I have had this book on my TBR for years, and it is one of those that I have started several times over. Sadly, i just cannot get into it, and have therefore decided that I won't be finishing it.

I am struggling to like the characters, and the writing style is not for me.

I do think this book would be suitable for people who enjoy a series with a troubled main character.

Thanks for the opportunity to try it out.

This is the first book in the series
I found the writing to be very repetitive and this became quite irritating
The plot was intriguing
A good crime read.

Hidden Lake by Ruhi Choudhary is the first book in the brand new Detective Mackenzie Price series and what a superb start this series is. I loved it and looking forward reading more within this series. This book is full of twists and turns that kept on coming. Before you thought you worked it all out! Bang another great twist came along!

I highly recommend this book. 5 star from me.

thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Bookouture for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Great thriller that kept me turning the pages. Great story, great writing and characters. Really enjoyable and would read this author again.

Absolutely loved this story. Ruhi Choudary always writes stories with such well developed characters. This crime thriller will have you up all night to finish. Great Read.

This was a completely new type of book for me. It had you on the edge as soon as you started reading it. I read this book in one day. Every time I had to put it down I couldn’t wait to pick it up.

The tag line, "How many secrets can one town bury?" is certainly descriptive of the plot and events taking place in Lakeland, Washington, in this first installment of a new crime thriller series.

Told in a narrative style that goes back and forth in time from 20 years ago to present day, the protagonist, Detective Mackenzie Price, has a history in this town. The main focus of this story is on the Lakeland Police Department investigating the disappearance of a local teenager, 18-year-old Abigail Correia. Almost at once, it becomes apparent that there is a link to another girl's disappearance just one year earlier. Obviously, something bad is going on in Lakeland and perhaps those responsible are too big to bring down. NO SPOILERS.

A couple of things put me off in this book. Mack is really in need of psychological help with her guilt, flashbacks, and crazy dreams. I did not like her character at all, but she is so typical of those in this genre - a hot mess. Surely there must be some female detectives out there who are really good at their jobs and mentally healthy as well? There are a LOT of characters in this book and hard to keep track of them all. I was hoping to find an ability to relate to at least one of them but the jury is still out. And, then there was the ending. OH COME ON! I will have to go ahead and read the second book just to see what the author does with all these dangling ends in Mack's personal life. As far as the case in this book, well I was not surprised, and the pace was fast so it was easy to read in a single sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Great start to a new series.

Mack is a brilliant character. The plot was fast, had lots of twists and kept you guessing until the end.

Really looking forward to reading the next one now.

This may develop into an interesting series, but at this point, I'm not completely onboard. Thanks for the opportunity. I may give the next book a try.

Hidden Lake by Ruhi CHoudhary is the first in a new series of books featuring Detective Mackenzie Price. And what a fantastic beginning to the series it is! I was intrigued by Mack from the outset, with the book beginning with a shocking event from her past that has helped shape the woman she has become.

Twenty years later Mackenzie Price is now Detective ‘Mack’ Price. Determined to make up for the events of the past, Mack has become a formidable force of nature, doing everything she can to bring criminals to justice. So when eighteen year old Abigail goes missing, Mack will stop at nothing to bring the young woman home and catch the person who has taken her. But then the case begins to get too close to home and Mack knows that not only must she find Abigail before it’s too late, but she must also do everything in her power to keep her own secrets hidden beneath the surface…

Hidden Lake is a compelling read that once started you will not want to put down. With a strong female lead and a story full of intrigue and suspense, Ruhi Choudhary has written a haunting crime thriller that will keep you wanting to come back for more. There isn’t anything I didn’t like about this first instalment of the Detective Mack Price series and I can’t wait to see where the author takes the character from here.

A thrilling read that I would recommend.

A small town and secrets. This story is fast paced and full of suspense. It is a good start to a new series. I liked the character of Mack and look forward to reading more about her.
Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A thrilling, truly captivating read!. I found the characters intriguing, and as the plot began to unfold throughout the book I found it impossible to put down l. I look forward to reading the other books in this series!.

A thrilling start to a series, absolutely enjoyed it. Looking forward to reading the next one in this series. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

The thing that kept me reading this book was the actual investigation. It was an interesting read with lots of twists and turns and kept me guessing. However, the characters didn’t suck me in. I found Mack a bit annoying and her personal life didn’t really add to the story. The way she dealt with her relationship issues just felt really immature. I also didn’t really gel to the rest of her team. The book also ends with a cliff hanger which I know a lot of people aren’t into. I would be tempted to pick up the next book just to see what happens. It’s not a bad read I just think it could’ve done with a bit more of an editors input. Some of the descriptions are odd and it distracts from the story.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The Hidden Lake is a promising debut. Detective Mackenzie is your tormented cop who has returned to her hometown as an adult to atone for her sins of the past. Even as she investigates the disappearance of Abby Correia, she is haunted at every step by what she did years ago when she was just a child.

