Manmade lakes are usually seen as good things, for instance, offering us their recreational benefits like boating, jet skiing, or fishing. When I sought to create a landscape of hard features typically found in an Appalachian noir, I wanted the manmade lake to be just the opposite.

Lake Charles isn't a clean and pristine body of water. Its past glories included the good things just spoken of, but they came in the previous generation. Right now its earthen dam was leaky and unstable, threatening to burst open and flood the area.

Lake Charles also harbors its dark secrets. Before long, our hero Brendan Fishback clashes with the nasty villains not appreciating his coming to Lake Charles for getting in his fun.

Readers and reviewers have noted they'd never want to visit Lake Charles. I'm glad they understood what I was trying to do. It is a skeevy place, the ideal setting to cast a noirish story. In fact, Brendan can't wait to leave its mucky shores.

By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"The most fun traipsing along the muggy, rugged backroads of Appalachia since DELIVERANCE."
Barnes & Noble Mystery Blog