Cold Lake (David Wolf Mystery Thriller Series Book 5)

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.

When I received my Kindle, as a gift from an old friend, my reading habits changed radically. Over the months I found that I was reading a lot more and enjoying it more. I got beyond the first chapter of about 75% of the books I started; I'm a very picky and difficult reader, since I'm also a writer and my standards are perhaps a bit too high. Certain authors began to stand out in my experience. I found myself edging over toward spy novels, true crime and the better mysteries. Early on, I found Jeff Carson and the David Wolf stories. I appreciate being notified when a new novel becomes available. I sometimes lay the current book I'm reading aside to read another of Jeff's excellent novels. Cold Lake is as good as reading gets. Some heroes and protagonists are interesting, but David Wolf is more. While reading I find it easy to believe I'm reading a true story, about a real person, and I like him and find his actions and choices reflect my own. The area where Wolf works is familiar to me and the stories bring me back to my childhood in a good way. If you like reading in this genre, you simply can't find a better author than Jeff Carson.

The fifth of the David Wolf series finds the Sheriff not only solving murders, but also having to deal with re-election at the same time. Another intriguing mystery from the Rocky Points area. As bodies are recovered from Cold Lake, Wolf & Co must reopen a case that began over 20 yrs ago. Once again, the author vividly paints a grand picture of the surrounding forests and mountains with his very descriptive writing. The familiarity of the characters also contributes to the enjoyment of the book. I had a hunch about the villain as the book went on, but still never foresaw the surprise when the actual villain was revealed. Some neat twists and turns, and even some turmoil amongst the deputies fill up these pages. The climax may have been just a little far-fetched, but I loved it just the same. I've thoroughly enjoyed all of the Wolf series, and in my humble opinion, I believe this one was a hair better than the rest. Great story.

Je pense que ce roman est certainement très intéressant, pourtant je ne l'ai pas terminé. Possédant un bon niveau d'anglais me permettant de lire couramment, j'ai rencontré des difficultés avec celui-ci qui est écrit avec un vocabulaire trop recherché pour moi et trop spécifique du milieu où il se déroule. J'en suis désolée.

The protagonist reads too much out of every painting. They run into too many coincidences . Too pat for a mystery .

While Sheriff David Wolf seems a lot like Walt Longmire, this is a good read. Bodies, lots of bodies show up and a 22 year old investigation, started by his father, begins again. The characters are well developed, and there are a lot of them. The story rushes to an unusual ending. I'm going to get the rest of the series and read them too.

Good read. Different type of mystery murder keep me on edge the whole read. Would recommend to anyone who likes murder mystery

I feel it's somewhat unfair of me to review a book that I didn't read much of, but I just got too annoyed with the writing style. There's adjectives galore, and instead of showing the story/emotions through the characters actions (which are not adjectives!), the author is telling us about what characters feel, how they perceive a situation. The focus on someone's eye color that has to be described with great detail, or their hair style, etc. is just not relevant – it's just filler words. Why not let the reader imagine this and let us build a world based on a few cues? It's a very boring and lazy writing style that I just can't stand. It's along the lines of David Baldacci - their writing styles are very graphic and don't leave any room for the reader to get lost in the story and to engage our own fantasy because everything is spelled out for us. This book is not for me ... not even as a "I don't want to think but just wind down"-book. Too bad.