On New Year’s Day, the body of Rhys Lloyd is found floating in Mirror Lake. Mirror Lake covers the border between Wales and England so there are two police precincts having jurisdiction over this mystery. DC Ffion Morgan is investigating from the Welsh side and has been forced into working with DC Leo Brady, who is investigating from the English side. The victim had hosted a New Year’s Eve party at his lodge located in The Shore, the development he was building. Just about everyone at the party and in the town are suspects.
Since this took place in a Welsh town, there are a lot of Welsh names in the book, which can be difficult to read/understand. The story shifts from past to present and you are able to get another character’s perspective of an event or sequence of events. ( )

Rhys Lloyd’s dead body has been discovered during the traditional New Year’s polar swim in the village of Cwm Coed, (don't waste your time even trying to pronounce any of the names in this one), we quickly learn that there is no lack of suspects since a lot of people wanted to see him dead. As the owner of The Shore, a new resort community, Rhys was a larger-than-life figure and not very well thought of despite having grown up in the village. The lake and the new mansions sit right on the border between England and Wales, and we quickly learn about the unsettled history between these two countries. Police officers from both countries are assigned to the case. The investigators who must somehow work together, are Ffion Morgan who is a local girl that is trying to live down her "history" as “Ffion Wyllt” (Wild Ffion) and recover a balance to her life after a divorce, and Leo Brady who is haunted by a decision he made that might still cost him joint custody of his young son. To further complicate things; neither are exactly strangers to one another, having spent one night together that was never supposed to mean more than that. Ffion and Leo must now put aside their own tensions...both sexual and otherwise...as well as working around the historic tension that yet exists between their two countries, coupled with the extreme hierarchy of the social class as it pertains to both their wealthy victim and their suspects. The author has offered multiple perspectives as the chapters go from New Year's Day and slide back into the past. As with most well-done mysteries, the identity of the murderer, is usually revealed after we are thrown a few red herrings that all seem perfectly logical at the time. I found, that along with the unpronounceable names, the movement back and forth through timelines and perspectives was sometimes jarring and made the book a very slow read. If you can stick with it, you will find that the mystery, as well as the relationships of the characters and the side plots will offers a deep acceptance of human fragility and complexity. You will be glad that you stayed to cheer them on. ( )

I saw a bunch of reviews that complained about trying to keep up with all the different characters, but I didn't find it too problematic -- I thought they contributed to a sense of a full, rich community. It felt a little like Murder on the Orient express, where everyone has a motive for killing a victim who becomes more horrible with each new revelation. The two main characters had more of an arc than detectives generally do in crime novels. The whodunnit reveal was believable and satisying. ( )

It is New Year's Eve grand party where many high-society people are invited.
The next day, a father and son are walking along the shoreline and are shocked to see a dead man. There is blood all around
this dead person.
The police enter the scene and establish that this is a
murder investigation.
There are several characters in this book who I thought killed the owner of the resort. Is it for love, money, or revenge?

Mackintosh has the knack for introducing several characters who maybe did the job. She will keep you guessing until the end.

I almost gave her book 3 stars but gave it 4 for the spectacular ending. ( )

This is the second book that I have read by Clare Mackintosh and I love it. I do not typically like so many different POV in one book but she makes it work.
Everyone has a motive but who actually commits the crime had me shocked. This isn't a fast paced book but I was so enthralled into it that I kept on reading, I would have read it in one setting but other priorities came about.

* Slow thrill
* Different POV
* Who Done it
* Shock Value!
* Detective/Investigative
Definitely recommend! ( )