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Crimson Lake #3
Gone by Midnight
Ex-cop Ted Conkaffey is slowing rebuilding his life in Crimson Lake, and getting to know his three-year-old daughter, Lillian. But when he and his PI partner Amanda take on the case of a boy who seems to have literally disappeared into thin air, his job once again threatens everything . . .
Crimson Lake is where bad people come to disappear - and where eight-year-old boys vanish into thin air . . .
On the fifth floor of the White Caps Hotel, four young friends are left alone while their parents dine downstairs. But when Sara Farrow checks on the children at midnight, her son is missing. The boys swear they stayed in their room, and CCTV confirms Richie has not left the building. Despite a thorough search, no trace of the child is found.
Distrustful of the police, Sara turns to Crimson Lake’s unlikeliest private investigators: disgraced cop Ted Conkaffey and convicted killer Amanda Pharrell. This case just the sort of twisted puzzle that gets Amanda’s blood pumping.
For Ted, the case couldn’t have come at a worse time. Two years ago a false accusation robbed him of his career, his reputation and most importantly his family. But now Lillian, the daughter he barely knows, is coming to stay in his ramshackle cottage by the lake.
Ted must dredge up the area’s worst characters to find a missing boy. And the kind of danger he uncovers could well put his own child in deadly peril . . .
Crimson Lake is where bad people come to disappear - and where eight-year-old boys vanish into thin air . . .
On the fifth floor of the White Caps Hotel, four young friends are left alone while their parents dine downstairs. But when Sara Farrow checks on the children at midnight, her son is missing. The boys swear they stayed in their room, and CCTV confirms Richie has not left the building. Despite a thorough search, no trace of the child is found.
Distrustful of the police, Sara turns to Crimson Lake’s unlikeliest private investigators: disgraced cop Ted Conkaffey and convicted killer Amanda Pharrell. This case just the sort of twisted puzzle that gets Amanda’s blood pumping.
For Ted, the case couldn’t have come at a worse time. Two years ago a false accusation robbed him of his career, his reputation and most importantly his family. But now Lillian, the daughter he barely knows, is coming to stay in his ramshackle cottage by the lake.
Ted must dredge up the area’s worst characters to find a missing boy. And the kind of danger he uncovers could well put his own child in deadly peril . . .
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 22, 2019
552 people are currently reading
6340 people want to read
About the author
Candice Fox
28 books2,098 followersCandice Fox is the middle child of a large, eccentric family from Sydney's western suburbs composed of half-, adopted and pseudo siblings. The daughter of a parole officer and an enthusiastic foster-carer, Candice spent her childhood listening around corners to tales of violence, madness and evil as her father relayed his work stories to her mother and older brothers.
As a cynical and trouble-making teenager, her crime and gothic fiction writing was an escape from the calamity of her home life. She was constantly in trouble for reading Anne Rice in church and scaring her friends with tales from Australia's wealth of true crime writers.
Bankstown born and bred, she failed to conform to military life in a brief stint as an officer in the Royal Australian Navy at age eighteen. At twenty, she turned her hand to academia, and taught high school through two undergraduate and two postgraduate degrees. Candice lectures in writing at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney, while undertaking a PhD in literary censorship and terrorism.
Hades is her first novel, and she is currently working on its sequel.
As a cynical and trouble-making teenager, her crime and gothic fiction writing was an escape from the calamity of her home life. She was constantly in trouble for reading Anne Rice in church and scaring her friends with tales from Australia's wealth of true crime writers.
Bankstown born and bred, she failed to conform to military life in a brief stint as an officer in the Royal Australian Navy at age eighteen. At twenty, she turned her hand to academia, and taught high school through two undergraduate and two postgraduate degrees. Candice lectures in writing at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney, while undertaking a PhD in literary censorship and terrorism.
Hades is her first novel, and she is currently working on its sequel.
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July 2, 2022
Gone by Midnight (Crimson Lake #3)
by Candice Fox (Author), Euan Morton (Narrator)
When an eight year old boy vanishes from a motel where his mom and he were vacationing with three other boys and their parents, the mom hires Ted Conkaffey and and his PI partner, Amanda Pharrell, to find her boy. The mother has had some issues in her past that could make her look suspicious and she thinks that having a wrongly accused ex cop and a convicted murderer on her side will give her two people who will understand her plight. Of course, Ted and Amanda are fighting the animosity of the local law enforcement and their attacks have ramped up in viciousness and frequency.
Ted winds down each day with his dog, Celine, and his seven geese, and vents his worries and frustrations to mama goose, Woman, while she sits beside him, watching her grown babies do what geese do. When Ted has to take one of his geese to the vet, he strikes up a promising friendship with the new lady vet and doesn't have the courage to tell her about the false accusations that have destroyed his past life. Ted's three year old daughter is with him for an unsupervised week long stay and Val, the crusty old medical examiner, is taking up babysitting duties while Ted is on the job.
I enjoy these characters so much. Despite the subject matter and violence, this series has been packed full of humor. The book ends on a very satisfying note and even though I'd love for more to come about these characters, if this is where their story ends, I feel like things will have wrapped up nicely.
Pub March 10, 2020 by Macmillan Audio
by Candice Fox (Author), Euan Morton (Narrator)
When an eight year old boy vanishes from a motel where his mom and he were vacationing with three other boys and their parents, the mom hires Ted Conkaffey and and his PI partner, Amanda Pharrell, to find her boy. The mother has had some issues in her past that could make her look suspicious and she thinks that having a wrongly accused ex cop and a convicted murderer on her side will give her two people who will understand her plight. Of course, Ted and Amanda are fighting the animosity of the local law enforcement and their attacks have ramped up in viciousness and frequency.
Ted winds down each day with his dog, Celine, and his seven geese, and vents his worries and frustrations to mama goose, Woman, while she sits beside him, watching her grown babies do what geese do. When Ted has to take one of his geese to the vet, he strikes up a promising friendship with the new lady vet and doesn't have the courage to tell her about the false accusations that have destroyed his past life. Ted's three year old daughter is with him for an unsupervised week long stay and Val, the crusty old medical examiner, is taking up babysitting duties while Ted is on the job.
I enjoy these characters so much. Despite the subject matter and violence, this series has been packed full of humor. The book ends on a very satisfying note and even though I'd love for more to come about these characters, if this is where their story ends, I feel like things will have wrapped up nicely.
Pub March 10, 2020 by Macmillan Audio
December 31, 2018
Just Amazing!! This is the 3rd in Candice Fox's Queensland based series featuring Ted Conkaffey, ex-police detective, with a traumatic past after a false accusation ruined his reputation and destroyed his life and marriage. He now lives by Crimson Lake with his 7 geese and dog, Celine, who have provided much needed therapy and sanity in his life. He works with the offbeat tattooed Amanda Pharrell, with her past as an ex-convict, in her detective agency, where they have experienced some success. Ted may no longer be a person of interest to the police, but this does not stop others making assumptions of his guilt and his reputation continues to plague his life. His wife is allowing him to have his young daughter, Lillian, who he rarely sees, to stay with him for a few days. Only trouble is that one of the geese, Peeper, is very sick, plus he and Amanda have just landed a new case of a missing boy, Richie Farrow, who disappeared from the 5th floor of the White Caps Hotel. He was with 3 other boys whilst his mother, Sara, and the other parents were dining downstairs.
Ted loves and is entranced by Lillian, but needs Val, the medical examiner and close friend to help look after her as he tries to find Richie with Amanda. The police team is led by Damien Clark, who is not happy with Ted and Amanda being employed by Sara to find Richie, but like the rest of the police, shows deeper animosity to Amanda after the death of police officer Pip in their last case. Not that this bothers Amanda, who is an old hand at breezing past any opposition with a screwball determination and bounce that demolishes any resistance that dares to stand in her path, as we see when a motor bike group fail to prevent her becoming a close member of their group. However, Amanda has a dangerous and deranged stalker, with a none too good a handle on reality. The police are stumped when it comes to any leads on Richie, and as the minutes tick by, the less likely it is that he will be found alive. Can Ted and Amanda succeed where the police are struggling?
If you haven't read Candice Fox, I strongly urge you to do so, although I do recommend starting this series from the beginning to get the most from it. I look forward with great anticipation to every new addition, and this one is an absolute corker. It has humour, comic touches and laugh out loud wit, the geese are a inspirational inclusion in the series and Ted's daughter, Lillian, is a great source of amusement and joy here. Amanda may be allergic to children, but this does not bother young Lillian in the slightest, convinced that Amanda is a glorious fairy. Haha, would you ever? There are, of course. some dark, tense and nightmarish moments provided with Richie's inexplicable vanishing. Then there is the off the wall Amanda with her dogged stalker but Fox's mix of darkness, danger, Ted's burgeoning new romance laced with obstacles, the beginnings of a poignant father-daughter relationship and the fantastic supporting characters make for a brilliant read. A wonderful Aussie series! Many thanks to Random House Cornerstone for an ARC.
