The House At The Bottom Of A Lake is the story of a haunted first love. Josh Malerman wrote the excellent Bird Box (please read the book over watching the film), and here is another tale of the unseen.
Teens James and Amelia meet cute in his father's hardware store, and make a date to canoe around the local lake. Off to the side, away from the boaters and waterskiers is another hidden pond ...and further still a murky pond no one accesses. This becomes a special place of their own, and over several dates, they fall in love. Swimming down, they are stunned to find a fully submerged house on the pond bottom, fully built and somehow even furnished. They bring in diving equipment and explore the maze of rooms right up into the second floor.
A fairly spooky place, deep underwater - even more-so when they begin to hear ghostly footsteps - and then - the lights turn on.
Malerman is effective at building a haunted house, and the question of the unknown is always there. This is equally the story of young summer love, and it is balanced well. I am a sucker for ghost stories, but this was more spooky than scary.
Not thrilling, but engaging enough on a Summer afternoon.
Read my other reviews for Josh Malerman:
2016 / Tradeback / 188 pages
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