- Cold Lake (David Wolf Mystery Thriller Series)

This was my fifth book in the David Wolf series by Jeff Carson. And like the four before it, was an extremely interesting book. It's different, however, from the others, and by that I mean one might wonder how the title fits into the story line? Caveat, do not consider the title in any wise innocuous. It is not. This story is, in a word, "cold" as the title suggests. I'd recommend reading it on a warm sunny afternoon than on a cold dark stormy night, if you get my drift.I don't re-tell story lines in my reviews. I prefer to analyze the read and do so using several criteria: To begin with, once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. The story was interesting from page one to page last. There was no lag. But regardless, the story has good thread in that if put the book down for whatever reason, coming back to it does not require re-reading prior pages to remember what is going on.I call that good "reader memory". Character development is a strong suit for this author. I can "walk" along with the writing as though I was in the scene being played out. I like to know what is going on inside the head of the chief protagonist and antagonist.Plot is also carefully laid out with good rising action, climax and clear resolution. There's always a question as to why what is going on is going on, but excellent plot explains that. That principally is why the book held my interest until the very end.The setting in this book is not as critical as say the setting in some of the prior books. Suffice it say, Carson carefully sets his plots around the lay of the land with which he is most familiar. The lake in this story is the chief setting. The theme as with all his books is thriller and in this case it is paramount to an exciting read.I have just down loaded book six, which is the latest and hopefully not the last in the series. David Wolf is to Jeff Carson as Harry Bosch is to Michael Connelly. I highly recommend any in the series, including "Gut Decision", which is a short read and great insight to Sheriff David Wolf.I read all five in order, and agree it makes good sense to do so.

I took a chance with purchasing this book by an author unknown to me. It was a lucky draw that paid off well. I was permanently glued to the book the minute I started to read it. It quickly painted a picture of a small Texan county saddled with a mystery of a missing teenager that remained unsolved for twenty-two years. The case resurged when seven dismembered bodies were discovered fortuitously in Cold Lake, an appropriate name, given its temperature, the mystery of the missing teenager and now the added mystery of unidentified body parts. This is a cold case involving two generations of detectives.When the bodies are discovered the cold case file is activated by Sheriff David Wolf, whose father led the first investigation. From here the story takes off and momentum is built and sustained by new discoveries and emerging questions. There is no let up. Chapter after chapter we move from one mystery to the next, from one suspense to the next, until we reach a solution and an unexpected ending.Jeff Carson, the author of Cold Lake, skillfully weaves a complex web of a chilling story of unsolved serial murders. These brutal slayings by persons or person unknown, taking place in Sluice County, begin with the missing teenage boy, Nick Pollard, and continued undetected for two decades, until bodies were retrieved from Cold Lake. The first body to be identified was Nick Pollard. The case was then reopened and the story became increasingly mysterious and complex. It seemed like it would never end. But Sheriff Wolf is one "who never quits". He relentlessly pursued the case, in the midst of an election campaign, unconcerned about the risk to his chances of re-election.This is one novel I would not hesitate to recommend. It is so enjoyable that I definitely will read more books by Jeff Carson. To me, he is no longer the unknown author. He has proven to me that he is an excellent story-teller.

Received this book as a gift and absolutely loved it. I am truly invested in these books now. I love that the author sticks to the main character and each book is a different trauma he goes through.

I’ve really enjoyed all the books in this series, but this one is my favorite so far. Sheriff Wolf always has a mystery to solve-but this one is a doozie- it spans decades, involves his Dad and ends up being very personal. So many twists, danger at every turn, lives altered forever-What will come next for David Wolf?

The story kept me interested, the author writes very well, I enjoy how he writes, and I like the characters. I didn't give 5 stars because of the twist at the end. Hokey. Very. The way the rest of the end came about was good, except for the hokey twist. I hope the next book is written as well, but without the hokey, did I repeat myself, end.