A detective returns to her haunted past, with deadly consequences, in an icy novel of psychological suspense by the Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of Girls of Glass.Detective Mia Hart never planned to return home. One terrifying summer night, Mia lost two of her closest friends to suicide. Scarred and broken, she fled St. Lucy’s, a small island off the coast of Maine.Now … off the coast of Maine.
Now fifteen years later, when the body of a journalist is fished out of the bay near St. Lucy’s cliffs, Mia is forced to help with the case—and face all she’s been running from. As she approaches the island, the wintery winds of Black Rock Bay usher Mia home again.
When Mia digs into the reporter’s death, she finds he left behind a written clue: It wasn’t suicide. Mia soon discovers it’s her own tragic past he was referring to. Now, as she tries to untangle a web of lies, Mia realizes that solving this case means becoming the next pawn in someone’s blood-chilling game of truth or die.
more
THIS REVIEW IS FOR BOTH THE AUDIOBOOK AND EBOOK VERSIONS
Twisted plot, but interesting kept me guessing. The narration was wonderfully done and the story is very well written. I recommend this book.
Mia Hart heads back to her hometown, the i sland of St Lucy’s to a solve one mystery, but soon finds herself entrenched in one that she thought had been answered years before. Black Rock Bay unfolds in amazing ways and keeps you hooked like an action-packed movie right up until the very last page.
This one unfolded like a puzzle, it had me turning the page to figure out how everything fit together. As the pieces came together it had my eyebrows shooting up in surprise. Just like a previous book I had read from Brianna, It Ends with Her this one is incredibly well written. I’m so happy to have found an awesome thriller/mystery writer to keep me stocked in books I can devour and enjoy!
September 18, 2020
So strange.
Very interesting characters involved in a mind bending mystery. I was surprised all the way to the very last page.
It kinda leaves you hanging at the end but a very good book. A cold case detective goes back to her home town she hasn’t been back since a tragic night when she was 16. Her and her partner are so close but her old small town changes things.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Avid Reader –
M/F Psychological Thriller
Triggers: Murder and suicide
Mia is back to where it all began. She hates where she grew up, but with a murder on the island, her boss knows that she is probably the only person who will be told what truths might be out there.
Izzy is Mia’s new partner and while they are still figuring out whether or not they can trust, they are thrust onto the island where Mia grew up. While Izzy tries to figure out who can be trusted, she also knows that they don’t really have time for everyone to be lying.
This was an interesting psychological thriller with a lot of people involved. I really liked watching the clues come through. While I was able to figure out the bad character, it was a challenge up to the end. The twists and turns this story takes are exciting and unpredictable. I truly enjoyed watching this story unfold.
Veronica –
St Lucy’s, a small island of the coast of Maine, is a cold place to live. The weather is cold and the people are cold if you are not one of them. When the body of a reporter is fished out of the water in St Lucy’s, Cold Case Detectives Mia Hart and her partner Izzy Santiago are sent to investigate.
There is a real bleakness to St Lucy’s. From the time of Mia and Izzy’s arrival it is clear that there is far more going on than meets the eye and that the current case is somehow linked to the events that saw Mia leave the island at 16 years old without a backward glance.
The connection between then and now make for an intriguing mystery and kept me turning the pages in the beginning, which starts off slowly. It takes time to meet the locals and potential suspects and many are not willing to talk. But it was worth being patient. Halfway through I was fully immersed and hanging to find out who the killer was and what it all had to do with Mia. The action and tension really ramp up in the second half and moves at a much quicker pace. I felt like I was racing to get to the end, reading faster and faster, although I probably wasn’t. When I got the end I was satisfied, surprised, and even a little unsettled. Black Rock Bay is an excellent mystery and if you like a good “who done it” this book is worth your time.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
3.5 stars for me!
A great mystery/thriller about a young woman trying to solve a crime and it leading into her past. This story is told in a 2 person POV and while it does drag a little and move slowly in the beginning, it did pick up and get more intriguing as it progressed. I enjoyed this story and was going back and forth trying to figure it out the answers.
To me, this book has a slight gothic vibe. An island inhabited most of the year by locals, a suicide from years ago of two young people, almost three and now a possible suicide of a reporter looking for a story. Clues seem to be shrouded by mist as no one really wants to talk to former local resident Detective Mia Hart and her partner Isabel Santiago. Mia was the almost suicide and is still unable to remember exactly what happened that fateful night. The reporter left a clue “It wasn’t suicide”. Was he talking about his own death or the death of the two young people from years ago? Mia has returned to St. Lucy’s Island as she and Izzy keep searching for answers…answers that may lead to their own deaths. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
A Really good Detective/Mystery book. Black Rock Bay grabs you at the beginging and carries you along for a good read. It is a slower going book but well worth sticking with it to the end. Mia is a Detective that comes back to her home time to help solve a murder and uncovers layers of lies and deceit that lead back to her younger years when two of her friends were suspected of suicide. Now she has to untangle it all and try and bring peace to the families. Worth reading.