Keeper's Lodge by Tracy Martin-Summers

 

"Mike felt like he was in a time capsule every time he entered that goddam lift, reliving the same scene over and over. He hoped today they would get some answers".

"They continued along the gravel drive surrounded by woodland on either side until they came to a large clearing. "Over there," said Paul, pointing to what was presumably the lodge set high up on the side of the mountain range. It looked absolutely breathtaking, set amongst the most magnificent backdrop of forest land.

"Picture postcard isn't it," said Mike..."

Keeper's Lodge by Tracy Martin-Summers is a chilling psychological detective thriller. This is the final book in the trilogy, and what a thoroughly gripping ending it is.

Though possible to read as a standalone, to understand all the intricacies of the horrifying storyline and the dynamics between the main characters, I would strongly recommend to start with the first book, Gordon Square. The trilogy as a whole builds remarkably, with plenty of twists and turns.

Detective Sergeant Mike Brugge is trying to trace the missing person, a psychiatric patient with severe mental health issues. Rachel Blossom is a young woman with a multiple personality disorder, who has vanished over a year ago, and Keeper's Lodge is her last residential address.

Keeper's Lodge is a Scandinavian-style retreat, nestling in the mountains. This seemingly idyllic location offers a place for patients with mental illness to recover and get integrated back into society. The place is independently owned, but who is behind the project? Who is financing it, and what is their gain?

Rachel Blossom has completely slipped off the grid, and her trail has gone cold. In the year before her disappearance she has been monitored by assigned nurses, who deemed her fit for independent living.

Mike is adamant that given Rachel's history, their approach was unethical and a failure of duty, "Rachel Blossom's identity disorder appears to have outwitted you all and her former institution. She has managed to manipulate all the nursing staff that attended her into thinking that she is of sound mind. Frighteningly, it is possible that her most dangerous and domineering personality ego is the dominant one, and this will most likely lead to disaster".

Were the nurses following her progress incompetent and made a series of blunders, leading to Rachel's disappearance? Or is there something even more sinister going on?

We encounter again Detective Sergeant Mike Brugge and his team, including Detective Constabe Mel Brugge (Mike's wife), and Detective Sergeant Paul Osman, as they dig for the information and explore the evidence.

On top of the investigation, Mel and Mike have to deal with serious personal issues.

All the psychological threads interweave into a disquieting, menacing picture. Mike's search leads him to the disturbing answers to the mystery and more of blood-curdling horror.

Like the previous books in the series, Keeper's Lodge is a page-turning thriller, intricately plotted and poignant. It is a dark study of human nature at its most perturbing.

This review is part of the blog tour for Keeper's Lodge.

Many thanks to Tracy Martin-Summers and Rachel's Rando Resources for my copy of the book!

Purchase Links

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Keepers-Lodge-Tracy-Martin-Summers/dp/1800942931/

US - https://www.amazon.com/Keepers-Lodge-Tracy-Martin-Summers/dp/1800942931/

Author Bio

Tracy was born in Harrow Weald, Middlesex in 1964, growing up in a loving family home. She married her first husband in 1990, has two grown up children and a granddaughter.

 She studied a variety of topics via module learning, embarking on City and Guilds and NVQ courses, ranging from a brief spell in hairdressing to administration and now works for a utility company in North West London.

 Tracy has numerous hobbies consisting of landscape painting to landscape gardening and always likes to paint the scene, even if it’s changing the colour scheme, yet again, within her home.

 Tracy has always enjoyed writing and used to write short stories for her own children's amusement but it has only been in the last few years that she has taken this more seriously and has gone on to write her first debut crime detective Novel called Gordon Square.

 Tracy married her second husband in 2014 and now lives in Bedfordshire in a sleepy hamlet where she writes whenever she gets a spare moment.

 

Social Media Links – 

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