Lake of Bad Dreams (A Winston Radhauser Mystery #8)

Shots have been fired at Mountain View High School. Students are dead and injured, and all the evidence points to the shooter being fifteen-year-old Kristina Sterling, who is found dead on the scene with the gun in her hand. However, Detective Winston Radhauser suspects something is missing from the seemingly straightforward case. As he searches for the truth in the face of grief both personal and in the suspects and witnesses to the crime, he will find a mystery propelling him through the devastation and red herrings and to a truth as unexpected as it is devastating.

An emotionally intense and riveting mystery set in one of the worst nightmares of any parent, “Lake of Bad Dreams” is a stand-alone mystery surrounding a school shooting with complex and intertwining characters and actions all confined to a few short minutes. The story alternates between the Detective and Kristina Sterling’s parents, so readers will be able to follow not only the investigation into the shooting but also the grief and backlash the Sterling’s face as the supposed murderer’s parents. The writing is vivid with each clue clearly laid out with the occasional red herring included to add to the major twist revealed at the end. While some of the tropes in this book are common, the story itself is so heart-wrenching and engrossing that the reader will be left with the sense of “what if” as if this were a true preventable event and not just fiction. Applause for Ms. Clayton-Goldner and may book nine come out quickly!

Sarah E Bradley