Under the Lake
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4.3 • 182 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
From bestselling author Stuart Woods, a thriller featuring John Howell, a former investigative journalist trying to escape from his past who finds a perfect sanctuary in a lakeside home in the North Georgia Mountains. But little does he realize the small town harbors a dark and evil secret, hidden deep within the lake’s waters.
In the beautiful mountains of North Georgia lies a lake built by an obsessed man at a terrible price. This placid body of water has brought prosperity to an isolated community, and with it, two strangers who intermingle with the insular local folk, strangers probing into crimes against nature from generations past that cannot remain submerged beneath the waters' surface.
Under the Lake marks the eagerly awaited return to the South of his Edgar Award–winning novel Chiefs. John Howell, once a top investigative journalist, comes to this backcountry town on the run from a once promising personal and professional life that has somehow gone sour. What he finds is a mystery so deep, so complex, so bizarre, that he cannot concentrate on the book he has come here to write.
The story begins with his entanglement in a subtle, but relentless battle waged by the autocratic town father and the local sheriff against an outcast family, ravaged by its origins. Howell is further drawn in by his involvement with two women—an ambitious young reporter on the prowl for corruption, and a shy backwoods beauty, forsaken by the world because of her family's ill kept secret. Then, without warning, visits from an otherworldly young girl haunt Howell as his rustic cabin becomes a spectral theater offering strange and frightening images of a hideous event of long ago.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The Edgar Award-winning author of Chiefs (basis of a TV miniseries) and the bestselling Deep Lie now offers a highly readable if somewhat overheated thriller-cum-gothic that includes murder, drug smuggling, faith healing, hallucinations, revenants and incest. A one-time ace reporter rents a cabin in a backwoods Georgia town, then stumbles upon and determines to solve the town mystery, which involves a seemingly affable sheriff, an autocratic town father and an incest-ridden family whose once-prosperous farm now lies under a lake. He joins forces with a plucky female reporter bent on proving that the sheriff is "dirty,'' and there's never a dull moment as the story surges toward its exciting climax. The conclusion is a little too far-fetchedbut by that time readers have had more than their money's worth. Major ad/promo; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates.
Customer Reviews
Enjoyable read!
I really enjoyed this book. Part ghost story and part detective story. The story line itself grabbed my attention and interest in wanting to try and figure out the puzzle for myself, and the author threw in curveballs to keep me second guessing and engaged. There were a few parts of the story that had me a little confused. Toward the beginning of the book, the author makes a point to specifically state “black” people (on the television, the waiter in the restaurant, the servant at Sutherland’s house) which led me to believe that the book might hold some underlying themes of racism, but nothing ever came of it for the rest of the entire book. Maybe the author was just setting the scene?, since this book was set in the south in the mid 1970’s. Not sure, but it led me to be a bit confused. Also, for some reason I had trouble keeping some of the characters straight, and found myself having to go back and re-read things as a reminder, but I guess that’s my own problem. These things aside, certain chapters had me literally sitting on the edge of my seat in suspense, and I had to force myself not to skim ahead down the page to see what was about to happen. I read this book late into the night because I didn’t want to put it down. The ending went down with a bang, throwing a lot of drama and twists at the reader and tying loose ends together. I look forward to reading more by this author!
Under the Lake
I have read all of the later novels by Stuart Woods. Enjoyed every one of them! This was was just as enjoyable as the rest!
Under the lake
Tried to give 2 1/2 stars because was very dry. I finished it because I had paid for it and is a Stuart Woods book. Was very glad when it was over. With the Stone Barrington novels, I can hardly wait for the next installment. If he continues these two main characters, I wish them well.
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