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Graham Smith

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Fear in the Lakes: A gripping crime thriller with a breathtaking twist (Detective Beth Young Book 3) Kindle Edition

by Graham Smith (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 342 ratings

Book 3 of 3: Detective Beth Young

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A case with no leads.
A victim with no enemies.
A killer with no conscience…

When Detective Beth Young is called to investigate a victim with multiple broken bones, nothing prepares her for what she finds. James Sinclair is fighting for his life, and Beth can’t shake the idea that the nature of his injuries suggest someone with a personal grudge against him.

But James’s devastated wife Laura insists that her kind, softly-spoken husband is a man with no enemies. She was the one with the fiery temper, but James was so calm, she’d never once managed to provoke even a cross word from him in their eight year marriage. And he was the same with everyone – she can’t name one person who might want to hurt him.

But she knows virtually no details about her husband’s childhood or his life before he moved to the Lake District as a young man, and Beth feels sure that the key to finding James’s attacker is hidden in the secrets of his past. Who was he really? And what is the significance of the coded messages that Beth finds hidden on his laptop?

Then two more bodies are found in one of the deep, picturesque lakes that the area is so famous for, exhibiting similar injuries to the ones James Sinclair suffered. How are they connected? And how many more people are at risk?

Beth knows she is in a race against time to hunt a vicious killer who is both elusive and incredibly dangerous. A killer who knows what James did in the past. Who likes to be one step ahead. But who – if they realise they’re being hunted – might come for Beth next…

Readers are loving Fear in the Lakes:

‘WOW this is one hell of a page turner… Once I started this book I found it very hard to put down. I was practically glued to this book IT IS SO GOOD!!!!’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Up there with my best crime thriller reads of the year… I can't recommend this book highly enough, it's just brilliant.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I read Fear in the Lakes in one sitting, it pulled me into its pages and nothing was going to make me put it down. Dark creepy and twisted...I loved it!’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Sent shivers down my spine… A dark and chilling story that had me hooked and yet again leaving me desperate for more. The author knows how to get the reader hanging off every word… The thrills and chills… keep on coming.’ By the Letter Book Reviews ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Edge of your seat amazing. This book will have you gripped from the very first page. It is fast paced, with an amazing storyline with multiple twists and turns. It will have you guessing until the very last page.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘It twists and it turns as it explores small town communities, the close-knit relationships that can fester into something much more sinister. Lies and secret messages all combine into a fast-paced, roller-coaster ride of a read!... A nail-biting read which will leave you crying out for more!’ Chapter In My Life ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘An exciting read, a dark and grisly tale and I loved it… This series just keeps getting better and better.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I was drawn in from the start and on the edge of my seat throughout. Beth Young is a brilliant character and can't wait to read more. Huge 5 stars.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Fast paced and exciting I read this quickly sitting up till the early hours to finish!’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07RFRDCT7
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bookouture (July 12, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 12, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1929 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 332 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #293,298 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #874 in Assassination Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- #1,742 in Assassination Thrillers (Books)
- #1,855 in Vigilante Justice Thrillers

Customer Reviews:
4.4 342 ratings

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Graham Smith

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Graham Smith is a time served joiner who has built bridges, houses, dug drains and slated roofs to make ends meet. Since Christmas 2000, he has been manager of a busy hotel and wedding venue near Gretna Green, Scotland.

He is an internationally best-selling Kindle author and has six books featuring DI Harry Evans and the Cumbrian Major Crimes Team, and four novels, featuring Utah doorman, Jake Boulder. His ‘Lakes’ series which has three novels featuring DC Beth Young has received much critical acclaim.

An avid fan of crime fiction since being given one of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books at the age of eight, he has also been a regular reviewer and interviewer for the well-respected website Crimesquad.com since 2009

Graham is the founder of Crime and Publishment, a weekend of crime-writing classes which includes the chance for attendees to pitch their novels to agents and publishers. Since the first weekend in 2013, sixteen attendees have gone on to sign publishing contracts.

Graham also writes as John Ryder and G.N. Smith

Graham can be found at

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/grahamnsmithauthor

Twitter

https://twitter.com/GrahamSmith1972

Website

www.grahamsmithauthor.com

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

342 global ratings

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Beyond-Paleo- Millie Barnes

Part of a really great trilogy.

Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2021

Verified Purchase

I have thoroughly enjoyed these three books, this one being the last one. I like the main character as she was believable and you felt like you got to know her well enough to really like her. The stories were very interesting, kept me guessing along the way and I enjoyed the forensics.

