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The Dark Lake

  • Oct 21, 2020
  • Sarah Bailey
  • 412 responses.

The Dark Lake In a suspense thriller to rival Paula Hawkins and Tana French a detective with secrets of her own hunts the killer of a woman who was the glamorous star of their high school Rose was lit by the sun

  • Title: The Dark Lake
  • Author: Sarah Bailey
  • ISBN: 9781760295899
  • Page: 129
  • Format: Paperback

    • In a suspense thriller to rival Paula Hawkins and Tana French, a detective with secrets of her own hunts the killer of a woman who was the glamorous star of their high school.Rose was lit by the sun, her beautiful face giving nothing away Even back then, she was a mystery that I wanted to solve.The lead homicide investigator in a rural town, Detective Sergeant Gemma WoodsIn a suspense thriller to rival Paula Hawkins and Tana French, a detective with secrets of her own hunts the killer of a woman who was the glamorous star of their high school.Rose was lit by the sun, her beautiful face giving nothing away Even back then, she was a mystery that I wanted to solve.The lead homicide investigator in a rural town, Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is deeply unnerved when a high school classmate is found strangled, her body floating in a lake And not just any classmate, but Rosalind Ryan, whose beauty and inscrutability exerted a magnetic pull on Smithson High School, first during Rosalind s student years and then again when she returned to teach drama As much as Rosalind s life was a mystery to Gemma when they were students together, her death presents even of a puzzle What made Rosalind quit her teaching job in Sydney and return to her hometown Why did she live in a small, run down apartment when her father was one of the town s richest men And despite her many admirers, did anyone in the town truly know her Rosalind s enigmas frustrate and obsess Gemma, who has her own dangerous secrets an affair with her colleague and past tragedies that may not stay in the past.

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    About "Sarah Bailey"

    1. Sarah Bailey

      Librarian Note There is than one author in the database with this name.Sarah Bailey is a Melbourne based writer with a background in advertising and communications She has two young children and currently works as a director of creative projects company Mr Smith Over the past five years she has written a number of short stories and opinion pieces The Dark Lake is her first novel.

    412 Comments

    1. 3.5 STARS Rose was lit by the sun, her beautiful face giving nothing away Even back then, she was a mystery that I wanted to solve I know my rating doesn t fully convey it, but I really did think this was a solid debut As an avid reader of mysteries and crime fiction, it s getting insanely difficult to blow me away in this genre, which makes it harder to find those 5 star poppers that are memorable long term The Dark Lake was a complex story, as there was a plot driven case pertaining to this pa [...]

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    2. 4 Stars.Rosalind Ryan is dead Beautiful, popular, enigmatic, Rosalind Ryan the High School English Teacher at Smithson, just outside of Sydney Former Drama Queen and the most popular girl in her High School Class Rosalind was found in a lake surrounded, by roses The investigating officer Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock They knew each other once They were class mates, at Smithson High School Gemma Woodstock has quite the time trying to figure out who was responsible for Rosalind Ryan s death T [...]

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    3. Psychological thriller about a cop investigating the murder of her high school rival.When 28 year old English teacher Rosalind Rose is found dead, the people of the small Australian town of Smithson are in shock Why would someone kill beautiful Rose She is the girl who seemed to have it all beauty, money, and success Rose had the type of charisma where she was able to compel the women around her to want to be like her, and the men to fall in love with her While some fell hard for Rose, others be [...]

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    4. This is a dark and atmospheric psychological crime debut from Australian Sarah Bailey, with DS Gemma Woodstock, set in the Aussie small town of Smithson, in New South Wales It s a place where everyone knows everyone, yet is still full of secrets that come to be slowly revealed The town is shocked when 28 year old Rosalind Ryan, a drama teacher, is discovered strangled in the lake, with roses surrounding her Gemma is the main homicide detective, aided by her police partner, Felix She is a mother, [...]

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    5. These are the type of mysteries I enjoy reading An enigmatic, young high school teacher is found dead in a lake in a small town in Australia The case is assigned to Detective Gemma Woodstock who attended high school with the victim and who has an entangled past with her This is where the story begins and slowly what happened is revealed.This psychological thriller is narrated mainly from the point of view of Gemma but also in smaller degrees from other characters Gemma is a flawed human with ver [...]

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    6. When Lisa Gardner is prepared to endorse a debut book then you know it s going to be a very good one The Dark Lake by new author Sarah Bailey is an enjoyable, addictive and well written suspenseful thriller that contains all the required elements to be a successful bestseller When beautiful Smithson High School teacher Rosalind Ryan is found strangled in Sonny Lake surrounded by roses, Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is allocated the investigation However, Gemma remembers Rosalind from school [...]

