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A Riveting Kidnapping Mystery Series #74
Orphan Lake: A Small Town Riveting Kidnapping Mystery Thriller
Everyone has a past, and everyone has secrets, no more so than Annie Munroe.
In the quiet town of Pineville, Annie Munroe escapes from a thirty-year captivity, igniting a desperate search for her sadistic abductor. Meanwhile, three teenage friends, after witnessing their friend's abduction, team up with a retired detective haunted by the town's dark secrets. Together, they race against time to unravel a web of hidden horrors and bring the monstrous kidnapper to justice. With every twist and turn, the small town's facade crumbles, revealing a chilling past that refuses to stay buried.
In the quiet town of Pineville, Annie Munroe escapes from a thirty-year captivity, igniting a desperate search for her sadistic abductor. Meanwhile, three teenage friends, after witnessing their friend's abduction, team up with a retired detective haunted by the town's dark secrets. Together, they race against time to unravel a web of hidden horrors and bring the monstrous kidnapper to justice. With every twist and turn, the small town's facade crumbles, revealing a chilling past that refuses to stay buried.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 9, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 1, 2025
Damn Great!!!
Oh Wow Robert Walker sure as hell delivered!! What a amazing story this was. I haven't read a kidnapping mystery this good in a hell of a long time. It had everything you would want. Action,mystery, love family, friends, laughs along the way and hate. Great characters, Price was a outstanding detective in his prime. Hell of a read.
Oh Wow Robert Walker sure as hell delivered!! What a amazing story this was. I haven't read a kidnapping mystery this good in a hell of a long time. It had everything you would want. Action,mystery, love family, friends, laughs along the way and hate. Great characters, Price was a outstanding detective in his prime. Hell of a read.
May 2, 2026
Great opening!!!
This story grabs you immediately. Annie’s situation is horrifying! She’s been held captive, and the details give strong "Room" vibes, but honestly… this feels even darker and more disturbing. The language, the environment, even the little clues about her mindset all point to just how young she was when she was taken (around 16), which makes it hit even harder.
When Annie finally escapes, and trust me, the length of time she was held will absolutely shock you, the story shifts. Another girl, Emilia, is taken, and now her two best friends, Sarah and Tina, refuse to sit back and hope for the best. They take matters into their own hands, determined to find her no matter what.
From there, the book weaves between past and present, showing Annie’s trauma and survival while building the urgency around Emilia’s disappearance. It becomes a tense, emotional race against time, blending psychological suspense with the raw reality of what these girls are facing.
I was hooked for most of the book. It’s intense, unsettling, and very hard to put down. I can definitely see why it’s getting so many 5-star ratings.
That said… I’m a little torn about the ending. It felt abrupt compared to how strong and gripping the rest of the story was. I wanted just a little more closure after everything the characters went through.
And honestly, I also wish we got more of the why. Why was he taking these specific girls? What was the significance of the 80s setting he recreated? How was he so advanced with technology and able to build something that elaborate? And how was he funding all of this? How did Eric break down what happened to Emilia? How did Emilia recover? Those missing pieces left me with more questions than answers by the end.
Overall, though, this was a powerful and chilling read that stuck with me—even if the last chapter or two didn’t fully land for me.
This story grabs you immediately. Annie’s situation is horrifying! She’s been held captive, and the details give strong "Room" vibes, but honestly… this feels even darker and more disturbing. The language, the environment, even the little clues about her mindset all point to just how young she was when she was taken (around 16), which makes it hit even harder.
When Annie finally escapes, and trust me, the length of time she was held will absolutely shock you, the story shifts. Another girl, Emilia, is taken, and now her two best friends, Sarah and Tina, refuse to sit back and hope for the best. They take matters into their own hands, determined to find her no matter what.
From there, the book weaves between past and present, showing Annie’s trauma and survival while building the urgency around Emilia’s disappearance. It becomes a tense, emotional race against time, blending psychological suspense with the raw reality of what these girls are facing.
I was hooked for most of the book. It’s intense, unsettling, and very hard to put down. I can definitely see why it’s getting so many 5-star ratings.
That said… I’m a little torn about the ending. It felt abrupt compared to how strong and gripping the rest of the story was. I wanted just a little more closure after everything the characters went through.
And honestly, I also wish we got more of the why. Why was he taking these specific girls? What was the significance of the 80s setting he recreated? How was he so advanced with technology and able to build something that elaborate? And how was he funding all of this? How did Eric break down what happened to Emilia? How did Emilia recover? Those missing pieces left me with more questions than answers by the end.
Overall, though, this was a powerful and chilling read that stuck with me—even if the last chapter or two didn’t fully land for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2025
Amazing story with a great storyline that kept me intrigued the entire time. This book was so good.
August 27, 2024
Gripping start.
Interesting flashback to show what happened, and I appreciate the author’s use of ‘showing’, vs telling. Unfortunately, it was very slow-paced and didn’t keep on at this rate. It also had poor continuity.
Abduction.
