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The Children in the Lake

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In 1925 three children vanish without a trace in Arrowhead Lake. Nearly a century later there are those who still report seeing the elusive children swimming beneath the surface like swift dolphins. After losing her husband in a violent car crash, Rachel King and her two young sons venture to Arrowhead Lake to heal. When Rachel discovers that Great Woods Timber is planning to clear-cut this beautiful wilderness she enlists the help of Lilly Bowman and her mysterious father, chief and shaman of the Wabanaki nation. But dark events have been set in motion and Arrowhead Lake is under siege by a sinister force of mercenaries. When Chief Neptune vanishes, Rachel and Lilly call on Seth Ferguson, the local deputy sheriff for help. Together they discover an astonishing truth; a shadowy cabal that will stop at nothing to obtain the secret of Arrowhead Lake, a secret that if unearthed could have far-reaching consequences. When one of Rachel's sons vanishes in the Lake, she and Lilly embark on a harrowing journey to find him. What they discover is a mind boggling truth that will change their lives forever.

292 pages, Paperback

Published August 23, 2019

481 people are currently reading
401 people want to read

About the author

Mark Edward Hall

53 books150 followers
Mark Edward Hall is the author of the bestselling fantasy and science fiction Blue Light Series. He’s written more than twenty novels and numerous short stories.

Apocalypse Island — In Book 1 of The Blue Light Series we meet Danny Wolf, Laura Higgins and Police Lieutenant Rick Jennings.
Their city has turned into a killing ground. Is it a serial killer, someone with a penchant for the macabre and a need to destroy? Or is it a darker force, an ancient legend from a mysterious Island come ashore to wreak havoc upon the unsuspecting?
In a desperate search for answers they discover a government conspiracy involving the Catholic Church, and a cold war CIA mind control program known as MK-Ultra where children were used as test subjects.
Danny Wolf, a local musician becomes the number one suspect in the murders, but no one, not even Wolf, is prepared for what they discover on Apocalypse Island, a mind blowing secret that was supposed to stay hidden forever.


Soul Thief — In Book 2 of the Blue Light Series we meet Doug and Annie McArthur. Doug McArthur, hit in the face by a young friend at the age of seven, is suddenly able to see a supernatural creature who calls itself Collector. Doug’s life is turned upside down when he realizes that it’s not just the creature he sees, but the atrocities it commits.
Since marrying Annie his visions have been quiet and Doug is grateful. Now Annie is pregnant with their first child—a child that promises to be special—and their world is in the process of coming apart, beginning with the destruction of their home and forcing them to run for their lives, back into the world of Annie’s childhood, the De Roché dynasty, to a murdered mother and a cruel and enigmatic father.


Song of Ariel — Book 3 of the Blue Light Series begins four years after Doug and Annie McArthur are forced to take refuge in the Maine Wilderness. Ariel has grown into a beautiful and gifted child wise beyond her years. Their life, although hard, has been peaceful and relatively quiet.
But the tide is about to turn. When they sense something isn't right in the world Doug leaves the shelter of their wilderness cabin to investigate. In a heartbeat their quiet life is shattered by an unspeakable violence, and once again they are forced to run for their lives, this time to a place where they will encounter a truth more fantastic than anything they could ever have imagined.

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Community Reviews

5 stars
334 (52%)
4 stars
182 (28%)
3 stars
92 (14%)
2 stars
26 (4%)
1 star
8 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
Profile Image for Jay Williams.
1,718 reviews33 followers
July 26, 2022
Paranormal Children

The Arrowhead Lake is very unusual. It is extremely deep and oriented to North. The owners of the resort are being to take the land. The owners are helping Chief to prevent taking the land. Many issues and problems makes exciting and engrossing makes a great story. The children of the family are connected to the three children of the lake. The story is exciting right up to the end.
Profile Image for Noleen Rubin.
39 reviews2 followers
July 26, 2022
Wow what a great story I loved it and could not put it down. Enjoyed it from start to finish. Will follow this author. It was a free book.
2 reviews
June 28, 2021
Intriguing story bogged down by stilted writing

I stumbled across this book purely by accident but the blurb caught my imagination and within minutes I had downloaded it and was reading. Unfortunately, within 2 pages I knew this was going to be a slog of a read.

