Moon Lake
- Downloads：6686
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-17 11:31:02
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Joe R. Lansdale
- ISBN：1549138545
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Debra
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I listened to this novel on Axios 360 app connected to my library。 I'm finding I like being read to。 A fast page turning novel。 （Note I didn't the pages。） Small town America and the folks that need to control through power。 Jim Crow South shows the divide between white and black。 A young boy survives and in adulthood learns about his parents。 I listened to this novel on Axios 360 app connected to my library。 I'm finding I like being read to。 A fast page turning novel。 （Note I didn't the pages。） Small town America and the folks that need to control through power。 Jim Crow South shows the divide between white and black。 A young boy survives and in adulthood learns about his parents。 。。。more
Roger
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I have been looking forward to Moon Lake for months-having a new Joe Lansdale novel to read makes me happy。 This volume is a stand alone， so it is a good place for new readers to experience Joe's work。 Moon Lake is pretty dark and sinister folks-you will have to look elsewhere for a Hollywood ending。 Good stuff。 I have been looking forward to Moon Lake for months-having a new Joe Lansdale novel to read makes me happy。 This volume is a stand alone， so it is a good place for new readers to experience Joe's work。 Moon Lake is pretty dark and sinister folks-you will have to look elsewhere for a Hollywood ending。 Good stuff。 。。。more
Tj
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Lansdale is always a great read。 He is able to convey a sense of time and place better than most。 Felt like I was right there in a small Texas town full of secrets in the 70s。 Maybe not top shelf Lansdale with a slightly rushed ending， but not too far from the top。
Denise Westlake
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Page 44- chapter 7"The water pushed at us like a thug wanting our lunch money。"（Landsdale really knows how to put an imagine into words！！ Like！） Page 44- chapter 7"The water pushed at us like a thug wanting our lunch money。"（Landsdale really knows how to put an imagine into words！！ Like！） 。。。more
Lisa N
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Not bad， but ohhh， the overuse of similes and metaphors was making me cringe by the end。 Written in first person with a slightly humorous tone that offsets the corrupt town with its cult-like city council and the dark， rainy setting。
Jesse
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3。5 stars。 An all time favorite author of mine。 Started out great but the story got pretty absurd by the end。
Ken
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A good read。 Kept me interested the whole way。 I never got much of a feel for the main character as he seemed mostly cliche' driven but the concept felt unique and like I said kept me interested。 Not one of the best so far this year but I've been fortunate to read some great ones so far。Top 6 read in 2021 so far。The PlotThursday Murder ClubHail Project MaryLittle SecretsThe RiverJar of Hearts A good read。 Kept me interested the whole way。 I never got much of a feel for the main character as he seemed mostly cliche' driven but the concept felt unique and like I said kept me interested。 Not one of the best so far this year but I've been fortunate to read some great ones so far。Top 6 read in 2021 so far。The PlotThursday Murder ClubHail Project MaryLittle SecretsThe RiverJar of Hearts 。。。more
Beverly
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Lansdale expertly knows how to reel his readers in and this smooth flowing excellently paced narrative with resonant themes grips the reader until the very last page。Daniel Russell has had an unsettled childhood into adulthood。 His mother left him and his father。 His father attempts to kill them both by driving into Moon Lake， a place of superstitions and controversy。 Daniel， a young white boy， is rescued by a nurturing African American family until a crotchety aunt assumes custody of him， movin Lansdale expertly knows how to reel his readers in and this smooth flowing excellently paced narrative with resonant themes grips the reader until the very last page。Daniel Russell has had an unsettled childhood into adulthood。 His mother left him and his father。 His father attempts to kill them both by driving into Moon Lake， a place of superstitions and controversy。 Daniel， a young white boy， is rescued by a nurturing African American family until a crotchety aunt assumes custody of him， moving him away from all he knows。 Now an adult， Daniel returns to his hometown hoping to find answers to the nightmares that still plague him。 At times this richly observed story is devastating as it exposes the deep secrets/betrayals of race violence and corrupt power strongholds yet is strangely exhilarating as humanity triumphs in unexpected ways。A powerful gripping story that is an engaging blend of mystery， history and appealing wily characters that is a welcome addition to East Texas noir and southern literature。I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Jim Andrew Clark
