It Came From The Lake by Glenn Rolfe is a tale of murder, teenage angst, and a manmade lake in the woods of Maine housing a dark secret.

Let’s dive in!

My Thoughts on It Came From The Lake by Glenn Rolfe –
The opening paragraph of It Came From The Lake brings the first blood and immediately sets the tone for the rest of the book!

I loved that the author takes a step back after that first chapter and then slowly dials up the terror once again through the perspectives of different characters. In each chapter, we get to watch as they are slowly pulled toward the lake. I had so much fun getting to know each of them and their reasons for being out in the forest, but only one of them truly knows what dangers are present in the area.

Oh my gosh, and when things started to overlap… Once the action picks back up, it’s a full-out sprint for survival up through the end of the book.

My Favorite Passages from It Came From The Lake –
*Please note that these passages are from the ARC and therefore may have changed before the final copy was released.*

Deana couldn’t believe Kevin would kill for her. Fifteen years of marriage and she never would have guessed he had it in him—but the blood and brains spilling from Henry Owens’ skull, sliding like black mud down the edge of the sheer rock, told her otherwise.

She was not prepared in her darkest of nightmares for the sight of it.

He wasn’t a monster, no—vampires and werewolves were for movies. He was a breathing ghost of sorts, unable to be truly free of his past—but here he was, taking in air just the same.

Stepping from the trees, Leilani found the most breathtaking vision she’d seen since a shirtless Thor first crossed her TV screen. It was a lake, resting here in the comfort of complete silence.

“You can choose to believe or not to believe, but that won’t matter if you go out there. Monsters don’t need you to believe in them. You’re just safer if you do.”

My Final Thoughts on It Came From The Lake –
This was FINALLY my first Glenn Rolfe read! I own four of Glenn’s books that have been sitting on my bookshelf, just waiting for me to get to them. Hopefully this year I finally will. Glenn’s writing is SO darn good.

Creature horror fans, make sure this one is on your radar!

'It Came From The Lake' was full of action and monsters (both aquatic and a couple of human varieties), right from the beginning!

Before I started reading, I wondered, with the book being as short as it is, if the story might feel like it was missing details or incomplete. I shouldn't have worried at all. This was a fast-paced story that tied all of the characters together one chapter at a time and wrapped everything up in a nice neat package by the end. The Lake Monster was described in perfect detail and reminded me of something from The X-Files.

This was a really fun read, I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a good monster story that's quick and easy to get through.

How fun for me! I have a new horror author I enjoy and he has several other books.
This book was like living through a B movie, and B movies are one of my favorite things. Even though the book is short, there were people I liked and people I didn't like. It was a full experience. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

An easy read novella. Short and to the point. Packed with action from the start, this was old school horror, a proper creature feature! With monsters, wayward teens, tale telling locals and ne’er do well rich folk. For such a short book the author certainly used all the expected horror, gore and more.

Frantic and a bit rushed, but overall entertaining and worth reading.

Thank you NetGalley and Alien Agenda.

Glenn Rolfe has done an incredible job with his book "It Came From The Lake", creating a horror story that sucks you in immediately. The plot is frantic, the suspense constant and the narrative is full of thrilling and chilling moments. Rolfe is also able to introduce interesting and poignant characters, each with their own problems and secrets.
It's a short read, but it reads very fast and it's chilling, I really enjoyed it.

Excellent atmospheric horror. Kept me guessing and intrigued. Definitely looking forward to more from this author.

A fun, quick read. Creature features are 1 of my favorite sub genres. This 1 reminded me of Creature from the Black Lagoon and Humanoids from the Deep. Review posted on good reads, which is linked to net galley

This book was okay. I liked that there was action right from the start. The chapters just jump around way too much.

Horror at its best and I am still looking for my head after it dropped off my head when i read the ending !!! Its absolutely brilliant and nearly impossible to put down !!!

