The Nanny is Dead: Darkwater Lake Mystery #2

Darkwater Lake Mystery #3

by Tannis Laidlaw

Amateur sleuth Jodie Hill is ready to settle into a peaceful house-sitting role at a lakefront estate as autumn descends upon stunning Darkwater Lake. She’ll live in a small winterised cabin previously occupied by the owners’ nanny. But when Jodie arrives, the nanny’s gear is still in the cabin.

Shortly, the beloved nanny’s body is found brutally splayed out at the foot of a rocky cliff. Her gruesome death shatters any expectations of tranquillity for Jodie who swears to the dead girl’s soul that she’ll uncover the truth.

Was it suicide?

The police think so.

Yet as Jodie retraces the nanny's final footsteps, she keeps stumbling across secrets that point to murder. If true, she’s well aware there are predators who will kill to keep long-buried lies from being exhumed especially if they’ve killed before.

The Nanny is Dead is the third book in the gripping Darkwater Lake Mystery series, featuring a smart and determined amateur detective who won't rest until justice is served. If you love twisty cozy mysteries and pulse-pounding suspense set in a stunning natural landscape, then you won't be able to put down award-winning author Tannis Laidlaw's latest page-turner.

Get your copy of The Nanny is Dead now and step into the shadowy world of Darkwater Lake’s latest murder.

312 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2024

About the author

Born in Winnipeg in Canada, Tannis Laidlaw visits the family cottage at the lake every summer, but lives in Auckland in New Zealand - that's right - two summer's every year. She has a history of writing academic papers mostly psychology in medicine, plus a few poems but mostly, now, novels. She's married with grown-up kids and 2 grandchildren. Tannis loves to travel, read and, of course, write.

Reviews

[Catherine Stratman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winter in Darkwater Lake.

Jodie usually returns to Toronto to her cousins flat in the late fall, but this year she has a gig house-sitting at one of the lakeside estates. It includes a winterized cabin and access to the big house if she needs it. Only problem, it appears the previous occupant, nanny for the owners' children, hasn't moved out yet. The owner Wanda does not seem at all upset that no one has seen Emma or that her belongings are still in the cabin. When Jodie's friend Rigo shows up she talks to him about Emma. Apparently, it's very unlike her to disappear. After tracking down Emma's best friend, they get a possible location on where Emma was heading, to the local Lover's Leap. Rigo and Jodie find Emma's battered body at the base of the cliff. The police write it off as suicide, but they are the only ones that think that. Can Jodie, Rigo, and Emma's friends prove otherwise before there is another body? Great story that will keeping you guessing to the very end!

I received an ARC. This is my honest review.

[Gayle B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoying this series about an author turned amateur sleuth...without really trying. When Jodie heads over to the cabin she was offered for the winter, no strings attached, she finds the previous occupant's (Emma) belongings all still there. Emma is the nanny for the family who offered up the cabin for the winter. Of course Jodie finds this all odd and feels uncomfortable in case Emma comes back and finds Jodie there. What to do? Look around of course. Emma is found at the bottom of the cliff on Lovers Lane. With the family's preteen daughter providing info, Jodie is convinced there was foul play. The mystery by itself is a good story. Add in Jodie's possible romantic interest, Rigo. Then Jodie is inconveniently called back to London about the "tell all" book she is ghost writing. How not to let her be found out and putting herself in danger with the things she is about to write, is another story. All of these parts add up to a great story.
I received an ARC and voluntarily provided this review.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma, beautiful inside and out - everyone liked Emma, but being beautiful does not always help, especially when men turn their heads to look and cannot seem to get enough of you. Which is why the list is suspects includes mostly men, when Jodie finds Emma's dead body at the foot of the cliff. But there is more to Emma than meets the eye.

Another brilliant book from Tannis Laidlaw. I do enjoy her Darkwater series and each is as exciting and intriguing as the other. 5 stars for sure!!

[Kandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book. Just when you think you know whodunit, you become convinced it is someone else. I love these characters and this series. I am looking forward to whatever comes next for Jodie.

[Julie Burnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

As entertaining as the other mysteries in this series. An enjoyable read.