The story itself is interesting, thrilling and captivating- reminiscent of Koontz or King. It would make for a brilliant screenplay but the writing style was nothing short of atrocious. Over descriptive in unnecessary areas and severely lacking in others, at times repetitive and preachy. I didnt need to be reminded several times in one paragraph which brother was the older one! The characters are flat and lacking in emotion, there was no connection between them and quite frankly I couldn't have cared less if they all threw themselves in the lake. Characters personalities and motives seemed to change direction multiple times throughout and it felt as if the writer has too many ideas with no idea which direction to take them or how to wrap it up.

Would I recommend this book? Maybe, if you're in the mood for a fantastical story and aren't too bothered about cohesion, character depth, grammar or closure.

(Only gets 3 stars because I did manage to finish it, and my husband said 2 stars would be unfair)
100 reviews2 followers
July 18, 2022
Totally wonderful reading

The story starts out with action and keeps that pace the complete story.
The characters are believable and how the story keeps you reading it's like a place I could go. Reading this story makes me think I was there.
194 reviews1 follower
July 15, 2022
Good

Interesting storyline and characters. Definitely not what I was expecting. Kept me guessing from beginning to end. Worth your time
Profile Image for Beebee Bolster.
40 reviews
July 13, 2022
wow

Wow what a brilliant book. I struggled to put it down, such an exciting story, with sad tinges to it, but absolutely brilliant.
263 reviews3 followers
July 10, 2022
A refreshing change

Wow. Fast moving , well put together, brilliant story. I loved this story. It made a refreshing change to what I've read before. Great book. I recommend it to anyone looking for some fast moving adventure.
38 reviews
July 11, 2022
Great story!!

I really enjoyed the unique story and the way it was presented! Very good read!
I am looking forward to reading more from this author.
417 reviews2 followers
July 10, 2022
Interesting

Now that was completely different. I totally enjoyed this book. It was a little weird at times but overall it's a great book. I never read any of the other books this author wrote. But I will keep my eye out for more from him.
177 reviews3 followers
February 26, 2022
Suspense

There was no way I was going to shut down the story before the last gasp. At first, I was not sure I would like it, as there was some curse words I do not like, but after that hurdle, the story came alive. The description of the area deepened my immersion into the plot. Thank you, Mark Edward Hall, for the beautiful, entertaining book. I wonder if I will dream of the children tonight!
10 reviews
April 15, 2020
Captivating

Everything about this is captivating. The characters, the setting, the story.
It pulls you in and won't let go.
An amazing read.
Profile Image for Brett.
259 reviews7 followers
December 28, 2020
1st half of book starts out slowly; not fast paced; story doesn’t flow well. 2nd half story gets up to speed.
Profile Image for Kristi.
114 reviews1 follower
January 23, 2021
The plot idea was good - a nice twist to differentiate itself from other books. However, the story became too much like a bad action movie in which the main characters face impossible odds and somehow “win” in the end. For instance, one of the main characters has no experience with weapons and manages to sever her attacker’s femoral artery, this killing him quietly so his comrade would not hear it. In turn, this allowed her friend to shoot the comrade in the back while the main character runs to save her kidnapped son.

The dialogue of the characters is sometimes either saccharine or over the top. “If I can find those bastards I’m going to blow them to hell,”... says the man who was harpooned through the shoulder, quickly patched and sewed up by EMTs in an ambulance, and then returns to the action to shoot 2 special forces mercenaries. He manages to kill both mercenaries with a rifle that he shot one-handed. Mm-hmm.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Joyce.
1,832 reviews40 followers
December 28, 2020
294 pages

4 stars

This is a wonderful book and very easy to read. It was a little wordy in places; some explanations that I felt detracted from the story line.

