Summit Lake by Charlie Donlea (Epub)

Description

Set in a small, picturesque North Carolina town, Charlie Donlea’s suspenseful debut novel tells the haunting story of a murdered law school student, the reporter assigned to her story—and the intimate connection that comes when the living walk in the footsteps of the dead.

Some places seem too beautiful to be touched by horror. Summit Lake, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is that kind of place, with charming stilt houses dotted along the pristine water. But two weeks ago, Becca Eckersley, a first-year law student, was brutally murdered in one of those houses. The daughter of a powerful attorney, Becca was hard-working, accomplished, and ambitious. Now, while the town reels with grief and shocked residents gather to share their theories, the police are baffled.

At first, investigative reporter Kelsey Castle thinks of the assignment as a fluff piece. But the savagery of the crime, and the determined efforts to keep the case quiet, all hint at something far more than a random attack by a stranger. As Kelsey digs deeper, pushing on despite danger and warnings, she feels a growing connection to the dead girl. And the more she learns about Becca’s friendships, her love life—and the secrets she was keeping—the more convinced she becomes that learning the truth about Becca could be the key to overcoming her own dark past…

Advance Praise for Summit Lake

“An exciting debut, with all the right touches, captivating from the first page to the last. There’s a bright future ahead for this newcomer to the thriller genre — definitely a talent to watch.”–Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author

“Gripping! This one kept me up late into the night.”–Nancy Bush, New York Times bestselling author

“A swift, outstanding debut. Summit Lake engrossed me then knocked me cold. Charlie Donlea is a superb storyteller sure to damage the best seller lists.”–Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author

“Summit Lake makes a small town come alive through the lens of madness, misunderstandings, betrayal, and a pile of the kind of secrets that makes a mystery of a life so hard to untangle from its death. The pages fly by, zinging through the twists and revelations, all the way to the shattering conclusion.”–Jamie Mason

“A brilliant, haunting thriller in which The Lovely Bones meets The Silence of the Lambs—with a bit of Twin Peaks thrown in for good measure! Charlie Donlea weaves a unique, spellbinding tale about a bond between two fascinating women—one living, one dead. Full of unexpected twists and turns, Summit Lake is an irresistible page-turner.”–Kevin O’Brien, New York Times bestselling author

“Grabs you from the very start and doesn’t let go! This gripping thriller keeps you at the edge of your seat and gasping in all the right places. Donlea spins a perfectly crafted story of two women, both victims of violent crime, searching for justice, redemption and ultimately—peace. You won’t be able to put this book down until you’ve uncovered all the secrets hidden inside the picturesque town of Summit Lake.”–Emily Bleeker

User’s Reviews

Review Praise for Summit Lake”A brilliant, haunting thriller in which The Lovely Bones meets The Silence of the Lambs-with a bit of Twin Peaks thrown in for good measure! Charlie Donlea weaves a unique, spellbinding tale about a bond between two fascinating women-one living, one dead. Full of unexpected twists and turns, Summit Lake is an irresistible page-turner.” –Kevin O’Brien, New York Times bestselling author”Gripping! This one kept me up late into the night.” –Nancy Bush, New York Times bestselling author”A riveting novel, layered with secrets and intrigue…gripping and tense.” –Allen Eskens, bestselling author of The Life We Bury.”The whodunit plot is so clever and compelling . . . For fans of nonstop mysteries with a twist.” –Library Journal”With a soaring pace and teasing plot twists, Charlie Donlea’s debut mystery is like a cool drink of water with a twist of lemon. It’s refreshing to find a book that has such a well-developed plot and excellent writing to back it up.” –Bookpage”Debut author Donlea keeps readers racing through the chapters.Fans of contemporary suspense will enjoy this brisk read.” –Booklist”This exceptional debut will challenge the most ardent reader to discover the culprit. The buildup to the startling climax is handled with kid gloves, giving away only as much as Donlea wishes to reveal, The ending is a stunner.” –RT Book Reviews, 4.5 Stars Top Pick”

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ The story is a basic amateur sleuth mystery (featuring writer) in the Hardy Boys writing style. I actually did enjoy it and liked the way the author juxtaposed the life of the dead girl up to the moment of her death with the story of the writer trying to solve the case. The writing was flat, however, and the story development totally unbelievable, which detracted from my appreciation of the story greatly. The sleuth is a magazine writer known and recognized by everyone she meets (not likely). The police aren’t investigating (and the reason is never given – I keep thinking that might be a big reveal at the end) but they give her all their files, openly discuss the case with her (and ask for her assistance), show her the crime scene, say maybe she can get into records they can’t etc. And then she walks into a hospital and asks to talk to the doctor about the case, and gets sent right back to meet him. He, took, helps her, even breaking laws, all because after 5 minutes he’s her biggest advocate. In short, the whole town treats her as the primary investigator and all go out of their way to share secrets and information, including a woman who calls her “best friend” two days after they meet. The characters woodenly do and say things to move the plot along but come off as stiff and mere talking heads.

