The Lake
A chilling tale in which history repeats itself…
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4.6 • 11 Ratings
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- £1.99
Publisher Description
Don't go down to the lake, where the past and the present threaten to collide...
In Richard Laymon's riveting horror The Lake, a mother and daughter are united in a nightmare of danger and terror. Perfect for fans of Stephen King and Dean Koontz.
'White-hot pacing (with) rivers of blood... memorable evocation of the fathomless mystery of the moonlit hours' - Publishers Weekly
Leigh is young, rebellious and beautiful - and she yearns for a summer of excitement by the lake. Maybe she'll find it in the arms of the handsome boy who rows her out to the abandoned beach house. Or maybe she'll stumble into a legacy of terror which will shatter her life...
Eighteen years on, Deana has no knowledge of her mother's troubled past and not that much interest. She just wants to make out somewhere cool with her boyfriend - to let her hair down and live a little. If only living were that simple. But that summer at the lake casts a long shadow. And when the horrors of the past meet the perils of the present, both mother and daughter are plunged into a nightmare of blood and terror from which there is no escape.
What readers are saying about The Lake:
'This is a great book... [Laymon] is an excellent writer, and knows just how to keep you on tenterhooks'
'Engrossing from start to finish -I couldn't wait to see what was coming next...'
'Five stars'
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When Laymon (Island, etc.) died in 2001, he left behind numerous unpublished novels that Leisure has been issuing. This one is good but not great, combining the savagery of his earlier work (Beast House, etc.) with the spooky wonder of his later books (The Traveling Vampire Show, etc.). As the story begins, we see Candyman, a serial killer, at work, then observe teen Deana West watch in horror as her boyfriend is mowed down by a car driven by Candyman? The narrative then flashes back 20 years to a summer Deana's mother, Leigh, spent in rural Wisconsin; this, the strongest section, details eerie, erotic nighttime forays by Leigh and her lover, a weird local boy, that result in the boy's accidental death. Back in the present, Leigh gets involved with a cop who's a wolf in sheep's clothing, and she and Deana, who's taken to nighttime jogging and who herself gets involved with a mysterious neighbor and his odd, psychic sister, are menaced by the driver of the car that killed Deana's boyfriend. The plot is too complicated, although Laymon does tie all the strands up in a messy knot; but what counts here, as usual for Laymon, is the white-hot pacing, the rivers of blood (which will dismay mainstream readers) and, above all, the memorable evocation of the fathomless mystery of the moonlit hours.
