Desolate Shores

Desolate Shores is a new mystery novel published in 2019 and written by Daryl Wood Gerber. I’ve read and loved several of the author’s cozy mystery books, but this was a more suspenseful and darker novel than her normal tales. I like when an author stretches her boundaries and writes ‘out-of-genre’ because it provides an opportunity for readers to truly understand how her mind works. I enjoyed this book and saw how it was several layers deeper or more complex than the cozies. All the great components from her writing style were still present, yet it wasn’t a heavy suspense / thriller story either. Let’s dive into my detailed thoughts.

Aspen Adams gave up her daytime job to become a private detective. She works in her aunt’s agency and moved to Lake Tahoe. Right from the beginning, she finds the body of a friend on the beach. A neighbors watches over her, then the cops show up. It moves quickly, and then, we retrace the steps to find out what had been happening in Aspen’s life and that of her close friends. Aspen’s sister also drops off her daughter to stay for a week, as she’s too busy dating a new guy and doing drugs such that she can’t take care of her own child. Aspen agrees, only to discover her niece is in desperate need of help to get away from a bad situation. How does it all fit together?

As a mystery, it was strong. It definitely has heavier elements than you’d see in a cozy but there’s minimal dark language or violence. It’s a nice balance for those who want something in between the two ends of the spectrum. I like Aspen as a character, as she fights for what she believes in, yet also tells the cops everything she learns during her own investigation. Of course, no mystery would be complete without the amateur sleuth and the cop butting heads and falling for one another. This time, there are 2 key cops: 1 male, 1 female. Aspen befriends the female and finds herself attracted to the male. How will she keep her personal life separate from the investigation?

I can’t tell if this will be part of a series or a standalone. I’ve seen a few different comments but nothing concrete on the author’s website. If it’s a series, I’ll be interested in reading more. If it’s not, I was happy to read this one. I think it’ll have a strong audience and help lead other readers to her cozy series too. Somewhere between a 4 and 4.5 star rating for me.

Desolate Shores are the first book that I have read by Daryl Wood Gerber, but it is a truly engaging novel. The author gives readers a young woman who has moved to Lake Tahoe, changed her job to take a step away from her past, and is looking to make a new path in life for herself. The one thing that she doesn’t expect is to discover the body of her best friend early in the morning on the shore. Now, the question is…who killed her and why?
Desolate Shores is an intriguing novel that digs deep into the murder victim’s past and present. What happened to her? Who were the others that she associated with? Who killed her? Who would want to kill her. Aspen is heartbroken at the death of her friend, but she doesn’t have long before more problems come her way. The author throws in her distant older sister and raises some more questions for me. Aspen seems like a well-put-together individual but she comes off a bit scattered at times. It’s apparent that something is going on with her niece, but she keeps putting it off about addressing the situation with the girl. I appreciate that she is so focused and determined to help solve the murder of her best friend, but there are other things that need her attention. There is some tension off the bat with Aspen and the Detective Sergeant whom she finds attractive, but after the loss of her parents she doesn’t have the highest faith in the police force and it shows. But I will admit that I find it strange that she confides so much in Karen (another police officer) but gives the other cop – Shaper, the most attitude. It makes me curious…was it a male cop who let the case with her parents fall through?
This book is engaging throughout, but I can’t say that it’s perfect. There are some inconsistencies here and there in the story, but nothing that is totally distracting or that most readers will really pay attention to. I didn’t particularly like how the author begins this story, because it took a minute before I knew who the main character was and whether they were male or female. I also didn’t like how Aspen kept shelving the issues with her niece. I wanted her to address them! She kept thinking/saying “I’ll address it in the morning/later.” But it seems that later never comes. She’s a smart woman, but I just felt like she wanted to avoid certain subjects if she could.
I am rating this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. I love the mystery element of this book. The author throws in quite a bit to keep the reader guessing as to who the murderer is. I like this in a book because I love trying to figure out who the killer is before the end. I did manage to figure it out but it took me a bit. LOL! For those who enjoy a good mystery novel, this one is a good choice to make.