⭐ What disappointed you about Summit Lake?A reporter is brutally raped and beaten and a month later her “thinks of her like a daughter” boss sends her for R&R to cover a case where someone was brutally raped, beaten and died. Makes no sense. Then everyone in this small town meets her and wants to tell her everything, including the sheriff who gives her all his notes on the case. Really? Just too far-fetched of a story.What was most disappointing about Charlie Donlea’s story?The state police cannot get answers from anyone and a reporter solves the case. She has been beaten and raped and then goes off alone with a man she has just met. There are just far too many conveniences for this to be anywhere near realistic.How could the performance have been better? (refers to the audio version)Another narrator. Shannon McManus has recorded quite a few books, but this one is an absolute mess. Her inflection is completely wrong. Her voice goes up at the end of most sentences, the way it should when asking a question. She has no grasp of cadence in moving from one sentence to another. Thank goodness I only paid $2.95 for it! If I had paid more, I would be sick over it.

⭐ Kelsey Castle is a journalist recovering from a horrifying attack. A small amount of time has passed, enough for her to feel she’s ready to go forward again, so her boss sends her to Summit Lake to investigate a murder. The premise was, get her back in the game slowly, and let her skills come forward again, drowning out her past. But it’s a murder that’s anything but basic. Something’s going on at Summit Lake, something that people in the town are trying to keep hidden. The more Kelsey searches through the evidence, the more alarmed she becomes. And the more she relates to the victim’s death.The book is well written, drawing you in a page at a time, until your fingers are flying, flipping through the pages as fast as they can go.And trying to find the murderer becomes an obsessive quest. For me, I flipped back to see if I’d read what I thought I’d read in the beginning, hoping this was a clue. But Donlea drops so many clues, and has so many complex characters, that it becomes impossible to ascertain just which one is guilty.The book has heart, and heartbreak. But it also offers redemption, shining a light on hope, and the reassurance that many things do finally come right, no matter how dark the path the character walked.

⭐ 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

⭐ This book is written in the style where we start with a murder and then flashback and forth from the victim’s life before the murder and the protagonist in the present who is trying to figure it out. The part about the victim’s life is four-stars, but the protagonist section is two. Hence the average of three stars. The victim’s part: some good character development here. We come to see Becca (the victim) as a complex character who isn’t exactly how she appears on the surface. We build up some sympathy for the murder. The half of the book devoted to the protagonist (Kelsey) disappoints, however. Her magical ability to just ask for things and have law enforcement and physicians decide, in the space of three minutes, to violate laws and ethics and hand over the info isn’t plausible. As a former journalist, it made me laugh out loud. Way too easy. Kelsey meets people and a day later they are besties. Kelsey’s exorcism of personal demons is well-trod ground. The four-star half of this book was enough to keep me interested, but the two-star section made it harder than it should have been.

⭐ I just loved this book! I discovered this writer when I read his second book, The Girl Who Was Taken. Once I finished that book and realized that he had a first book, I just had to read it. He did not disappoint me in his development of the story. I really like the format that he writes his book in as he tells the story from the main character’s viewpoint and then the secondary character’s viewpoint. It switches back and forth every other chapter. The ending surprised me and then it didn’t. Now that I know how it ended, I can kind of see what happened in the book that makes the ending make total sense. I can’t say that I figured out the ending, though. I won’t say more because I don’t want to give it away.This was a fast read, kept my interest and I could not put it down. I am typically not a fast reader, but read this book in about a week.

⭐ My second book from Charlie Donlea in one month. He’s someone who is on a roll right now and if you like Thrillers, keep him on your radar. As for the book, it’s well written with the same character-driven chapters that keep you turning the pages.The story is a healing journey for reporter Kelsey Castle as she is recovering from a brutal attack. Cops aren’t friendly, secrets and lies are kept hidden too long.

⭐ I am picky about what I read now that I’m older. I don’t tolerate a lot of swearing and gratuitous/graphic sex scenes. This novel was so well-written and kept me intrigued to the very end . It was hard to put it down. The characters were engaging, the story was believable, and the ending really did surprise me. I’ve read mystery novels for over 35 years and am usually pretty good at guessing the ending, but not with this one. I like to be able to cheer on the protagonist, and it was easy to do in the novel. I highly recommend it. I might be more of a chick-read with the female protagonist. I am really preferring these nowadays, but I still do mix it up. Look forward to reading more by this author.

⭐ I’m familiar with Mr. Donlea’s work having already read The Girl Who Was Taken. I loved that book, from the smooth writing style to the twists that had me wondering who did it? I liked how I kept changing my mind about who the killer was after more information was dropped into my lap.This book felt more straightforward to me. It was made more suspenseful because of certain situations that weren’t explained fully at the time, and done well, keeping me wondering.I just felt a bit let down by the denouement. Can’t figure out why, yet.Loved Jack, enjoyed how all the characters seemed three-dimensional in this story. I enjoyed the plot and the dialogue felt authentic.Unlike one other reader who had an issue with the ease with which Kelsey was given info about the case, I was able to suspend my disbelief to accept the premise; Commander Ferguson was fed up with being stonewalled and glad to engage an outside source to get to the truth. And I liked Peter, and the balance he brought to the story.Also well-played was the interweaving of both Kelsey’s and Becca’s stories. Hooked me and I liked the revelation when it occurred.Good book and I’m looking forward to reading more of his work.

⭐ I found the book to be very cut and dried, almost in the style of an outline. The character development was not good, and the author was dishonest with the reader in order to lead them in a couple of different directions. The transitions from one storyline to another didn’t flow real well for me, either. Finally, the last scene was confusing – not in what happened, but why it was written in the manner it was. This is the first book I’ve read by this author, so looked up the date of publication. It turns out this was his debut novel, which explains the number of problems I had with it. I would like to give one of his more recent books a chance sometime.

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