4 Star
A gripping murder mystery, with a compelling family drama at its heart.
September 1975.
A body is discovered in the receding waters of a manmade lake, and for Peggy Casey, 23-year-old landlady of The Angler’s Rest, nothing will ever be the same.
Detective Sergeant Frank Ryan is dispatched from Dublin, and his arrival casts an uneasy spotlight on the damaged history of the valley, and on the difficult relationships that bind Peggy and her three older siblings.
Over the course of the weekend, Detective Ryan’s investigation will not only uncover the terrible truth behind the dead woman’s fate, but will also expose the Casey family’s deepest secrets.
Secrets never meant to be revealed.
Kathryn - 4 Star
The story takes place in a small village in Ireland in the 1970’s where a body has been discovered down by a man-made lake. The question surrounding the body, and where it came from, is being investigated by a detective from Dublin and he quickly finds himself intrigued by the young woman running the pub.
There were theoretically two plot lines in The Lake, the attraction between Frank and Peggy and the mystery of the body. I felt like the focus was on Peggy in the pub and the undeniable connection between her and Frank rather than this poor deceased sole but at the same time Lambert also brought in a host of villagers who slowly gave details about the village and it’s past. Upon reflection there were a lot of details in The Lake that I only absorbed having finished it. I was reading it with the purpose of finding out about the body but there was a lot to explore that would benefit from a second read.
Sheena Lambert created a visual of the village and the time period with wonderful wording and language and brought in problems of the era and the unease of the time period in Ireland. It was much more than a mystery novel for me. And while I enjoyed the character development and liked the mystery in the plot the novel was too short. I felt as if I was just beginning to know the characters and then the novel wrapped up and left me feeling a little bereft! I want to know what happened to Peggy and her family – there was a twist at the end that I wasn’t expecting at all and I wish I knew what happened next.
Thank you to the author for our review copy. All opinions are our own.
Connect with Sheena Lambert:
No comments:
Post a Comment