Ted loves and is entranced by Lillian, but needs Val, the medical examiner and close friend to help look after her as he tries to find Richie with Amanda. The police team is led by Damien Clark, who is not happy with Ted and Amanda being employed by Sara to find Richie, but like the rest of the police, shows deeper animosity to Amanda after the death of police officer Pip in their last case. Not that this bothers Amanda, who is an old hand at breezing past any opposition with a screwball determination and bounce that demolishes any resistance that dares to stand in her path, as we see when a motor bike group fail to prevent her becoming a close member of their group. However, Amanda has a dangerous and deranged stalker, with a none too good a handle on reality. The police are stumped when it comes to any leads on Richie, and as the minutes tick by, the less likely it is that he will be found alive. Can Ted and Amanda succeed where the police are struggling?
If you haven't read Candice Fox, I strongly urge you to do so, although I do recommend starting this series from the beginning to get the most from it. I look forward with great anticipation to every new addition, and this one is an absolute corker. It has humour, comic touches and laugh out loud wit, the geese are a inspirational inclusion in the series and Ted's daughter, Lillian, is a great source of amusement and joy here. Amanda may be allergic to children, but this does not bother young Lillian in the slightest, convinced that Amanda is a glorious fairy. Haha, would you ever? There are, of course. some dark, tense and nightmarish moments provided with Richie's inexplicable vanishing. Then there is the off the wall Amanda with her dogged stalker but Fox's mix of darkness, danger, Ted's burgeoning new romance laced with obstacles, the beginnings of a poignant father-daughter relationship and the fantastic supporting characters make for a brilliant read. A wonderful Aussie series! Many thanks to Random House Cornerstone for an ARC.
April 20, 2023
4.5 rounded up because I do what I want 😜
Writing: 4.5/5 | Plot: 4.5 | Ending: 5/5
SYNOPSIS
Ted and Amanda are called in to find a missing eight-year-old boy.
MY OPINION
YERRRRRRRRR!!!!! I've given all three books in this series 5-stars... join the winning team and pick #1 up! Surprise surprise, I read this series in order, and I advise that you do as well. While there's some rehashing, you really won't be ✨invested✨ in Ted's character and his ducks if you jump in at the end.
Amanda is a top-two character of all time, and she ain't two. With sparse prose, Candice has created the ultimate quirky, entertaining, and intelligent character. No annoying inner monologue needed. It's hard to hate Amanda, despite her questionable behaviour.
My only gripe with this book is that Ted finally has a chance to be with his daughter after YEARS and he's like sorry boo, gotta jet, and leaves her in the care of the morgue lady. And I just don't understand Kelly's behaviour but whatever. The rest of the book is much bangerlicious so I'm willing to look past it.
While this case is simple and easy to solve from the jump, it's still a captivating read. Good writers don't need to throw in 204592095 twists to make a book bang. She takes a rather straightforward story and elevates it with the setting and well-drawn characters. Well-done.
This is a short and sweet review because I can only give so many compliments without feeling icky 😂😂 but for real JUST READ IT!!!!!!!
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, suspenseful, distinct and unique characters, funny at times, leaves you wanting MORE
Cons: Ted lowkey blowing off his daughter
____________________________
For some sick reason, do you want to hear more of my nonsense? Check out my podcast: Novels & Nonsense streaming everywhere.
Writing: 4.5/5 | Plot: 4.5 | Ending: 5/5
SYNOPSIS
Ted and Amanda are called in to find a missing eight-year-old boy.
MY OPINION
YERRRRRRRRR!!!!! I've given all three books in this series 5-stars... join the winning team and pick #1 up! Surprise surprise, I read this series in order, and I advise that you do as well. While there's some rehashing, you really won't be ✨invested✨ in Ted's character and his ducks if you jump in at the end.
Amanda is a top-two character of all time, and she ain't two. With sparse prose, Candice has created the ultimate quirky, entertaining, and intelligent character. No annoying inner monologue needed. It's hard to hate Amanda, despite her questionable behaviour.
My only gripe with this book is that Ted finally has a chance to be with his daughter after YEARS and he's like sorry boo, gotta jet, and leaves her in the care of the morgue lady. And I just don't understand Kelly's behaviour but whatever. The rest of the book is much bangerlicious so I'm willing to look past it.
While this case is simple and easy to solve from the jump, it's still a captivating read. Good writers don't need to throw in 204592095 twists to make a book bang. She takes a rather straightforward story and elevates it with the setting and well-drawn characters. Well-done.
This is a short and sweet review because I can only give so many compliments without feeling icky 😂😂 but for real JUST READ IT!!!!!!!
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, suspenseful, distinct and unique characters, funny at times, leaves you wanting MORE
Cons: Ted lowkey blowing off his daughter
____________________________
For some sick reason, do you want to hear more of my nonsense? Check out my podcast: Novels & Nonsense streaming everywhere.
January 9, 2022
I love the Crimson Lake series, and its two intriguing private investigators. I had to restrain myself from hugging the delivery man as I was so excited when he brought the book to my door. What better way to be shut in the house during a winter snowstorm, than to be vicariously transported to Crimson Lake, North Queensland, with its sweltering heat, mangrove swamps, rainforests and crocodile-infested rivers and lakes. There is a blizzard outside, but I have just spent an enjoyable and thrilling day revisiting Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell, two intriguing characters, as they carry out their latest crime investigation.
Ted was a respected policeman once employed in the Sydney drug squad. He was arrested and falsely charged with the abduction and rape of a young girl and later released due to insufficient evidence. His reputation shattered, his fellow police officers and his wife turned against him. He lost his home, his job, and access to his infant daughter. Due to media attention, many people still regard him as a pedophile. He located to Crimson Lake with the futile hope that he would not be recognized.
He now works as a private detective alongside Amanda Pharrell. Amanda is a quirky, petit, trash-talking, rhyme-spouting woman who is heavily tattooed and her body art defaced by scars from a crocodile attack. Her bizarre behaviour and inappropriate conversation cause townspeople and police to regard her as a ‘weirdo’. It is well known that she spent 10 years in prison for killing a classmate. As a fictional character, I love her. She hired Ted Conkaffey as the only person in Crimson Lake more hated than herself. Cases come their way from people who don’t trust the local police to carry out a decent crime investigation.
The story begins with Ted having a very bad day. One of his seven beloved pet geese is near death and is rushed to a vet. Two young policemen have come on his property, handcuffed him and led him away, while his 3-year-old daughter is soon arriving to visit him at his home for the first time.
An eight-year-old boy, Richie Farrow, has gone missing, from a locked 5th-floor hotel room where he was with three other boys while their parents had dinner. One of the parents checks on them every hour. On the second night of this arrangement, when a parent checks at midnight, Richie is missing. The boys deny they noticed him missing and that they all stayed in the room. Cameras confirm that none of them exited the building. The hotel has been thoroughly searched with no trace of Richie. The police chief informs Ted that the missing boy’s mother has asked for his help in the search, but under no circumstances is he to include his partner, Amanda, in the investigation. Of course, there is no stopping Amanda. Ted now has less time to spend with his daughter who has just arrived. Amanda is in danger from a deluded member of the police force and would like to make her suffer, to be gone, or dead.
This is just the beginning of a gripping, exciting plot which is suspenseful and full of danger, but with touches of humour. Interactions between the germ-fearing Amanda and Ted’s infant daughter are hilarious.
The character development is superb. Will Richie be found either alive or dead? As time passes several suspects are under surveillance and interviewed, and the search now shifts to finding the body. The final chapters contain frightening scenes of violence and some surprises. I hope Candice Fox will continue this enthralling series.
Ted was a respected policeman once employed in the Sydney drug squad. He was arrested and falsely charged with the abduction and rape of a young girl and later released due to insufficient evidence. His reputation shattered, his fellow police officers and his wife turned against him. He lost his home, his job, and access to his infant daughter. Due to media attention, many people still regard him as a pedophile. He located to Crimson Lake with the futile hope that he would not be recognized.
He now works as a private detective alongside Amanda Pharrell. Amanda is a quirky, petit, trash-talking, rhyme-spouting woman who is heavily tattooed and her body art defaced by scars from a crocodile attack. Her bizarre behaviour and inappropriate conversation cause townspeople and police to regard her as a ‘weirdo’. It is well known that she spent 10 years in prison for killing a classmate. As a fictional character, I love her. She hired Ted Conkaffey as the only person in Crimson Lake more hated than herself. Cases come their way from people who don’t trust the local police to carry out a decent crime investigation.
The story begins with Ted having a very bad day. One of his seven beloved pet geese is near death and is rushed to a vet. Two young policemen have come on his property, handcuffed him and led him away, while his 3-year-old daughter is soon arriving to visit him at his home for the first time.
