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Richard Laymon
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The Lake Kindle Edition

by Richard Laymon (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 425 ratings
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When a teenage girl is terrorized by a madman out for blood, could it have something to do with what happened to her mother so long ago at the abandoned house out on the lake?

Previous page
  1. Print length
    413 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    47North
  5. Publication date
    May 28, 2013
  6. File size
    673 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From 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 died in 2001, he left behind numerous unpublished novels that Leisure has been issuing.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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“If you’ve missed Laymon, you’ve missed a treat!” ―Stephen King

“No one writes like Laymon.” ―Dean Koontz

“Laymon is, was, and always will be king of the hill.” ―Horror World

“White-hot pacing (with) rivers of blood…Memorable evocation of the fathomless mystery of the moonlit hours.” ―Publishers Weekly on The Lake

“The master of stomach-churning violence.” ―Kirkus Reviews

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003GGST9O
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ 47North; Reprint edition (May 28, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 28, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 673 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 413 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 425 ratings

About the author

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Richard Laymon

Richard Laymon

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Richard Laymon's works include more than sixty short stories and more than thirty novels, a few of which were published under the pseudonym Richard Kelly. However, despite praise from prominent writers from within the genre, including Stephen King and Dean Koontz, Laymon was little known in his homeland -- he enjoyed greater success in Europe, though, particularly in the United Kingdom -- until his affiliation with Leisure Books in 1999. The author largely viewed much of this as a product of the poorly re-edited and reconstructed first release of The Woods Are Dark, which had over 50 pages removed. The poor editing and unattractive cover art ruined his sales records after the success of The Cellar. The original and intended version of The Woods Are Dark was finally published in July of 2008 by Leisure Books and Cemetery Dance Publications after being reconstructed from the original manuscript by his daughter, Kelly.

His novel Flesh was named Best Horror Novel of 1988 by Science Fiction Chronicle, and both Flesh and Funland were nominated for the Bram Stoker Award, as was his non-fiction work A Writer's Tale. He won this award posthumously in 2001 for The Traveling Vampire Show. His win was used as an answer for a question on the syndicated Jeopardy program.

The tribute anthology In Laymon's Terms was released by Cemetery Dance Publications during the summer of 2011. It featured short stories and non-fiction tribute essays by authors such as Bentley Little, Jack Ketchum, Gary Brandner, Edward Lee, and scores of others.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
425 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The Lake and it’s secrets
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2023
Verified Purchase
I absolutely love anything Richard Laymon, writes he was truly talented in making a small town story big. I could go on and on about him as an author but I’ll spare you the details. This book was a part of my monthly read and this is a book. I have not read by Richard Laymon before as I try to read his books here and there. This book was about a young woman who spends a summer with her Aunt and uncle. This summer trip she gets more than what she bargains for.

Sometimes they say you can’t run from your past as it has a way of finding you, this is true for our main character Leigh. The past cannot he buried as you must face it one way or another.

This book was action packed and no one can tell a story like Laymon. This is a page turner and it was very hard to put down. I love the action and the graphic and not so graphic scenes in the book.

Read this book you will not be disappointed.
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Matt
4.0 out of 5 stars Much better
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2013
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This story by Laymond was better than his other story Endless Night. Even though this story gets to feel like it's spread out, it all comes together by the end. Only two characters didn't fit in as good and I think they were in the story just to keep you puzzled until the final punch. All the characters are over the age of 18 also.....
4 people found this helpful
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Lukáš Volšan
3.0 out of 5 stars Mess of a book...
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2017
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I enjoy Laymon's style of horror. Insane, trashy and improbable. It was quite obvious that The Lake was not finished while Laymon was alive. The chapters taking place in the 60s were easily the best of the book... entertaining, suspenseful... the rest though read like a series of occurences stringed together to various degrees of success. It is a quick read and does manage to hold attention but it is far away from best of Laymon.
3 people found this helpful
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Rebecca Coffed
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2022
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Laymon has a way of writing that wants you to drop your eyes down the page to see if you intuition is correct as to what is going to happen, yet his writing is so tight you want to hang on every word
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Tyler Morningstar
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2017
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This book was very good . Couldn't stop reading. Very captivating. The book really takes you fora ride. Makes you feel a part of the family.
2 people found this helpful
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constant reader
4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing Thriller
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2015
Intricately plotted horror thriller about the aftermath of a tragic accident that happens on a lake in Wisconsin in the late 60s.The event itself is made even worse by the fact that the victim comes from a family of homicidal lunatics.

18 year old Berkeley hippie radical Leigh is sent by her conservative parents to visit her aunt and uncle in the lake country where she meets shy but sexy Charlie. He gets her pregnant before he falls to his death in an old abandoned mansion. Of course the death is just the tip of an iceberg under which lies murder, vengeance, sadism, and a whole lot of madness. Now 18 years later, Leigh and Charlie's daughter, Deana, is being stalked by several crazies at least one of whom may have direct ties to the incident back at the lake.

Richard Laymon actually serves up less gore than in some of his other works, but the story is still spine tingling and rather rough in places. The characters are complex and weave their way in and out of each other's past experiences maybe just a little too coincidentally to be totally believable. Still it's a hell of a surprising, sexy, and engrossing thriller.
One person found this helpful
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Taylor K.
5.0 out of 5 stars amazing unpredictable book full of twist turnsm and things that ...
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2015
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amazing unpredictable book full of twist turnsm and things that come to bite you in the butt you will never expect in a million years. a mystery till the very end!
3 people found this helpful
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jolanta
3.0 out of 5 stars not a masterpiece but good enough
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2015
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Quite enjoyable and quick to read but I wouldn't say this was written by good old Laymon whom I adore. The plot just didn't make much sense sometimes. A very good idea for a book but as if written in haste. Still it's a decent book every fan should read.
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Top reviews from other countries

Peter
1.0 out of 5 stars My first Laymon book and also my last
Reviewed in Germany on December 16, 2021
Verified Purchase
I had great expectations after reading all of the rewiews. After being on third through the book, I keep asking myself: Is this a horror story or a love story? So far I read more about sex and love - no gripping and scary story. Will I finish the book? Maybe, currently I force myself to read on and hope that the boring story will get better.
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tony
4.0 out of 5 stars Ok
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 13, 2021
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Ok
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Ray D
3.0 out of 5 stars Not one of his best.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2019
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It was OK so i gave it 3 stars but it only just scraped 3 stars for me.
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Kev C
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read from the master of horror
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 17, 2022
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Thoroughly enjoyed this book I had forgotten just how good Richard Laymon was
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mrs gaye summers
4.0 out of 5 stars First layman's book i have read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2017
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First time I have read one of his books. I did enjoy it and will be reading more n the futute
One person found this helpful
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