Lost Lake by Emily Littlejohn, published by Minotaur Press is an engrossing mystery set in a small town in Colorado. The story begins with a missing girl who went camping with friends and disappeared. This police procedural features Gemma Monroe and is sequel to an earlier novel by the same author. Since I didn't read the first in the series, I'm sometimes confused by the references to earlier occurrences.

Almost immediately after discovering the missing girl, the investigation is put on hold because a prominent citizen is killed at the local history museum. The story is complicated, but slowly the mystery is solved with twists and turns that in retrospect seem clear.

The reason I don't rate this book a five is that it is rather slow, and the main character is not that sympathetic..She seems distracted. For example, the detective has a six-month-old child who is seldom referenced. That part is a little odd. Her grandmother is suffering from alzheimers, but that part seems unrelated to the main mystery.

I did finish the story in a few days, so I give it a 4/5.

This book was written in the first person which, to me, detracts from the story line. It did have lots of twist and turns and reminded me more of a cozy mystery

Lost Lake. A beautiful hidden gem close to the small town of Cedar Valley, Colorado. The history of the lake and the history of the town are closely linked. A beautiful place, popular with campers and hikers in the summer. In the winter it's a very different and unsettling place.

It's early spring now and Detective Gemma Monroe has responded to a missing person report at the lake.

Two couples have camped overnight and in the morning one of the girls is missing. Sari Chesney is also the assistant curator at the town's museum and now she and the founding fathers diary are missing. Are the two connected?

When the bodies begin to pile up Gemma isn't sure who to believe. It seems the tiny town is bursting with secrets and even someone in the department is leaking info to the local paper.

With so many different mysteries to solve, will our Gemma pull through in the end or will this one be the end of her?

I am a fan of the series and this was a really good one with murder, supernatural vibes, and a great group of suspicious characters!

Well Done!




Netgalley/November 6th 2018 by Minotaur Books

I've been following Emily Littlejohn's Det. Gemma Monroe series ever since I was mailed an arc of her debut novel, Inherit the Bones in 2016. I really enjoyed book 1, felt that A Season to Lie (book 2) was ok but left a good bit to be desired, and that that this one (book 3) was a significant improvement from installment #2. All that to say, even though the individual cases that are investigated have been a hit or miss for me, I've consistently enjoyed the personal development with the reoccurring characters, which is why I gladly gave this book a chance. That chance paid off, as I'm fully back on the Gemma Monroe train and am already excited for the next in the series to be written... Even though this one isn't out until November! ;)

The foremost reason I attribute to my enthusiasm in book #3 is that the case being solved here is so much more complex and intriguing than in the previous novel. In Lost Lake, we have a combination of a missing (possibly dead?) woman, a missing priceless artifact/journal from the local museum, and the murder of the manager of said museum. And this is all just in the first 10% of the story! Sprinkle in some local history/folklore about mysterious deaths at Lost Lake, and I was 100% invested. No spoilers here, but I didn't have a single portion of this mystery figured out (except I did solve who the leak was in the police department, but that's just a minor deal...); this made for a fun police procedural experience that checked all my boxes in the mystery portion.

Surprisingly, I felt the character development and furthering of the personal stories was weaker in this installment than any of the previous ones to date. It wasn't bad, but my largest problem is with the lackluster continual inclusion of Gemma's fiance/baby daddy. We've known for 3 books now that she loves him, but he cheated on her, and now she struggles to trust him on his travels for work, but nothing beyond that. The weird part is that he doesn't feel like a real character; he's either discussed in an abstract form, or he's in a room during a scene but never speaks. Come to think of it, I don't believe he's had a single line of dialogue in all three books... I also wasn't too keen on a particular plot point that involved her current police partner, as it makes some of Gemma's personal struggles feel a bit invalid, but other than that, I have no complaints.

Another solid installment in what has become a series I look forward to annually, and highly recommended to fans of police procedurals set in Colorado with equal parts characterization and plot progression.

Compelling with it's twisted secrets, lies, lies and twists. A good read that keeps you turning the pages.

I really wanted to love this book because I lived in Colorado for many years and I enjoy books where I can identify where the action takes place. My problem with this book was that the character was meant for a thriller and much of the plot resembled a cozy mystery instead. This was frustrating and detracted from my enjoyment. I think Littlejohn could write a good thriller/suspense novel and still set it in a small town, but to do so she really needs to work on more developed characters and a more plausible plot.

Cedar Valley Colorado - - Beautiful country with plenty of mountain trails and Sparkling Lost Lake. Museum in town boasts having the Rayburn Diary which is an accounting of the early settler days by one of its early pioneers. Question is if it holds a curse for those that have it. Camping and enjoying the natural terrain is shattered when the assistant curator of the museum Sari Chesney and her boss Betty Starbuck meet with tragedy. Detective Gemma Monroe is the mother of Grace and is building a relationship with her fiance Brody. Although these are important to her; solving crime with her partner Finn Nowlin and the rest of the police force takes on its own challenges with a leak in the department. Cast of suspects are investigated and Littlejohn does an excellent job of revealing this mystery. So far this is the best of the Gemma Monroe series in my opinion. Lost Lake could easily stand alone without reading the prior ones in the series. "A copy of this book was provided by St. Martins Press via Netgalley with no requirements for a review. Above review here voices my honest views."

