So Cold the River

I fell victim to promotions and borrowed this book after hearing a preview at the end of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The first chapter seemed interesting. A failed filmmaker has a knack for identifying important things in people's life. After witnessing a funeral slide show he created, a woman hired him to do a project on her father-in-law's life in French Lick, Indiana.
The book continues with us learning more about his life. He is on the outs with his wife - mostly because he feels dejected for his failed film career. His anger seems to get the best of him.
Once in Indiana, he discovers that the namesake of the person he is researching had lived long ago and would now be well over 100. He also drank some of the mineral water from the area (Pluto Water). This caused him to have hallucinations where he felt he was experience events that occurred in the area. He discovered that his subject was notoriously evil. He also became "addicted" to the water, and would have serious withdrawal symptoms. He hooks up with another out of towner that is also doing research in the area (his family has connected with the black hotel economy of the area.) He does find that "original" water from an elderly widow helps relieve the cravings, while letting him experience situations from a distance. We also meet a Josiah Bradford, a good-for-nothing descendant of the research subject. He is the bad guy and eventually "becomes" the historical figure they are trying to research. There is a huge storm that comes through the area, with everything reaching a simultaneous climax before everyone lives happily ever after.
The book piqued my interest in the area of Indiana. (Apparently, the old hotels in the area inspired the author to write the book.) The book is fast moving and doesn't try to spend much time explaining why some of the supernatural things occur. Some of the key twists (like HAM radio) are fairly well broadcast, though there are some curve-balls. Amazon has it categorized as "horror", though contemporary fantasy may be a better categorization.