Summit Lake by Charlie Donlea

Set in a small, picturesque North Carolina town, Charlie Donlea’s suspenseful debut novel tells the haunting story of a murdered law school student, the reporter assigned to her story—and the intimate connection that comes when the living walk in the footsteps of the dead.
“No suspects.  No persons of interest.  Just a girl who was alive one day and dead the next.”
Some places seem too beautiful to be touched by horror. Summit Lake, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is that kind of place, with charming stilt houses dotted along the pristine water. But two weeks ago, Becca Eckersley, a first-year law student, was brutally murdered in one of those houses. The daughter of a powerful attorney, Becca was hard-working, accomplished, and ambitious. Now, while the town reels with grief and shocked residents gather to share their theories, the police are baffled.
At first, investigative reporter Kelsey Castle thinks of the assignment as a fluff piece. But the savagery of the crime, and the determined efforts to keep the case quiet, all hint at something far more than a random attack by a stranger. As Kelsey digs deeper, pushing on despite danger and warnings, she feels a growing connection to the dead girl. And the more she learns about Becca’s friendships, her love life—and the secrets she was keeping—the more convinced she becomes that learning the truth about Becca could be the key to overcoming her own dark past…

 Review: I was given an ARC of Summit Lake from NetGalley for an honest review and this is my review.
This was a debut suspense novel for Charlie Donlea and this was one heck of a debut. The only thing I did not like about this book is how the author insisted on using the characters full names all the time. We really don't need the entire name repeated over and over again. It gets annoying really fast but other then that this book was excellent. In fact, I could not put it down and read it in one night.
I loved the character of Kelsey and how she was so determined to find out what really happened to Becca, a young law student who was brutally raped and murdered and who by all accounts the police were covering things up and not doing much to find the killer in a small town were there is very little crime. The was this book was told from both Becca and Kelsey's perspectives was done brilliantly and it added an extra dimension to this book that makes it all that more real for the reader. The plot twist are also very well done and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat trying to figure out who Becca's killer is.
This was an excellent debut and I am giving Summit Lake five out of five stars.