The House on the Water's Edge

Sep 28, 2026

Psychological suspense novel prologue follows a woman trapped in a deep, frightening sleep as distant sounds and fractured images force her toward awareness of danger. A crying, then bleating baby compels her to move despite fear and illness, while unsettling sensory details—coldness and a metallic, coppery stench—signal that threatening presence will arrive. Her internal struggle between denial and duty intensifies as she tries to protect her own child in a dark, escalating ordeal.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages404

Reading Time10 h 22 min

AccessFree to download

Prologue

# THE HOUSE ON THE WATER'SEDGEC e roseIt kept me guessing all the way through.Alice Hunter author of The Serial Killer's Wife —1.5 # The House on the Water's Edge CE Rose is the pen name of Caroline England,the authorof psychological suspense novels,Beneath the Skin,MyHusband's Lies,Betray Her,Truth Games and The Sinner. As CE Rose,Caroline has written gothic-tinged psycho-logical thrillers,The House of Hidden Secrets,The House onthe Water'Edge and The Shadows of Rutherford House. Also by CE Rose The House of Hidden SecretsThe House on the Water's EdgeThe Shadows of Rutherford HouseThe Attic at Wilton Place The House on the Water's Edge CE Rose hera First published in the United Kingdom in 2021 by Hera Books Unit 9(Canelo),sth FloorCargo Works,I-2 HatfieldsLondon SEI 9PGUnited Kingdom Copyright ◎CE Rose 202I The moral right of CE Rose to be identified as the creator of this work hasbeen asserted in accordance with the Copyright,Designs and Patents Act,I988. All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical,including photocopy,recording,or any information storage and retrievalsystem,without permission in writing from the publisher. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Print ISBN 978 I 8o0327818Ebook ISBN 978 I 9I2973767 This book is a work of fiction."Names,characters,businesses,organizations,places and events are either the product of the author's imagination or areused fictitiously.Any resemblance to actual persons,living or dead,eventsor locales is entirely coincidental. Look for more great books at www.herabooks.comPrinted and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd,Elcograf S.p.A. To my beautiful Emily,who makes everyone smile. # Prologue Distant sound breaks through her sludge of deep sleep.Ababy is crying.No,not crying but bleating and whim-pering,imploring and scared.Her instinct is to help butshe's too frightened to move and she doesn't know why. Fractured images trickle back.A smiling familyportrait;the rippling River Bure.Shadowy eyes that watchher.A presence at a door.Someone bad,very bad.Andher own fist,tightly wrapped around a glinting object. A knife?Oh God,is that really a knife? She forces herself out of the black tar of the dream.It'sa nightmare,that's all.She has to be brave and just look.Nothing will be there.Nothing.That white face was justa symptom of her fragmented psyche;if she peers into thegloom,she'll see. Gently talking to herself,she blows out the trappedair and steels herself to move.She has to do this;shemustn't show weakness or illness or look odd.But...butthe seeping coldness is there,isn't it?She really can smell it.A geranium-like stench,metallic and coppery and sweet.Which means they'll soon come too,vibrating,hummingand buzzing;seething,teeming,invading. Covering her nostrils and mouth,she shrinks into aball and tries to block out the terror,but the mewling isstill there,becoming louder and shriller,more and moreinsistent. Oh God,the baby!She thrusts through the darkness;she must save the child.It's not any baby,it's hers.

FAQs

What triggers the protagonist’s struggle to wake up in the prologue?

Distant, urgent sounds from a crying baby break through her deep sleep and force her to confront fear and fragmented memories.

What sensory details heighten the sense of danger?

She senses seeping coldness and smells a geranium-like, metallic, coppery sweetness that suggests people or threats are about to arrive.

What does the protagonist decide to do when she hears the baby?

She pushes through the darkness, determined to save the child, realizing it is her own.

Sep 28, 2026

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