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2020

Verified Purchase

Very bizarre crime in this story - certainly keeps your interest.

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2020

Verified Purchase

A great read and tied together nicely. Good story line and well written characters. Hope there are more Beth books coming

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2019

Beth is back and what a case to be working on! The story starts off with a shocking and very disturbing scene that sent shivers down my spine. The author knows how to set the scene in the readers mind, which made it even more chilling.

Whilst the investigation is obviously at the forefront of this story, I like how the author gives it a heart humanising the team. He touches on topics like Alzheimer’s and sexual harassment in the work place. Things that may not directly affect us all but is very much real and happening in the world.

Beth, I just love. The combination of her work and her battling her own demons makes this an even more riveting read. I was just as invested in the case as I was in what was going on with Beth personally.

Fear In The Lakes is another great read in the series that kept me guessing all the way through. It is a dark and chilling story that had me hooked and yet again leaving me desperate for more. The author knows how to get the reader hanging off every word he writes waiting to see what each page holds in store and for the thrills and chills to keep on coming. Now just the agonising wait for the next book.

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.

Helpful

Monnie Ryan

Entertaining, Easy to Read

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2019

All the basics are here: Solid police procedural, well-developed characters (most of whom have flaws), a couple of twists and near-death misses and an easy-to-follow plot. Perfect, IMHO, for on-the-beach or way-to-work reading you'll enjoy but that won't seriously challenge your brain or scare you half to death.

This is, for the record, the third in a series featuring Detective Beth Young, who works in and around Cumbria in England. I've not read the others, but that wasn't a problem - this one stands on its own just fine. Beth has a few issues from her past - most notably that she's trying to find the person who started a fight years earlier that ended with her being hit with a broken bottle, leaving her with a nasty scar on her face. She's also got a relatively serious boyfriend, Ethan, a paramedic who understands her dedication to work and unpredictable hours.

As this story begins, Beth is called in to investigate the near-murder of James Sinclair. His wife found him clinging to life, with virtually every single bone in his body shattered in methodical fashion. His wife insists he's an extremely mild-mannered guy, but Beth and her team become suspicious when his squeaky-clean background ends around age 18 (before that, there's no evidence that he ever even existed). Needless to say, Beth is convinced that James and his gruesome attacker share a connection somewhere in that past. But what is it, and how can it be found?

Then two more bodies turn up with similar injuries; this time, they're dead, but it appears the damage done matches what was done to James so well that they must have been inflicted by the same person (now thought to be a serial killer known as the "Sculptor" because the weapon of choice appears to be a chisel).

From then on, it's mostly a matter of following clues and Beth's listening to her own inner voice that's just a bit off-center (one of the reasons her talents are appreciated in her department). But the closer Beth gets to identifying the killer, the closer the killer gets to choosing Beth as his next victim. Oops!

Entertaining and easy to read, this one definitely whets my appetite for the next one. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Helpful

Denise Crawford

Two victims, tortured nearly to death -- what's the story?

Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2019

This is a police procedural featuring DC Beth Young of the FMIT out of Cumbria.

What it's about: A man, James Sinclair, has been found, barely alive, after surviving a horrendous attack that has resulting in all the bones of his lower legs and arms being systematically broken. The team first runs into a problem when James is found to have no past, no history. Who is he and why would someone do this to him? Even as the baffled team at FMIT tries to trace a clever killer, a pair of local hoodlums is killed with intricate carvings left on their heads. Did "the Sculptor" do that too, and how are they related to the James Sinclair case? Even as they race to identify future possible victims, the codes in email, the lack of evidence, and the frustration is about to do them all in. Will this serial killer escape? NO SPOILERS

Do you want to read? Well, first things first. I don't like the main character, Beth Young. Everything about her irritates me. Her "sideways thinking brain" is a joke and her personality is as flat as a pancake. There's nothing about her that makes me relate and her stupid obsession with finding the man who wielded the broken bottle to cause her scar has gotten really old here in book #3. At least she's gotten some information and answers in this outing, but I'm over it. Apparently, however, she's the DI Zoe Dowd's pet and she gets special treatment because she's oh so smart. There is also way too much narrative fluff that does nothing to move the plot forward so this story could have definitely been shortened. I found myself putting the book down many times and delayed picking it back up again and that's never a good sign for me. So, slow read. There's little to be said about the other members of the team as they are virtually only names on a page in this particular installment. What did I like? Well I do like police procedural novels where clues are found and suspects are detained and questioned. Unfortunately, since we heard the "voice" of the killer, we had a little motive there. I like the setting, but endless descriptions of snow don't do anything for me. All I can say is that this isn't my favorite. The whole plot really wasn't that interesting to be honest. And of course the worst part was when Beth ends up in the killer's clutches. I mean, really????

