The Fisherman

First impressions: I've been reading a lot of r/horrorlit recommendations because the readers there seem to have a recommendation for any setting you might be looking for. I picked this up after seeing it as inspiration for [b:This Thing Between Us 56269269 This Thing Between Us Gus Moreno https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618452978l/56269269.SY75.jpg 87659806]. Both books explore grief through horror, which I am discovering is something I really seek out. This doesn't come close to that book for me. I had a good time with the story-within-a-story telling but need a break from men writing about women for a bit. Spoilering ahead because of plot & by describing the stuff that irked me the most I am telling a piece of the ending.Abe introduces us to his life as well as the loss of his wife, Marie. He finds solace in fishing, and it gives him just what he needs in order to get up every day after such a loss. When his coworker Dan loses his whole family, he becomes a companion to Abe when they go fishing. Dan recommends a trip to Dutchman's Creek, although it's in no fishing guides. On the way there, they get rained out and end up eating breakfast at a diner. Howard, the cook, learns where they are headed and gives the men a story of warning. Howard's tale of Der Fischer is what really shined the most to me. Although Abe was just gearing up to talk about his own personal horrors with Dutchman's Creek, Howard's retelling of Lottie's story is where the story shines the most to me. It is also where the horrors of the creek-to-be are introduced. The imagery of the situations this community ends up having to face is really horrifying.It isn't until we go back to Abe again after he has heard his cautionary tale that it stops working for me. Naturally, the guys still end up going to the creek. I was doing alright up until not-Marie appeared. Of course she shows up naked (when Helen reappeared after her death in the village, she was clothed, I'm pretty sure) So what does Abe do right off the rip? Bang his wife that at this point has been dead for years. Afterwards, he witnesses what she truly is. So with his knowledge that it isn't really his wife, he is still remarking on her ass cheeks as he's following her to the dark ocean. I don't know what I expected with him coming face to face with a wrong version of his loved one but it wasn't that. It just seemed like a moment that wouldn't have been about sex that devolved into one anyway.