The Chill

Starred review from December 2, 2019
Aaron Ellsworth, the protagonist of this creepy tale of supernatural terror from the pseudonymous Carson (a bestselling author), has returned home to upstate New York to a life of substance abuse and minor criminality after being expelled from the Coast Guard. He lost his temper with his partner, a less competent swimmer, during a panic training drill. In order to control his temper through exercise, Aaron decides to swim in the dangerous Chilewaukee Reservoir, whose creation decades earlier submerged the town of Galesburg. After cutting his foot badly during a swim, he gets angry at a state dam inspector who tries to help him. Aaron hits the inspector with a bottle, knocking him into the water, where he drowns. That killing proves to be the precursor to an effort by sinister, ghostly forces to get revenge on those they deem responsible for the destruction of Galesburg. Carson suspends disbelief through plausible characterizations and convincing descriptive passages, especially of the water tunnel system that feeds New York City. Fans of Michael Koryta’s horror thrillers such as The Ridge will be more than satisfied. Agent: Richard Pine, Inkwell Management Literary Agency.

In this supernatural thriller, narrator John Bedford Lloyd creates an appropriately tense and foreboding atmosphere. Decades ago in upstate New York, the town of Galesburg was destroyed and flooded to create the Chilewaukee Reservoir, called The Chill by locals. In the present day, strange happenings at The Chill suggest that the deceased citizens of Galesburg are looking for revenge. While Lloyd must contend with a soggy plot and an abundance of confusing details about dam operations, his narration keeps the story above water. His voice is like The Chill itself--steady and robust on the surface, with imperceptible menace bubbling up from beneath. Lloyd also helps listeners stay invested with his well-wrought portrayals of the workaday characters who are drawn into the impending paranormal disaster. A.T.N. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine