The towns aren't the only things disappearing...so are the girls.

Western Massachusetts, 1938. As the state prepares to flood the Swift River Valley to create the Quabbin Reservoir, the once-thriving community has become a ghost town. With most homes and businesses burned to the ground in preparation, each day brings more departures.

Seventeen-year-old Harrison "Brick" Bricker remains behind. Stuck in a dead-end job and facing an uncertain future, he is drawn into a hidden world of privilege and power after a chance encounter with the alluring Sadie Rose Parish. 

When a local girl vanishes and Brick uncovers disturbing secrets tied to one of the valley's most influential families, the young lovers become caught in the crosshairs of a killer. In a valley already condemned to disappear beneath the rising waters, some people will do anything to ensure their sins vanish with it.

But secrets have a way of floating to the surface. Twenty-five years later, Brick's alcohol-ravaged memories begin to return, forcing him to confront what really happened before the dark waters settled over the valley he once called home. 

Perfect for fans of Sharon Short's Trouble Island and Kate Alice Marshall's What Lies in the Woods, Beneath Still, Dark Water is a haunting historical suspense novel inspired by the real towns lost beneath the Quabbin Reservoir.

by Stephen Paul Sayers
Page Count: 232
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Publish Date: June 20, 2026
Imprint: Milford House Press
Genre: Mystery / Thriller

FICTION / Thrillers / Historical
FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Historical
FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense