Desolate Shores by Daryl Wood Gerber is the first book in the NEW “Aspen Adams” suspense series. Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing, August 13, 2019.

A chilling murder, an elusive killer, and a family mystery that hits too close to home . . .

After finding the body of her best friend on the icy shores of Lake Tahoe, Aspen Adams refuses to stand by and watch as the local sheriff’s department begins their search for the killer. Launching her own investigation, she’s soon confronted with a growing array of secrets—both about the friend she thought she knew and about many of the people in her own life. As fragmentary clues and escalating dangers threaten to derail her, she must also cope with the disturbing behavior of her deadbeat sister and troubled teenage niece.

Determined to overcome her personal demons over past failures, Aspen is driven to unravel the conflicting evidence and a shifting range of suspects to bring the killer to justice, even as a family trauma unfolds that threatens to upend her life. And as her investigation inexorably leads her to a shocking discovery and taunts her with a solution that is just out of reach, Aspen realizes that the killer wants nothing more than to see her and her niece dead . . .

Purchase Link

This was a fast-paced action-packed drama that immediately grabbed my attention, quickly becoming a page-turner as I could not put this book down.  The author did a great job in providing enough details to keep me immersed in this tightly woven plot where anyone could be the suspect, but it was the process of elimination and the information uncovered that would lead to the person responsible for the death of the heroine’s friend. The narrative was visually descriptive with engaging dialogue that kept me in the game and interaction among the various characters that had me rooting for Aspen who also had to deal with family issues as well. It was when the killer put Aspen in the cross-hair of their nefarious plan that the frenetic pacing of the story had me rushing towards the conclusion to see how this would all end.  This was an enjoyable read and I look forward to the next book in this terrific debut series.