An eight-year-old boy, Richie Farrow, has gone missing, from a locked 5th-floor hotel room where he was with three other boys while their parents had dinner. One of the parents checks on them every hour. On the second night of this arrangement, when a parent checks at midnight, Richie is missing. The boys deny they noticed him missing and that they all stayed in the room. Cameras confirm that none of them exited the building. The hotel has been thoroughly searched with no trace of Richie. The police chief informs Ted that the missing boy’s mother has asked for his help in the search, but under no circumstances is he to include his partner, Amanda, in the investigation. Of course, there is no stopping Amanda. Ted now has less time to spend with his daughter who has just arrived. Amanda is in danger from a deluded member of the police force and would like to make her suffer, to be gone, or dead.
This is just the beginning of a gripping, exciting plot which is suspenseful and full of danger, but with touches of humour. Interactions between the germ-fearing Amanda and Ted’s infant daughter are hilarious.
The character development is superb. Will Richie be found either alive or dead? As time passes several suspects are under surveillance and interviewed, and the search now shifts to finding the body. The final chapters contain frightening scenes of violence and some surprises. I hope Candice Fox will continue this enthralling series.
February 8, 2019
Candice Fox takes readers back to the Crimson Lake region of Australia for a new and exciting adventure. When Richie Farrow disappears from his hotel room, his mother is frantic and cannot handle the pressure and grief that are flooding over her. Reaching out to Ted Conkaffey, through the police, she seeks his assistance as a private investigator to help determine what’s happened. Ted, still leery of showing his face in general public, tries to set aside the false accusation of child abduction and molestation recently vacated against him and turns to helping find this eight year-old boy. With the help of his partner, unpredictable Amanda Pharrell, they start poking around the hotel and environs for clues. Once Ted learns a deep secret that Sara Farrow has kept from others—which also happens to shed light on why she chose him—he is able to take a new approach to the disappearance and seeks to have Amanda use her off-the-wall antics to look under every rock. However, Amanda has her own battles to fight with those in blue. Not only is she burdened with a murder in her past, but she was tangentially involved in a local cop’s death not too long before. Fighting to clear her name and move the case forward, Amanda soon discovers that she is in for the battle of her life. If things were not busy enough, Ted is finally being given some time with his daughter, Lillian, a ball of energy at three. As he balances being a father and investigator, Ted must locate Richie and determine what’s happened, with little evidence with which to work. Could there be an abductor lurking in the shadows or even in plain sight? Fox does a masterful job yet again to lure the reader into this story before loading them up with plot twists and character development. Recommended for series fans, as well as those who love a good Aussie crime thriller.
I have long admired the work that Candice Fox puts into her writing, as it is high-calibre story development worthy of a second look. This series is one that caught my eye as soon as it began, with two outcasts finding one another in rural Australia and trying to clear their names by helping with local situations. There is no shortage of backstory or development that Fox offers when it comes to her two protagonists, both of whom are admirable and angering in equal measure. Series fans will know that Ted Conkaffey was forced out of his job by a false accusation of child abduction, something that has lingered for years and kept him from being able to keep his foundation level. He fled the reporters and the glamour of the 24-hour news cycle to small-town Australia and still remains off the beaten path with his animals. Fox helps show his paternal side when Lillian comes to visit, though there is much juggling and trying to re-learn the art of being a father. With a sharp mind and acute sense of danger, Conkaffey seeks to focus much of his attention on the crime at hand, which leads to mixed results for him throughout this piece. Amanda Pharrell has no issue being herself, though she remains burdened with the yoke of her past, as well as a set of false accusations tied to a police officer’s death. She wants to succeed, but refuses to let anyone inside her bubble, including the adorable Lillian. Struggling and trying to fight for justice, Amanda will do all she can to help find Richie, but won’t stick her neck out too far for anyone else. Others who populate the pages of this story offer enriching angles to propel the narrative forward, while keeping the protagonists from getting too comfortable in their own skins. The story was well-developed and is able to keep the reader’s attention, something that Fox has never had an issue doing. She has developed an interesting trademark in this series, creating nameless and numberless chapters, forcing the reader to forge onwards without any strict guidelines as to how far they have traveled on the journey. It works well, as it fuels the ‘just a little more’ syndrome with readers who are enjoying what is before them, turning a quite coffee break into an afternoon of reading. Fox provides realistic settings and local dialogue to keep the reader enthralled as they feel a part of the Australian community, tagging along with the likes of Pharrell and Conkaffey. Definitely a series that readers curious about police procedurals should note, as Fox seems well-grounded in her writing and story development no matter what series she is writing.
Kudos, Madam Fox, for another success. I am eager to see what is to come with this and other series in which you have a key role.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
I have long admired the work that Candice Fox puts into her writing, as it is high-calibre story development worthy of a second look. This series is one that caught my eye as soon as it began, with two outcasts finding one another in rural Australia and trying to clear their names by helping with local situations. There is no shortage of backstory or development that Fox offers when it comes to her two protagonists, both of whom are admirable and angering in equal measure. Series fans will know that Ted Conkaffey was forced out of his job by a false accusation of child abduction, something that has lingered for years and kept him from being able to keep his foundation level. He fled the reporters and the glamour of the 24-hour news cycle to small-town Australia and still remains off the beaten path with his animals. Fox helps show his paternal side when Lillian comes to visit, though there is much juggling and trying to re-learn the art of being a father. With a sharp mind and acute sense of danger, Conkaffey seeks to focus much of his attention on the crime at hand, which leads to mixed results for him throughout this piece. Amanda Pharrell has no issue being herself, though she remains burdened with the yoke of her past, as well as a set of false accusations tied to a police officer’s death. She wants to succeed, but refuses to let anyone inside her bubble, including the adorable Lillian. Struggling and trying to fight for justice, Amanda will do all she can to help find Richie, but won’t stick her neck out too far for anyone else. Others who populate the pages of this story offer enriching angles to propel the narrative forward, while keeping the protagonists from getting too comfortable in their own skins. The story was well-developed and is able to keep the reader’s attention, something that Fox has never had an issue doing. She has developed an interesting trademark in this series, creating nameless and numberless chapters, forcing the reader to forge onwards without any strict guidelines as to how far they have traveled on the journey. It works well, as it fuels the ‘just a little more’ syndrome with readers who are enjoying what is before them, turning a quite coffee break into an afternoon of reading. Fox provides realistic settings and local dialogue to keep the reader enthralled as they feel a part of the Australian community, tagging along with the likes of Pharrell and Conkaffey. Definitely a series that readers curious about police procedurals should note, as Fox seems well-grounded in her writing and story development no matter what series she is writing.
Kudos, Madam Fox, for another success. I am eager to see what is to come with this and other series in which you have a key role.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
January 5, 2019
On the fifth floor of the White Caps Hotel, four young boys are left alone while their parents dine downstairs. But when one of the parents checks on the children at midnight, they discover one of them is missing!
Ted is a disgraced cop and Amanda is an ex con who runs a Private Investigation company. Four families were staying at the hotel for two nights. Four 8 year old boys had been left in one of the rooms. An adult had been checking on them every hour. On the second night, when one of the parents checked on them, there was only three boys. The boys insist that they haven't left the room and CCTV confirms this. How could a child escape from a locked room?
What a gripping read this book is. It's set in Australia's Queensland. Although this is the third book in this series it can be read as a standalone. Both the main characters have their own set of problems. My heart was in my mouth as the search went on to find the missing child. The first 24 hours are crucial. The characters are believable and true to life. We find out quite early who the main suspect is but we don't know what the connection is. What a great this is.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and the author Candice Fox for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Ted is a disgraced cop and Amanda is an ex con who runs a Private Investigation company. Four families were staying at the hotel for two nights. Four 8 year old boys had been left in one of the rooms. An adult had been checking on them every hour. On the second night, when one of the parents checked on them, there was only three boys. The boys insist that they haven't left the room and CCTV confirms this. How could a child escape from a locked room?
What a gripping read this book is. It's set in Australia's Queensland. Although this is the third book in this series it can be read as a standalone. Both the main characters have their own set of problems. My heart was in my mouth as the search went on to find the missing child. The first 24 hours are crucial. The characters are believable and true to life. We find out quite early who the main suspect is but we don't know what the connection is. What a great this is.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and the author Candice Fox for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
April 10, 2022
What a brilliant read! I love Candice Fox's Crimson Lake series and this third episode is the best so far.
There is so much to love about the series - the location near Cairns where misfits and those running away come to hide on the edge of the rain forest near croc-infested creeks, the sharp (and often amusing) dialogue, as well as the characters themselves. Ted Conkaffey, is hiding and licking his wounds after losing his marriage and career as a detective as a suspect in a high profile child abduction case. Although he's no longer a 'person of interest' to the police, he can't go out in public without people pointing him out and shielding their children from him. Now he works as a private detective with the damaged and quirky, Amanda Pharrell, herself a convicted criminal who served time in prison. Amanda is one of the most original PIs I've come across. Socially inept, but smart and with a quick mind, she is often refreshingly direct in her questions and observations and is hated by the local police. So when Ted and Amanda are engaged by the mother of a missing child, the police are not at all happy.