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Another Lansdale masterpiece！ The skill with which he writes stories is astounding。 Here we have a novel with enjoyable characters， witty dialog， hilarious metaphors， and a thrilling mystery with lots of action。 Moon Lake is one of the new favorites in my Lansdale collection。A more in-depth review is coming soon。
Colleen
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the usual Lansdale blend of humor， violence and folksy 。 I had high hopes this one might not have any torture scenes， but。。。。
John Bruni
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Another excellent Lansdale book。 This time out a young man barely survives when his father drives them both into a lake where once there had been a small town。 The young man grows up to become a journalist， and when he hears his father's car has finally been recovered， he goes home only to discover he still has feelings for his childhood sweetheart， he can easily get a job on the local paper （useful because the one he worked for just went out of business） and his father's car contains more bones Another excellent Lansdale book。 This time out a young man barely survives when his father drives them both into a lake where once there had been a small town。 The young man grows up to become a journalist， and when he hears his father's car has finally been recovered， he goes home only to discover he still has feelings for his childhood sweetheart， he can easily get a job on the local paper （useful because the one he worked for just went out of business） and his father's car contains more bones than just his father's 。 。 。 Getting to the bottom of this weird mystery--and it gets very weird--is a lot of great violent fun。 As you like it！I couldn't help but think of Frankie Faison while reading about Mr。 Candles。 It just felt right。 And I kinda thought about Donald Trump， Jr。， when reading about Jack， Jr。 Except while Donnie Jr might just be as evil as Jack， he's nowhere near as strong and intimidating as the garrote champion of this book。 And hey， wait until you meet Johnny Creosote 。 。 。 As always， I highly recommend this Lansdale book。 。。。more
Jeff
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Joe Lansdale has never disappointed me。 “Moon Lake” is a solid entertaining and suspenseful page turner。 Highly recommended！
Michael Hicks
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Daniel Russell dreams of dark water。 In 1968， his father attempted to commit a murder-suicide when he drove his car， with Daniel as passenger， off a bridge and into Moon Lake。 Daniel survived， rescued by a young black girl and her father， and lived with them for a time， until being remanded into the custody of his aunt。 Ten years later， a drought dries up Moon Lake and reveals Daniel’s father’s car — and bones of the dead woman locked in the trunk。 Now a journalist and author， Daniel is adamant Daniel Russell dreams of dark water。 In 1968， his father attempted to commit a murder-suicide when he drove his car， with Daniel as passenger， off a bridge and into Moon Lake。 Daniel survived， rescued by a young black girl and her father， and lived with them for a time， until being remanded into the custody of his aunt。 Ten years later， a drought dries up Moon Lake and reveals Daniel’s father’s car — and bones of the dead woman locked in the trunk。 Now a journalist and author， Daniel is adamant that the bones do not belong to his mother， and he sets out to figure out the truth。 Moon Lake is billed as a Texas Gothic， and author Joe Lansdale slowly unveils the secrets of Moon Lake and the community of New Long Lincoln。 The original Long Lincoln was drowned to build a damn， and those citizens who refused to move were murdered in the ensuing flood。 Overlaid atop these drought-revealed ruins are the ghosts of Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy， the much-too vibrant spirit of Jim Crow， and the corruption and evil upon which this fiefdom of New Long Lincoln was founded。 Given its Gothic sensibilities， Moon Lake toys with the supernatural but largely in the metaphoric。 Daniel is haunted by the ghost of his father， but more in a psychological way rather than a literal fashion。 More serious are the vile town elders and their murderous machinations that put Daniel’s life in danger more than once。Lansdale incorporates Gothic traditions throughout， evoking decay and superstition via the setting and post-segregation time period， even as 70s-era Texan culture clings tightly to racism。 All this is filtered through Lansdale honed， unique voice and spectacular writing， which regularly strikes humorous notes， wild turns of phrase， and quote-worthy dialogue。 Moon Lake is a spectacular read， and Lansdale keeps the pages turning with layers of mystery， the promise of evil， and the smooth， crisp prose he’s long since been known for。 。。。more
Lori
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How I would love to sit next to Mr。 Lansdale and listen to him tell a story。 As always I love his humor and wit。 There is always a deeper meaning in story telling， that makes me think and look inside myself。
David Simon
