by Ronald Malfi
First published 2011
Travis Glasgow buys his first house in western Maryland with his wife Jodie after his latest novel succeeds. The Westlake property sits beside a beautiful lake and brings Travis closer to his brother Adam, who lives nearby. Travis begins to heal from childhood trauma and guilt over his younger brother's mysterious drowning when he was thirteen. The house soon reveals its darker nature. Strange sounds wake Travis at night. Ghostly figures move through the hallways. His dreams turn disturbing. Most puzzling is the wooden staircase that rises from the lake behind his home. Travis cannot resist investigating the structure. His research uncovers the house's violent history and tragic past. The more he digs, the more he realizes that buried secrets refuse to stay hidden. Travis must confront both the house's dark legacy and his own unresolved grief.
Genres: mystery, horror, supernatural, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: Western Maryland, Westlake
Period: Contemporary
476 pages · ebook · Medallion Press
Content warnings: mental-illness