The child, Ritchie, an 8 year boy has gone missing from a locked hotel room where he was left playing and watching movies with three other boys while their parents had dinner downstairs. Despite hourly checks, Ritchie was discovered missing at midnight. With no one detected on CCTV around the hotel and the other boys unable to say when Ritchie disappeared, the police and Ted and Amanda have their work cut out finding him.
The timing is bad for Ted, as his ex-wife Kelly and her new partner have just dropped off his 3 year old daughter Lillian for a visit and he needs to make it work but instead finds himself having to ask a friend to babysit. Nevertheless, it's lovely watching Ted and Lillian bonding and finding that special father-daughter relationship denied to him for so long. Amanda also has her hands full with a policewoman who has not forgiven her for her involvement in the death of a detective previously and is out to hurt Amanda. Amanda's creative ways of fighting back are often humourous, especially when her friends, a group of bikies who live in the rainforest, get involved. Although I didn't think the plot was especially strong, this is more a character-driven than plot-driven thriller and the final scenes more than compensated for that. I really hope there will be another episode in this brilliant series!
There is so much to love about the series - the location near Cairns where misfits and those running away come to hide on the edge of the rain forest near croc-infested creeks, the sharp (and often amusing) dialogue, as well as the characters themselves. Ted Conkaffey, is hiding and licking his wounds after losing his marriage and career as a detective as a suspect in a high profile child abduction case. Although he's no longer a 'person of interest' to the police, he can't go out in public without people pointing him out and shielding their children from him. Now he works as a private detective with the damaged and quirky, Amanda Pharrell, herself a convicted criminal who served time in prison. Amanda is one of the most original PIs I've come across. Socially inept, but smart and with a quick mind, she is often refreshingly direct in her questions and observations and is hated by the local police. So when Ted and Amanda are engaged by the mother of a missing child, the police are not at all happy.
The child, Ritchie, an 8 year boy has gone missing from a locked hotel room where he was left playing and watching movies with three other boys while their parents had dinner downstairs. Despite hourly checks, Ritchie was discovered missing at midnight. With no one detected on CCTV around the hotel and the other boys unable to say when Ritchie disappeared, the police and Ted and Amanda have their work cut out finding him.
The timing is bad for Ted, as his ex-wife Kelly and her new partner have just dropped off his 3 year old daughter Lillian for a visit and he needs to make it work but instead finds himself having to ask a friend to babysit. Nevertheless, it's lovely watching Ted and Lillian bonding and finding that special father-daughter relationship denied to him for so long. Amanda also has her hands full with a policewoman who has not forgiven her for her involvement in the death of a detective previously and is out to hurt Amanda. Amanda's creative ways of fighting back are often humourous, especially when her friends, a group of bikies who live in the rainforest, get involved. Although I didn't think the plot was especially strong, this is more a character-driven than plot-driven thriller and the final scenes more than compensated for that. I really hope there will be another episode in this brilliant series!
March 15, 2020
Sara and some other parents are having dinner in a hotel restaurant while their sons play noisily, and finally fall asleep, in an upstairs hotel room. Someone checks on the boys every hour, but when the dinner is over and the final check is performed Sara’s 8 year old son Richie is missing, seemingly having vanished into thin air. Sara asks the police to involve the private detectives Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell who, as outcasts, have joined together as an investigative team. Although this is the third book in the series the author provides enough details of the Conkaffey and Pharrell backstories to make this work as a standalone. However, I liked all three books and recommend them.
I’m very fond of the two detectives, whose pasts put them at odds with the police. One cop in particular has a grudge against Amanda. I often find side tangents and personal details annoying time wasters in detective novels, but I like reading about Ted (geese, 3 year old daughter, excellent baker) and Amanda (cats, tattooed motorcycle lover, extremely prickly). This story includes a sprinkling of humor along with the detection, suspense and fight scenes. I hope the author continues with the series.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
I’m very fond of the two detectives, whose pasts put them at odds with the police. One cop in particular has a grudge against Amanda. I often find side tangents and personal details annoying time wasters in detective novels, but I like reading about Ted (geese, 3 year old daughter, excellent baker) and Amanda (cats, tattooed motorcycle lover, extremely prickly). This story includes a sprinkling of humor along with the detection, suspense and fight scenes. I hope the author continues with the series.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
July 11, 2023
Gone by Midnight (Crimson Lake, #3) by Candice Fox
Synopsis /
Four young boys are left alone in a hotel room while their parents dine downstairs. When Sara Farrow checks on the children at midnight, her son is missing.
Distrustful of the police, Sara turns to Crimson Lake’s unlikeliest private investigators—disgraced cop Ted Conkaffey and convicted killer Amanda Pharrell. For Ted, the case couldn’t have come at a worse time. Two years ago a false accusation robbed him of his career, his reputation, and most importantly, his family. But now Lillian, the daughter he barely knows, is coming to stay in his ramshackle cottage by the lake.
Ted must dredge up the area’s worst characters to find the missing boy. The clock is ticking, and the danger he uncovers could well put his own child in deadly peril.
My Thoughts /
The real trouble came at midnight.
Where do I start? This is a very EASY 5 stars from me. If you are in a reading slump and want to get out? Do yourself a favour and pick up #1 in this series. If you haven't yet read any Candice Fox books? Do yourself a favour and pick up #1 in this series. If you haven't read #1 in this series? Then what are you waiting for!
You know you're invested in a series when you tear up when one of the ducks is sick. Yep. Her writing is that good. You are never really sure how Fox is going to end the story. With #2, I was shooketh at how she wrote the ending and was left yelling 'why! why!'. But when a writer has the confidence in their abilities to leave the reader wanting more, it's addictive. One of Fox's many strengths is her ability to write and maintain a suspenseful plot, which keeps the reader on edge.
In Gone by Midnight, an eight-year-old boy has seemingly vanished into thin air.
In a case that starts off all too similar to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, four families are holidaying together in Cairns. The adults, leaving their children alone together in one of the rooms, go for dinner in the hotel restaurant. During the evening, the parents would take turns going back to the room to check on the children. It was during one of these routine checks that Sara Farrow realised that her son, Ritchie was no longer in the room with the other boys. Ritchie was missing.
"Crimson Lake is where bad people come to disappear. I've got every kind of scumbag you could imagine on my beat. There are runaway rapists, drug dealers, wife-killers and retired hitmen in my jurisdiction. The place is a fucking jungle. A quiet accused paedophile who lives on the edge of the lake fifty k's from the nearest kid doesn't interest me." "Then why am I here?" "The boy's mother has requested you."
With the help of his partner, Amanda Pharrell, Ted begins investigations, starting with the hotel and surrounds. If you've read any of this series, you will know that individually they struggle, but when put together, these two outcasts form a formidable team. In Gond by Midnight, Amanda again, comes up trumps. She is not your conventional character, she has a huge personality, quirks and all.
"There’s something deeply wrong with Amanda Pharrell. Whatever it is, it defies logic. It’s a slippery, indefinable thing that arms her with an eternal supply of social confidence, while at the same time preventing her from doing anything except horrifying, disturbing or annoying people everywhere she goes. She has apparently no emotional range, no gut-deep reservoir of guilt or anger at her bloody past, and yet she wears the consequences of that same past on her skin in neck-to-toe tattoos."
Alongside the investigation into Ritchie Farrow's disappearance, Fox develops Ted's story further. In #3, Ted's daughter Lillian comes to stay, while his ex-wife, Kelly is running a yoga retreat in Cairns. We get to see a different side to Ted as he grapples with how to look after a three-year-old. And the scenes with little Lillian and Amanda are laugh out loud funny.
Is the young boy's disappearance from a hotel room ever solved? Well, when Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell make short work of defying the odds and excel at achieving what seems impossible - you make your own conclusion.
Synopsis /
Four young boys are left alone in a hotel room while their parents dine downstairs. When Sara Farrow checks on the children at midnight, her son is missing.
Distrustful of the police, Sara turns to Crimson Lake’s unlikeliest private investigators—disgraced cop Ted Conkaffey and convicted killer Amanda Pharrell. For Ted, the case couldn’t have come at a worse time. Two years ago a false accusation robbed him of his career, his reputation, and most importantly, his family. But now Lillian, the daughter he barely knows, is coming to stay in his ramshackle cottage by the lake.
Ted must dredge up the area’s worst characters to find the missing boy. The clock is ticking, and the danger he uncovers could well put his own child in deadly peril.
My Thoughts /
The real trouble came at midnight.
Where do I start? This is a very EASY 5 stars from me. If you are in a reading slump and want to get out? Do yourself a favour and pick up #1 in this series. If you haven't yet read any Candice Fox books? Do yourself a favour and pick up #1 in this series. If you haven't read #1 in this series? Then what are you waiting for!
You know you're invested in a series when you tear up when one of the ducks is sick. Yep. Her writing is that good. You are never really sure how Fox is going to end the story. With #2, I was shooketh at how she wrote the ending and was left yelling 'why! why!'. But when a writer has the confidence in their abilities to leave the reader wanting more, it's addictive. One of Fox's many strengths is her ability to write and maintain a suspenseful plot, which keeps the reader on edge.
