PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Coming of age stories are something that every horror novelist seems to tackle eventually. Stephen King (IT and The Body), Robert McCammon (Boy’s Life), Dan Simmons (Summer of Night), and Richard Laymon (The Traveling Vampire Show), just to name a few. Michael McCarty is no different. I recently connected with Michael McCarty in a Bentley Little fan group. We had been Facebook friends for years but, to my knowledge, have never had a conversation. He recommended I check out his book of interviews where he interviewed Bentley Little (An impressive feat as Bentley Little rarely does interviews).
After checking out that book, I was given the chance to review his recently re-released coming of age novella, Lost Girl of the Lake that he wrote with Joe McKinney, that follows a young teen named Mark on his path to becoming a man as he finds out some disturbing family history.
Synopsis for Lost Girl of the Lake:
Lake Livingston: August, 1961.
Mark Gaitlin is 15, the son of one of the wealthiest men in Texas, and on the most boring summer vacation of his life. His days are filled with the pomp and circumstance of country club life, while his nights are a parade of one embarrassment after another at the hands of giggling teenage girls.
But the piney woods above Lake Livingston are dark at night, and hold many secrets for an impressionable youngster on the cusp of becoming a man. And one night, after skinny dipping in the lake with a mysterious local girl, Mark Gaitlin’s life takes a crazy turn into the fire and brimstone religion of backwoods snake handlers and abandoned villages haunted by old family secrets. If he can survive the snakes and the ghosts and his own family’s dark history, he just might make it out of the woods alive.
And something else…he just might become a man.
Lost Girl of the Lake is a fine addition to the library of coming of age horror stories. The story follows Mark as navigates the path between childhood and adulthood, all while confronting his families dark past. That’s one of the things that really intrigued me as I read the book. The horror isn’t something Mark can escape. It’s very much part of the Gaitlin legacy. It’s who he is. It’s where he comes from. It’s part of his destiny.
The story started out a little on the slow side, but it drew me in, made me relate to Mark, as well as feel more than a little jealous of his teenage years. Gradually things in the story take a turn for the worst, with the horror ramping up and getting pretty damn freaky in the final act. The ending felt a little rushed, with the climax of the conflict coming quick, seemly out of nowhere, but that being said I applaud the authors for not letting Mark out unscathed. Mark has mental and physical scars from his encounter and it changes him.
Final Thoughts
If you are a fan of horror coming of ages stories, you really can’t go wrong with Lost Girl of the Lake. It features a relatable protagonist, an engrossing story, and unnervingly creepy villain and its a breezy read (I finished it in roughly 2 hours). Highly recommended.