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There are a lot of great writers out there。 Writers who can stir your soul with the elegance of their descriptions， dazzle you with wordplay and imagination， quicken your pulse and heart in equal measure， blindside you with sudden laughter or even more sudden tears， make you shake your head in wonder at their perfect dialogue， write a fight or battle scene so vivid that you feel every punch and explosion， scare you so bad that you sleep with the lights on。Joe Lansdale can and does do all those t There are a lot of great writers out there。 Writers who can stir your soul with the elegance of their descriptions， dazzle you with wordplay and imagination， quicken your pulse and heart in equal measure， blindside you with sudden laughter or even more sudden tears， make you shake your head in wonder at their perfect dialogue， write a fight or battle scene so vivid that you feel every punch and explosion， scare you so bad that you sleep with the lights on。Joe Lansdale can and does do all those things。 But he has something that rare even among the very best writers—he’s a natural born storyteller。 A couple pages into a Lansdale novel， and you’re sitting around a campfire on a dark summer night somewhere in East Texas， listening to magic being conjured from the smoke， or parked on a barstool in Nagadoches， throwing back a beer while a master spins a yarn。When I tell you the Moon Lake is Lansdale operating at the height of his considerable powers， that’s really saying something。 This one is special。Moon Lake has all the hallmarks of classic Lansdale。 A small East Texas town lost， along with its secrets， beneath the dark surface of Moon Lake—at least until a drought once again brings those secrets to light。 a stubborn man who comes back to that Lake looking for answers to a question that’s been plaguing him for years…why did his dad try to kill them both by driving into the lake when he was thirteen years old？ There’s a hard-nosed， in-your-face meditation on class and race， on haves and have nots， on the corrupting， amoral influence of power。 There’s small town politics and small town life， and Lansdale writes both with a knowing eye for detail。Because this is Lansdale， the characters， both the good guys and the bad， are complex， thoughtful creations。 They have back stories。 There’s a real sense of history here， which makes sense， as Moon Lake spans years。 Also because this is Lansdale， we’re treated to a breakneck plot， action that will indeed quicken your pulse， and scenes to veer hard towards straight-up horror。Some of the dialogue and descriptive passages are laugh out loud funny。 Lansdale has a gift for down-home， yet creative language that hums and gallops。 He even throws a little forbidden love into the mix， and makes it sweet and tender。The Hap and Leonard books will always be my favorite of Lansdale’s works， ever since I found a used copy of Mucho Mojo at Half Price Books。 （On that same trip I discovered Shella， my first Andrew Vachss novel。 That was a first-class shopping trip。） But Moon Lake is right up there for me， on the same shelf with The Bottoms， The Thicket， Edge of Dark Water， and Jane Goes North。I’m happy to see that Moon Lake is getting a lot of much-deserved positive press。 Joe Lansdale his ownself is a national treasure。 If he ever makes his way to Cleveland， I owe him a whole keg of beer for the years of reading pleasure he’s given me。 。。。more
Patricia Baker
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For some reason I got tired of this before it ended。
Robert
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At first blush this seems to be one of Joe R。 Lansdale's more grounded books， or at most waterlogged。 Aside from Joe's customarily unique turns of phrase， it begins very much in the strait crime fiction zone。 But as the layers of mystery are peeled away like an onion， elements of the weird come squirming up to the surface like Delia antiqua。 I highly recommend this suspenseful， creepy and at times hilarious book。 At first blush this seems to be one of Joe R。 Lansdale's more grounded books， or at most waterlogged。 Aside from Joe's customarily unique turns of phrase， it begins very much in the strait crime fiction zone。 But as the layers of mystery are peeled away like an onion， elements of the weird come squirming up to the surface like Delia antiqua。 I highly recommend this suspenseful， creepy and at times hilarious book。 。。。more
GONZA
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This time Lansdale reminded me in every way of Stephen King。 I don't know if it's because at first I was sure there would be a "paranormal solution" or if it's because the rot in small town America reminds me too much of "King"。 Apart from this little deja vu， I liked the story and it flows well， but it's not really one I'll remember in a few years。 Stavolta Lansdale mi ha ricordato in tutto e per tutto Stephen King。 Non so se perché all'inizio ero sicura che ci sarebbe stata una "soluzione para This time Lansdale reminded me in every way of Stephen King。 I don't know if it's because at first I was sure there would be a "paranormal solution" or if it's because the rot in small town America reminds me too much of "King"。 Apart from this little deja vu， I liked the story and it flows well， but it's not really one I'll remember in a few years。 Stavolta Lansdale mi ha ricordato in tutto e per tutto Stephen King。 Non so se perché all'inizio ero sicura che ci sarebbe stata una "soluzione paranormale" o se perché il marcio nelle piccole cittadine americane mi ricordano troppo "il re"。 A parte questo piccolo deja vu， la storia mi é piaciuta e scorre bene， ma non é proprio una di quelle che ricorderó tra qualche anno。 。。。more
Rick Delores
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A dark book， but written very well and a great plot。
