Detective Kay Sharp left home after unforgettable family trauma. A Special Agent with the FBI, Kay has become a renowned criminalist and also has a psychology degree. Coming back home is the last thing Kay wanted to do, but her brother Jacob has gotten himself in trouble, and is being jailed for a short duration. Kay feels responsible for Jacob and his house, so she leaves her career behind and goes back to home to a place where she is haunted by terrible memories.

It takes but a minute for Kay to step foot in the small town when she realizes they have been rocked by the murder of a woman. The murder carries a very specific signature of a serial killer that is currently serving multiple life terms in prison. Is there a copycat at play, and if so, how many more victims will there be?

Kay's expertise is not always welcome, but once she recognizes that a child is missing, she puts her all into the investigation. By so doing, her own past hits her square in the face. Meanwhile, Kay has had a secret for years and if she is not careful, that secret will be exposed.

What a fabulous first book in what will no doubt be an excellent series! Leslie Wolfe is a new name for me and I was ecstatic to be able to read the first book in a new series. I love how she developed Kay's character, as well as how the plot and the conflict played out. In fact, I am excited to read the next book in the series, Beneath Blackwater River, which is set for release April 23rd. I love Kay and cannot wait to see how she handles her next case.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

An Unputdownable roller coaster. The characters in this book just grip you. They are so well developed and relatable. The plot is unique and the story is fabulously written . Once you start reading you simply have to keep going to find out what is going on. One twist after another and when you think you know what’s going on there’s another twisted turn. This book described some brutal violence and parts were fairly graphic, however I love me a good, gritty horrifying read. This one gets two resounding thumbs up from me.

This was a fantastic thriller that had me hooked from the beginning. I have read many of Leslie Wolfe's novels and enjoyed them tremendously. This is gripping and twists throughout will keep you turning the pages.

I received a copy of this from the author in exchange for fair and honest review.

This book has a good plot and writing, the characters explained through their past with the atmosphere adding to the flavour. The investigation and the unravelling of the suspense are handled deftly. The violent aspect could be tamed down to make it more enjoyable.

The Girl from Silent Lake is one of those books that make the most of violence toward women. The kind of thriller that likes shocking torture and abuse. Of women.

I'm tired of reading this kind of thriller, especially when the author is capable of writing a good mystery/thriller without concentrating on the torture and abuse. It isn't that I don't enjoy some books in this category, but they must make the investigation more important than the details of psychopathic behavior.

I read this one last month and debated about reviewing it. Most reviews are positive, but it annoyed me more than entertained me.

NetGalley/Bookouture
Thriller. 2021. Print length: 373 pages.

Kay is a FBI profiler who "resigns" from her job and moves to her childhood hometown, Well, when she gets there, there are crimes that she needs to investigate and one of them is very personal...

I've not read this series before but you can read it as a standalone although I think I would have got more from it had I read the earlier ones. I will do that now. Series is a good one and an intriguingly fresh main character is very good.

The title and cover are particularly intriguing!

This is the first book I have read by this author. The book is vividly written so the reader is totally enmeshed in the world of Mount Chester. The characters are succinctly developed and give amazing insight into their thought processes. I read a lot of mystery-thriller-suspense type books and this one threw me for a loop. I promise you will not see the end coming. The story is horrific at first blush and quickly becomes terrifying. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to be unbelievably compelled to keep reading in order to find out what happens next.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of The Girl from Silent Lake, the first novel to feature former FBI agent Dr Kay Sharp.

Kay returns home to Mount Chester in the mountains of Northern California to house sit when her brother is incarcerated. While home she becomes fascinated by the murder of a young woman whose body has recently been uncovered. She is asked by the local detective to use her profiling skills to help identify the killer and in doing so finds links to her past.

I quite enjoyed The Girl from Silent Lake because it has a twisted plot told at breakneck speed. There is so much to keep up with it’s hard to find time to breathe, but the downside to this is that it’s fairly superficial and the developments come easily. To be fair, not much more is required in a thriller and it does its job well.

The novel is told mainly from three points of view, Kay, her past and the killer. Kay is the main plot propellant as it is her insights that push it forward. That she seems omniscient by the age of 30 is just something the reader has to accept. The novel also skips back to her childhood and eventually explains why she has returned to Mount Chester. It’s a secret she intends to keep and I can see it playing out in future novels. The killer is unnamed until the denouement but his past is fully examined over the course of the novel. I found it totally unrealistic and skim read much of it.

