Summer Reads: Dark Road Home

Crooked Lane; $25.99; 304 pages; Amazon

I had first heard about the Anna Carlisle's debut novel a few months ago when I saw it in a Doubleday Book Club flyer (Yes, this club is still around!). I was intrigued by the cover art from the get-go, but after reading the blurb, I knew I wanted to review the book.

Dark Road Home centers Virginia "Gin" Sullivan, a medical examiner who gets a shocking call from her old high school boyfriend, Jake, informing her that the body of her younger sister, Lily, was found in the woods buried inside a cooler.

Lily had gone missing in 1998. While there several suspects (including Jake), nobody was ever connected to her disappearance.

Gin quickly packs her bags and travels back to her hometown of Trumbull to be with her parents. Of course she has another agenda up her sleeve, she wants to lend her medical skills to help the local authorities find the killer.

Several twists and turns occur, along with another murder, which leads Gin to unravel a startling dark secret from her family's past.

Final Thoughts: From reading the blurb alone, I felt the plot had a "ripped for the headlines" feeling or a storyline that would fit well on a episode of Law & Order: SVU.

There were a few other books I had to read before this one, so my review copy had been resting on my desk for several weeks before I picked it up last weekend. With a cup of coffee nearby, I eagerly started reading it. You never know what you're in store for when you are reading a book by an a new author, but I'm glad to say that I was hooked after the first paragraph. The author has created a tight-knit murder mystery with a likeable heroine, interesting side-characters, and great descriptions.

Overall, Dark Road Home was a fast-paced, wonderfully written mystery that I couldn't put down until I had read the entire novel. I highly recommend it other readers.

*I received this book free of charge for my honest review and they are 100% my own opinions. I received no compensation for this review and I am not required to give a positive review. I am also not associated with the publisher or author in any way.