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    7. This was such a good, well written book for a debut Set in a small country town, where everyone knows everyone and their past histories, there are still long kept secrets hidden away When a beautiful young drama teacher, Rosalind Ryan is found dead in the lake behind the high school, DS Gemma Woodstock must face up to her own past and her history with the dead woman.Gemma s personal life is a bit of a mess, she hasn t emotionally comitteed to her partner Ben, doesn t spend enough time with their [...]

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    8. 4.5 starsFirst off, I can t believe this is a debut novel It fulfills all my criteria for a great book exquisite writing, fully developed characters, and a fleshed out, well paced plot Sarah Bailey s The Dark Lake is simply fantastic So good that I can say with confidence that we might be experiencing the beginning work of Australia s equivalent to Tana French or Gillian Flynn An author who will continue to produce increasingly masterful narratives for years to come So much happened that summer [...]

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    9. The Dark Lake is the debut novel of Australian author Sarah Bailey.Gemma Woodstock is a Detective Sergeant in the small rural town of Smithson One of the local teachers, who also happens to be an old classmate of Gemma s, is murdered and the ensuing investigation causes Gemma s past to come crashing back to haunt her.I can t say I liked Gemma and some may question her morals but I didn t dislike her I was certainly intrigued to find out what made her tick She was complex, complicated, obsessive [...]

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    10. mrsbbookreviews.wordpressSarah Bailey makes a dramatic entry into the Australian crime fiction genre, with her debut novel, The Dark Lake I was impressed by the amount of positive endorsement this book has received and encouraged my resolve to select The Dark Lake to read.In the sleepy country town of Smithson not a great deal happens When local teacher Rosalind Ryan is found dead floating in the waters of a local lake, surrounded by red roses, tensions in the small town run high It is up to Smi [...]

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    11. One of those books where I go down the middle.I liked the mystery of Rose s death and the surrounding events the actual police work and gathering of clues the characterisation Sarah Bailey writes characters and dialogue well.I did not like Gemma At all the endless examination of Gemma s feelings and emotions the strange and incomplete ending Three stars because I did like the story but I probably don t like Gemma enough to want to read any about her.

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    12. 3.75 stars, rounded upThis mystery novel, the first in a new Australian series featuring Gemma Woodstock, is a combination of mystery police procedural and character study The author has created a flawed and complex character in Gemma, the lead homicide detective The tone of the book was dark and gritty and the hot Australian Christmas season added to the atmosphere.The case is an interesting one A childhood classmate of Gemma s, Rosalind Ryan, a local high school teacher, is found dead in the l [...]

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    13. The Dark Lake marks an impressively atmospheric first foray into the crime fiction market for new Australian voice, Sarah Bailey Part police procedural and part character study, the result is an absorbing exploration of the secrets hidden within the small New South Wales town of Smithson Imbued with a sense of place that takes its readers to the heart of a rural community sweltering in the build up to Christmas that is forced to turn the spotlight on itself in a search for answers Alongside some [...]

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    14. The writing of this mystery detective story is excellent, but in some ways I think it s a better women s fiction novel than a mystery One of the lead detectives on the case is twenty eight year old Gemma Woodstock The victim went to her high school the mysterious and beautiful Rosalind Ryan, who came back to the small town of Smithson to be a teacher It s not surprising that Gemma knew her she knows most of the people in Smithson.Author Sarah Bailey did an excellent job creating a complex charac [...]

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    15. This review was originally posted on Between My LinesHeads up to all fans of police procedural thrillers, Sarah Bailey is the new author in town, and she is one to watch I saw The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey by Instagram a few times, and it caught my eye with its intruguing tagline A town of secrets waiting to explode So I snapped it up when I saw it in my library audiobook app My Thoughts on The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey You never know what to expect when you dive into a d but novel But if you lo [...]

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    16. I was thrilled to discover that this new crime series is set in Australia I read The Dry by Jane Harper and loved it and after that did I want to read crime novels from Australia The Dark Lake is the story about a woman that is found dead in the lake, and for Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is this a case that will become very personal Since she grew up in the town did she, of course, know Rosalind Ryan who was the same age as her and who came back to town a few years before But, it s than [...]

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    17. Especially for English speaking readers, we now have national literatures than we have stories, so that with a few changes in local colour weather, it doesn t matter very much whether we re reading Australian literature, Canadian literature, or in translation Scandinavian literature Sarah Bailey s The Dark Lake is set in NSW Christmastime, but except for the characters sweltering in holiday party Santa costumes whilst threatened by bush fires, the story could have as easily taken place near Win [...]

