Drowning Dark

This literary thriller drops you in the middle of a classic summer family vacation—and then twists everything into a heart-stopping tale of desperation, conflicting truths, and profound suspense. A young family—Max, Laurence, and their daughter Charlie—arrive at what appears to be the perfect lakeside campground. They’re ready for a relaxing vacation, but a disturbing interaction with another vacationer occurs almost immediately, then another, and suddenly what was supposed to be a happy getaway spirals into a nightmare. They try to leave in the night, in the middle of a storm, but get lost and end up stuck on a remote and muddy road. Just when it seems as though help has arrived, they realize that the darkness they felt at the campground has pursued them, and the family is pushed to their physical and psychological limits. Michaud masterfully alternates between perspectives, gradually unfolding layers of fear, secrets, confusion, and finally desperation. The forest itself becomes almost a character—hostile, claustrophobic, and filled with hidden threats. A brilliantly suspenseful novel that asks how far we’ll go to survive and to protect the ones we love when everything goes wrong—and how guilt and trauma can haunt us for a lifetime.