The story is about a widower in Abe who really struggles after the death of his wife following a lengthy bout with cancer. He finds some solace in fishing and takes up the hobby, using it to heal his mind and his heart. One day, he notices that a co-worker of his who rarely misses work didn't show up that day. While he initially thinks this is odd, he shrugs it off until the next day when he finds out what really happened. You see, Dan, was in a car accident. He survived but his wife and son were both horribly killed. Dan suffers with a great deal of survivor's guilt and Abe offers to take him fishing sometime, hoping that it will do the same good for Dan that it had done for himself. From there, the two become unlikely friends. One day, Dan asks if they can go fishing at a place Abe (and many others) had never heard of before: Dutchman's Creek. Abe agrees and on the way there, they stop at a diner where the owner, Howard, tells a horrifying tale as to what happened at that creek and a man known as The Fisherman.
The Fisherman by John Langan is a literary horror novel of the highest order. It's the kind of book that I think anyone should read--a modern classic on par with Frankenstein and Rebecca.