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital ARC of this book.

This was a solid read for me. I read it without having read the first two in the series (something that I never, ever do!), but the good news is that this read well as a stand-alone. I'm a little unsure of how to categorize the genre. It seems to be somewhere between a police procedural and a cozy mystery (which I didn't expect). I think I was expecting something a bit more nuanced, though now that I know what the tone is, I'll be better prepared the next time I read one of the Gemma Monroe novels.

A collection of initial reactions: There are a few places that still need revision--I was reading an ARC, so I'm assuming those errors will be corrected. I liked the setting and was very interested in how a new mother who's also navigating the complexities of a sometimes-fraught relationship while working a demanding job confronted all those demands. I felt like this was addressed but not elaborated on; Gemma worried about her child, her partner, etc., but didn't seem to be too curtailed by those multiple responsibilities (cue the very understanding young Nanny!). The first person POV sometimes slowed the narrative down right when I was ready for it to pick up. One of my favorite elements was the hint at the super (or supra?) natural. I would have liked to have seen that teased out just a bit.

Despite some of the above minor issues, I did enjoy this novel and am now planning to go back and read the first two in the series. This is a rather quick read and will probably gain more depth with the benefit of other entries in the series.

If you gravitate towards Veronica Mars and other female sleuths, grab Emily Littlejohn's latest: Lost Lake. Not to be confused with Sarah Addison Allen's lovely book Lost Lake, Littlejohn sets the stage for Detective Gemma to figure out exactly what happened in the early morning at a campground by an eerie yet breathtaking lake. Did Sari get kidnapped? Did she leave of her own free will? Did the infamous lake swallow her alive? Did the disappearance of the museum's treasured diary provoke someone to kill her? Littlejohn creates her own version of the latest Oceans franchise by imagining this local museum's gala and the antics and threats surrounding it. Betty, Sari's boss, reads like a country Anna Wintour. It's a quick read that will have you suspecting just about everyone in Sari's life!

This was a pretty good book. It is written in first person, which to me, leaves a lot of unanswered questions because you really don't see the whole picture through all the characters eyes. But, it was interesting, although somewhat brooding. The storyline about the museum and the Lost Girls is entertaining. A good solid mystery.

A good detective (Gemma Monroe) trying to solve the mystery of a missing young woman out at "Lost Lake". A lot of twists and turns as Gemma interviews the three friends who were out camping with the young woman the night before she disappeared. All three seem to actually have a motive for killing Sari even though they swear they are innocent. Gemma's also trying to live the life of a young wife and mother all while trying to solve the crime.

I liked Gemma and the plot was intricate yet clear. I don't care for her partner's rudeness and hard to believe she wouldn't request a change since partner's operate as one on a case. I don't think she and fiance should marry since there seems to be little passion. I would have enjoyed a little more of her personal life but getting to know the relationship with her child and Clementine was a good start. Thing everything up at the end made sense yet was unexpected for its motive

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s press for the review copy.
I love this new to mystery series set in Colorado.
I like the setting and the characters very much .
Will definitely read more by this author

4 stars

Detective Gemma Monroe responds to a report of a missing woman Sari Chesney at Lost Lake in Colorado. The woman apparently left in the middle of the night and her three friends don’t know where she has gone.

Gemma is a new mother to her daughter Grace. Her partner Brody is very helpful and accommodating.

After checking at her apartment, Gemma and Sari’s boyfriend Mac go to the police station to fill out a missing person’s report. Apparently Sari worked for a local museum who is putting on a gala that evening and she wouldn’t have missed it. While Gemma is attending the gala event at the museum that evening she meets some of the important people who run it, including Betty Starbuck, the museum curator. Betty tells Gemma about the theft of the supposedly cursed Rayburn Diary; all those who possessed it died a horrible death or so the story goes. Sari was one of the four people who had a key to the safe.

The next morning Gemma gets called back to the museum. Police Chief Angel Chaves is already at the scene. Someone has been killed. The dead woman is Betty Starbuck. Gemma’s investigation now has three parts, the missing Sari Chesney, The stolen Rayburn Diary and the murder of Betty Starbuck. Gemma’s partner Finn Nowlin has now returned from his vacation in Palm Springs and joins the investigation.

When Sari Chesney’s body is found in Lost Lake by some fishermen, Gemma is devastated. She told the friends at the campsite that it would be okay; that Sari would show up. Show up, she did.

The list of interviewees grows. Friends, acquaintances, relatives and workmates are all interviewed. Gemma and Finn’s suspicions are all over the place. The cases drag on. Then tragedy strikes at the Crimson Café.

The identity of the killer comes as no surprise since a vital clue was given earlier in the story. But since it came almost at the end of the story, it was no great distraction. And the story of the Rayburn Diary is closed.

This is a very well written book. I liked Gemma and Finn, although later in the story than Gemma. He finally came into his own. I appreciated the relationship between Gemma and Brody; how well they pulled together and so on. I hope in the next story they do get married. This was a good police procedural and discussed how slowly things can move in an investigation and how chasing down the clues is such hard and confusing sometimes.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read, enjoy and review.