Restoration by Sharon Mikeworth

Bronze Award winner for the 2021–2022 Reader Views Literary Awards in horror.

Cliff Phillips’ wife walks out on him for another man, leaving him devastated, and he retreats to a cabin deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The natural seclusion is exactly what he needs, and he settles in for a month-long stay, soothed by the unspoiled beauty of his surroundings.

But his peace is short lived. Out paddling the lake in the center of the historic park, he is nearly capsized by a mysterious disturbance. Soon after, a neighboring lodger flees following a terrifying night and another one vanishes without taking any of his belongings. When Cliff spots a strange light beneath the surface, he begins to think there might be more in the water than a few fish.

His worst fears are confirmed when he has his own frightening encounter. But how will he ever get anyone to believe what he now strongly suspects: that there is something hiding in the lake’s murky depths?

Sharon Mikeworth’s latest novel, Restoration, is a new addition to the great wilderness horror tradition of Jack Ketchum, Adam Nevill, Scott Smith, and Dan Simmons.