The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

Detective Gemma Woodstock is faced with a difficult homicide investigation.  She is the lead detective in the small town where she grew up and where she knows everyone and everyone knows her.  The victim in this case is Rosalind Ryan, the English and drama teacher at the school where she and Gemma attended as teenagers.  They weren't friends back then but few knew that Gemma had issues with Rosalind.  Rose, as some called her, was beautiful even back then and she was the new girlfriend Gemma's first love, Jake, turned to after he broke up with Gemma.

Now Rosalind has been found floating in the lake behind the school.  Although she was liked, no one seemed to know her well and there are several fields of inquiries.  The surviving family is her father and three brothers, none of whom seem to be that upset about Rosalind's death.  There are rumors about Rosalind at school.  Some people think she was involved with the principal who seemed to favor her while others gossiped that she was much too close with the male students.  The autopsy reveals that Rosalind is pregnant so there was a man somewhere in her life although there is no overt signs of one.

Gemma has other issues.  Her relationship at home with her partner, Simon, is floundering.  The main thing that is keeping them together at this point is their son, Ben.  Gemma is involved in an affair at work with her partner, Felix.  He is married with three children of his own and they both know the affair is doomed or that it will tear their lives apart.  Can Gemma balance her personal life and her professional one in order to solve the crime?

This is a debut novel for Sarah Bailey.  The novel is set in rural Australia and American readers may have some small difficulties with cultural differences such as school schedules and Christmas being hot and steamy.  The main character, Gemma, is not a polished professional but rather a woman with demons of her own, trying her best to do the work that defines her.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.