Cradle Lake

Book excerpt: From the award-winning author of Bone White: “Riveting, idiosyncratic horror at its best . . . Leaves readers breathless with anticipation” (Fresh Fiction). New beginnings . . . In the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains, an aging house leaves much to be desired, but Alan Hammerstun hopes it will be the fresh start he and his wife, Heather, need after her two miscarriages and later suicide attempt. But Heather remains distant and depressed and Alan is soon drawn to the woods behind the house—and the small lake hidden there. When he sees an injured child healed by its waters after being hit by a car, Alan becomes privy to the town’s greatest secret. But for every benefit the lake bestows, it demands an exacting price. And when Alan dares to defy the warnings, an ancient evil enters his house and his mind, spawning nightmares and paranoia. Soon, nothing is off limits to its malignant power—even Alan’s wife . . . “Malfi deftly maintains the tension and engrossing atmosphere of horror by stepping up the pace and frequency of bizarre events. . . . A tale of sustained terror.” —Publishers Weekly “This is, very often, a haunting and disturbing read. In places genuinely terrifying, it’s also a book concerned with themes of hope, redemption and how your past can poison your present.” —Horror Novel Reviews “A haunting and terrifying novel of madness and despair.” —Horror News Network