This is a novel that follows the tried and tested formula of a feisty female detective with secrets who hunts for a twisted killer with childhood and personality issues. It is an entertaining read but offers nothing new. 3.5*

I was given an ARC of this book for an honest review. Thank you Net Galley for this opportunity.
I really enjoy crime stories of all kinds. I am glad this is book one of a series because I truly enjoyed it. I actually felt sorry for the killer in the beginning it was really heartbreaking how his poor life started out. That being said you can’t keep that frame of mind when he starts killing. Kate arrives on the scene by accident because of her brother being in prison she quits her job as FBI profiler to come back to her hometown. She can’t help but get involved and the hunt begins and the excitement too ! This is a real page turner I couldn’t put it down . Can’t wait for the next book ! If you like crime stories I highly recommend.

I’m guilty. I’ve been on a kick, lately, finding series with women in law enforcement. I’ve become addicted to them Wolfe’s series is my latest find. I didn’t surface all day until I’d finished this riveting read. I love Kay. She’s sharp, cool, analytical, and daring. You learn more of her story as the book progresses and realize why she had to rush back to the tiny town aster she swore never to return. About 1/4 thorough the book, the author revealed a subtle, but key clue and I honed in on it. I knew who the killer was instantly. It’s a well written plot with great police work, heinous crimes, and everything an avid reader like myself looks for in an enthralling read.

Fast, twisty, edgy, dark thriller. First book in a new series, and I am hooked. There are a few flashbacks for Kay which I am normally not fond of, but were handled well. The memories of our perpetrator makes you feel for him and question wtc was going on. I do have to admit I knew who it was. His crimes are horrific He was indeed cringe worthy. I liked that we could follow along with Kay and loved the budding relationship with Elliott. I am curious to see what happens in book 2. I think some of the characters will be more fleshed out as Kay grows and interacts. I did have questions, but I will wait till the book comes out because I do not do spoilers. Thank you for the arc Leslie Wolfe, Bookouture and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

this book was pretty good, though it followed a similar pattern of much of this genre, a strong, sometimes foolhardy heroine with a deep secret from her past, a potential love interest. told from multiple perspectives. It was still interesting and enjoyable but not memorable

Kay Sharp returns to her childhood home, something she swore she'd never do after escaping the home of her childhood trauma at the hands of her father.
Something she would have to relive 16 years after it all ended.
She's needed to look after her brother's things, and the home she grew up in after he received an extremely harsh sentence for a bar fight in which no one was hurt.
Kay has taken leave from her FBI profiling job and inserts herself into the investigation of a young woman who was found buried in the area. Against the sheriff's better judgment, he has no choice but to listen to her as she proves herself to be right at every step of the investigation by predicting that the quiet area has a serial killer in their midst.

Pro's:
A very well written story with solid characters, and several twists along the way.

Con's:
It was very easy to figure out who the killer is as we are taken through the memories of both the killer and Kay.
I knew who the killer was at about 30% of the way in. It really couldn't be helped. But what a ride watching Kay and the Detective who moved from Texas that needed her help to solve the crimes taking place

3.5 stars rounded up.

Leslie Wolfe is back! Dr Kay Sharp is a forensic psychologist. She left the FBI, where she worked as a profiler in San Francisco, when her younger brother, Jacob, was sent to prison for 6 months on a trumped up charge and returns home to Mount Chester to look after Jacob’s house and try and get him released. No sooner has she arrived back home than she gets a visit from Detective Elliot Young from the Franklin County Police Department seeking her expertise with a recent murder case.

Despite her reservations Kay agrees to consult with the police. As soon as she familiarises herself with the case she feels that the recent killing is the work of a serial killer who has killed before and will kill again. They find more bodies and learn that some of the women’s children are still missing. Are they dead too? Or worse? It is clear from the bodies that this killer holds his victims for some time and subjects them to... horrible things.

Kay wins over Elliot with her astute observations. Her developing profile of the killer is helpful but there still seem to be some pieces missing. There are so many questions that still have no answers. One thing is for sure - the person they are seeking is very clever indeed! As the police chip away at the evidence and get closer Kay takes a massive risk to unmask the killer. Will it be her downfall?

I enjoyed this book. Although the plot was by no means unique, the pace was cracking and the character of Kay was so single-minded in her pursuit of the killer, really commendable. But - I think the story line where the kick ass female lead ignores orders and protocol and storms off to single-handedly save the day is getting stale so I took off half a point, You could see this one coming a mile away! Nevertheless - good plot, good characters, good action and a great whodunnit. I never guessed it. Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Leslie Wolfe for providing a copy for me to review. My opinions are my own.

