Cold Moon Over Babylon is a novel written by Michael McDowell. It was first published in 1980.
Description[]
Terror grows in Babylon, a typical sleepy Southern town with its throbbing sun and fog-shrouded swamps.
Margaret Larkin has been robbed of her innocence -- and her life. Her killer is rich and powerful, beyond the grasp of earthly law.
Now, in the murky depths of the local river, a shifting, almost human shape slowly takes form. Night after night it will pursue the murderer. It will watch him from the trees. And in the chill waters of the river, it will claim him in the ultimate embrace.
The cold moon rises, the awful squishing sounds begin...