Crow Lake by Mary Lawson

() Despite being stylishly written, this book fails to capture the attention of the reader. There's hardly any emotion or suspense in the tale. It's an okay story with a unique message and plot, but I had to force myself to finish it as opposed to desiring to.

The setting is an older time in a small town in Canada. The story separates between the grown version and child version of the main character, Kate. It describes the tragedy of her childhood and how that has shaped her and her siblings growing up. Kate becomes a professor in microbiology/zoology, where she studies pollutant affects on pond/marine life. She has a serious boyfriend, but is having trouble opening herself up to him. Past events in the story reflect on this issue as well as a relationship problem with her brother.

Overall, this is well written, but lacks any characteristics to make it an engaging read.