Summit Lake is a picturesque little town in the Blue Ridge Mountains known for summer homes and weekend getaways. In this quiet setting, law student Becca Eskersley is viciously attacked and killed in her affluent parents' lakeside home. It is the only recorded homicide in the history of Summit Lake, and it doesn't take long for the local authorities to be pushed aside by state and national investigators. Becca's influential family wants to repress her medical report and autopsy findings while covering up pertinent facts about the murder. But why?

Events magazine crime reporter Kelsey Castle is sent to investigate the crime and write a three-part article about it. Not only is Kelsey chasing a story, but her editor thinks this will be a good place for her to do some personal healing. The more Kelsey discovers about Becca's case, the closer she feels to her, since Kelsey is dealing with the aftermath of her own assault weeks before in Miami. If Kelsey can find the answers to Becca's ordeal, maybe it will help her deal with her own.

The tenacious Kelsey soon learns Becca came to town with a personal journal, which was not found at the crime scene. Kelsey is sure the journal is key to the case, so she relentlessly searches for it with the help of two newfound friends. Once she locates and reads Becca's journal, the revelations lead Kelsey on a path of discovery from which she may not return.

In an outstanding debut, Charlie Donlea creates a fascinating crime thriller in SUMMIT LAKE. His clever use of flashbacks in alternating chapters expertly details Becca's life in the year prior to her death alongside Kelsey's current investigation. The swift pace and exciting suspense kept me riveted throughout the hypnotic storyline. Just when I thought I knew the culprit's identity, Donlea tossed in another shocking element to intensify the suspense and mystery. If SUMMIT LAKE is any indication, debut author Charlie Donlea will enjoy a successful writing career. Be assured, his name has been added to my must-read list of thriller novelists.

Book Summary

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.

“No suspects. No persons of interest. Just a girl who was alive one day and dead the next.”

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…