In Gone by Midnight, an eight-year-old boy has seemingly vanished into thin air.
In a case that starts off all too similar to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, four families are holidaying together in Cairns. The adults, leaving their children alone together in one of the rooms, go for dinner in the hotel restaurant. During the evening, the parents would take turns going back to the room to check on the children. It was during one of these routine checks that Sara Farrow realised that her son, Ritchie was no longer in the room with the other boys. Ritchie was missing.
"Crimson Lake is where bad people come to disappear. I've got every kind of scumbag you could imagine on my beat. There are runaway rapists, drug dealers, wife-killers and retired hitmen in my jurisdiction. The place is a fucking jungle. A quiet accused paedophile who lives on the edge of the lake fifty k's from the nearest kid doesn't interest me." "Then why am I here?" "The boy's mother has requested you."
With the help of his partner, Amanda Pharrell, Ted begins investigations, starting with the hotel and surrounds. If you've read any of this series, you will know that individually they struggle, but when put together, these two outcasts form a formidable team. In Gond by Midnight, Amanda again, comes up trumps. She is not your conventional character, she has a huge personality, quirks and all.
"There’s something deeply wrong with Amanda Pharrell. Whatever it is, it defies logic. It’s a slippery, indefinable thing that arms her with an eternal supply of social confidence, while at the same time preventing her from doing anything except horrifying, disturbing or annoying people everywhere she goes. She has apparently no emotional range, no gut-deep reservoir of guilt or anger at her bloody past, and yet she wears the consequences of that same past on her skin in neck-to-toe tattoos."
Alongside the investigation into Ritchie Farrow's disappearance, Fox develops Ted's story further. In #3, Ted's daughter Lillian comes to stay, while his ex-wife, Kelly is running a yoga retreat in Cairns. We get to see a different side to Ted as he grapples with how to look after a three-year-old. And the scenes with little Lillian and Amanda are laugh out loud funny.
Is the young boy's disappearance from a hotel room ever solved? Well, when Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell make short work of defying the odds and excel at achieving what seems impossible - you make your own conclusion.
May 13, 2022
Candice Fox’s Gone by Midnight is the third in the Ted Conkaffey or Crimson Lake series. While the mystery revolves around the disappearance of a young boy, the story’s true focus is on Ted and his partner, Amanda and their relationship with the community. You see, Ted and Amanda are no ordinary PIs. Two years ago, Ted was accused of the murder of a young girl. He was never found guilty in court, but he sure was in the court of public opinion. And Amanda killed a young friend as a teenager and served time. Fox does give us their background in this book but this is still a series best read in order.
The investigation focuses on four families vacationing together. The four boys are left upstairs in a hotel room while the parents dine downstairs. When one mother goes up to check on them, she discovers her own son missing. She hires Amanda and Ted as she doesn’t trust the police.
These are great characters and fully developed. I didn’t care that the mystery of the missing child often took a back seat to their lives. Ted is finally being allowed a few nights with his three year old daughter, Lillian. His dog, Seline, and his seven geese figure prominently in the story. Amanda has a run in with a female cop who seems determined to bring her down.
The book is full of humor (especially when Amanda is in the frame) and warmth. The book moves at a brisk pace with no downtime. I can only hope there will be a fourth book in the series.
I listened to this story and Euan Morton was a fabulous narrator.
The investigation focuses on four families vacationing together. The four boys are left upstairs in a hotel room while the parents dine downstairs. When one mother goes up to check on them, she discovers her own son missing. She hires Amanda and Ted as she doesn’t trust the police.
These are great characters and fully developed. I didn’t care that the mystery of the missing child often took a back seat to their lives. Ted is finally being allowed a few nights with his three year old daughter, Lillian. His dog, Seline, and his seven geese figure prominently in the story. Amanda has a run in with a female cop who seems determined to bring her down.
The book is full of humor (especially when Amanda is in the frame) and warmth. The book moves at a brisk pace with no downtime. I can only hope there will be a fourth book in the series.
I listened to this story and Euan Morton was a fabulous narrator.
January 17, 2019
This was a really great read that kept me guessing throughout and though part of an ongoing series: (I think there are two before this) can totally be read as a standalone story: I did no issues whatsoever everything here is of an extremely self-explanatory nature.
So the blurb says it all really four boys in a room left to there own devises while their parents are dining downstairs in the hotel restaurant.
Checking in with them every hour: but when Ritchies mum checks on the boys at midnight her son is missing: gone without a trace sending all involved into a sense of confusion and chasing their own tails as the hunt for Ritchie intensifies.
So this was a great crime thriller and I really adored that aspect of this but I also found the backstory of Ted Conkaffey and Amanda: the private detectives this story encompasses so fascinating indeed.
It was almost a story within a story and I was avidly glued to the unfolding drama.
There was just so much going on here in terms of story direction and I for one was hooked completely.
We have both Ted and Amanda colourful pasts alongside Ted finding his feet with his young daughter and also balancing this paternal relationship with the new case he is embroiled in.
Also an emerging new friendship with the local vet who is unaware of his past notoriety.
Meanwhile his partner and boss Amanda is hanging out with local Bikies and also trying to repel some stalker advances of someone out for revenge at what she perceives as Amanda's past sins.
So a lot going on behind the scenes here.
On top of that is the mystery at the heart of this and this puzzle enthralled me immensely.
I liked where this eventually took us and was extremely satisfied with the eventual end game.
This was such an enjoyable read that I'm happy to recommend to you.
I voluntary reviewed an Arc of Gone by Midnight (Crimson Lake #3).
All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
February 7, 2019
Gone by Midnight by Candice Fox is the third book in a series and it took me a while to get into the story.
A boy goes missing from a hotel room and the police are hoping to find him soon.
Two investigators are hired by the child's mother to look into the case. These characters are pretty unusual and not quite believable.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
A boy goes missing from a hotel room and the police are hoping to find him soon.
Two investigators are hired by the child's mother to look into the case. These characters are pretty unusual and not quite believable.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 5, 2022
This is the third book in the awesome Crimson Lake series by Australian author Candice Fox. I’m so glad they made a TV series out of the first book, now I can picture the characters and the swampy, steamy tropical north. Disgraced former cop, Ted Conkaffey is looking forward to finally getting to spend some time with his daughter, Lilly, while her mum and new boyfriend are in Cairns for a yoga retreat or some such. But nothing goes according to plan.
An 8 year old boy has gone missing from his hotel room in Cairns. The four families were having a break and while the adults had dinner and drinks for two nights the four boys were in one room with plenty of movies, games and junk food to keep them occupied. There were regular hourly checks by one of the parents. What could go wrong? Quite a lot as it turns out. The parents completely underestimated the ingenuity of 4 eight year old rambunctious boys.
The police barely tolerate Ted, who many still think is a paedophile although he has proven his innocence. But they really don’t like his partner, convicted killer Amanda Pharrell - yes she did kill someone but there were extenuating circumstances. They have to be they most unlikely pair of private detectives ever! However, the boy’s mother insists they be involved in the search for her son, Richard Farrow, so they are grudgingly accommodated.
Now Ted has to find someone to babysit 3 year old Lilly during the day. The “morgue lady”, pathologist Val is happy to assist. He just hopes his ex-wife doesn’t find out that little fact!
While Ted and Amanda are working the case Constable Joanna Fisher has a grudge going with Amanda, blaming her for her former partner, Detective Pip Sweeney’s death. This grudge takes some very violent turns but nothing much fazes Amanda. She is one of the awesomest characters in crime fiction today! Crimson Lake attracts the weirdos, people who are running away or running to something or those who just want to keep a very low profile. Amanda and Ted certainly qualify as weirdos. Ted has 7 pet geese that he kept in his bathtub when they were little. Amanda has serious issues but she also has a novel way of approaching problems and is often very insightful.
This high octane thriller races to a rather shocking and unexpected conclusion. I really hope there will a book 4. I was having a little break from arcs and I’m hoping to catch up with a few other of my favourite series soon. Do yourself a favour and read the Crimson Lake series but please start with book 1.
An 8 year old boy has gone missing from his hotel room in Cairns. The four families were having a break and while the adults had dinner and drinks for two nights the four boys were in one room with plenty of movies, games and junk food to keep them occupied. There were regular hourly checks by one of the parents. What could go wrong? Quite a lot as it turns out. The parents completely underestimated the ingenuity of 4 eight year old rambunctious boys.
The police barely tolerate Ted, who many still think is a paedophile although he has proven his innocence. But they really don’t like his partner, convicted killer Amanda Pharrell - yes she did kill someone but there were extenuating circumstances. They have to be they most unlikely pair of private detectives ever! However, the boy’s mother insists they be involved in the search for her son, Richard Farrow, so they are grudgingly accommodated.
Now Ted has to find someone to babysit 3 year old Lilly during the day. The “morgue lady”, pathologist Val is happy to assist. He just hopes his ex-wife doesn’t find out that little fact!
