4-5 stars

A town called Malice.

Quinn Wilde is a British senior war correspondent, injured in the “line of duty“ who is less than thrilled to be assigned a story in Stowebury, Vermont fifteen months ago. However, this turns out to be a really big story. A pretty town, perhaps it’s looks belying a rotten core, twenty one teenagers dead, one missing and one in a coma. A high school graduating class virtually wiped out. The authorities throw an ironclad ring around the town and the story and now over a year later, Quinn is certain she can blow the story out of the lake and get to the truth about how the high school prom aboard the boat Lady of Champlain goes so disastrously and tragically wrong. The story is told via several perspectives including two mothers who are also sisters, Amy and Iris.

There’s definitely something rotten in the state of Vermont, specifically Stowebury, to say the least there’s a pact or conspiracy of silence. Who’s to say what other conspiracies or corruption lurks beneath those deceptively benign waters?

The scene setting in this very atmospheric place is most revealing as there’s definitely trouble in paradise. The vibes are odd, the tones are off, there’s obvious dysfunction, it’s moody, malicious, there’s evil and hatred with plenty of hints of what to come. This inevitably has me reading on eager to seek out the nuggets of truth.

There are quite a lot of characters to get familiar with, but once I do, I have no problems sorting out who’s who as the characterisation is strong. There are some wolves in sheep’s clothing and one who is weaving evil at the centre of the murky waters. It’s really intriguing as things start to connect and my heart sinks and breaks along the Lakeside. There are so many layers to peel back to get to the heart of it all as the fear levels rise alongside the tension, secrets, lies and betrayals. It propels and twists itself towards an exciting, suspenseful and unexpected ending.

A times it’s a very emotional read, not only about incredibly tough choices that characters have to make but also because of some of the themes including the rawness of grief and the impact of bullying. There are some trigger warnings at the beginning of the book.

Overall, this is another exceptionally good read from Tessa Stimson in my opinion.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Headline, Mountain Leopard Press for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

Will post to social media near publication.