Summit Lake

De: Charlie Donlea

Narrado por: Shannon McManus

“A gem of a mystery, fast-paced and suspenseful.” --Catherine Coulter, # 1 New York Times bestselling author

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 North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, is that kind of place. But two weeks ago, Becca Eckersley, a first-year law student and daughter of a powerful attorney, was brutally murdered there. Now the town is reeling with grief, and the police are baffled.

“An exciting debut, with all the right touches, captivating from the first page to the last.” --Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author

At first, investigative reporter Kelsey Castle thinks of the assignment as a fluff piece. But the savagery of the crime, and the efforts to keep it quiet, hint at something far more sinister than a random attack by a stranger. As Kelsey digs deeper, 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 her secrets - the more convinced she becomes that walking in Becca’s footsteps could lead her out of her own dark past....

“A swift, outstanding debut.” --Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author

“Fans of contemporary suspense will enjoy this brisk read.” --Booklist

©2016 Charlie Donlea (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Lyrics to “She Don’t Like Roses” used by permission of Christine Kane.

Very annoying narrator...

The narrator's twangy, annoying voice almost stopped me from listening to this book. There was a complete lack of intonation in the speech. This took away from the drama and suspense.
The story was thin, contrived, and full of holes. They go to a residential house to break in and find a journal and they park in the driveway. They take it with them rather than take photos of the pages.
Character descriptions were pretty bad also. I have no idea what anyone looked like except for their toned bodies and pony tails. The victim was not really likable or a sympathetic character.

Charlie Donlea Knows how to Write Mystery Novels

Where does Summit Lake rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among the best. The story is original and interesting, and the temporal converging of past and present narratives unfolds in an unique, thoughtful manner that consistently engages the reader. The characters are interesting, well-bounded, three dimensional, and - with the exception of Becka's murderer - likable and genuine. The interpersonal dynamics are fantastic and developed excellently (both by the narrator and the author). The story is always interesting and the ending is so, so good,It is unexpected, but analytically supported and developed by the narrative.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Summit Lake?

The moment you find out who Becka's murderer is. Brilliant.

Which scene was your favorite?

The ending when Kelsey finds the dwelling of the murderer and the death of Becka and the circumstances surrounding it jointly unfold to reveal the twisted mind of her killer.

Any additional comments?

If you enjoy thrillers and mysteries, you need to read this book.

Entertaining enough story, let down by narration

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Hard to say, I was doing stuff while listening, so didn't waste time. I could have been listening to something better. The main issue here was the narrator. She wasn't right, her intonations were off and her voice made the story seem too light. I was intrigued by the story from the outset but was almost put off by the narrator. She made the ending seem very trite.

Would you recommend Summit Lake to your friends? Why or why not?

I don't think I would. Certainly not this annoying audio version. In the end the whole thing was a little bit trite, or maybe that was the way the narrator made it sound.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Shannon McManus?

Someone older.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

If I hadn't read it, perhaps, but not now.

Any additional comments?

Not a bad murder mystery, would be good on the TV, let down by the narration.

I actually had to force myself to take breaks

I actually had to force myself to take breaks to eat and sleep and do my actual 8-5 job. This story actually had me like one of those conspiracy obsessed people with a white board and lines making connections and sticky notes everywhere. I actually had like a suspect list and details written. It was amazing. At first the lady who read it was not so passionate but as the story grew she herself adapted really well in narration. Highly recommend!!

Predictable

Spoiler it is predicable didn’t really care for the narrator either. I would go with something else other than spending 10 hours on this book.

surprise!

surprisingly good great daily deal, keep me interested the whole time and had some interesting twists, could have kept going

Kept me guessing to the end

A very shocking ending... I was completely shocked at the end and I can usually predict the end in most of the books. I really had to pay attention to the dates of the chapters. Overall a really good listen.

Many plot holes

Possible spoilers. This seems like a good author. I like the style, I like the overall feel. But the plot holes are glaring. The ending is exactly who you expect it be, even though the author tries to trick you. They also don't answer huge parts of the story. Why do the state police care? Who did the other thing at the end, the same person? How? It needed an extra chapter or two to round things out. Also, as others have mentioned, not super believable. She gets to this small town and this doctor just immediately risks his entire career because she's cute? She suffers a major assault a few weeks before with literally no lasting effects. I would try later books from this same author to see if they worked out a few links in their writing, but I wouldn't recommend this one.

Cried Out for a Different Narrator

I honestly believe that I may have enjoyed this novel more had it been read by a better (or, at least, more appropriate for this genre) narrator. Shannon McManus did nothing to enhance the mystery and, in fact, read the novel like she was reading a newspaper article aloud--much too rapidly and without nuance.

loose read to pass the time

I was hoping to like this book but it fell short. what i liked was the chronology of the story. the author builds and adds details from past and present time leading up to the crime. You think you know whats up but then more details are given that makes your opinion shift. I'm from NC so it was neat reading on something local even if it's fiction.

Not a huge fan of the narrator but she's not as bad as some reviewed. She kind of gives a legally blonde feel, especially when she says Kelsie Castle at the chapter titles...That was awful tbh. Not a fan of men writing on womens' rape experience. The depth of the book is shallow and it honestly reads like an up and coming 20 year old wrote it. It did pass the time and was entertaining, but I wouldn't pay for it. it was included with audible.