Murder At the Lake
Bren Gaudet
Publisher: Synergy Books
Release Date: August 1, 2009
Pages: 192

Rating: 3.5 stars

When 17-year-old Amanda Christie is invited to a cousins-only weekend retreat at her aunt’s Austin, Texas, estate, she doesn’t know what to expect. She soon finds though, that the weekend will be anything but boring. One of the guests is responsible for the death of Amanda’s uncle and when a dangerous storm traps the teens inside the secluded mansion, Amanda becomes determined to uncover the killer. But when their cell phones go missing and guests begin to disappear, Amanda realizes that the killer isn’t finished. With time running out and no way of knowing who to trust, she must either uncover the murderer or risk being the next victim.

There’s nothing I love more than a good mystery, and that’s just what Murder At the Lake was. Murder at the Lake had great characters and a suspenseful plot.

The plot was totally suspenseful. Gaudet mastered the art of making you suspect everyone at once, and switch your alliances to characters often. The characters were very well written. I really loved Chris – he was the perfect guy. Though I did think Chris and Amanda’s romance was rushed. Either way, I can’t wait to see more of him in future books!

The writing was almost too mature for the book in spots. I think Bren Gaudet was trying to write in a more grown-up manner, and in that it didn’t match the characters and plot of the book. The first bit of the book, I just wasn’t getting caught up in the story. It was very heavy on description, and was a bit bored. Later on, the descriptions toned down and I found myself needing to know what was going to happen next.

I can’t wait to see where Amanda’s sleuthing takes her next, but I know I’ll be hopping on board, reading about her adventures!