Welcome to the resort town of Weneshkeen， nestled along Michigan’s Gold Coast， where the sapphire-blue Lake Meenigeesis and the winding Oh-John-Ninny River lie within spitting distance of Lake Michigan. This once-quaint village–home of the yearly Sumac Days festival; a legendary bootlegger’s mansion; and excellent locally made sausage， cherry pie， and fudge–has become a complex melting pot. There are townies and old-timers who still inhabit the simpler cottages along the shore; ritzy summer folk who’ve bought up the best lakefront and built view-blocking estates; migrant cherry pickers and wily river guides; there are even a few Ojibwe Indians still around.It is the summer of 2001， and one of these “original people，” Roger Drinkwater， a ’Nam vet and lifelong resident， is plotting extra-legal revenge against the “idiot boy” jet-skiers polluting his beloved lake， even as he’s pursuing Janey Struska， the take-no-guff deputy sheriff. Mean-while， Mark Starkey， a summer kid from downstate， stumbles into a danger-laced romance with the sexiest rich girl in town; the old-guard cherry farmer “Von” vonBushberger struggles with the legacy of his rapidly changing family; and the town’s retired reverend discovers the Internet in the aftermath of his wife’s death and finds a new friend in his computer tutor， Kimmy， a teenager who is having a challenging summer of her own. These lives intertwine in surprising ways as the summer blooms， becoming a season of crises both actual and averted， and of rewarding human connection. Finally， The Lake， the River & the Other Lake is a moving testament to the homegrown Midwestern view that most people， when really pressed， will do the right thing.Steve Amick himself is a delightful discovery; his big heart and gift for social comedy are everywhere evident in this novel of good people trying to find their way.