Eye Lake
Eli has lived in Crooked River his whole life, and he knows better than anyone about that sinking number. His father, uncle and grandmother are dead; he didn't know his mother, and his grandfather Clarence, an eccentric builder of hotels and a now-underwater castle, walked to the river one day and never returned. Eli's childhood friend, George, also went missing, back when they were kids, and was never seen again. Eli has spent years wondering about both Clarence and George. Now the river, its course diverted years earlier to make way for a mine, is reclaiming its original path, and the lake is receding day by day. As the waters retreat, secrets come to light, and it seems as though Eli might finally learn what happened to his grandfather and best friend. Then a young boy disappears, pulling Eli's past into the present. Told in taut, spare prose, Eye Lake is the haunting story of three families, three generations and three disappearances.
Reviews
‘Hughes displays a pitch-perfect ear for the language, cadence and foibles of life in an isolated rural community. He gives us pickup trucks and fishing holes, petty feuds that go back years, and a deep sense that nothing and everything important happens in the town . .. A deeply satisfying read. ’ — Quill & Quire