Summit Lake by Charlie Donlea

Summit Lake by Charlie Donlea
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Star reporter Kelsey Castle travels to Summit Lake in North Carolina to write an article about Becca Eckersley who was murdered in her parents home 2 weeks earlier. Is the police trying to cover up the murder and if so why? Kelsey must find out the truth...

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I initially gave this book three stars, but there are just some things that bothered me quite a lot. Things with the story that just didn't make sense. I will come to them later on, but first will I say that the book was not all bad, it was easy to read, the flashback story of Becca Eckersley, as we get to know her before she was murdered was quite good. I like Becca and it made me sad reading about her and knowing her fate. So, part of me enjoyed reading the book, but part of me was also a bit frustrated.

There are some things with the story that for me just didn't work out. Like for instance why the police didn't manage to figure it out by themselves? I mean it was not that puzzling case and if they just would have interviewed her close friends would they quickly have solved it. And, having a journalist receiving classified documents and information from the chief of the police and a doctor? Come one. A man that has worked 40 years as police would just hand over classified material to a journalist because he has been taken from the case? Because apparently there is a cover up? Why? There was no reason for a cover up, no explanation to why there even should be a cover up. Why would her father have tried to cover up his daughter's brutal murder? She hadn't done anything wrong. It felt more like incompetence than a cover up.

Then we have the thing that I can believe for a second any normal person would do. Keep an important secret after a person has been murdered. I mean I can understand if a priest couldn't talk. But, it was just not believable that an ordinary person would keep evidence. "I have in my had something that could help the police catch the killer, I will hide that". What?

Then we have the fact that the main characters, star reporter Kelsey Castle have returned to work after she's been on leave for a couple of weeks because as we learn during the progress of the story she was assaulted. And, I would guess that a woman would be quite traumatized by this. But, she has some bad moments now and then, but no biggie since the doctor is oh so nice. What? After an experience like that would someone need therapy, but she bounced back to work after a month on leave because she was tired of sitting at home doing nothing. And, she has no problem meeting a man after this. I'm sorry, I haven't been assaulted like she was in this book, but I'm sure it would make an impact on me.

Last, but not the least, the twist in the end. Which wasn't that big of a twist. I thought in the beginning of the book that it would be too easy if that person was the killer. Guess what? Yes, despite the author's brave attempt to throw out some red herrings was the ending not really surprising.

There we have it, the things that really bothered me, at least, the things that I remembered. And, that's just too bad because part of me enjoyed reading the book. But, there were just too many things that just didn't make sense, or made me annoyed.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!