Summit Lake

Summit Lake (2016) is the debut thriller from international best-selling author Charlie Donlea. The novel is a small-town murder mystery that fits within the rural noir subgenre, a style Donlea further explores in his subsequent works, like The Girl Who Was Taken (2017), Twenty Years Later (2021), and Those Empty Eyes (2023).

The story follows investigative reporter Kelsey Castle, who (while recovering from a traumatic assault) travels to a seemingly peaceful North Carolina town to cover the murder of a law student. As she investigates, Kelsey uncovers a conspiracy of secrets surrounding the student’s life and the town’s pristine reputation. The novel explores several themes, including The Destructive Power of Secrets, Investigation as a Path Toward Healing, and The Dangerous Illusion of Perfection.

This guide refers to the 2022 Kensington Trade Paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of graphic violence, rape, sexual violence, emotional abuse, mental illness, death by suicide, and death.

Plot Summary

Summit Lake is a contemporary murder mystery set in the small town of Summit Lake, North Carolina. The novel follows a dual-timeline structure from the third-person limited point of view. The narrative-present timeline follows investigative reporter Kelsey Castle as she researches the murder of first-year law student Becca Eckersley, while a timeline in the recent past follows Becca’s life during the 14 months leading up to and culminating in her murder. Each chapter is labeled with a character, location, and date, to situate the events relative to situate the events relative to the murder.

One night, while Becca is alone in her parents’ secluded stilt house in Summit Lake, North Carolina, studying for her first-year law exams, she hears a rap at the door. Recognizing the caller as a friend, she lets him in, but he turns on her in a violent rage, brutally attacking and strangling her. Two weeks later, in the present timeline, Kelsey returns to work at Events magazine in Miami, Florida, after surviving a traumatic assault. Her editor, Penn Courtney, assigns her to the seemingly simple story of Becca’s murder (the first in the small town’s history), intending it as a low-stress assignment to get her away from the place where her assault occurred and enable her to stay in a peaceful setting that will help her recover.

Upon arriving in Summit Lake, Kelsey begins her investigation. She befriends Rae, the manager of Millie’s Coffee House, and meets with the local police chief, Commander Stan Ferguson. Ferguson is frustrated because the state police, under pressure from Becca’s influential father, have taken over the case. He suspects a cover-up and gives Kelsey his case file, suggesting that she start her investigation at the coffeehouse, the last place Becca was seen alive.

The narrative shifts to flashbacks depicting Becca’s life. At George Washington University (GWU), Becca is part of a close-knit group of friends that includes her roommate, Gail Moss, and two male friends, Jack Covington and Brad Reynolds. Brad, the son of a powerful lawyer, develops a secret, unrequited love for Becca. Believing that Becca is struggling in a class, Brad enlists Jack’s help to steal a copy of the final exam. Shortly after, Becca and Jack begin a secret romantic relationship.

During Christmas break, Brad travels to Summit Lake to confess his feelings to Becca, only to find her and Jack together. Feeling betrayed, Brad becomes estranged from the group. The test cheating scandal broadens and is eventually exposed. Jack takes the fall to protect his friends, which results in Harvard Law School rescinding his acceptance. Brad, who has been rejected from all his top-choice law schools, becomes depressed and attempts to die by suicide. He survives but withdraws completely, fracturing the friend group permanently.

Becca and Jack skip their graduation and take a road trip to Yellowstone, solidifying their relationship. Jack is then hired as a speechwriter for Senator Milt Ward’s presidential campaign. That fall, Becca begins her first year at GWU Law School. She soon discovers that she’s pregnant. She and Jack decide to marry in a secret ceremony, but they repeatedly delay telling their families. Because Jack’s job requires constant travel, Becca feels increasingly isolated while managing her pregnancy and the rigors of law school. When her doctor moves up her due date, placing it in the middle of her final exams, she resolves to tell her parents. She arranges for Jack to meet her in Summit Lake for a weekend to plan their confession.

In the narrative present, Kelsey’s investigation uncovers crucial secrets. She learns from Millie, the mother of the coffeehouse owner, that Becca had confessed to being secretly married. Dr. Peter Ambrose, a surgeon at the local hospital, helps Kelsey access Becca’s medical records, which reveal that she was raped during the assault and was pregnant at the time of her death. The official autopsy report has been suppressed, confirming Ferguson’s suspicion of a cover-up. To find the truth, they break into the county government center and view the full report, confirming the pregnancy. However, their illegal entry is caught on surveillance video, and State Detective Madison confronts Kelsey, threatening her with arrest. The incident puts Peter’s job at the hospital in jeopardy, and (as a result of the leak) Commander Ferguson is forced into retirement.

Rae confirms Millie’s statement that Becca kept a journal, but it wasn’t found at the crime scene. Kelsey and Rae speculate that it’s hidden in Millie’s home. While Rae takes Millie to dinner, Kelsey and Peter find the journal in Millie’s recipe binder. The journal confirms Becca’s secret marriage to Jack and her pregnancy, but only uses first names. As Kelsey and Rae work to identify the men in the journal, Peter contacts Gail Moss. Gail reveals Jack’s full name and delivers a shocking revelation: He died in Senator Ward’s plane crash the same day Becca was murdered. Gail also confirms that Brad Reynolds has become dangerously unstable and has begun living in his family’s hunting cabin in the foothills near Summit Lake.

The full events of Becca’s murder emerge. On February 17, 2012, after confiding in Rae at the coffeehouse, Becca accidentally leaves her journal behind. Unbeknownst to her, Jack’s plane crashes that day, killing everyone aboard. Brad, who has been living in isolation and nursing his obsession with Becca, goes to her parents’ house to confront her. When Becca reveals that she married Jack and is pregnant, Brad becomes enraged, raping and murdering her. He flees with her purse and a letter she wrote to her unborn child. Returning to the hunting cabin, he creates a shrine to Becca and hangs himself in a nearby shed, dying by suicide.

In the narrative present, Kelsey and Rae, following a lead from Brad’s mother, arrive at the cabin. They find Becca’s purse and the disturbing shrine before discovering Brad’s body and a note implying his involvement in her murder. Peter and the newly reinstated Commander Ferguson arrive shortly after. Now that Brad has been identified as the killer, the case is closed. Kelsey authors a three-part article for Events, detailing the entire story. She then travels to Greensboro to deliver Becca’s journal (and the letter to her unborn child) to her parents. Months later, Kelsey returns to her life in Miami. In a final, symbolic act of healing, she jogs the same path where she was assaulted, ready to move past her own trauma.