A Body in the Lakes (Detective Beth Young, #2)

by Graham Smith

[zooloo1983]

So I have a feeling I may not be very popular when I say this but I am not a fan of DC Beth Young. However, I do admire her. I find her attitude with only just passing probation a little “cock-sure” and at times you forget O’Dowd is actually the one in charge. But, she is ‘quirky’, her brain is wired differently and she achieves the results that she and the team need. And I do love her love of spreadsheets. However, part of me does wonder sometimes are we meant to like her at times?

Despite my thoughts on Beth, I loved the story and the police procedural aspect of the book. Beth is the driving force of the team, where it seems the team are all having their personal issues, she pushes the investigation forward and connects the dots way before I could. Just as you think you know where the story is going, Mr Smith is a little bit tricksy and adds something bittersweet to the story.

The opening chapter has your head spinning with shock with the gruesome discovery and from then on it is relentless. There is always something happening, from solving the murder, discovering cold cases, setting up a charity, I mean it left me breathless with so much packed into this book.

In intermitting chapters, you have Beth leading the way, but you have unknown diary entries and the sinister voice of the rapist/murderer and his next potential victim. All adding to the suspense as it left me scratching my head wondering how all three would link together.

I flicked between reading this and listening to the audiobook and the narrator was awesome. I found I was flying through the audiobook a lot quicker than when I was reading it, that is credit to the narrator as well as the story.

Mr Smith has that knack of drawing you into Beth’s world and fully devouring you whole. Then when he ends the book, he leaves with you a kicker, so much so I didn’t realise at first it was the end of the book!!

I am looking forward to the next book because I am interested to see how Beth grows within the team and what happens next and what closure/outcome is to come following the ending!!