While Ted and Amanda are working the case Constable Joanna Fisher has a grudge going with Amanda, blaming her for her former partner, Detective Pip Sweeney’s death. This grudge takes some very violent turns but nothing much fazes Amanda. She is one of the awesomest characters in crime fiction today! Crimson Lake attracts the weirdos, people who are running away or running to something or those who just want to keep a very low profile. Amanda and Ted certainly qualify as weirdos. Ted has 7 pet geese that he kept in his bathtub when they were little. Amanda has serious issues but she also has a novel way of approaching problems and is often very insightful.
This high octane thriller races to a rather shocking and unexpected conclusion. I really hope there will a book 4. I was having a little break from arcs and I’m hoping to catch up with a few other of my favourite series soon. Do yourself a favour and read the Crimson Lake series but please start with book 1.
April 15, 2021
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Masterpiece.
I’ve had this on my kindle for a while now.
Saw this on audio from my library. Reminded me about it.
So dived right in.
I’ve not read the previous books in this serious and although I knew that I’d miss out on some background I still dived in. Having read previous books by Candice Fox that I’ve loved and some I didn’t find so enthralling I loved the premise and advertising of this one.
Went in with little expectations and came out wide eyed.....this is good people. This is so good.
It’s Police procedures at its best.
To be honest I’ve been burnt out on police procedures so maybe this why I let it slip down my kindle subconsciously.
This didn’t bore me, it kept pace and had me invested.
I’d say, it’s a winner.
May 30, 2020
I enjoy a nice sleuth story now and then and this novel sounded interesting to me for its Australian setting and the narrator’s accent of the audiobook. Unbeknownst to me though, this book happened to be the third in the current Crimson Lake series as I realized when several references were made to the main character’s backstory that I was missing and had to figure out.
Ted Conkaffey is a private investigator who had to leave his prior cop career after some devastating accusations against him about child abduction and molestation. This must have happened in the last book, I am thinking. As a new case to investigate emerges of a missing boy, Ted and his sidekick Amanda end up working together after being requested by the devastated mother of the boy.
Something is certainly fishy. A bunch of young kids were left in a hotel room when several parents got together for the weekend to go out to have a good time. When investigators ask the kids about their versions of the night in question, they turn more bazaar by with each telling.
While Ted and Amanda split into their tasks, each one of them is confronted to deal with challenges from their past, in part almost deadly for one of them. Between the misleads and some vendetta moments, the case takes twists and turns, some hair raising, that keep the investigators as well as the reader on their toes ;)
To appreciate a series as such with the continuation and character development to follow along over several books would be ideal, something I failed to gain since I jumped in late. However, I did enjoy the in part personal story and detective work combo of the two PI's. What comes to mind are the Kinsey Millhone mysteries "A" Is for Alibi, "B" Is for Burglar, "C" Is for Corpse, etc. by Sue Grafton, where you find an equal measure personality growth combined with old fashioned sleuth work.
What I loved about this novel was definitely the mouth of Amanda, Ted’s sidekick. She does not hold back and challenges everything with dry humor, wit, and sarcasm. The Australian outback setting with Ted’s little farm and the mysterious Crimson lake/swamps with crikey crocks was definitely an enticing change from the usual mysteries out there.
I would say to enjoy this to the fullest, you may want to start with book one, though it was totally fine to read as a stand-alone. I just feel like I missed getting to know the characters a bit better if I had.
All in all an enjoyable, laid back, and easy-going read with some quirky and funny moments.
More of my reviews here:
Through Novel Time & Distance
Ted Conkaffey is a private investigator who had to leave his prior cop career after some devastating accusations against him about child abduction and molestation. This must have happened in the last book, I am thinking. As a new case to investigate emerges of a missing boy, Ted and his sidekick Amanda end up working together after being requested by the devastated mother of the boy.
Something is certainly fishy. A bunch of young kids were left in a hotel room when several parents got together for the weekend to go out to have a good time. When investigators ask the kids about their versions of the night in question, they turn more bazaar by with each telling.
While Ted and Amanda split into their tasks, each one of them is confronted to deal with challenges from their past, in part almost deadly for one of them. Between the misleads and some vendetta moments, the case takes twists and turns, some hair raising, that keep the investigators as well as the reader on their toes ;)
To appreciate a series as such with the continuation and character development to follow along over several books would be ideal, something I failed to gain since I jumped in late. However, I did enjoy the in part personal story and detective work combo of the two PI's. What comes to mind are the Kinsey Millhone mysteries "A" Is for Alibi, "B" Is for Burglar, "C" Is for Corpse, etc. by Sue Grafton, where you find an equal measure personality growth combined with old fashioned sleuth work.
What I loved about this novel was definitely the mouth of Amanda, Ted’s sidekick. She does not hold back and challenges everything with dry humor, wit, and sarcasm. The Australian outback setting with Ted’s little farm and the mysterious Crimson lake/swamps with crikey crocks was definitely an enticing change from the usual mysteries out there.
I would say to enjoy this to the fullest, you may want to start with book one, though it was totally fine to read as a stand-alone. I just feel like I missed getting to know the characters a bit better if I had.
All in all an enjoyable, laid back, and easy-going read with some quirky and funny moments.
More of my reviews here:
Through Novel Time & Distance
March 12, 2020
Private detectives Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell are hired to find an 8-year-old child that has disappeared from a Cairns hotel room. He was there with three of his friends while their parents enjoyed dinner downstairs. When the parents return, Richie Farrow is missing. Fox provides a new twist on the classic ‘locked room’ mystery. The eccentric savant Amanda takes the lead role as Ted is distracted by a week-long visit with his 3-year-old daughter Lillian, and a sick goose. As always, Fox provides plenty of action in hot, humid Queensland. And yes, there will be crocodiles!
September 11, 2020
Here’s what to love in this book.
1. A locked room mystery
2. Ted’s daughter, Lillian
3. Amanda’s high jinks
4. An impending biker-cop war
5. Escalating animosity between Amanda and Joanna
6. Superfish
7. A character you will love to hate
This is a great third book in the series. Man, I hope there’s a fourth.
1. A locked room mystery
2. Ted’s daughter, Lillian
3. Amanda’s high jinks
4. An impending biker-cop war
5. Escalating animosity between Amanda and Joanna
6. Superfish
7. A character you will love to hate
This is a great third book in the series. Man, I hope there’s a fourth.
July 21, 2020
⭐️4.5 Stars⭐️
Totally addictive, confronting and thrilling crime series
Four eight-year-old boys are left alone in a hotel room while their parents are dining downstairs. When Sara Farrow carries out the hourly check on the boys, it's at midnight she finds that her son Richie is nowhere to be found. Distrustful of the police Sara hires Crimson’s Lake, unlikeliest private Investigators Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell to find her boy.
For Ted two years after a false accusation robbed him of the life he once held as a respected drug squad policeman, loving husband and new father he is now living in a remote town in the region of Cairns where bad people come to disappear. Ted is publicly hated due to an alleged crime in which the charges have been dropped. He's finally going to spend time with his three year old daughter Lillian, she’ll be staying with him for the first time since his incarceration but the timing badly coincides with the investigation to find the lost boy. Ted still bears the stigma of having been arrested and tried when he is out in public and is worried on the effects this will have on his relationship with Lillian.
The former partner of a police woman that was killed on duty trying to protect Amanda is fixated on her and she is out for revenge which could easily ignite a war between the police and underworld bikies who Amanda has a strange kinship with. Socially inept Amanda is notorious in inappropriateness as ever but she is freakishly smart in her investigative skills, she has a murderous past and is public enemy number one.
If like me you love solving mysteries this one wasn't easy, I didn’t see it coming as there were plenty of red herrings along the way. The story has extremely well written characters, crocs lurking in the mangroves out for a good feed, evil ambience and a gripping climax. The characters of Ted and Amanda are hugely likeable and I loved the addition of young Lillian, she was delightful.
Gone by Midnight (Crimson Lake #3) is an excellent addition to the series, there’s never a dull moment and I can’t wait for the next book by this talented author Candice Fox.
Previous books in the series are: Crimson Lake book #1, Redemption Point book #2.
Totally addictive, confronting and thrilling crime series
Four eight-year-old boys are left alone in a hotel room while their parents are dining downstairs. When Sara Farrow carries out the hourly check on the boys, it's at midnight she finds that her son Richie is nowhere to be found. Distrustful of the police Sara hires Crimson’s Lake, unlikeliest private Investigators Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell to find her boy.
For Ted two years after a false accusation robbed him of the life he once held as a respected drug squad policeman, loving husband and new father he is now living in a remote town in the region of Cairns where bad people come to disappear. Ted is publicly hated due to an alleged crime in which the charges have been dropped. He's finally going to spend time with his three year old daughter Lillian, she’ll be staying with him for the first time since his incarceration but the timing badly coincides with the investigation to find the lost boy. Ted still bears the stigma of having been arrested and tried when he is out in public and is worried on the effects this will have on his relationship with Lillian.
