Summit Lake

Livro bom, manteve um suspense mas não atendeu as expectativas. Final previsivel é bobo. Achei que ao longo do livro fosse criar ligações como a Ágatha Christie mas estava enganada. Livro mediano, nada demais. Não recomendaria a alguém.

After I enjoyed reading the two Rory and Lane books by Charlie Donlea, I decided to jump head first in his debut. A lot of goods things here, but also some serious flaws. Lets get the irking things out of the way: the protagonist are a bunch of students, which immediately gives it a very young feeling. But then the adults, like reporter Kelsey, are behaving just as immaturely. Her interactions with others reminds me of a 20 year old and that love story made my eyes roll. Also many other characters are immature and made the whole book feel a bit YA rather than serious novel. The mystery remains a mystery for me as the conclusions didn't make much sense : the whole police deployment at the end for example, coincidental deaths, police and witnesses that start to divulge their secrets to the first reporting passing by. I'm trying to avoid spoilers here, but nope, not much sense indeed. Another thing that irked me are the mature themes (rape, unplanned pregnancy) that are dealt with in the same way a conservative school would with young students: delicately explain the problem and the appropriate response and solutions and then miraculously, the problem disappears. Seriously? Why did I keep on reading? Well, the start was promising and the mystery intriguing. The writing style is swift and concise. Addictive short chapters that read quickly and want you to read the next one to know more. Because this is a debut, I'm prepared to overlook the flaws and I will probably read this author again.

Summit Lake starts with a terrible crime, and ends with a twist. Becca, a young law student, is murdered in the very first chapter. Kelsey, a reporter recovering from her own painful past, is determined to discover who killed her. The chapters alternate between Becca’s life leading up to the day of the murder, and Kelsey’s investigation in the days immediately following her death. Kelsey’s investigation is met with resistance from the state police who have taken over the case (sorry to say but I never really did figure this part out - maybe to make finding the answers more difficult??). As we learn more details from Becca in the lead up to her death, many suspects present themselves as options. But who was the guilty party?? I liked the friendship between Kelsey and Rae. I also liked the relationship between Becca and her mystery boyfriend. Pretty good...this one has been on my list for a while so I am glad I got to read it and I really liked the twist at the end.

When Becca, a law student at GWU, seeks a brief respite from school at her family's vacation home in Summit Lake things go horribly wrong. Becca is brutally murdered. Some of the local townspeople believe it to be a senseless, random act while others are convinced that Becca was keeping a secret that may have led to her demise. Kelsey Castle, a magazine journalist, is slowly recovering from her own harrowing ordeal. Her boss, in an attempt to give Kelsey time and space to heal, sends her to Summit Lake to investigate the death of Becca. Little does he know, local officials are trying to keep the investigation under wraps and he may actually be putting Kelsey in harms way. This book was really good. The characters are well developed and quite likable. The death of Becca happens immediately but Donlea develops her story over time throughout the book and it's impossible not to feel a connection to her and want her murder to be solved so she can have justice. Kelsey is the perfect character to fight for Becca and bring her murderer to justice. This book was a page turner for me. I read it in a day. I was truly baffled about the identity of the murderer and there was one twist I didn't (quite) see coming. I had a slight problem with some of the coincidences that occurred and by the fact that I thought Kelsey may not have done some of the things she did in regards to her own RECENT terrifying experience. Beyond that, the book was engaging. I would definitely recommend it to others