Desolate Shores takes the reader to the Lake
Tahoe region. Description is deftly woven into
the story. The reader will feel as if they are right
there in the midst of the action.
Aspen Adams is living in Lake Tahoe. She had
been a psychology therapist but has given up
that job to work for in her Aunt’s detective
agency as a process server.
Aspen goes out for her morning jog. As she hits
the beach, she finds a dead body laying there.
It is the body of her best friend.
Under her Aunt’s tutelage to become a private
investigator, Aspen begins to investigate her
friends death.
Aspen is surprised to undercover some very
interesting and intriguing backstories of the
suspects plus of the murder victim she
thought she knew so well.
In the midst of her investigation, Aspen’s
sister shows up at her house to leave her
teenage daughter with Aspen. The sister is a
drug addict with lots of issues. Aspen will
discover how the sister’s behavior is harming
the teenage daughter.
The characters are all multifaceted with
interesting pasts, secrets, very colorful and
each comes with a distinct personality.
Tension, drama, suspense with plenty of chills,
thrills, twist and turns to keep you on the edge
of the seat from the first to the last word.
Writing that is captivating, power packed with
emotion make this a book to read.
I volunteered to read Desolate Shores. Thanks
to the Review Crew for the opportunity. My
opinion is voluntary and my own.

“Desolate Shores” is the first book in a new suspense series by Daryl Wood Gerber featuring Aspen Adams.

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 . .

I found myself engrossed in the story and reading it in one sitting. It was entertaining, suspenseful and full of twists and turns. I thought all the characters were well developed. I look forward to reading the next installment in this series.

I requested and received an Advanced Reader Copy from Beyond the Page Publishing and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Desolate Shores is the first novel in An Aspen Adams Novel of Suspense. I enjoy Daryl Wood Gerber’s engaging writing style and the story proceeded at a peppy pace. Aspen Adams does not trust police after they failed to catch the man who killed her parents. She trained to become a licensed therapist and worked with teens until one of them took his own life. This caused Aspen emotional distress and led to her decision to make a big change. Aspen has been working at her aunt’s PI firm for the last eighteen months where she is learning the business. When Aspen finds her friend dead while jogging, she is determined to unearth the killer. With her Aunt Max’s guidance, Aspen begins digging into Vikki’s life. She is surprised by the number of secrets that Vikki kept from her. The mystery had several suspects, misdirection and good clues. There is suspense as the killer tries to stop Aspen from investigating. The takedown scene is fraught with tension. I like that all the details of who, what, when and why were answered at the end (no speculation or supposition). I would have liked a good twist because the killer was not a surprise to me. I knew the identity of the killer by the time I was a quarter of the way through the book. Aspen needs to work on her questioning technique because she is blunt and pushy. I liked how she shared case details with the police, and, to my surprise, they shared information with her. DS Nick Shaper is the lead detective on the case and the romantic interest for Aspen. Sparks fly between Aspen and Nick from the start. She does not feel he is giving the case his all in the beginning, but he grows on her. He helps that he is quite handsome. Aspen’s niece, Candace comes to stay with Aspen while Rosie, Aspen’s sister, spends time with degenerate boyfriend. I liked that Candace was not a picture perfect teen. She has issues and needs Aspen’s love, care and guidance. The author took the time to develop the main characters and provided lovely descriptions of Lake Tahoe. Desolate Shores is an intriguing romantic suspense with a deceased friend, a dangerous killer, shady suspects, a captivating cop, killer clues, and an unseasoned detective.

I’ve been a fan of Ms. Gerber’s ‘Cozy mysteries’ for a while and I was absolutely ecstatic when I found out there was a ‘real’ mystery in the offing! This book did not disappoint! I was hooked from the first page.

After leaving her career as a psychologist, Aspen Adams has begun working for her aunt’s detective agency as a process server. She’s made some friends in the Lake Tahoe area and is building her life. On her early morning jog, she sees something on the lake shore, it’s her friend Vikki and she’s dead. THIS IS THE FIRST PAGE!! The book continues to pull you in, and you think you know the person responsible, but no…it’s not! I didn’t even guess ‘who done it’ until near the end of the book when the clues made it obvious!

On top of her friend being murdered, Aspen has her teen niece foisted upon her and must make time for her niece and the issues she faces. Add in a bit of romance…and well you have a great book.

I’m anxiously awaiting the next book in this series and can’t wait to see what’s in the offing for Aspen!

DESOLATE SHORES is a nice departure from Daryl Wood Gerber’s cozy mysteries, meatier than the typical cozy but not as dark and heavy as many thrillers. Complicated characters and a complex murder mystery come together to make a really satisfactory read.

