The orphanage by the lake by Daniel Miller is a very good and fast paced crime novel. While some of the goodreads reviews are dire, I quite liked this book. The second book in this series has been released on the 22^nd of July and I might give that a try to someday.

Hazel Cho is a 30-year-old PI that’s over the adultery cases she has to take on to stay afloat. But then one day, a woman steps into the office, interrupting an angry client who was about to do something very stupid.

It’s about a missing girl, one that disappeared from the children’s home she lived. The woman hiring Hazel? Her godmother. The woman, called Madeline is awarding Hazel a hundred thousand dollars and all expenses paid, but only IF she finds Mia within 10 days, if she doesn’t the deal is of and Madeline goes looking for another PI.

Mia has been missing for 6 months already, so the case has gone cold. With the head of the orphanage stonewalling the investigation, the police station unwilling to help or share information due to it being still ongoing, Hazel has a tough time. Once she’s almost figured it out, the bad guys come for her to ‘politely’ warn her off the case. But she’s head strong and keeps on going, with fear for her own live but thinking of all the girls that have gone missing.

Some of the things in this book does give a “sheer dumb luck” or “it just fell into your lap” kind of vibe instead of real investigative work but still, the main character is likeable and relatable. The other characters are well thought out.

While some of the things were predictable not everything was. So, I’m happy I’ve picked it up and didn’t go solely on the bad reviews there are online.

It’s a ⭐⭐⭐,5 star read for me.