Alternating timelines.
Mystery.
Audio:
Sound quality is good but the narration is poor, as the narrator opted to dictate like a robot, sounding more like AI than an actual human.
Continuity:
-Female lead had been held captive for 30 years in 2014. She “didn’t know” what the internet and cell phones were. We had these things in 1994, even in my low-income home. Yes, obviously far less advanced than they were in 2014 but they did exist.
-There was a suicide victim who they said was [name redacted for spoiler purposes], confirmed with DNA testing. Later they claimed to test her DNA for the first time and deemed it not hers.
^A lot of things like this actually occurred and so I wanted to DNF. I can’t take a book seriously that doesn’t even bother with continuity. Although … at this point there were only a few chapters left.
2 stars - disappointing.
Interesting flashback to show what happened, and I appreciate the author’s use of ‘showing’, vs telling. Unfortunately, it was very slow-paced and didn’t keep on at this rate. It also had poor continuity.
Abduction.
Alternating timelines.
Mystery.
Audio:
Sound quality is good but the narration is poor, as the narrator opted to dictate like a robot, sounding more like AI than an actual human.
Continuity:
-Female lead had been held captive for 30 years in 2014. She “didn’t know” what the internet and cell phones were. We had these things in 1994, even in my low-income home. Yes, obviously far less advanced than they were in 2014 but they did exist.
-There was a suicide victim who they said was [name redacted for spoiler purposes], confirmed with DNA testing. Later they claimed to test her DNA for the first time and deemed it not hers.
^A lot of things like this actually occurred and so I wanted to DNF. I can’t take a book seriously that doesn’t even bother with continuity. Although … at this point there were only a few chapters left.
2 stars - disappointing.
November 18, 2025
This was like watching an intense doc on Oxygen! Riveting tale of abduction and revenge. Retired police officer hell bent on solving the case that haunted his entire career. Pierce with his elder expertise paired with his grandsons modern day tech savvy crew made for a tale of cat and mouse against the kidnapper.
December 20, 2025
The title has nothing to do with the book. I think the author just randomly picked a name. There is a basic storyline somewhere in this book but I don't know what it is. It's all over the place and...weird at times.
Halfway through I had already figured out the rest of the plot so I skimmed over it. It's poorly written in terms of character development.
Halfway through I had already figured out the rest of the plot so I skimmed over it. It's poorly written in terms of character development.
July 13, 2024
Orphan lake
This book was a very satisfying read. I really liked the characters . There were times that I couldn't put the book down and stayed up too late at night reading it. Thanks for the great ending
This book was a very satisfying read. I really liked the characters . There were times that I couldn't put the book down and stayed up too late at night reading it. Thanks for the great ending
July 20, 2024
Orphan Lake
I never figured out what the title had to do with the book. No orphan. No lake. But one gripping tale that will keep you reading to the last word. I never did know who did what til the end but it was a great.
I never figured out what the title had to do with the book. No orphan. No lake. But one gripping tale that will keep you reading to the last word. I never did know who did what til the end but it was a great.
August 20, 2024
Quick read. It had a nice little shocking moment at the end. I didn't love it enough for five stars but it didn't have any icky tropes which I appreciated. I love how the main character is an elderly man! So sweet.
December 3, 2025
classic who done it + a quick read
It was a very quick and easy read. Not a huge page turner because it was very easy to figure out what was going on/what was the next thing to happen. Good snowed it or beach read.
It was a very quick and easy read. Not a huge page turner because it was very easy to figure out what was going on/what was the next thing to happen. Good snowed it or beach read.
July 17, 2024
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Lots of twists and turns and very satisfying conclusion.
July 17, 2024
Good book
Too much cussing but still a very good book. I really enjoyed this story. I read 3/4 of it in just a few hours, that is how good it was to me.
Too much cussing but still a very good book. I really enjoyed this story. I read 3/4 of it in just a few hours, that is how good it was to me.
July 22, 2024
I enjoyed this book. There wasn't a super huge plot twist, in my opinion, but the book was still a good read to me. I'd give it like a 3.7.
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July 31, 2024Orphan Lake
What a great book, I couldn't put it down. If I could give more than 5 stars, I would have.
What a great book, I couldn't put it down. If I could give more than 5 stars, I would have.
September 28, 2024
I expected more twist than story
December 2, 2025
Good story . Figured out who was in mystery car early on.
March 3, 2026
Excellent story that highlights how age doesn’t diminish competence. If anything, lived experience often brings sharper judgment and a wider perspective than youth alone
October 25, 2024
I haven’t read a really good mystery/thriller for a while, and this one kept me invested until the end. I’m not usually a big fan of cop/detective POVs, but the main character was really likable and I thought this was faster paced than other detective books. There were definitely some things that were a bit unrealistic imo, but that’s really the case with almost all books of the genre. I also predicted one of the twists pretty early, but I don’t fault the author at all - I just read a lot of kidnapping books lol. I finished this in two days and I’ll definitely read another by the author.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews