But things don't culminate in the way the reader might expect. We're not told exactly why she left her last position, but it's hinted right from the beginning that she might have some rather unprofessional plans concerning some of the teenage boys in her class. In 'The Lake' we meet a schoolteacher who's decided to take a job in the town, sight unseen. It's a hot and sticky, sleepy town - with a chilling dark undercurrent of supernatural influences - which boil to the surface in the summer. Gracetown is a rural Florida location, just over the Georgia border the setting for the first three stories in this collection. And although there were only a couple of stories that I found brilliant, it’s also true that there was not a single one that I didn’t like at all, something not very common in this kind of collections.Recommended particularly for dark fantasy/weird fans, but as the stories are well written and varied enough, I’m sure anyone will find a few stories that will make this book worth reading. I also liked the fact that in most of the stories the character’s feelings and the human relationships (family relationships, in particular) are as important, or even more important, than the eerie, science fictional or supernatural elements. For instance, despite the fact that zombies are not my favorite genre, I really enjoyed the “Danger Word”, a really good zombie story in this section. The book is divided thematically in four sections, and although most of the stories would fit the dark fantasy/weird/horror category, the ones in the “Carriers” section (three of them sharing the same main character) are science fiction/post-apocalyptic stories, and my favorite ones by far. Varied and solid collection, with a nice bunch of thrilling and intriguing stories.

Tananarive due the lake