The former partner of a police woman that was killed on duty trying to protect Amanda is fixated on her and she is out for revenge which could easily ignite a war between the police and underworld bikies who Amanda has a strange kinship with. Socially inept Amanda is notorious in inappropriateness as ever but she is freakishly smart in her investigative skills, she has a murderous past and is public enemy number one.
If like me you love solving mysteries this one wasn't easy, I didn’t see it coming as there were plenty of red herrings along the way. The story has extremely well written characters, crocs lurking in the mangroves out for a good feed, evil ambience and a gripping climax. The characters of Ted and Amanda are hugely likeable and I loved the addition of young Lillian, she was delightful.
Gone by Midnight (Crimson Lake #3) is an excellent addition to the series, there’s never a dull moment and I can’t wait for the next book by this talented author Candice Fox.
Previous books in the series are: Crimson Lake book #1, Redemption Point book #2.
March 6, 2020
4.5 midnight-blue STARS ★★★★✬
⤐ Overall.
What an awesome book! Worth the wait and way better than the predecessor! I'll apologize in advance for the boring and short review, I've got low energy levels today but know I won't come around to reviewing this for another couple of days, soooo...
This series is fantastic. The sequel was a bit of a meh thing for me, but this third instalment was excellent. A thrilling and chilling hunt for a kidnapper kept me on the edge of my seat at all times. I like how many themes are addressed in this story, reoccurring sometimes: trauma, abuse, parenting struggles, postpartum depression, the list goes on and on and on and o-... you get the idea!
The German audiobooks are excellent and on Spotify! So give this series a chance.
⤐ What’s happening.
Just as Ted Konkaffey is about to welcome his daughter for an extended stay at his place - something he's ached for for quite some time - he's called to help in the investigation of a case. A boy vanished from a hotel room, no clues left. As the investigation intensifies, it's questionable what new scars this case will cause.
_____________________
writing quality + easy of reading = *
pace = 4*
plot/story in general = 4*
plot development =5 *
characters = 5*
enjoyability = 5*
insightfulness = 4*
This book is for you if… you're a crime fan that enjoys the thrill of both human and animal predators. Australia is dangerous, people! Not at all like what all the WAT-people tell you.
⤐ Overall.
What an awesome book! Worth the wait and way better than the predecessor! I'll apologize in advance for the boring and short review, I've got low energy levels today but know I won't come around to reviewing this for another couple of days, soooo...
This series is fantastic. The sequel was a bit of a meh thing for me, but this third instalment was excellent. A thrilling and chilling hunt for a kidnapper kept me on the edge of my seat at all times. I like how many themes are addressed in this story, reoccurring sometimes: trauma, abuse, parenting struggles, postpartum depression, the list goes on and on and on and o-... you get the idea!
The German audiobooks are excellent and on Spotify! So give this series a chance.
⤐ What’s happening.
Just as Ted Konkaffey is about to welcome his daughter for an extended stay at his place - something he's ached for for quite some time - he's called to help in the investigation of a case. A boy vanished from a hotel room, no clues left. As the investigation intensifies, it's questionable what new scars this case will cause.
_____________________
writing quality + easy of reading = *
pace = 4*
plot/story in general = 4*
plot development =5 *
characters = 5*
enjoyability = 5*
insightfulness = 4*
May 23, 2019
Book 3 in the Conkaffy/ Pharrell series.
To say that this pair is the quintessential odd couple would be an understatement.
At its essence this is a thriller with some very odd ball humour thrown in. Most of the humour comes via Amanda Pharrell, who has more than a few bats loose in her belfry. Amanda is, without a doubt, a great sleuth but having her as your partner in crime, so to speak, would test anybody’s powers of endurance. I found some of her idiosyncrasies, frustrating, sometimes to the extreme. But with Ted Conkaffy’s level headedness and Amanda’s ability to think out of the box they are a highly successful duo.
A young boy goes missing late one night right from under the noses of his friends and their parents. The police are clueless so the mother of the missing boy hires Ted and Amanda to find her son.
Nothing is as it seems. Accusations are being thrown around and some lives will be for ever changed.
There are red herrings aplenty to guide you down a few wrong paths.
This is an entertaining story but the ending left me a bit flat. Also, I wish Amanda had an off/on switch that I could have used from time to time.
A good but not a great read. 3.75stars rounded up to 4 stars.
To say that this pair is the quintessential odd couple would be an understatement.
At its essence this is a thriller with some very odd ball humour thrown in. Most of the humour comes via Amanda Pharrell, who has more than a few bats loose in her belfry. Amanda is, without a doubt, a great sleuth but having her as your partner in crime, so to speak, would test anybody’s powers of endurance. I found some of her idiosyncrasies, frustrating, sometimes to the extreme. But with Ted Conkaffy’s level headedness and Amanda’s ability to think out of the box they are a highly successful duo.
A young boy goes missing late one night right from under the noses of his friends and their parents. The police are clueless so the mother of the missing boy hires Ted and Amanda to find her son.
Nothing is as it seems. Accusations are being thrown around and some lives will be for ever changed.
There are red herrings aplenty to guide you down a few wrong paths.
This is an entertaining story but the ending left me a bit flat. Also, I wish Amanda had an off/on switch that I could have used from time to time.
A good but not a great read. 3.75stars rounded up to 4 stars.
September 11, 2023
The 3rd book in the Crimson Lake series featuring wrongfully accused child abuser Ted Concaffey, Gone By Midnight returns us to the Cairns region for another tempestuous missing person case. This series has developed into a truly engrossing one and the strong characters and clever plotting continues creating another solid PI case that showcases Australia’s Far North Queensland to good effect.
Eight year old Richie Farrow has disappeared from his hotel room while his parents were at dinner with friends downstairs. Ted has been hired by Richie’s mother to try to find her son. He’s glad for the work but it has coincided with the long-awaited arrival of his 3 year old daughter, Lilian, for her first visit in a couple of years. Ted’s ex-wife has finally agreed he deserves the chance to get to know his daughter now that the trauma of his wrongful arrest and incarceration has begun to recede.
Taking care of a 3 year old while also trying to focus on a missing person case (and all of the sudden call-outs that come with the job) is tricky to say the least. Calling on his medical examiner friend to provide babysitting services is just one of the creative ways he deals with the problem. Clearly, he loves his daughter to bits, always doing the right thing by her and providing her with the attention she needs is going to be a bit more difficult. (Amanda’s reaction to Lilian is classic!)
While the mystery side of this story revolves around the four families whose boys were left alone in their hotel room, once again, it’s really the working relationship between Ted and his PI partner Amanda Pharrell where the true fascination lies.
To say Amanda is less than orthodox is grossly understating her personality and she tends to steal every scene she’s in. Her past remains confronting, having been convicted of murder, but it’s the wild ride she takes us on today with an almost manic energy that ensures that she demands attention.
This is a story that’s cleverly plotted. I felt as though I was being provided with just enough information to keep me intrigued while still remaining unsure of: how the boy was abducted; who the abductor is, or even; whether the boy was abducted at all!
And there are undercurrents of tension provided by some simmering long-standing bitterness that have been held between some of the returning characters. It’s to these subplots that it really would help to have read the earlier couple of books in the series to fully appreciate the importance of these grudges. It’s an aspect of the story that grows in importance from a mere wisp of a threat until it threatens to take over the entire show. The result is a far more complex plot that becomes vastly more multi-layered than I first would have imagined.
The complex layering provides the pay off when it appears the investigation has begun to stagnate. It’s at this moment that we’re hit with not one but two twists that blow the case wide open from one side and send it in another direction from the other. It was quite well done and made for a vastly unexpected but wholly enjoyable ending.
It’s possible to mix heartfelt tragedy with bright, witty humour and Candice Fox has managed it adeptly in Gone By Midnight. Indeed, it’s one of the aspects of the entire Crimson Lake series that has made it such a compelling series to read.
Eight year old Richie Farrow has disappeared from his hotel room while his parents were at dinner with friends downstairs. Ted has been hired by Richie’s mother to try to find her son. He’s glad for the work but it has coincided with the long-awaited arrival of his 3 year old daughter, Lilian, for her first visit in a couple of years. Ted’s ex-wife has finally agreed he deserves the chance to get to know his daughter now that the trauma of his wrongful arrest and incarceration has begun to recede.
Taking care of a 3 year old while also trying to focus on a missing person case (and all of the sudden call-outs that come with the job) is tricky to say the least. Calling on his medical examiner friend to provide babysitting services is just one of the creative ways he deals with the problem. Clearly, he loves his daughter to bits, always doing the right thing by her and providing her with the attention she needs is going to be a bit more difficult. (Amanda’s reaction to Lilian is classic!)
While the mystery side of this story revolves around the four families whose boys were left alone in their hotel room, once again, it’s really the working relationship between Ted and his PI partner Amanda Pharrell where the true fascination lies.
To say Amanda is less than orthodox is grossly understating her personality and she tends to steal every scene she’s in. Her past remains confronting, having been convicted of murder, but it’s the wild ride she takes us on today with an almost manic energy that ensures that she demands attention.
