Hidden Lake

It seems that I’ve been reading quite a few books about missing girls, the most recent one being The Silent Dolls. I’m guessing that these stories are so close to the truth that I’m drawn to them. Little Lovely Things and The Silent Dolls were riveting books. But The Hidden Lake didn’t fail to impress me either.

Hidden Lake

When she was just twelve years old, Mackenzie Price came home to find her father bleeding to death on the kitchen floor. She will never forget that night, nor what her mother asked her to do…

Twenty years later, Detective ‘Mack’ Price is back in Lakemore, despite vowing never to return. Determined to atone for the sins of the past, she is unstoppable in her quest for justice.

When eighteen-year-old Abigail Correia goes missing, Mack is convinced that the case is linked to Erica Perez, who disappeared exactly one year before. Unlike Abby, Erica is the daughter of one of the town’s most powerful men, but still no trace of her has been found.

As Mack endeavours to find Abby and bring her back alive, she and her team unearth a shocking secret at the heart of this small town. But that is not the only secret that lurks beneath the surface, as Mack knows only too well…

The first book in the Detective Mack Price series, Hidden Lake is a haunting and utterly unputdownable crime thriller, perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Angela Marsons and Karin Slaughter.

My review

With her own dark secret to hide, Mackenzie Price (Detective Mack Price), struggles to keep up the façade of being a strong, fierce policewoman who is unfazed by anything. She’s also obsessive in her behaviour – following a rigid routine in her investigations and being a neat freak.

Faced with having to solve the case of a missing young girl, whose rich friend went missing exactly a year before, Mack tries to keep it all together. Memories from her childhood, her teetering relationship with her husband and the betrayal from her closest friend and colleague only add to the pressure of making sure that young Abigail is found alive.

I would be giving away too much if I went into the story. Suffice to say it kept me absolutely riveted as the plot unfolded so dramatically. There was so much at play in this story – small town politics, power play, blackmail, young romance gone bad, the gap between rich and poor, possibilities of corruption within the police department – and yet it was woven together so seamlessly!

There were so many characters in the story, all of them believable. Mack’s character despite her flaws and vulnerabilities is quite remarkable. The by play of the relationship between her, her husband, Sterling, and her friend and colleague Nick is pretty riveting too and makes me want to know how that turned out.

Nothing prepared me for the end! I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

A great debut novel!

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About the author

Ruhi Choudhary discovered her passion for writing when she was seven years old and wrote her first Star Trek episode. Being a fan of the dark and twisted, she found her calling in crime thriller.

She likes to write stories that make you a little uncomfortable and characters that you struggle to make up your mind about but stay with you.

She lives in Toronto and spends her days training to be a scientist and wishing it rained more often!

Connect with Ruhi on Twitter.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book which I received from the publisher, Bookouture via NetGalley.