The Dark Lake

by Sarah Bailey

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538759905
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	10/03/2017
Series:	Gemma Woodstock Series , #1
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.30(d)

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.

Editorial Reviews

09/01/2017
When Rosalind Ryan's body is found floating in a lake surrounded by roses, Det. Gemma Woodstock must face a past she'd hoped would remain buried. The beautiful Rosalind, whom Gemma envied in high school, was a teacher and writer/director of a successful school play, murdered on the production's opening night. The locals believe that to be violated so brutally, strangled, and dumped, she must have been involved in something sinister. It is up to Gemma to untangle the list of suspects, including Rosalind's strange-acting older brothers, the overly emotional school principal, and maybe even a student with ties to Gemma. The detective insists that the case isn't personal, but threats to her family and secrets surfacing from the past prove otherwise. Australian author Bailey's first novel weaves a tale of deception, family secrets, and flawed but relatable characters. VERDICT While the ultimate plotline is fairly predictable, several smaller mysteries and background characters make this a worthwhile read for fans of fellow detective-focused authors Tana French and Lisa Gardner.—Natalie Browning, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community Coll. Lib., Richmond, VA

Library Journal

2017-07-17
Police detective Gemma Woodstock works to solve the murder of a former classmate in Bailey's debut mystery.When Rosalind Ryan's body is discovered at the edge of a lake surrounded by red roses, detective Gemma Woodstock and her partner, Felix McKinnon, begin investigating the most complex case of their careers. Rosalind and Gemma attended high school together in the small town of Smithson, so Gemma's memories of Rosalind, who was devastatingly beautiful but also aloof and mysterious, color her exploration of the dead woman's more recent past. Everyone claims to have loved and admired Rosalind: the principal of the school where she taught English and drama; the many students whose lives she touched; her wealthy father and her three brothers. But someone is lying. Gemma becomes obsessed by and exhausted from not only the case, but the memories it stirs up of a high school boyfriend's suicide. She has her own secrets and life complexities, after all; she has a child with a man who wants to marry her, but she's having an affair with Felix, who is also married, and to top it all off, Christmas is coming. There are echoes of Tana French in the novel, but Bailey's characters lack the nuance of French's damaged, brilliant detectives, and her writing falls short of French's lyricism. Still, she smoothly incorporates Gemma's past into the novel to flesh out her character, and Rosalind, while ultimately oversimplified, drives much of the novel's sense of mystery. As all the loose ends of Gemma's life are tied up in tandem with solving the mystery, there seems to be little suggestion of a sequel. Which is probably a good thing, as Gemma and Felix aren't quite gripping enough to warrant a second outing. A satisfying mystery novel with a relatable heroine, if not a revelatory one.

Kirkus Reviews

"Enthralling... Sarah Bailey's debut delivers a multilayered police procedural with strong characters whose emotions both assist and interfere with their work. The Dark Lake also balances an intricate story of a community with an intimate look at police detectives... Bailey uses solid character development and superior storytelling, rather than violence, to fuel The Dark Lake, and she is off to an excellent start in this launch of a series."—Oline Cogdill, Associated Press


"Readers and critics have compared Bailey's taut storytelling to that of Paula Hawkins... and Gillian Flynn... high praise for this first-time novelist. It's a well-earned analogy."—The Minnesota Star Tribune


"THE DARK LAKE hooked me from page one! Sarah Bailey combines the very best elements in this stunning debut thriller—a troubled detective still trying to find her way as a female investigator, a small town haunted by secrets both past and present, and a beautiful victim whose unsettling allure appears to be her biggest asset and largest downfall. With clever twists and all-too-human characters, this book will keep you racing toward the end."—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Right Behind You and Find Her


"THE DARK LAKE is a stunning debut that gripped me from page one and never eased up. Dark, dark, dark—but infused with insight, pathos, a great sense of place, and razor-sharp writing. It's going to be big and Sarah Bailey needs to clear a shelf for awards."—C. J. Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Vicious Circle and Open Season


"Police work comes easily to Det. Sgt. Gemma Woodstock, the narrator of Australian author Bailey's stellar first novel...Bailey interweaves her sympathetic protagonist's past and present with uncommon assurance...a page-turner that's both tense and thought provoking."—Publishers Weekly

"The Dark Lake is a mesmerizing thriller full of long buried secrets that sucked me right in and kept me up late turning pages. Gemma Woodstock is a richly flawed and completely authentic character - I loved going on this journey with her and the way the truth of her past was revealed in bits and pieces as we went along. Sarah Bailey has crafted an exquisite debut - I can't wait to see what she does next!"—Jennifer McMahon, New York Times bestselling author of The Winter People


"I read THE DARK LAKE in one sitting, it's that good. A crime thriller that seizes you from the first page and slowly draws you into a web of deception and long buried secrets. Beautifully written, compulsively readable, and highly recommended."—Douglas Preston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lost City of the Monkey God and co-author of the bestselling Pendergast series


"A compelling debut."—Booklist


"I raced through this deliciously complicated, mesmerizing debut at warp speed. Sarah Bailey's THE DARK LAKE is sure to keep readers awake far too late into the night."—Karen Dionne, author The Marsh King's Daughter


"There are echoes of Tana French in the novel... A satisfying mystery novel with a relatable heroine."—Kirkus Reviews


"Australian author Bailey's first novel weaves a tale of deception, family secrets, and flawed but relatable characters... Several smaller mysteries and background characters make this a worthwhile read for fans of fellow detective-focused authors Tana French and Lisa Gardner."—Library Journal


"The Dark Lake is a thrilling psychological police procedural as well as a leap into the mind of a woman engulfed with guilt."—New York Journal of Books

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