#BlogTour The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

It's my turn on the Blogtour for this well-written thriller, The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey. The main character is bound to ruffle some feathers with her destructive mentality and obsessive need to hide her secrets, and yet the gal still manages to solve crimes like a boss.

About the Author
Sarah’s first novel, The Dark Lake, was published in Australia by Allen & Unwin in May 2017 and in the USA and Canada in October.
Sarah lives in Melbourne, Australia and has two young sons.
She has fifteen years experience in the advertising industry and is currently a director at creative projects company Mr Smith.
Sarah’s second book, Into The Night, featuring Detective Gemma Woodstock, will be published in 2018.

Follow @sarahbailey1982 @AtlanticBooks
Visit sarahbaileyauthor.com
Buy The Dark Lake

About the book

A hot summer. A shocking murder. A town of secrets, waiting to explode...A beautiful young teacher has been murdered, her body found in the lake, strewn with red roses. Local policewoman Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock pushes to be assigned to the case, concealing the fact that she knew the murdered woman in high school years before.But that's not all Gemma's trying to hide. As the investigation digs deeper into the victim's past, other secrets threaten to come to light, secrets that were supposed to remain buried. The lake holds the key to solving the murder, but it also has the power to drag Gemma down into its dark depths...

Review
Gemma is simultaneously the protagonist and in an odd way also the antagonist, and she is definitely her own worst enemy. Her traumatic past has left a trail of destruction and bad choices, which doesn't seem to be easing up any time soon. She seems to actively look for ways to destroy any semblance of a happy life she has, and the reason for that is unresolved emotional trauma.

I think the charm, well maybe the snake oil medicine charm, are the two sides of Gemma. On one hand she is the relentless police officer with a good nose for solving crimes, on the other hand she is still the broken down teenager feeling guilty about the mistakes she has made.

When the body of a young woman is found in a nearby lake Gemma finds it difficult to separate her professional and private life. Instead of presenting her own connections to the case she makes a point of being furtive and evasive. This puts herself and her family in danger.

After a few chapters my initial thought was 'who is Sarah Bailey and why haven't I ever read any of her books' only to discover that The Dark Lake is her first novel. I am certain this is just the start of a very successful writing career. Bailey is a natural storyteller, the words flow well and the characters are strong enough to make a mark without eclipsing the well executed plot.

It isn't your atypical crime or main character, which makes it a breath of fresh air in the sea of crime books. The main character is bound to ruffle some feathers with her destructive mentality and obsessive need to hide her secrets, and yet the gal still manages to solve crimes like a boss. Where is Bailey going to take her messed up crime solving female detective, who has a penchant for mistakes and attracts trouble on a daily basis? I'm looking forward to finding that out.

Buy The Dark Lake at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Published by Atlantic Books 1st March 2018.

Preorder Into The Night (sequel to The Dark Lake - pub date 1.Nov. 2018)