Anyway, I'm sorry this didn't do it for me. I did finish it and I'm not saying it's a bad book, and I figure anyone who's started the series will probably pick it up anyway. Overall, just disappointed in the thin story and in Beth as a character. I need a lot more to find a story gripping or thrilling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review. Will I be interested in reading #4? Well, it depends.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

C Knight

What are you waiting for??

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2019

Verified Purchase

Yes I’m back in the beautiful county of Cumbria with the tenacious, puzzle solving Beth Young and what a treat Fear In The Lakes is.

Through the previous two books, I’ve loved the way Beth’s mind works and this latest outing is no different. She has her three word thought process that is totally unique and I admire the way she throws out the most random but surprisingly obvious suggestions when you look back at the case in hand.

Now then that aforementioned case in hand. Oh bejeezus what a psycho killer has hit Cumbria. The injuries that James Sinclair suffered seriously made me wince and his battering isn’t one I’ll forget in a hurry. Graham Smith seems to have a rather sick way of making his characters suffer but kind of equally weirdly, I like it. The imaginative tortuous injuries and deaths that come out of that man’s head are addictive making me come back for more each time!

And the imagery Mr Smith uses is bang on! As I read the various scenes in the snowy backdrop, my head was alive with images; this section I think most people will get….

“driving in snow to those moments in sci-fi films when a spaceship travelled at warp speed and the stars streamed past the windscreen.”

Fear In The Lakes is another cracking addition to the Beth Young series. It is a stand-alone read but Mr Smith keeps that ongoing story of Beth and her scar bubbling away in the background. So if you’ve read A Body In The Lakes, you need find out what happens next….and if you haven’t read it….WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!??

2 people found this helpful

livia Sbarbaro

A Dark Gripping Soul Touching Read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2019

Verified Purchase

When Laura Sinclair goes home one night and turns the key in the lock...in that moment her whole life falls apart..Her husband James lies broken on the floor..As D.C. Beth Young investigates she finds James was a man who has no enemies..When Beth gent!y probes Laura as James lies in a coma ...it seems Laura knows nothing of her husband's past..With a member of her team off due to personal reasons ..Beth has to work with McKay a sexist old school opinionated man ...You can feel the stormc!ouds gathering ...As Beth in her unique , problem solving way begins to break down walls , she encounters a face from the past that she knows she must confront ..When two more bodies are discovered the case takes a dark and deadly turn...A monster is preparing for an end game to c!is A a secret down forever...This is a crimson dark twisted read ...yet at some points soul touching as you delve into Beth's backstory...If you haven't read anything by Graham Smith this is hands up for me his best series ever ...

One person found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Just love D.C. Beth Young

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2019

Verified Purchase

I have thoroughly enjoyed this delightful book. Beth is one of my favourite police officers, I love the way her brain works and the way she isn't afraid to say her piece, no matter who it's to. I can't wait to read the next instalment. I recommend this book, but suggest that a read the first two books beforehand.

One person found this helpful

Dan M

Hard slice of Cumbrian crime

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2020

Verified Purchase

James Sinclair has been beaten to the point where he’s in a critical condition. In steps smart and resourceful DC Beth Young to work the case. When two more victims turn up with the same injuries, she realises that this isn’t any ordinary criminal.

This book was everything you could want from a crime novel – a clever plot, a likeable lead, a nasty villain – all wrapped up in detailed, well-researched police procedure.

Even though I didn’t realise this book was part of a series until about a third of the way through, it didn’t hamper my enjoyment at all – on the contrary, I’ve now gone back and picked up the earlier books. I’m looking forward to reading those and the next in the series!

2 people found this helpful

MsSilence

WOW that was one hell of a read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 17, 2019

Verified Purchase

I couldn’t and didn’t put it down until I had finished it, definitely my favourite, so far. DC Beth Young is back for the third book of the series but could easily be read as a standalone. Beth has to use her ‘sideways-thinking brain’ to try to get to grips with why, James Sinclair, a man who appears to have no enemies and is well liked, is left alive with multiple broken bones. James must have offended someone the attack is so wickedly evil and meticulous. Someone wanted him to suffer so was it personal? Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish and absolutely a five star read.

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Fear in the Lakes: A gripping crime thriller with a breathtaking twist (Detective Beth Young Book 3) Kindle Edition

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