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    18. I really loved The Dark Lake One of those brilliantly layered human drama s that are within the psychological thriller genre Sarah Bailey has created some memorable and relatable characters who will stay with me especially the victim Rosalind who even after resolution will linger in your head and make you wonder.Gemma as a main protagonist is, to be fair, divisive Haunted by memories of a past she can t fix, living in a family situation she is not sure of and involved in a slightly obsessive aff [...]

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    20. It took me longer than expected to finish this novel, mostly because I was busy.The Dark Lakeis a good debut novel A beautiful, young teacher is found dead close to the local highschool The main police investigator is a former school mate of hers Gemma Woods who s a detective at only twenty eight years old I liked that the main character was an imperfect police woman, with some dirty laundry in the closet Unfortunately, despite her being the narrator, I never really warmed up to her There was so [...]

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    21. Rosalind Ryan, a popular yet mysterious teacher, is found dead by local the lake She s been murdered, her body left floating with red roses surrounding her Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock and her partner, Felix, are called in to investigate Rosalind s case Nothing about Rosalind adds up everyone seemed to like her, but no one really knew her She lived in a cheap apartment, but clearly had expensive taste in wine and makeup She was the youngest of four, with three brothers, one of with whom sh [...]

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    22. I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review3 3.5 starsWhile I am typically not one for police centric mysteries, Dark Lake was done very well I think what I enjoyed most about it is that while the premise of the book is centered around solving a murder, Bailey doesn t dive too deep into the police procedurals that tend to bore me Additionally, kudos to Bailey to staying away from the clich cop who is drinking themselves into a stupor and jeopardizing their job.With that [...]

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    23. Great mystery, set in Australia The female protagonist both broke my heart in ways and had me rooting for her I did not guess who the killer was despite my confidence in my theory which I appreciate Hoping for book 2 by this talented author to arrive sooner rather than later.

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    24. The Dark Lake is the first book in the Gemma Woodstock series by Australian author, Sarah Bailey When Rosalind Ryan s body is found in the lake by Smithson Secondary College, Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock wants to be on the case, even though it might dredge up some bitter memories for her Gemma assures her boss that their connection was casual, and she s fine to handle whatever comes up, but she doesn t share certain facts that may affect her performance Rose taught at Smithson Secondary, a [...]

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    25. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of this novel through a Giveaway.This is an Australian crime novel set in a small town in New South Wales during a particularly trying summer As with any small town, everyone knows everyone, though there are plenty of secrets The murder of a local girl forces everyone s business under the microscope, and this novel is as much about those secrets as it is about solving the mystery of who killed Rosalind Ryan.I have to be completely honest, I disliked [...]

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    26. When the story was focused on the murder and investigation, it was a four star read But unfortunately, a lot of the book was taken up with the personal life of the lead character, and honestly, she annoyed the hell out of me For a detective investigating a brutal murder in her small town, she worried about the affair she was having than trying to find a killer Even when something happened to her personally spoilers she was focused on her lover Drove me nuts with her he loves his wife than me [...]

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    27. Menacing, unsettling, and intense In this debut novel, The Dark Lake, Bailey transports us to Smithson, Australia a small town where gossip and deception run rampant, emotions run high, and solving the murder of the beloved local high school teacher may unearth skeletons in the closet than anyone could have imagined.The prose is dark and eerie The characters, including the scarred Det Sgt Gemma Woodstock, are flawed, complicated, and self involved And the plot, using a past present, back and fo [...]

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    28. When a stunning young teacher is found murdered, Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock finds the case evokes a lot of memories for her from her teenage years The murdered woman Rosalind had grown up in the area and gone to the same school as Gemma Gemma also has guilt over the past and her relationship with her boyfriend at that time who died This gets played out at varying times as the story goes back, before coming forward again to the current murder investigation So the story is the weaving toge [...]

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    29. Body in Lake Secrets Beneath the SurfaceBy Judge Nina SankovitchMeet Gemma Woodstock, sturdy rural Australian police investigator with a life of determined stability and routine work, child, partner, lover But secrets from Gem s past threaten her carefully constructed life when she is called in to investigate the death of a young woman she knew in high school.The murdered woman is a teacher beloved by all but no, as it turns out, she was not so well liked, and why is that And why must Gem keep h [...]

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    30. What I really liked about this book was the atmosphere You feel you are in Australia in a hot summer just some days before Christmas.I enjoyed the plot as well a young teacher had been killed and there are many people hiding secrets in the town of Smithson.At the beginning I just couldn t put the book down but as I kept on reading the plot slowed down and I felt that some chapters describing the troubled mind of the main character and her relationships didn t contribute much to the novel.To make [...]

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