The Dark Lake

Sarah Bailey

Oct 2017 · Sold by Grand Central Publishing

About this ebook

A tight-knit community is shocked by revelations from decades past in this "enthralling" (Associated Press) literary mystery that "will keep you racing toward the end" (Lisa Gardner).

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.

Ratings and reviews

The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey is the first book in A Gemma Woodstock Mystery series. Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock lives and works in Smithson, Australia. Gemma receives a call regarding the strangulation death of Rosalind Ryan. She was found by a jogger floating in Sonny Lake with red roses surrounding her body. Gemma went to school with Rosalind and were once friends (as well as rivals). Rosalind had recently returned to town to teach drama at Smithson Secondary College. Rosalind was a woman who spoke her mind and recently put on an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet (she was quite insistent about it). Gemma starts to dig into Rosalind’s life. Despite her popularity, Rosalind was something of an enigma. Why had Rosalind quit her job in Sydney and returned to Smithson? Gemma is determined to track down the killer despite the threats to her own life and that of her son’s. Will Gemma find the killer, or will she end up the next victim? The Dark Lake had an extremely dislikeable main character. You know you do not like a character when you keep hoping the killer will do her in. Gemma’s personal life was a mess and it spilled over into her work. She is living with one man (father of her son) while having an affair with another man. There are numerous sex scenes and it seems to be all Gemma can think about (it was obsessive). Gemma came across as unstable. I do want to mention that the book does contain foul language (a pet peeve of mine). I found there to be a lack of action and suspense. The mystery comes across as complex, but the solution is obvious. The book seemed long and drawn out (lacking in suspense and action). The same details kept being repeated. The focus of The Dark Lake was on Gemma and her messed up life instead of Rosalind’s murder. The book had potential. It just needed a major rewrite and severe editing.

Boring book! It's not a mystery if you can work out who did it & why by the middle of it. Lots of unnecessary writing, characters, & details that you hope lead somewhere & end up being completely useless! And you end up storing all this information and left with nothing to do with it. By the 40th chapter I couldn't wait to be done with it... & I still had 38 left to go! Weirdly written!

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.

About the author

Sarah Bailey was born in Melbourne, Australia, where she has lived all her life and currently resides with her two young sons. She has a degree in journalism and a career in advertising. She is currently a partner at the creative agency Mr. Smith.