Drown the Town - Paperback

A cursed lake, inherited sins, and a tightening web of secrets converge as one boy is forced to confront what lies beneath the water-and what the town has tried to forget.

Kade Caulder's life has always revolved around Lake Lenore, especially since the day his best friend Lexi nearly drowned. Every year, his family returns to their lakeside cottage hoping for a fresh start, but this summer brings more than heat and memories. Kade is being targeted by a classmate who blames his family for a long-buried tragedy, and disturbing visions of a burning church and a drowned boy begin to seep into his waking life.

When Kade's girlfriend, Sam, vanishes near the lake, rumors spread fast-and Kade becomes the easiest person to blame. Desperate to find Sam and prove his innocence, he starts digging into the lake's history and uncovers a disturbing link between his family, the town, and something ancient lurking beneath the water.

His search leads him to a dangerous deal with the family's lawyer, Lee Wixer: a chance to leave his hometown behind, escape the kidnapping allegations, and start over somewhere new, if Kade agrees to cut ties with his family completely. But escape comes at a cost. As the lake claims another life, Kade discovers that he, Lexi, and Lee are bound to a century-old curse involving a brother, a sister, and a preacher boy-a cycle of secrets and deaths that refuses to end.

Lexi is hiding a truth that could stop the curse-or keep it alive. And Kade may be the only one who can break the cycle, if he's willing to face what's waiting beneath the surface without the town's secrets drowning him too.

For readers drawn to the slow-building dread and emotional stakes of stories like Stranger Things, Drown the Town delivers an eerie, character-driven descent into a cursed place where the past never stays buried. A.L. Yaeger blends supernatural suspense with the unease of growing up under the weight of secrets, creating a chilling, immersive tale where friendship, guilt, and loyalty collide with something ancient and hungry.