We have some very bad guys – murderers, good guys, a touch of romance, cops, two very strong women and a host of other people.

This book is almost an action/thriller, but the extraneous wordiness spoiled that action. The action parts were very well written and exciting. I liked the Native American connection and the supernatural (alien?), allusions. It was not overdone and pretty much left up to the mind of the reader. Very well done, Mr. Hall.

I will read another book from this author.
Profile Image for Martini Dozier.
146 reviews2 followers
September 4, 2022
I really enjoyed the first half, would give the first half 5 stars. But then something changed.
- The weird unnecessary love triangle that made no sense.
- rushed ending
- dialogue that was sometimes cringe worthy and other times just bad
I get that extreme situations make emotions run high but not knowing a person AT ALL and having the reactions this character did were very childish. (Not going into details because spoilers but IYKYK)
Second half felt like a different book and I didn’t enjoy it at all.
52 reviews1 follower
November 28, 2020
Exciting book

This book had a great story line that was very entertaining and kept my interest the whole time. I found myself unable to put it down to live my own life!
I fell in love with the characters and
I hope the author releases a sequel soon. I will be the first to buy it. Thank you, Mark Hall!


171 reviews1 follower
July 17, 2022
Supernatural swimming

This is a well written book. Starts of suspenseful and intriguing, reaching the apex of the story it suddenly changes into some supernatural/alien garbage. It could have continued in its original way and been very enjoyable. The turn at the end led to disappointment.
Profile Image for Kristin.
70 reviews8 followers
July 22, 2023
I suppose my review is completely unfair since I didn't finish the book, but I had to stop after a few chapters simply due to repetitive word choices and seeing my all-time grammar pet peeve: using an apostrophe+s to make a plural. Eek. I'm a weirdo, so that's kind of a deal breaker for me, but it looks like others really enjoyed this story!
30 reviews1 follower
June 23, 2020
If I had had more than five star I would have used them all. This is not usually my genre but I thought I’d try something new for a change. Thoroughly enjoyed it, just couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend it.
Profile Image for Janie Stanley.
8 reviews
July 12, 2020
Children?

Loved the story line and couldn’t put the book down. Every character was well thought out and each brought a unique stance to the story. A nice change from all the dark drama out there.
1,460 reviews23 followers
August 27, 2022
I liked this book and the strange story of supernatural happenings. The excitement was great and I had trouble putting the book down once I started reading. This was the first time I have read anything by this author and it won't be my last. The story was believable and high intensity on action.
20 reviews
November 15, 2020
Loved it

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Kept me going til the very end.I will probably follow the author for more books
Profile Image for Jeannette.
327 reviews
January 3, 2021
It was very exciting and interesting in the beginning, but it became kind of weird by the end. I guess I just wasn't expecting that. Very suspenseful for sure. Seems like there will be a sequel.
92 reviews2 followers
January 25, 2021
An engaging read

The story was captivating with enough supernatural elements to delight the reader the whole way through. What a great way to spend a cold, rainy day!
Profile Image for Lkw.
13 reviews
May 31, 2021
Story was good, however, not over-keen on the quality of writing initially. Felt very rushed at the end too. Enjoyed it nonetheless.
63 reviews1 follower
July 21, 2021
Who’s In the Water?

Interesting mystery about a different sort of problem! There were several mysterious events and problems to solve. Nice read! You will love it!
Profile Image for Ruby Schmidt.
332 reviews
September 14, 2022
Excellent read

I absolutely loved this book. It chilled you, warmed you & scared you. The characters were awesome. I highly recommend this read.
12 reviews1 follower
November 10, 2022
Great Flow of story

Feel good book with lots of plot. Very modern implications of especially space connections. Characters are quite well introduced. Enjoyed the read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews

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