Reviewed by Gayle Williams
Red Lake by Australian author Jason Summers launches what promises to become the Harper Quinn Mysteries.
Former Homicide Detective Sergeant Harper Quinn has returned with her family to the country town of Koorinda, New South Wales, where she grew up, to take up the role of Sergeant at the small local police station. Though, as well as Koorinda being home, it is also the place from where her younger brother, Nick, disappeared thirty years ago at the newly built water park on Red Lake.
Now the water park sits in disrepair, though rumours of its reopening have begun to circulate—stirring unsettling memories for Harper, her parents, and much of the town. The unease deepens when Camilla, the journalist girlfriend of Harper’s son Will, announces she’s writing an article on the proposed reopening, with a particular focus on Nick’s disappearance.
But when Camilla is found murdered in one of the derelict pools at the water park, Harper is abruptly sidelined. Detectives are flown in from Sydney, insisting she’s ‘too close’ to the case. And, as in all good detective stories, being barred from the investigation only steels her resolve. Is there a link between Camilla’s murder and her brother’s disappearance thirty years earlier? And what is the significance of the rose‑gold bracelet she was wearing—and where did it come from?
Naturally, there’s no shortage of suspects—each with a motive for wanting Camilla silenced—yet all appear to have solid alibis, and the investigation stalls. That is, until Harper is finally cleared to join the team. Can she uncover the killer? And will she at last learn what truly happened to Nick?
Summers crafts credible, fully realised characters — especially Harper Quinn, who remains emotionally grounded despite her traumatic past. The water park setting adds a distinctive atmosphere: a place of carefree enjoyment in the prologue, and a far more sinister landscape throughout the rest of the novel.
Summers employs a non‑linear structure, alternating between present‑day chapters and flashbacks that gradually reveal Camilla’s encounters with those who will later become suspects in her murder, each one carrying a distinct, plausible motive. This structure heightens the tension and builds toward a phenomenal final twist — one that readers will never see coming. Who is it in Koorinda that holds the darkest secret?
Red Lake is an absolute page‑turner, and if you enjoy a well‑crafted murder mystery, this one is well worth your time. A word of advice: don’t start it late at night — you may still be reading when the sun comes up.
Jason Summers is also the author of the Nick Vada thriller series.
Red Lake
by Jason Summers
[2026]
Pan McMillan Australia
Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-7617-7881-7
$34.99; 356pp