Crestwood Lake is a secluded town in the woods of northern Vermont, plagued by mysterious deaths and rumors of witchcraft.
Crestwood Lake is a small, secluded town in the woods of northern Vermont. Mysterious events and strange deaths have always plagued the community—as have rumors of witchcraft. But lately, there has been a rash of suicides and violent murders.
Captain Butch Morgan, the chief of police, must uncover the truth about Crestwood Lake. With each gruesome discovery, he is thrust increasingly deeper into the macabre. Morgan must confront an ancient evil, a fateful showdown that could destroy his life, the woman he loves, and the tortured town of Crestwood Lake.
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Professional Reviews
Already Anxiously Waiting for the Sequel
A thriller that you can't put down full of dark spins and twists Reminds me of gone girl meets Harry potter meets Stephen King Would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone I'm waiting for the sequel it was that good
Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott
"Crestwood Lake had more than its share of strange occurrences, deaths, and macabre legends. Lately, however, there were even more odd or lurid deaths than usual. Every fiber of Morgan’s being told him something was going on."
In gothic tones, Crestwood Lake depicts an ostensibly quiet, idyllic Vermont lakeside community where evil has moved in. First time author Mark R. Vogel, a psychologist and wine maven who lectures on Jack the Ripper, has created a truly frightening, gory catalog of unexplained killings. All that Chief of Police Butch Morgan is sure of is that there is some common factor among all the horrific deaths of so many Crestwood residents. Some people kill a spouse or lover and then themselves, smashing out walls and spattering their homes with scarlet. Others are found alone in the woods, their bodies inexplicably exploded in carnage. Morgan has an intuition that some malevolent force is responsible, and he suspects that the local wine merchant, a brilliant, arrogant newcomer named Van Haden, may be somehow to blame. Morgan's investigations lead him to a parapsychologist, a local historian, and the town's priest, as he gathers a force of righteous citizens to combat an ancient curse.
Vogel's writing abilities are many, well beyond excellent grammar, tight plot, and fine pacing. He is erudite, well versed in many arcane subjects, languages, and cultures (for example, "Van Haden" is a linguistic play on “from Hades”). He builds his story, bloodbath by bizarre bloodbath, in what could well be a bid for cinematic treatment of the novel. By the end, anyone who enjoys this genre will be well sated with witches, demonic animals, beheadings, eviscerations, odorous decompositions, and things that go bump in the night. One eerie touch that brings the book right into current headlines is the vignette of an airline pilot who crashes his jetliner, killing all on board, hours after he makes his "escape" from the insanity at Crestwood Lake. Horror at its gruesome best, with a teaser ending that promises a sequel, Crestwood Lake could launch its multi-talented author on a new career.
RECOMMENDED by the USR
Reviewed by hellnotes.com
Crestwood Lake, the debut novel from Mark R. Vogel, is an impressive effort for a first time novelist. It is, at the same time, a unique take on horror fiction and an exploration of classic horror themes. Crestwood Lake is not only the setting of the tale but it’s main character, the different locales and characters part of a living and breathing whole. Due to the plot structure, which incorporates what are essentially short stories into a novel, the pacing is a bit uneven, but when the narrative focuses in the later stages of the book there’s no stopping reading until the climactic battle is finished.
The town of Crestwood Lake is located in New England, its roots dating back to colonial days and notorious Witch Trials of pre-United States America. The hauntings and horrors of the novel can be traced to the Puritan settlers who left Salem after its famous trials were ended. The legacies of those intolerant days manifest in contemporary times in the form of witches, demons and possibly Lucifer himself. The early stages of the book are told through different first-person narratives, often from the point-of-view of doomed characters. This adds an interesting element of peril to the story, as the first-person usually indicates a character has survived the tale, but here the reader never knows.
The idea of Crestwood Lake as the main character of the story is its most interesting and successful element. The different locations throughout the city, from the diner and local bar, to the church, wine store, individual houses and the lake itself are vividly rendered and clear in the mind’s eye. There are excellent specific characters, as well, though just a few get a full backstory and personality. The stories that diverge from the main plot deal with characters that are, typically, only present in the story for the short term, and by necessity, there’s isn’t a lot to those characters.
The main characters are interesting and sympathetic and well worth investing in. Captain of the local police, Butch Delmore, is an interesting blend of old-school tough guy cop and an empathetic, caring defender of his town. His friend and local historian Gil is a fun character: a retired writer and teacher and inveterate skirt-chaser. The two characters play off of each other extremely well, almost seeming to have the rapport of loving but always bickering long married couple. Potential love interest Vicki and the villain Van Haden are similarly strong characters that make interesting acrs through the novel.
Though the short story asides are not as strong as the main story, they don’t lose the reader’s attention. They may drift a bit but they are strong individual tales and, when the story comes fully together, do serve in setting up a strong horror tale. From haunted houses to escaped mental patients, witches to demons to the devil, Crestwood Lake is a classic horror story with modern sensibilities that has a little something for just about any reader.
Tasked by his Goddess to find, relocate, and then quicken, the last three Heart Tree gem-seeds, Vanx the bard, and his motley crew of adventurers, set out to do just that.
