Match BookThe Dark Lake
Sarah Bailey
2017 · Mystery
How it reads
The Dark Lake is mystery (police procedural mystery, specifically), and its dominant mood is tense. The suspense is the kind you feel in your shoulders. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.
It's set in a small town setting, in the present day, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are secrets, loss and grief and justice. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.
It opens a series. The ending resolves happily. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something tense
- you want a book that pulls you through
- you want to be sure it ends well
Maybe not if…
- you need something cosy or heartwarming
- you want dense, lingering prose
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- mystery
- Author gender
- female
- Author experience
- debut
- Setting: place
- small town
- Setting: time
- contemporary
- Mood / feeling
- tense
- Pace
- fast paced
- Tone / weight
- balanced
- Length
- medium
- Narrative style
- third person, several viewpoints
- Publication era
- recent
- Popularity
- moderately known
- Series vs standalone
- first in a series
- Themes
- secrets, loss and grief, justice
- Ending style
- resolved and happy
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
- The Good SisterWendy Corsi StaubShares: mystery, tense mood, balanced tone, fast paced
A Stranger in TownKelley ArmstrongShares: mystery, tense mood, balanced tone, police procedural mystery
The Abortionist's DaughterElisabeth HydeShares: mystery, tense mood, balanced tone, fast paced
The Last House GuestMegan MirandaShares: mystery, tense mood, balanced tone, fast pacedThe Word is MurderAnthony HorowitzShares: mystery, tense mood, balanced tone, fast paced
- Bridges BurnedAnnette DashofyShares: mystery, tense mood, balanced tone, fast paced
Appears in
Find a copy
Reviews on Goodreads ↗Match Book earns a commission on purchases made through these links, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, Match Book earns from qualifying purchases.