Title: Lake Thirteen
Author: Greg Herren
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Length: Novel (194pgs)
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (13th August 2013)
Heat Level: Nil
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4½ Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: It seemed like a good idea at the time…
Every summer three families take a trip together—this year it’s to a remote resort in the mountains of upstate New York. Scotty, a teenager who’s just come out, is nervous about how his friends will react to him. A late night visit to an old nearby cemetery seems like a great idea to the bored teens, but the old cemetery holds dark secrets hidden for almost a century—secrets that might have been better left undisturbed.
And what originally seemed like a boring week in the mountains gradually becomes a nightmare of terror for the teens and their families…
Purchase Link: http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/products.php?product=Lake-Thirteen-%252d-by-Greg-Herren-eBook
Review: Scotty and his family are heading to a remote resort for the annual holiday with two other families, a tradition that has happened every year since the adults were in college. This year Scotty came out to his friends via e-mail and he doesn’t know how they will react. During a late night visit to an old cemetery something happens, and Scotty and his friends find themselves unraveling a secret that has been hidden for nearly a century.
This is a wonderful young adult story that has that great touch of horror and paranormal. Scotty has recently come out and he has a boyfriend, Marc, but right now he has to face his friends that he only sees once a year during the joint vacation and he is nervous about their reaction. When the friends, Carson, Lynda, Logan, Teresa and Scotty start to explore they all get more than they bargained for when their ghost hunting leads to an old mystery. Scotty seems to be directly affected and there is a connection to his boyfriend Marc, each of them discovers that they can’t just explain away what is happening and that they have to come up with a plan to get to the bottom of the mystery.
I loved this story, it was just the right mix of angsting teenagers and paranormal with a touch of mystery thrown in. Scotty is a typical teenager and that reflects throughout the book, especially when he becomes distracted with thoughts of his boyfriend or angsting over what his friends will think of him being gay. When the guys all start on the hunt for paranormal activity it becomes nicely creepy, but it is Scotty that connects to the ghosts of long past. Is it because he is gay or is there another reason? Although we never meet Marc we get a lot of information about him and his situation, and Scotty discovers that he has to do something to stop the past from repeating itself.
I recommend this to those who love young adult that are spooky and slightly scary, with an absent romantic interest, a mystery to solve and a great ending.