This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. I liked Kay and Elliot alot. I hope we see more of them. This was a really good mystery.

I have received an ARC of this book by NetGalley and Bookouture and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review. The Pub date of the book is 19.02.2021.
This it’s the first book of the author that I read, and I loved it. Leslie Wolfe knows how to tie us to the story and make us want to know more and more until the end of it. That was how I felt while reading the book. The characters were perfect and very beautifully written and pleasant. Kay was a strong, intelligent and focus woman, with a good – present – life but with some ghosts an problems that surface a lot in this story. What Detective doesn’t have some? Exactly.
I liked Elliot too. He wasn’t a cocky asshole and saw the good in having Kay as a partner in crime. He was kind, funny and thoughtful – pleasant. I hope to see him more in the next book of the series.
About the unsub…I like how he was presented and described to us in the story. His perspective and his voice on his life and problems. And at the same time, knowing he was a fucked-up bastard my heart broke with his past and how he made it too the person he was today. It’s a theme that sometimes I talk about with friends and we enter in long talks about this kind of things (sorry I don’t want to give spoilers for those who still haven’t read it). I had some mixed feelings about him.
Anyway, I was incredibly pleased with this book and gave him the five stars that in my opinion, he deserved. I was never bored reading it and that is always something good to make me love a book. I hope the author continue this series.

Wow! Gripped from start to finish. The first book of hopefully a long line of stories involving this detective. Couldn’t put it down.......waiting impatiently for the next instalment

Wow!!! That's the word I am using to describe this book. It's simply put my breath away that I finished this book in one go!

A series of abduction and murder of women were happening in Kay Sharp's hometown. Kay is a FBI profiler who is working in San Francisco "resigns" from her job and moves to her childhood hometown, when her younger brother Jacob was put in jail for six months for punching someone at a bar. Kay being an experienced profiler had heard about these serial murders and had sent a letter to the local police, assessing what she profiled about the serial killer. With that Detective Elliot stops over at Kay's house and together they work to find the serial killer before another woman goes missing...

This book literally threw my breath away! I couldn't simply put the book down. The writing was intense and well written and kudos to the author, who did a good job drawing the reader into the story. Kay is a likable character and I was instantly warmed up to her character and I do like the partnership between Kay and Elliot--they seemed to be perfect! This book is also fast paced, which I like about the thriller books and there were unexpected twists and turns that you didn't expect!

Overall, this was actually really good thriller that is unputdownable, with twists and turns and fast paced thriller. This is the first book of the Kay Sharp series and looking forward to read more books from this author. Worth five stars! Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC! This review is based on my honest opinion.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

Trigger warnings for this book include: Physical/Sexual/Verbal Abuse, Child Abuse, Violence, Torture, Graphic descriptions of violence, murder, and blood.

This book made me feel like I was curled up in a blanket watching an episode of Criminal Minds.

The Girl From Silent Lake is an exhilarating thriller following a former FBI profiler with a dark past as she assists on a gruesome case in her home-town. She assists the local police force while simultaneously trying to help her brother overturn a jail sentence and come to terms with her traumatic past.
I really enjoyed reading this book, the plot was so well thought out and the twists and turns just kept coming. There are multiple perspectives as well as flashback chapters that keep the intrigue up and help the story flow in a logical manner. I do wish that when the chapters change perspective that there was some way of knowing ahead of time, perhaps including a name underneath the chapter title, to give some instruction. I was confused a couple of times by the sudden change in perspective.
I really enjoyed the characters; they work very well together and are well rounded. The plot was very well done, there were no lulls and the ending worked very well with the story. The only thing I didn’t love, was that I knew who the killer was about halfway through the book. If there wouldn’t have been other plot twists toward the end I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book if you love thrillers, or if you love Criminal Minds! I thoroughly enjoyed it! I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

The Girl From Silent Lake was the book form of Criminal minds. If your a fan of detective books and criminal profiling this book is everything you could ask for! It is my two my favorites mixed together!

I enjoyed everything about this book. I’m a long time reader of detective series, and I see this one having so much potential in the future as a successful series!

I commend the writer for researching and learning the basics of law enforcement, our judicial process, and standard procedure. Having a criminal Justice degree myself, it’s always refreshing to read a story that is staying true to these aspects. It makes it so much more realistic and believable.


Kay is one of the top profilers for the FBI. She hunts the worst of the worst, serial killers. She finds herself back in her hometown hunting a killer that has racked up a body count and has no plans of stopping. Kay most catch this predator before he hunts and kills his next victims.

I can not wait to see where this series goes next! I’ll be looking for the next book!