Aspen Adams has had more than her share of heartache. Upon leaving her psychology practice after a patient’s death, she relocates to Lake Tahoe to work for her aunt’s PI firm. When she finds the body of her best friend Vikki on the lake shore, with the unsolved murder of her parents still weighing heavy on her, she does not trust the police to solve Vikki’s murder and sets out to find the killer on her own. She soon realizes that Vikki had a lot of secrets and that perhaps she did not know her friend as well as she thought. To complicate matters, Aspen’s somewhat estranged drug addict sister leaves her daughter Candace with Aspen for the week, and Candace has secrets of her own.

Gerber weaves an intricate puzzle for Aspen to solve. With so many secrets and plenty of suspects, I did not figure out whodunit until well into the story. Even then, I was surprised by how it all unraveled. Aspen definitely has some issues, and, at times, it felt like she had an unrealistically large amount of baggage. However, I admire her tenacity, loyalty, and intelligence. I appreciate that despite her misgivings about the police she openly shares any information she uncovered with the police. All of the characters have pasts that haunt them, and some are better able to deal with their ghosts than others. These are not feel good characters, but they are compelling.

I enjoyed DESOLATE SHORES and recommend it to Gerber’s existing fans and readers looking for a well thought out, engaging mystery.

I received an ARC of this title from Beyond the Page publishers through NetGalley and voluntarily shared my opinions here.

Desolate Shores is the newest book from one of my favorite cozy mystery writers, Daryl Wood Gerber. Though a little darker than her cozy mysteries, Desolate Shores is still written in the engaging and suspense-filled style that I’ve come to know and appreciate from Daryl Wood Gerber. She always does an exceptional job creating personable characters, a fast-paced plot, a believable mystery, and all with surprise endings that succinctly tie everything together. The protagonist in her new book is Aspen Adams, an intriguing and complex character who is fighting old ghosts from her past as she tries to make a new life for herself working as a process server at her aunt’s private investigation office in Lake Tahoe. After finding her good friend dead body on the shores of Lake Tahoe, Aspen decides to investigate her murder using her skills as a psychologist and the resources of her aunt’s office to bring the killer to justice. With her emotions raw as she begins her own investigation, Aspen’s dead-beat sister arrives unexpectedly to drop off Aspen’s niece, Candace, for the week while she gets cozy with her newest in a string of boyfriends. As she gets more involved with tracking a killer, Aspen starts to uncover the secrets of those closest to her, and as the situation becomes more dangerous, she has to unravel all of them in order to save her own life and the life of her young niece. As with all of Daryl Wood Gerber’s books, Desolate Shores is truly a superbly written mystery with an engaging plot, mysterious twists and turns, and good suspects to keep me guessing until the end. If this is the first book in a new series, then I will be anxiously waiting for the release of book number two!

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the author and voluntarily reviewed it here. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Desolate Shores earns 5/5 Thrilling Tales…Engrossing Excitement!

I am a longtime fan of Daryl Wood Gerber’s cozy writing style, but she sure can add quite a thrilling edge to keep me totally engaged. Using a first-person narrative, Aspen Adams investigates the death of her close friend found on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Through descriptive language and dialogue, I was engrossed in the layers of intrigue that revealed her friend had many secrets causing Aspen to question how well she knew her friend, but it doesn’t stop there. Obstacles are creatively erected when Aspen’s self-absorbed sister drops off her teenage niece whose behavior indicates all is not well. Yes, she is a teenager, but it’s more than hormonal angst. Aspen’s own tragic background as a therapist is explored, although it is also used as an asset in her efforts as a budding private investigator. She has personal reasons to mistrust law enforcement and question the diligence of the officer in charge, but she doesn’t circumvent his authority, and could there be more than professional sparks between them? Realistic predicaments. Developed characters. Engrossing mystery. This isn’t the first time Daryl Wood Gerber has ventured into the world of suspense, but this is definitely one of her best!

Aspen Adams is in training to become a PI. She thinks she has a pretty boring life, serving papers and just being a go-fer. Aspen’s life takes a startling turn when she finds the body of her best friend and vows to help the investigators any way she can. You will find yourself following the investigation and trying to predict who the real killer is. But, like Aspen, you’ll be surprised at every turn. Every time I was certain who the killer was, another twist changed everything.
If you are a fan of suspenseful mysteries with well-crafted characters, this is the next book you should read. Once you pick up Desolate Shores, you will not want to stop until you reach the very satisfying conclusion. You’ll be desolate if you miss this one!