While the plot is good, I believe the book would benefit from another round of polishing. I found some word choices detracting my attention from the story. For example, your eyes don't "twinkle" when you are at the funeral of your teenage daughter. Similarly, Mack's colleagues call her Mad Mack because she is obsessed with details and very organized - not because she is angry. Mad=crazy is British English and not a common usage in the US. The nickname is repeated multiple times throughout the book and it did not really fit well .

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

This book is about a detective, Mackenzie “Mack” Price searches for Abigail Correia after she goes missing, and how it may be linked to another disappearance, along with her past, and present situations plaguing her thoughts. During her investigation she finds secrets and darkness lurking within the area.

What worked for this book was the storyline, and how the author, Ruhi Choudhary, incorporates twists and turns. Mack is a character that is working to bring justice and shows compassion and strength within. Although I do not typically like ambiguous endings, in this book it works.

Overall, it was a really good read, and I would say this book is for people who want mystery/thrillers with twists and turns.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

#HiddenLake #Netgalley

Detective Mackenzie Price is investigating the disappearance of a young woman exactly a year after another girl vanished. Politics is at play as Mack tries to investigate Abby's disappearance and then a body is discovered.
Meanwhile she is dealing with severe personal issues. Her husband is having an affair but she hasn't the courage to confront him so it is eating away at her. Overwhelming her present day actions and emotions are the guilt and terror of hiding her father's body after her mother killed him after enduring years of abuse.
Can Mack focus on the case long enough to solve it...?
Hidden Lake actually begins with a flashback prologue to Mack returning home at the age of 12 and finding her mother with her father's body. This is hugely dramatic and drags the reader straight into the story with a high level of empathy with Mack.
The pace of the book overall is quite slow which is probably accurate for most criminal cases but less dramatic. This left plenty of scope for the personal side of Mack's life to come to the fore.
I admit to feeling irritated by Mackenzie's obsession with the past even though I could understand it. She is haunted by her father but I don't understand why she feels accountable for her actions as a 12 year old protecting her mother. Now her mum is dead too, I think she should have come clean and saved herself the mental anguish.
Hidden Lake is a debut novel yet Ruhi Choudary writes in a confident way. The characters and plot are well developed but the crimes felt secondary to the personal life of Mack.
The ending was unexpected as the truth of the disappearance and murder is revealed, and my jaw literally dropped at the epilogue. There MUST be a sequel based on the shocking twist at the end and I look forward to finding out what happens to Mack next.

Lots of secrets in Lakemore, a small town that shows the gloss and not the rot. Mackenzie Price, who has her own issues to deal with, tries to solve the mystery of missing young women in this first installment In a new procedural series. She's a good characters, albeit a familiar one, and the mystery is just twisty enough. Thanks to Netgalley for the Arc . Looking forward to the next one.

A small town, Lakemore, has its share of football heroes, close knit society and secrets.
This book is the first in a series with Detective Mackenzie Price. Two girls, who are best friends, go missing within a year of each other. As the local police try to find them, the body of the 1st girl turns up, close to her house. As the police dig deeper into the disappearances, the cases seem connected. Mackenzie has her own dark secret that is linked to Lakemore.
This book seemed to drag on with too much police procedure at times and the cliffhanger in the end may entice you to buy the next book in the series.
Would have loved it had it been more crisp in its editing.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC

I requested for this book on Netgalley based on the description and the title and am so happy that my request was accepted and I got to read this story.

The story is of Detective Mackenzie Price from Lakemore, who is on a mission to help society through her job as a cop despite the fact that she is fighting her own inner demons.

The disappearance of a teenager leads to the unraveling of so many more secrets of the town and we get to take this journey with Mack and Nick.

The plot was very interesting with the twists and turns at exactly the moment we take a breath and think what more can happen. The pinnacle of this suspense is with which the book ends with and a so very eagerly waiting for the author's next book.
The characterisation and narration is such that the story feels very visual.
The story is very involving, exciting and absolutely unputdownable.

I recommend this book to all those who enjoy mysteries and detective led stories and basically to everyone who would love a bit of adventure and thrill in their reading lives.

I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for accepting my request to review the book. All opinions expressed are solely mine.