The Dark Lake: A stunning thriller perfect for fans of Jane Harper's The Dry (Detective Woodstock series)

Recently I have read a number of Australian novels, the best of which have been most impressive, notably "The Dry" trilogy, which gets better and better book by book and the powerful "Scrublands", as well as "Killers and Thieves". For me this novel by Sarah Bailey does not quite measure up to these. It is not a bad book, but I was constantly put off by the over-writing, the straining for emotional effects and some wild utterances from the central character. A more restrained approach would have made Gemma Woodstock a more credible character,I think. An array of parallels and coincidences is less than entirely convincing and the ending is melodramatic. There is potential here. It will be interesting to see what follows this.

It never quite sped up for me, a plodding investigation into a murder of what basically amounts to a beautiful female paedophile intertwined with a quite dislikeable lead character who appears to become a bit psychotic herself in the final quarter of the book. It would have been better had she herself turned out to have killed both of the dead characters in the book, perhaps. I put off a Tom Keneally book on my holiday to read this book so am a bit miffed at its plot. Some of the writing is also a bit high school (not far from "Margie Acton rearranged the flowers on her desk. She knew that the rain would mean trouble after the trouble last weekend with the Carruthers brothers...", etc)

Amazing book by a superb author. Well pleased.

To Read!!

excellent

The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey is her first novel that she wrote alone. I loved every page of this thriller. Sarah Bailey is most certainty a new author to keep a look out for in the future, she is right up on the ladder of many crime authors such as Sharon Bolton and Sophie Hannah and Erin Kelly. I love the front cover of the lake surrounded by flowers that is what instantly attracted me the book and the blurb. Plus I'm always on the look out for new authors to read their books so when I read that Sarah Bailey was a new novelist I become quite excited to read The Dark Lake. Connor Marsh is jogging one morning when he sees a woman face down in the lake. Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock remembers Rosalind Ryan from Smithson high as they were friends. I find it odd how schools always change their names even my schools have changed their names. Smithson High changed its name to Smithson Secondary College. Rosalind Ryan was a teacher at Smithson Secondary College. There are quite a few characters in this page turning novel and any one of them could be the killer who killed Rosalind Ryan. I recommend that you read The Dark Lake and find out for your self how exactly Rosalind died.

This is Sarah Bailey's debut novel and the first one of hers I have read. It was passed onto me by my Mum and I loved it. Rosalind Ryan has been murdered and it is DS Gemma Woodstock's job to try and solve the crime along with her colleagues. I enjoyed the author's descriptive writing and her talent for drawing the reader into the story. Rosalind appeared to be a strange woman with manipulative ways about her and Gemma is a troubled young lady of the same age. She has a lot going on in her personal life as she tries to solve a murder that she has a connection to in more ways than one.I'm pleased that I didn't read some other reviews before I read the book as some people seem to have been put off by Gemma's character. No one is perfect in this world and everyone has their own issues they are trying to live with. I enjoyed the author's portrayal of every character and will definitely be reading her other novels.

The Dark Lake is the first book in the Gemma Woodstock series by Australian author, Sarah Bailey. When Rosalind Ryan’s body is found in the lake by Smithson Secondary College, Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock wants to be on the case, even though it might dredge up some bitter memories for her. Gemma assures her boss that their connection was casual, and she’s fine to handle whatever comes up, but she doesn’t share certain facts that may affect her performance.Rose taught at Smithson Secondary, and was loved by both students and fellow staff; she was a talented drama teacher and her murder occurred after a first-night performance of her modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. The list of those needing to be questioned is extensive: students, family, colleagues and nearby residents. Despite some excellent detective work, progress is slow and helpful evidence appears only sporadically.Gemma may be a good cop, but she’s no angel: despite living with the devoted father of her young son, she has a sexual relationship with her work partner, DS Felix McKinnon, and that’s just one of the secrets she’s keeping. It soon becomes apparent that the townspeople of Smithson are harbouring quite a few secrets, some as hot as the summer they’re sweltering through.Bailey crafts her tale with skill: she gives the reader a plot filled with jealousy, infatuation, passion, grief, lust, love and guilt. Clues are drip-fed to reveal twists, tricks and red herrings that keep the reader guessing right through to the explosive climax. With some gorgeous prose, she captures the small country town, the era, the attitudes of the residents with consummate ease. Her characters are multifaceted and easily believable, and their dialogue is what is heard in any small-town school, café, shop or pub. This is an excellent debut novel and readers will be hoping to see more from this talented author.