Secrets Dark and Deep

Lake George Mystery #4

by Anne White

As mayor of Lake George, a small resort town, Loren Graham tends to become overly involved in local investigations, much to the chagrin of Sheriff's Investigator Jim Thompson who has warned her to keep out of matters involving law enforcement. But when a stranger stumbles across a skeleton and insists on showing Loren, Loren finds herself drawn into the murder of a young college student 25 years earlier. Travel writer Millicent Halstead has moved back to Lake George, where she once lived with her husband, poet Carl Durocher, rumored to have had an intimate relationship with the murdered young woman. It's bad enough that Millicent keeps imposing on Loren's time, which distracts her from mending her tense relationship with boyfriend Don Morrison, but someone is stalking the neighborhood while local bat expert Arthur Blake's reclusive mother keeps disappearing. Although Loren tries to stay below Thompson's radar during the ongoing murder investigation, she keeps being pulled back in by those who knew the young woman. When Loren inadvertently learns the identity of the killer, she becomes targeted for murder.

Genres: Mystery

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Anne lives in Glens Falls, NY and is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, the Lake George Arts Project, the Adirondack Center For Writing, and the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council. In conjunction with her novels, she writes articles for Mystery Scene, Mystery Readers Journal and local and regional publications. She is married and the mother of six children.

Series:
* Lake George Mystery

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently, this is part of a series, but it worked okay as a stand-alone book. This is a fast easy to read mystery story. Our protagonist is Mayor Loren Graham. From what I gather she keeps sticking her nose into police business and because of it she is at ends with the local Sheriff Investigator.

The book is reasonably well written but there is little character development. Maybe the author plans on doing more as the series develops. This is only book four of the series. I solved the who done it right away. I find it more fun if I have to work harder to solve the mystery. But the book was a fun quick read. So, if that is what you are looking for, give this book a try.

I read this as a paperback published in 2007 by Worldwide Mystery. It is 250 pages.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an okay easy-read. I just didn't care for the character development or lack thereof, and the plot was a little odd at times, straying from the main story. It's probably a one-time reader for me, so that's why I gave it three stars.

[Kellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book follows Mayor Loren Graham as she deals with her neighbors knocking on her door at all hours of the night, older women with decades old grudges, and running out of her favorite bakery goods because she feeds everyone who comes in to her home. I would probably move.
I got this book for free at a local used book store from their free crate. I'm giving this two stars because I didn't find any spelling errors on grammatical errors and the plot was readable. However, for me, two major errors were committed in the writing of this book.
The first error I noticed was between one chapter and the next a character was mentioned driving two different cars. Specifically, Mayor Loren Graham goes somewhere with her new neighbor Millicent in one chapter and Millicent is driving a black Cadillac. The next chapter, Loren and Millicent are leaving the same place and the car is now a Mercedes. I'm not even a car fanatic but I know that these are two completely different makes of vehicles.
The second problem that bothered me was much more subtle. One of the characters has a fascination with bats. In one passage he is mentioned to have been watching vampire bats in the local area with a farmer who keeps finding bites on his cows. This doesn't seem like a big deal in itself but I used to watch a lot of documentaries as a child, and I remember one about vampire bats. From what I remembered vampire bats live in tropical type climates Of Central and South America because they can't bear the cold. The setting in 'Secrets Dark and Deep' is upstate New York during the fall. I did some looking around and what I read about vampire bat species' online seems to confirm this. I could be wrong, however, and there are vampire bats in upstate New York. If so, someone let me know.
In conclusion, I would not have bought this book on my own probably, and after reading it I can't be too upset because it was free. I'll pass it on to the next person.

[Kylee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story gets better as it progresses. Spelling/Grammer issues.

[Johnmarilyn Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read! Very suspenseful ending.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As mayor of Lake George, a small resort town, Loren Graham tends to become overly involved in local investigations, much to the chagrin of Sheriff’s Investigator Jim Thompson who has warned her to keep out of matters involving law enforcement. But when a stranger stumbles across a skeleton and insists on showing Loren, Loren finds herself drawn into the murder of a young college student 25 years earlier.

Travel writer Millicent Halstead has moved back to Lake George, where she once lived with her husband, poet Carl Durocher, rumored to have had an intimate relationship with the murdered young woman. It’s bad enough that Millicent keeps imposing on Loren’s time, which distracts her from mending her tense relationship with boyfriend Don Morrison, but someone is stalking the neighborhood while local bat expert Arthur Blake’s reclusive mother keeps disappearing. Although Loren tries to stay below Thompson’s radar during the ongoing murder investigation, she keeps being pulled back in by those who knew the young woman. When Loren inadvertently learns the identity of the killer, she becomes targeted for murder.

Secrets Dark and Deep is exceptional; so skillfully written, the reader gets lost in the flow and it ends all too soon. The story moves at a fast pace, nicely building suspense until a climatic, nail-biting ending. As part of the Lake George Mystery series, past and future books ensure a building relationship with likeable Loren Graham and her cozy resort town. White delivers a colorful cast of characters readers will not easily forget and a galvanizing plot that guarantees edge-of-the-seat involvement.

[Maggie Shanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited to read this little book that takes place in Lake George, NY. But, this book is apparently part of a series and I have not read the others so I was not invested in the characters. Loren, the crime solving mayor has a beau, but it is not the man she was kissing and we are supposed to be happy for her relationship with Don. I found it trifling.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick, fun mystery. I'm going to check into her other books!

[Pam Engman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I was intrigued from the very first chapter. I liked the different characters and how they interacted together. Great quick read

[Lanelibrarylady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another murder-mystery...this was ok...sometimes a little hard to connect for me, but it was a page turner.

[Cassandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

The library had a book giveaway last week, and i stocked up on crime novels and mysteries for poolside reading. I'm glad this was free.

[Kate White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing mysteries runs in the family I guess ;)

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, well written, well plotted, characters were fun and a wee bit crazy --- did get some of her other books but a lovely comfortable cozy read!

[Felisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just started it...Alright-not so dark and deep