Chuck Segall
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Great story， but kind of a confusing ending。
Debbie
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This novel features one of my favorite settings， a town drowned by a dam that comes to light in a drought。 This is Texas gothic to the hilt。 Some of the metaphors are a bit much and librarians really look bad， but good over-the-top fun without being over-written。
Tony Anuci
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First， Joe Lansdale always makes me homesick。 Even though I grew up in southwestern Ohio， and he writes about East Texas （in the books I have read）， I always feel like I am reading about my former home。 That feeling he gives me draws me into the story immediately。 Second， having said that， this story is excellent。 It is a page turner with great characters。 It would be difficult to write this story any better。
Bruce Aboff
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A great storyteller weaving a tale of suspense！I’ve heard Joe Lansdale called the Stephen King of East Texas， which he lives up to in his latest novel， Moon Lake。 Enjoyed it thoroughly， even a touch of Boo Radley appears in the story。 Great read！
Jacob Dzik
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This is one bizarre and crazy book and I loved every page。 Reminded me in ways of Stephen King， Harlan Coben， and True Detective season 1。 If that doesn’t make you want to read it， idk what will。
Julie
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This is a hard one to rate。 It's Joe Lansdale， so of course the writing and characterizations are exquisite。 But the whole premise is so far OTT， and the villains so， well， villainous， as to be caricatures。When Daniel Russell was a teenager， his mother took off for parts unknown， and his father packed him up in their old Buick and drove off a bridge。 He survives。 His father doesn't。 And years later， Daniel is called back when his father's bones are uncovered， along with decades' worth of old tow This is a hard one to rate。 It's Joe Lansdale， so of course the writing and characterizations are exquisite。 But the whole premise is so far OTT， and the villains so， well， villainous， as to be caricatures。When Daniel Russell was a teenager， his mother took off for parts unknown， and his father packed him up in their old Buick and drove off a bridge。 He survives。 His father doesn't。 And years later， Daniel is called back when his father's bones are uncovered， along with decades' worth of old town secrets。 。。。more
Jean
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Well written by a Texan & an author that tells a great story - is a page turner- set in a small East Texas town mystery thriller - stand alone novel - romance， murder， family， secrets of a small town ruled by a few！！！！！
Steve
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When Daniel Russell is 13， his father purposively drives the two of them off the bridge and into a lake。 The father dies， but a black mermaid， a black girl Daniels' age， jumps into the lake and saves him。 Daniel lives with her family for a few months and then is taken in by his worthless aunt。 Years later， Daniel returns to the town to take care of an inherited house， and then discovers his father's suicide is part of a much darker history of the town。I found the book totally absorbing。 Lansdale When Daniel Russell is 13， his father purposively drives the two of them off the bridge and into a lake。 The father dies， but a black mermaid， a black girl Daniels' age， jumps into the lake and saves him。 Daniel lives with her family for a few months and then is taken in by his worthless aunt。 Years later， Daniel returns to the town to take care of an inherited house， and then discovers his father's suicide is part of a much darker history of the town。I found the book totally absorbing。 Lansdale's prose is top notch， and his characters fascinating， especially the relationships between then。 The mystery is great， though maybe a touch predictable in some aspects， but even so， the last few chapters are really exciting page-turners。 Recommended。 。。。more
J。K。 Grice
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Wow。。。Champion Joe does it again！ MOON LAKE is a page turner chock full of compelling characters and the best East Texas noir， not to mention Lansdale's colorful and often hilarious colloquialisms and similes。 I loved the time period， which takes the reader from the 1960's to 1978。 I also thought the occult/ritualistic theme of the novel was some different ground for Lansdale to cover and that was a real treat。 So， do yourself a favor and pick up this latest offering from Hisownself， the greates Wow。。。Champion Joe does it again！ MOON LAKE is a page turner chock full of compelling characters and the best East Texas noir， not to mention Lansdale's colorful and often hilarious colloquialisms and similes。 I loved the time period， which takes the reader from the 1960's to 1978。 I also thought the occult/ritualistic theme of the novel was some different ground for Lansdale to cover and that was a real treat。 So， do yourself a favor and pick up this latest offering from Hisownself， the greatest Mojo Storyteller of all time。 。。。more
Brittany Schud
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GREAT horror read， really freaking haunting。
Bookreporter。com Mystery & Thriller
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