This is a story that’s cleverly plotted. I felt as though I was being provided with just enough information to keep me intrigued while still remaining unsure of: how the boy was abducted; who the abductor is, or even; whether the boy was abducted at all!
And there are undercurrents of tension provided by some simmering long-standing bitterness that have been held between some of the returning characters. It’s to these subplots that it really would help to have read the earlier couple of books in the series to fully appreciate the importance of these grudges. It’s an aspect of the story that grows in importance from a mere wisp of a threat until it threatens to take over the entire show. The result is a far more complex plot that becomes vastly more multi-layered than I first would have imagined.
The complex layering provides the pay off when it appears the investigation has begun to stagnate. It’s at this moment that we’re hit with not one but two twists that blow the case wide open from one side and send it in another direction from the other. It was quite well done and made for a vastly unexpected but wholly enjoyable ending.
It’s possible to mix heartfelt tragedy with bright, witty humour and Candice Fox has managed it adeptly in Gone By Midnight. Indeed, it’s one of the aspects of the entire Crimson Lake series that has made it such a compelling series to read.
February 21, 2019
I LOVE this series! When I got the chance to read GONE BY MIDNIGHT didn't I hesitate, I had to read it straight away. And WOW! The first book was great, the second was fabulous, this one is awesome!
READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!
READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!
November 8, 2019
In this suspenseful fast-paced story, PI Ted Conkaffey and side-kick Amanda Pharrell must find a missing boy. The trouble is, there is no record of him leaving the hotel in which he was last seen. Conkaffey, a disgraced former police officer and Pharrell, an ex-con, frequently clash with the local authorities, slowing down their frantic search efforts for their victim. For fans of Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes trilogy.
May 28, 2019
Oh I do love Crimson Lake and these characters! Another fantastic book from Candice Fox... love the crocs!!!
April 2, 2020
Really enjoyed this one, last book in the series. You can read this one as a standalone.
I want more books from Candice Fox. I listened to this one on Audio,( the whole series actually and really enjoyed it). 4.5 stars
I want more books from Candice Fox. I listened to this one on Audio,( the whole series actually and really enjoyed it). 4.5 stars
January 24, 2019
Gone By Midnight is the third instalment in the Crimson Lake series, a fact I was unaware of when I picked this one up to read. Now, luckily, this reads perfectly well as a stand-alone but I already know I’ll be making time to read the previous two as well because I can’t for the life of me figure out how these evaded my radar.
The premise of the story reminded me somewhat of the McCann investigation. Four eight year old boys are left alone in a hotel room while their parents go out to dinner. But when one of the parents returns to check on them, one of the boys has gone missing. The remaining three boys swear to high heaven that they never left the room and CCTV confirms none of them left the building. So surely the missing boy must be in the hotel somewhere but there is no trace of him.
This is the start of an amazingly intricate and complex investigation. Eight year old boys don’t exactly make great and reliable witnesses. For the longest time, I thought I knew exactly what had happened but I was proven wrong. I do so love it when an author manages to lead me in the wrong direction. Gone by Midnight is super tense, insanely addictive and has an incredibly delicious sting in its tail. Let’s not forget the amazing Australian setting.
I must say that while the search for the missing boy is intensely gripping, it’s the characters that really drew me into this story. Especially, Ted and Amanda. These two work together as a sort of private detective team but their backgrounds are utterly fascinating. I won’t be telling you what those are because I feel you need to find that out for yourself and to get a better picture of them, I recommend you start with the first book in the series. Now, I know I said at the start this can be perfectly well read as a stand-alone and that is still the case. You get plenty of background information so you don’t feel like you’ve missed out on anything. Yet, it’s also so immensely intriguing that the urge to go back and read the previous books to get the full picture is pretty hard to resist.
I honestly can’t believe this is the first time I’ve read a book by Candice Fox. Gone By Midnight had me hooked from start to finish and was just a fabulous treat.
The premise of the story reminded me somewhat of the McCann investigation. Four eight year old boys are left alone in a hotel room while their parents go out to dinner. But when one of the parents returns to check on them, one of the boys has gone missing. The remaining three boys swear to high heaven that they never left the room and CCTV confirms none of them left the building. So surely the missing boy must be in the hotel somewhere but there is no trace of him.
This is the start of an amazingly intricate and complex investigation. Eight year old boys don’t exactly make great and reliable witnesses. For the longest time, I thought I knew exactly what had happened but I was proven wrong. I do so love it when an author manages to lead me in the wrong direction. Gone by Midnight is super tense, insanely addictive and has an incredibly delicious sting in its tail. Let’s not forget the amazing Australian setting.
I must say that while the search for the missing boy is intensely gripping, it’s the characters that really drew me into this story. Especially, Ted and Amanda. These two work together as a sort of private detective team but their backgrounds are utterly fascinating. I won’t be telling you what those are because I feel you need to find that out for yourself and to get a better picture of them, I recommend you start with the first book in the series. Now, I know I said at the start this can be perfectly well read as a stand-alone and that is still the case. You get plenty of background information so you don’t feel like you’ve missed out on anything. Yet, it’s also so immensely intriguing that the urge to go back and read the previous books to get the full picture is pretty hard to resist.
I honestly can’t believe this is the first time I’ve read a book by Candice Fox. Gone By Midnight had me hooked from start to finish and was just a fabulous treat.
Read
July 26, 20204.5 Terrific. Fox is one of my favourite Australian authors. I especially like the way she brings the Australian setting (in this case think vast and poorly populated), excellent lead characters (Ted Conkaffey PI and Amanda Pharrel asst PI) with an ongoing prejudiced and distrustful local population. This includes the majority of the police.
Conkaffey was accused of an unproven charge against a minor. Pharrell was a convicted killer.
Unputdownable
Conkaffey was accused of an unproven charge against a minor. Pharrell was a convicted killer.
Unputdownable
June 23, 2023
All the heart stopping moments I’ve come to expect from Fox. A missing boy in Cairns, our two off beat detectives, a psycho cop causing havoc, and crocodiles, always the crocodiles! I couldn’t put this read down. Loved it!
January 24, 2019
Gone by Midnight is the third instalment in the Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell Crimson Lake series, and it's another thoroughly enjoyable thriller. The combination of brisk pacing, excellent characterisation and a stellar plot make this a single-sitting page-turner; once you begin putting it down is not an option. This is an interesting and evocative story of a missing child; hardly original I know, but it is very well done. There are some great, unexpected developments and surprises in the self-contained plot of this book and the ongoing minor/sub-plots in which the recurring characters are the focus help them to grow and evolve as people as well as investigators.
This partnership is one of my favourites of the crime couplings out there, and this is mainly due to Amanda being socially inept. She is unintentionally hilarious, which I love. We all know someone like that who is anxious in social situations and blurts out the wrong thing or something accidentally offensive and causes embarrassment not only to themselves but those associated with them too. Amanda takes no crap off anyone and knows how to stand up for herself. I really enjoyed the satisfying conclusion too; it was a great way to close. I look forward to the next instalment and hope it's even better than the preceding three. Highly recommended. This is almost certainly on its way to the bestsellers lists.
Many thanks to Century for an ARC.
This partnership is one of my favourites of the crime couplings out there, and this is mainly due to Amanda being socially inept. She is unintentionally hilarious, which I love. We all know someone like that who is anxious in social situations and blurts out the wrong thing or something accidentally offensive and causes embarrassment not only to themselves but those associated with them too. Amanda takes no crap off anyone and knows how to stand up for herself. I really enjoyed the satisfying conclusion too; it was a great way to close. I look forward to the next instalment and hope it's even better than the preceding three. Highly recommended. This is almost certainly on its way to the bestsellers lists.
Many thanks to Century for an ARC.
December 16, 2018
Gone By Midnight is another pacy, intense and addictive thriller in the “Crimson Lake” series and I’m a fan of the main characters, especially the spiky, mouthy Amanda who takes no prisoners with her acerbic irony and total impatience with humanity.
In this instalment a child has vanished in a twisty take on a locked room mystery and our pair are called in by the mother, who believes herself under suspicion.
This fairly rocks along- the mystery is intriguing and emotional, the author keeps things beautifully unpredictable plus we have a terrific finale. The ongoing saga within the series takes a dark turn which is sure to haunt the next novel and overall this was a genuinely terrific read that just solidified my attachment to the books.
Roll on the next is what I say. If you’ve not discovered these yet, Crimson Lake is where to start.
Recommended.
In this instalment a child has vanished in a twisty take on a locked room mystery and our pair are called in by the mother, who believes herself under suspicion.
This fairly rocks along- the mystery is intriguing and emotional, the author keeps things beautifully unpredictable plus we have a terrific finale. The ongoing saga within the series takes a dark turn which is sure to haunt the next novel and overall this was a genuinely terrific read that just solidified my attachment to the books.
Roll on the next is what I say. If you’ve not discovered these yet, Crimson Lake is where to start.
Recommended.
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