I enjoyed The Lake, and give it nearly 4* (which I give to books I liked) as described below.
The Lake, #2 takes place in the small farming and tourist community of Berry Springs, AK. Ethan Veech/MMC, a computer forensics expert in the Cyber Crimes unit for the FBI, leaves for a brief vacation in the Ozark Mts following the closing of his last case. The evening of his arrival, a local fisherman snags weathered human bones off the bottom of a nearby lake.
Jolene Reeves/FMC (with a history in cyber scams, identity fraud, organizing both corporate and personal illegal tax evasions) is awaiting final payment on her last job when she finds a dead body in a room of the B&B where she is temporarily lodging. A day later, another dead body is found near downtown. The sudden discovery of dead bodies and scattered human bones in Berry Springs has the police scrutinizing everyone. Is the killer(s) still in the area; are the 2 new deaths connected to the old bones discovered in the lake? Although Ethan is supposed to be on vacation, he is asking his own questions - Who is Jolene; why is she in the area; is she connected to the deaths; why does she look familiar?
I enjoyed the story The Lake. The male character, Ethan Veech, is attractive/interesting as a Cyber Crimes expert. I had a difficult time identifying with Jolene as the female lead, however, especially considering Ethan works for the FBI and he is new in his job. It seems he would still be attempting to prove himself to both his boss and the organization. The ultimatum he gave in the end didn’t seem realistic/honest, to me. He hadn’t even known Jolene for a week, barely, and at the beginning we are told that it had been Ethan’s dream to work for the FBI since he was 10 years old. I don’t believe he would have been willing to toss all that away for a relationship that was so new. Especially considering his last relationship lasted less than a couple months. What if Jolene decides to walk and he has given up his beloved career? That being said, the “Jolene angle” was the only difficult part for me. The story pulled me in, the identity of the killer, and whether or not the crimes were related all kept my interest.
I have been reading and enjoying the Berry Springs Thriller series in nearly reverse order and can confirm that each title can easily be read as standalones - there are no cliffhangers, each story/mystery has its own completion and HEA. The law enforcement & medical experts feature in various books but keeping them straight is not a problem, IMO. The Creek#5 and The Cave#6 were my favorite stories/settings; and The Woods is bk#1. Readers who enjoy: police/FBI mysteries; contemporary romance suspense/thrillers with wilderness outdoor settings; Enemies to Lovers and/or Danger/Proximity trope; (nearly) Insta-Love attraction; and suspenseful HEAs might want to check out this series. I look forward to reading The Storm and The Shadow in The Berry Springs series soon. I have also read and enjoyed more recent titles by Amanda McKinney.
Reader Cautions -
Violence - Yes. This is a police procedural murder mystery; the law officers regularly discuss the murders. Also, the personal perspective of 2 of the victims occurs prior and during their abductions/death, although this is fairly brief.
Profanity - Yes. Strong language is used.
Sexual situations - Yes. There are several scenes of intimacy and frank sexual innuendos/guy talk.
Therefore due to the aforementioned, I do not recommend this title to readers who prefer Clean fiction or to YA.