The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

Gemma has become lead investigator of the Homicide division in her small town of Smithson through sheer grit and hard work. Being a woman detective has never been easy and earning her stripes was hard. She is determined to do the best she is capable of and she is capable of doing much. Her boss knows and trusts her with this latest assignment.

A young teacher, much liked by students and peers is found murdered and her body floats on the nearby lake. Surrounded by red roses the find is a macabre one for this town where incidents of minor robberies or a domestic violence issue is the most that the cops have to face. Is it a random killing or something more. The whole town is on edge and the Chief wants it done and dusted asap.

Nothing is what it seems like and delving into the history of the girl's family unearths a complicated background which had been hidden until now. The teacher herself though popular, is someone whom no one actually knew very well and her personal history alone is skimpy with no apparent clues as to how she lived, who her friends were and what her future plans were.

Unraveling the mystery among Gemma's own personal turmoil of partner, son and lover all clashing in the midst of an investigation was going to be an upheaval of its own. Balancing the personal with her career Gemma has to come to a decision on her personal life as well.

The story with its surprising twists and turns was told in a time line day by day which heightened the tension of the story. One knew a climax of some sort was coming which added to the interest of the story.

The setting of a small town four hours away from the nearest big city of Sydney was also descriptive and I did like how the weather in this area affected the tone of the day to day happenings in the town. That was unusual in itself.

Sent to me by Grand Central Publishing for an unbiased review, via Netgalley, this was a very good book.