After a whirlwind romance, Abigail has started married life in a house by a lake in the middle of nowhere, where her researcher husband studies samples of the waters. But when he takes a six-month research project in Poland, Abigail is left alone. Apart from the lake, she has an orchard, thick scrubland and the desert beyond for company. There’s a neighbour she doesn’t know and a small town a few miles away. (The lake is a fictionalised version of Soap Lake, Washington, where the author used to live.)
One day, a young child staggers out of the scrubland and into her arms. He leads her back to a car containing the body of his mother, Esme.
Police seem happy to put the death down to a drug deal gone wrong, but Abigail is determined to help Esme’s older brother care for the child and to delve into Esme’s life in search of a conclusive explanation for her death.
As we discover in chapters told from Esme’s viewpoint, death and danger always dogged her. Locals celebrate the legend of TreeTop, a giant monster who steals around town and country in a white hazmat suit. Esme believed she saw him, with deadly results.
Known for its healing properties, the lake has always attracted visitors, whose spending power keeps the town solvent. Over the years, whenever, a scientist has attempted to study the water, dangerous things have happened. (And there’s plenty of scientific description thrown into the narrative for good measure.)
Now Abigail, wife of the latest scientist, has caught sight of a figure in white peeping through her window…
Fluently written and absorbing, this is a complex (multi layered and 416 pages long), intriguing (ideal for a Netflix series) and, at times, very sad mystery and suspense story (poor Esme).
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
On publication, I will post this review on my blog and on GoodReads.