ABOUT Richard Evans

Richard Evans
R.A. Evans is a husband and father of three small children.  Between diaper changes, late-night feedings, and t-ball games he finds time to catch his breath by golfing horribly, reliving his misspent youth playing video games, reading anything he can lay his hands on and, of course, writi More...

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Description

Memories are like water.
Some are bright, clear and at the surface.
Some lie deeper - blurred by time and distance.
Others rest far from the light in the depths of the darkness.
These memories are best forgotten.

The State’s second largest Psychopathic Hospital opened in 1917 on 600 wooded acres overlooking a small lake near Bedlam Falls, Michigan. Through its doors came the weak and the weary, the disabled and the discarded, the frail and the forgotten.  But an open door is an invitation, and some visitors, once invited, are loath to leave. The hospital abruptly closed in 1958 under a cloud of mystery.  It has remained empty and silent, save for the memories trapped both within its walls and far below the surface of the nearby lake that bears its name. At the bottom of Asylum Lake, the unremembered are growing restless.

Brady Tanner is trying to outrun memories of his own.  After the sudden death of his wife, Brady retreats to the small town where he spent the summers of his youth. But he soon learns small towns can be stained by memories…and secrets, too. As Brady is drawn into unearthing these secrets, as he discovers a new love in an old friend, he is also drawn into the mystery of Asylum Lake and the evil that lies submerged beneath its sparkling surface. What is the source of this evil – and what does it want with Brady Tanner?

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It's Halloween - and a great time to sit down with a scary new book, avoiding the shifting shadows and the grinning skulls lurking in the dark. "Asylum Lake" by Grand Rapids author R.A. Evans has a striking cover design that should entice many new readers. It's an intriguing psychological tale set in the small fictional town of Bedlam Falls in northern Michigan. It introduces Brady Tanner, who's been successful as a Chicago journalist, but is trying to escape the realities of the tragic death of his wife and their unborn child. The death of Tanner's father causes Tanner's return to the small old house where he spent many summers as a youth. It also brings back fond memories, as well as thoughts about the time he almost died. The town has grown significantly since Tanner left. The huge state mental institution (which closed in 1958) still looms darkly on the shores of the lake. His former girlfriend April has moved back to town to take care of her father, who has Alzheimer's; her young daughter Abby is pivotal to the plot. Evan's paperback debut jumps back and forth between decades, including scenes of a violent mass murder by a teenager and other assorted deaths. The pacing picks up in the last half as Tanner, with the help of police officers, diligently unearths a variety of horrific dark secrets of the mental institution. In a realistic manner, not all of Tanner's puzzling questions are answered, although many deadly past events are significantly clarified. This is the first of a planned series of three books showcasing Tanner. The next volume has him learning more about the background and the fate of the asylum's elusive last director, Dr. Wesley Clovis. Asylum Lake is a taut tale liable to raise significant goosebumps. --Ray Walsh, Lansing State Journal

It's Halloween - and a great time to sit down with a scary new book, avoiding the shifting shadows and the grinning skulls lurking in the dark. "Asylum Lake" by Grand Rapids author R.A. Evans  has a striking cover design that should entice many new readers. It's an intriguing psychological tale set in the small fictional town of Bedlam Falls in northern Michigan. It introduces Brady Tanner, who's been successful as a Chicago journalist, but is trying to escape the realities of the tragic death of his wife and their unborn child. The death of Tanner's father causes Tanner's return to the small old house where he spent many summers as a youth. It also brings back fond memories, as well as thoughts about the time he almost died. The town has grown significantly since Tanner left. The huge state mental institution (which closed in 1958) still looms darkly on the shores of the lake. His former girlfriend April has moved back to town to take care of her father, who has Alzheimer's; her young daughter Abby is pivotal to the plot. Evan's paperback debut jumps back and forth between decades, including scenes of a violent mass murder by a teenager and other assorted deaths. The pacing picks up in the last half as Tanner, with the help of police officers, diligently unearths a variety of horrific dark secrets of the mental institution. In a realistic manner, not all of Tanner's puzzling questions are answered, although many deadly past events are significantly clarified. This is the first of a planned series of three books showcasing Tanner. The next volume has him learning more about the background and the fate of the asylum's elusive last director, Dr. Wesley Clovis. Asylum Lake is  a taut tale liable to raise significant goosebumps. --Ray Walsh, Lansing State Journal