Review – Crimson Lake by Candice Fox

Posted August 19, 2020 by Carole in Book Reviews / 11 Comments

Crimson Lake by Candice Fox
Series: Crimson Lake #1
Publisher: Forge Books
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
Date Read: May 30, 2020
Length:  352 pages
Source: Publisher via Bookish First
★★★★☆

Crimson Lake, by Sydney-based, Ned Kelly Award-winning author Candice Fox, is a thrilling contemporary crime novel set in Queensland, Australia, perfect for readers of authors like James Patterson, Harlan Coben, Lisa Gardner, and Tana French.

How do you move on when the world won’t let you?

12:46: Claire Bingley stands alone at a bus stop
12:47: Ted Conkaffey parks his car beside her
12:52: The girl is missing . . .

Six minutes in the wrong place at the wrong time—that’s all it took to ruin Sydney detective Ted Conkaffey’s life. Accused but not convicted of a brutal abduction,Ted is now a free man—and public enemy number one. Maintaining his innocence, he flees north to keep a low profile amidst the steamy, croc-infested wetlands of Crimson Lake.

There, Ted’s lawyer introduces him to eccentric private investigator Amanda Pharrell, herself a convicted murderer. Not entirely convinced Amanda is a cold-blooded killer, Ted agrees to help with her investigation, a case full of deception and obsession, while secretly digging into her troubled past. The residents of Crimson Lake are watching the pair’s every move… and the town offers no place to hide.

My Review

I had a great time with this book!  I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book a while ago and am glad that I was finally able to sit down and read it.  I was hooked by the story from beginning to end.  This was a fantastic start to the series.

The characters in this book were absolutely fantastic!  Ted was a police officer before his life fell apart.  Everyone believes that he was responsible for the disappearance of a child.  He was not convicted but that has done little to sway public opinion.  I could not imagine dealing with the things that Ted has been through and he really is at a low place at the start of the story.  It was great to see him start working a case with his new partner which seemed to give him some purpose.  Ted isn’t even the most interesting character in this book.  I was really taken with just about everyone who made an appearance on the page and cannot wait to learn more about Amanda as the series progresses.

The mystery in this book is very well done.  There are actually three different mysteries being juggled in this story and I was equally invested in all of them.  I had no idea how things would work out but I was eager to keep turning the pages to find out.  There were plenty of twists and turns to keep things interesting and I loved the fact that there were quite a few surprises along the way. 

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of mystery thrillers.  I found this to be a very fast read filled with quirky characters and a trio of compelling mysteries.  I cannot wait to start reading the next book in the series.

I won a copy of this book from Forge Books via Bookish First.

The Series
Book #1 – Crimson Lake
Book #2 – Redemption Point
Book #3 – Gone by Midnight
About the Author

CANDICE FOX is the award-winning author of Crimson Lake and Redemption Point. She is also co-writer with James Patterson of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Never Never, Fifty Fifty, and the forthcoming Liar Liar. She lives in Sydney.

Author Links: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

11 responses to “Review – Crimson Lake by Candice Fox

  1. The best experiences in reading are the ones with books that hook you from the beginning. Glad you had such a blast with this one.

    Hope you are well. Happy reading!

  2. I love down on their luck characters who somehow find a way through things and add that to a mystery- I'm in for this one. Yay for finishing a book and back to posting like you wanted. 🙂