’s PoV, 1st person, with occasional chapters in 3rd person from different other characters’ PoVs, with the timeline alternating between present and flashbacks from the past.
It is a psychological crime mystery, character driven, not very fast paced, but nonetheless rather captivating. There are basicaly two main layers to the story: one is the murder and solving it, but another big part is centerd on the detective, her pesonal life and thoughts, and her relashionship with the victim.

Dislikes: sometimes the phrases were too simple and short, giving a feeling of discontinuance; some annoying gestures and repeating words (ex. Rosalind – a mature woman theoreticaly – keeps stamping her feet like a spoiled child).
I did like that Gemma accepts/owns her youths' mistakes, although she seems to still wallow in them even now – there were times when I found her irksome, but also times when I felt sorry for her.. Another thing I liked were the introvert anxiety parts, especially the ones about hating to socialize with strangers and have small talk, they felt familiar and pretty well written.
The ending was ok, even if some of the twists were easily forseeble.

Overall, quite a good book, especially considering that it’s a debut. I would try some of Sarah Bailey’s books in the future.

This is a standalone mystery thriller by Sarah Bailey on Hatchette's Grand Central imprint. It's set around the Christmas holidays in Australia. Detective Gemma Woods, who grew up in the small town where she still lives, has to investigate the sensational murder of the local drama and English teacher, who had recently moved back to the area. The case is complicated by the fact that Gemma had a lot of unhappy past history with the beautiful victim, as well as trying to work through the massive train-wreck of her personal life. That the train-wreck is largely of her own making doesn't help matters and she tries to work through her past trauma and not let her current situation negatively impact her work. Gemma is imperfect and it really works for the narrative that the author doesn't shy away from that.

Really beautifully written with palpable tension. The interplay between the spectacularly imperfect Gemma and the people around her is so deftly handled. The dialogue is perfectly written and never forced or wooden. I can't remember the last time I read a debut novel which was so polished and finished and enjoyably readable. I am a mystery thriller fanatic and really enjoyed the denouement and wrap-up. The clues and info are all there, and the payoff is well written and exciting.

The setting (a small rural town in Australia called Smithson) is well written and integral to the plotting. The fact that it's in the southern hemisphere means that they're heading into the hottest weather of the year, so there's also a danger of wildfires. The descriptions are so well written, it's easy to set yourself into the scenery.

The book is a hefty 440 pages (Kindle edition) but moves along at a good pace and didn't drag for me. I never lost my engagement with the book and finished it over the course of a few evenings. It's very unusual for me to read one book exclusively during my reading time (commute, during breaks during the day, pre-bedtime reading etc), and this one definitely captivated my attention during my spare time.

Definitely an author and series to watch.

This book can be summed up using one word. Boring!! The best parts of the book was the description and the end of it.

Let me start by saying that Bailey is quite talented and writes well, but about half way through this tale, I felt like the author didn't know when to turn it off. The story starts off good and pulled me in effectively, but shortly thereafter, it began to fizzle. I found the main character, Gemma, completely unlikable and was never able to warm up to her as she sets about solving the murder of her high-school rival. I've read many flawed characters that were lovable in spite of their flaws. Not so with this one. I could've gotten past that, but the story gets so bogged down with too many details that it becomes rather boring at times. It was plain to see where the author was leading the reader from a fairly early point, making it entirely too easy to solve this mystery, which takes away from the mystery and suspense of the book. Overall, it was way too long and filled with more teenage angst than necessary, in my opinion, especially considering how easy it was to figure out. The story did show promise and the author is gifted, but sometimes less is more.