Once upon a time, my great-great-great-grandfather lived in a Nevada town that was abandoned in order to create a lake with much needed water. When I was a tween I went boating in that lake.

Even in a natural lake there is a hint of mystery as you peer into the depths of the water. Tween me knew that ggggrandfather and his family were not buried there. But there was still something unsettling, unnerving, something that made you think twice before jumping in for a swim of abandoned buildings and empty homes and, perhaps, a grave or two.

So, as you will see, this story had a hint or reality for me and I loved the thrills. And, of course, P. J. Lynch's reds and blues and greens never look like anyone else's. This was just lovely, with a hint of spooky. ( )

Irish children's illustrator and author P.J. Lynch spins an original fairy-tale concerning love, enchanted separation and the passage of time in this gorgeously-illustrated picture-book. The story centers around the old village of Spetzia, flooded years before when the valley was turned into a reservoir. Jacob and his father are the only villagers to remain in the area, fishing the waters of the new Lake Spetzia, and ignoring the rumors of ghostly inhabitants in the watery village below the surface. When Jacob falls in love with Ellen, the daughter of another former resident of Spetzia, the two plan to marry, only to be separated when Jacob goes missing on the lake one dark night. Held captive below the waters by Lilith, the leader of the ghosts now living in Spetzia, Jacob slowly begins to forget his life of the surface. Years pass, and Ellen continues to look for him, but how can she break the enchantment that holds him prisoner...?

I have read and greatly enjoyed many picture-books illustrated by Lynch, but The Haunted Lake is the first book I have read that he also wrote. It is a powerful story, full of terror and enchantment, and it is paired with breathtakingly beautiful illustrations, done in watercolor and gouache. The themes here - true love enduring all trials; the passage of time occurring at a different rate in the human world, as opposed to the enchanted one; the ghostly inhabitants of a forgotten and/or lost village - reminded me of various folktales I have read over the years, but are woven together in an original and unique story by Lynch. I am glad that he is beginning to write his own stories, as opposed to simply illustrating the work of others, and look forward to more tales from his pen. As for the artwork, it is as enchanting as ever, capturing the watery beauty and terror of Spetzia and its ghostly inhabitants, and the warm human love of Jacob, Ellen and Jacob's father. With the caveat that it has a melancholy postscript, in the form of Jacob's father returning to the lake at the end of his life, in order to join his wife down in Spetzia below, I would recommend this one to fairy-tale lovers, readers who enjoy ghost stories, and fellow fans of Lynch's artwork. ( )

a ghost story; a fairy story ( )