A short, easy read. I think it did well enough for its length with a decent atmosphere, kills, and description of the creature. The book changed POV frequently, and I found it hard to care about anyone. Overall a decent creature feature if you’re looking for a short book. Thank you to net galley for the arc.

God I love me a creature feature and this one hits perfectly!
It’s quick
It’s gritty
And the ending fits so well for this type of book!

I love a good creature feature story. This novella started out with the action right away and kept going. I did feel I got a little lost with the characters on keeping up with who was who. The chapters were short and they switched the
POV at each chapter and within some chapters. In that respect i felt it was a little disjointed. Plus with the story being only 87 pages, the characters were not fully fleshed out to what they could have been in a longer novel.

Overall though, this was a good time that was quick to get through and will check out more by this author.

⭐️ 3.5 stars rounded up.
Even though It Came From The Lake is a short story, nothing is missing! The story is fast paced, easy to follow and thoroughly gripping. I loved the multiple POV’s and the eerie setting

My first from this author but I will definitely be checking out other titles
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Thank you NetGalley and Alien Agenda Publishing for the opportunity to review this book.

Don't go near the lake.

This was a quick and atmospheric creature feature with a dash of gore. The introduction was immediately gripping. I had to know what was coming next. I enjoyed most of the characters and the way they meshed together throughout the story.

My only real criticism is that I wanted more exploration of the creature.

I have been getting into Splatterpunk recently after being an avid horror fan, this one was quick and a great thrill overall.

There were things to like about this short creature feature: I liked the Maine setting, very Stephen King-like; multiple POVs, some presented better than others; 60's movie monster, with an unfortunate (and very unrealistic) name. It did feel a little rushed to me, like the author wanted to cram as much as he could into a little piece of written real estate. I was entertained, and that I suppose is the main thing.

I received a complimentary copy of the story from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being given freely.

Owens' Lake has a monster, the "Nietzsche Anathema" a curse on the lake and all who dare to near it.

This short novella follows an array of characters as they interact with the cursed lake and it's monster: Leilani a teenage runaway, Maddox the P.I investigating the disappearance of prominent land owner Henry Owens, Francis the elderly veteran guarding his family's lake and it's curse, and Quincy a local boy who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This novella was an experience, like reading a B-movie horror flick where the characters are sleezy and cursing left and right. It Came From The Lake was a quick and fun read reminiscent of something like the show 'Are You Afraid Of The Dark' or 'The Haunting Hour' but for adults.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alien Agenda Publishing, and author Glenn Rolfe for allowing me access to an ARC of this novella.

I received a free ARC, and this review is voluntary.

The synopsis is on-point. This book went hard from the very first page, with the pacing afterward just right. The writing is straight to the point, and I didn't feel as though there was a lull in the story when there wasn't action. Kept my attention the whole way.

My only issue, a slight one, which I see from time-to-time, is when an author mentions a Glock firearm, and it having a safety. Glock does not have an external manual safety, like a Smith & Wesson, or Springfield would. The safety mechanism is in the trigger for a Glock.

Otherwise, I enjoyed the hell out of this book

It Came From the Lake is a short and fun horror read with a B-movie quality that I always enjoy. The lake creature's look and manner of killing were unique. I wish I learned more about the monster's backstory, but perhaps this is the start of a series. I recommend it to horror fans who love a quick monster mash!

This is fairly good as a high school creative writing paper. The characters lacked depth, or even concrete details such as their age. The monster had a ridiculous name that doesn't make any sense (and cryptid names are usually to do with their location) and if he was always wandering the woods he wasn't much of a laje monster and seems like he'd have been hunted down years ago since he killed people. There was zero explanation fir why he was in a man-made lake, why the Owens family apparently protected it, or why he attacked people. Also, if getting reverse mouth to mouth caused people to become like the monster, where are all the other people it's taken? Why didn't Quincy change? This has real potential but definitely needs critical thinking applied to the plot and to be fleshed out.