Overall, not for me. It reads like it's forced, cliche and unoriginal. Pedestrian writing and stupid investigation work and I never like a romance subplot.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately it’s not the book for me. DNF @ 15%.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

This was a great thriller. A great read, I liked almost everything about this book, I felt that it dragged on a bit in the middle, but the storyline was interesting enough that I kept reading to find out what happened. The characters were enjoyable and the twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat, the ending was a surprise as well, it was unpredictable, I liked that.

I will definitely check out more books by this author.

Fantastic read. Well written with a great plot and characters. I was engrossed from start to finish. This book has and lots of twists and turns. It is very intriguing and wow what an ending. I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Netgalley.

Very fast paced and very intriguing. I enjoyed how it kept me hooked and it was an original story. Nowadays so many books read the same. Highly recommend

DNF. Thank you to the Publisher for the review copy

The story begins by explaining the title - the body of Britt Algarotti, a teenage ice skater, has been found in a frozen lake in Barter Ridge but the cause of her death was fire. Special Agent Emory Rome is sent by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations (TBI) to investigate the crime in his hometown and is met with many obstacles including Jeff Woodard - a private investigator hired by Britt's father. What makes things worse is that during the investigation Britt's trainer is also murdered making the case even more puzzling.

Emory Rome is a by-the-book kind of guy and is very dedicated to his job, though he is not without flaws as he has his own bucket of issues and secrets he has kept hidden that he is forced to face during this investigation. When he begins the investigation with his very unhelpful partner Wayne they discover Jeff is working the same case. Emory tries to push him to the side believing he will only hinder the investigation but once it becomes clear that Jeff is not going to back off the two eventually join forces to work out this crazy web of a case. Trying not to spoil a major plot point here, but I love the development of Emory during the book and how Jeff contributes to this development.

Jeff Woodard, the PI, is a lively character and not what you would expect from a PI. He and his business partner, Virginia, are not into following the rules the same way Emory is. This is problematic in many ways during the novel but does serve its purpose to the storyline. Jeff is a mysterious character in that I could never quite figure out if he is to be trusted or not.

Another character worth mentioning is Sherrif Rome, Emory's father, who has his own idea of the law which leads to quite a few hiccups in the investigation. He may not be able to solve a murder, but he is a kind-hearted man who really just wants do the right thing by everyone and I believe that is wonderful.

It was well written and very well thought out mystery, though I was not overly keen on the occasional swapping of point-of-view. I feel they mystery element would have been more thrilling had we only had the one character to experience it through. While the timing of the story was pretty good it does suggest the case was open and closed within a week and I wonder if this is a realistic timeline for the personal developments.

Being a murder mystery means I was looking for a difficult case with clues that did not seem to add up until the end and I got it. Problem is, I had three suspects in mind for who was guilty and, well, I was not surprised. I was, however, surprised by how it all came to be and what prompted the murders. I was also slightly disturbed by some of the secrets uncovered during the investigation - that character needs serious therapy - but it did help to make the story all the more chilling.

Overall, very good book and I hope to read more about Emory and Jeff in a second book.

Emory is the Special Agent In Charge at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations. He has just come off a case when his boss sends him and his partner Wayne on a new assignment to look into the murder of Britt Algarotti. When Emory finds out the location, his whole body tenses up and fills with dread. Barter Ridge. His hometown.

Upon the meeting of the victims father he meets Jeff, a private investigator hired by the victims father. He is irritated with the PI knowing he will just get in the way and muddy the investigation for him. But he is intrigued by Jeff’s good looks and gorgeous green eyes.

When the investigation leads them to another murdered victim and the clues lead to the water company owned by the victims father, they realize there may be more to the case than the original murder. As they get closer to solving this case more lives are put into jeopardy. Will Emory be able to solve this case before someone else dies? Will Emory be able to fight the attraction to Jeff, especially since some of the leads point to him?

OMG this book is so good!!! An action packed thriller that had me on the edge of my seat biting off my nails. There was action from page one and it continued throughout the whole book. Never a dull moment. And the characters. WOW! They were so engaging and interesting. They leap right off the pages and invite you in. I became so invested in the book, I wanted to solve the murder right along with them.

I love all the neat little tidbits that were inserted into the story. Things like a speakeasy and the unique ways the killer used to off his/her victims. These things made the book even more interesting. That along with the developed characters and settings makes this book worthy of a Best Sellers List.

Let me tell you, this book has some major WTF twists to it. I mean I thought I had it all figured out and then I was proved wrong time and time again. It literally floored me. This series could be the next Alex Cross series. It is that good. I can’t wait to read another one. Mikel Wilson left the story ending with a great opening for another novel. So Mikel if you are reading this review, hurry up I need more. wink wink

As we walked home today in the freezing cold with frozen puddles and frosty plants, we mused about how it would be like if we lived in the cold North. And then said how thankful we were that we didn’t. Especially if, to practice your art, you get up in the early and very cold, dawn to skate on your frozen pond. As happens here. Only to find that someone wants you dead and has a very nasty method in mind....
Lots of good red herrings and twists and turns in this police procedural with more than one murder to solve and the last person you might expect ends up with a reason you might have suspected but not to the lengths they would go to.
An enjoyable read from this author new to me. And this is book 1 of a new series so I shall keep an eye out for book 2.

I really enjoyed this, and the plot was clearly moving towards establishing a series, which I will pick up the next one in. The story follows Emory Rome, a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent with a secret, and a partner he will drop any chance he gets. In his rush to ditch his actual partner, he stumbles into working with PI Jeff, who is a cocky investigator wiling to bent some rules to get paid. Emory's most obvious secret is pretty much given away early in the novel, and if you need a hint, the set up quickly becomes like the show Castle, with the banter and long looks of that formula. I found it refreshing, and Jeff's PI office quirky.
The actual mystery involves a lot of science based murders, with friction and chemicals responsible for the titular lake of fire. I am no good at chemistry, but it was an interesting concept. The murderer stumped me until the last 3-5 chapters, and then my cockiness at guessing right was flipped by the epilogue. I liked the detail given to the town and the backstories given to a bunch of red herrings. Characters have to carpool, walk or bus due to circumstances of life, and it felt more real than agents showing up at a place, then driving/teleporting to the next scene as in some books. There is a fair amount of shadiness in town too, which i assume will fuel the plot for future books. This was a fun, sometimes creepy change of formula, and I look forward to the next one.

Badly written, cheesy as hell and the twist was disgusting. I’m reclaiming the time I spent reading this drivel.