# ID 1980s Horror Paperback? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-1980s-horror-paperback/795064 "2017-08-29T23:03:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-1980s-horror-paperback/795064/1 "2017-08-29T23:03:33Z")
Early 1980s (possibly very late 70s?) paperback about a squid-like creature terrorizing a lakeside resort. The book opened with a rich developer buying the land and the cabins, and moving in with his family. After opening, some weird creature in the lake started killing people so they recruited an oceanographer to come in and figure out what was going on - and he got eaten. That’s what I remember. Also, it was very much a Jaws ripoff, with the same basic story beats. It may have even been called ‘The Lake,’ but it’s impossible to search for that because there are SO many books with that title. Does anyone remember this? I’d love to read it again. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-1980s-horror-paperback/795064/2 "2017-08-29T23:18:39Z")
Peter Benchley also did a novel that sounds similar to that, _Beast_. But I think that monster was a squid. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-1980s-horror-paperback/795064/3 "2017-08-29T23:19:57Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > Peter Benchley also did a novel that sounds similar to that, _Beast_. But I think that monster was a squid. It wasn’t Beast - this one was earlier. But thank you. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-1980s-horror-paperback/795064/4 "2017-08-30T01:29:08Z")
Was it “The Watcher” by Dean Koontz? I can’t recall what form the monster took, but I seem to remember a lake. And a very cool Golden Retriever. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-1980s-horror-paperback/795064/5 "2017-08-30T01:34:33Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Was it “The Watcher” by Dean Koontz? I can’t recall what form the monster took, but I seem to remember a lake. And a very cool Golden Retriever. Nah, that one looked baboon-ish ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-1980s-horror-paperback/795064/6 "2017-08-30T01:58:15Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Was it “The Watcher” by Dean Koontz? I can’t recall what form the monster took, but I seem to remember a lake. And a very cool Golden Retriever. No, the book I’m thinking about wasn’t by any ‘name’ author - it was strictly a cheap Jaws rip-off. Thanks though ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-1980s-horror-paperback/795064/7 "2017-08-30T02:47:24Z")
I seem to remember this. Seems to me that it came out in the time period you describe, because I remember that Stephen King was still huge and that V.C. Andrews’ books were popular but not newly so. I want to say it was called “The Lake” or “Lake ----------” and that the cover was dark with a picture of a pier with the end missing or broken off. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-1980s-horror-paperback/795064/8 "2017-08-30T02:51:45Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I seem to remember this. Seems to me that it came out in the time period you describe, because I remember that Stephen King was still huge and that V.C. Andrews’ books were popular but not newly so. I want to say it was called “The Lake” or “Lake ----------” and that the cover was dark with a picture of a pier with the end missing or broken off. I can’t remember the cover at all but I’m fairly confident ‘lake’ was in the title. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-1980s-horror-paperback/795064/9 "2017-08-30T21:45:28Z")
Pretty sure I’ve found it! it’s ‘The Lake’ by R. J. Jensen. Thanks to everyone who helped.