I have been a fan of author Michael Koryta ever since way back in 2003? And after two terrific books I am now a fan of his alter-ego Scott Carson. And I think Scott Carson’s latest release  Lost Man’s Lane just may be Scott’s best novel. As such it also makes it Michael’s best! 

The Story

The story grabbed me from the beginning, when Marshall Miller was pulled over by a policeman on the first time he took the car out after getting his license. The police man was very surly and while Marshall was receiving his ticket he noticed in his rear view mirror a young girl is sitting in the backseat of the police car looking terrified and crying. She was wearing a t-shirt of a restaurant that had closed years ago! 

Soon posters are put up concerning a missing girl from a neighboring town, Marshall recognizes the girl, She was the one in the back of the police car. When Marshall goes to the police to report what he saw he discovers that there are no police officers with the name he’s reporting. As a result, Marshall sets out on a quest to discover what was happening. He is soon in contact with a private investigator who is investigating the case. The PI hires Marshall as an assistant for the summer. 

The story takes many twists and turns as the investigation unravels. And the story because not only a horror/mystery story but also a coming of age story, with an ending that upturns Marshall’s life!

Bottom Line

The bottom line is go find and read Lost Man’s Lane, you won’t be sorry! It’s a terrific book on so many different levels. I think it would  make a great book club read. If anyone else has read it I would love to know what you thought about it. 

While your at it you can also check out Scott’s two other books The Chill and Where They Wait. All three books are high recommended!

As for me I have to wait until next April to read my next Scott Cason book Departure 37

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About Scott Carson

Scott Carson is the pen name for a New York Times bestselling author and screenwriter Michael Koryta. He lives in New England.

Michael Koryta is a New York Times-bestselling author whose work has been translated into more than 20 languages and has won or been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Edgar® Award, Shamus Award, Barry Award, Quill Award, International Thriller Writers Award, and the Golden Dagger. They’ve been selected as “best books of the year” by numerous publications. Michael Kortya for More

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Table of Contents

Originally posted June 2018 Revised Updated April 2026

A Goodreads friend always opens her reviews with the first sentence of the book being reviewed. I thought of her, when I started Michael Koryta’s latest book.

First Sentence: I’d never seen him before the day we killed him.

The Story

That statement comes from the confession of. Kimberly Crepeaux to the double murder of Jackie Pelletier and Ian Kelly in the Maine town of Port Hope. Kimberly gave her confession to FBI special agent Rob Barrett. Barrett had been assigned the case because of his interview skills. Additionally, he has past connections to Post Hope. Barrett spent his summers with his grandfather in the town and his former girlfriend reporter Liz Smith lives nearby.

In her confession Kimberly told Barrett how the murders happened. According to Kimberly, the  murders happened on a night when she was cruising with Cass Odom and Mathias Burke. The trio is drunk and high when they kill Jackie accidentally. They then murdered Ian, the only witness to the crime. 

Because Burke was hard-working owner of a lawn and house care service and Kimberly a druggie, no one in town except Barrett, believed Kimberly’s story.  All Barrett needs to close the case are the bodies.

At this point I don’t want to give away more of the plot but two questions arise.

First, Will finding the bodies confirm Kimberly’s story?  

Secondly, Will not finding the bodies destroy Barrett’s career? All BECAUSE he still believes her story?

Bottom Line:  

I have read many of Koryta’s books both his stand alone novels like The Program and Those Who Wish Me Dead. along with several of his Lincoln Perry series books. And they are all good reads.

However, I think I like this one the most. I just loved the way the story flowed. When I first started the book which begins with Kimberly’s confession, I thought where does he go from here. Well, from there he spun a wonderful tale. A tale that proved you may think you have it all figured out,but in reality you don’t know jack!!

The bottom line Is that Michael Koryta’s books keep getting better and better. And  in my opinion How It Happened may be his best work yet! Additionally, I think he may have created in Rob Barrett and Liz Smith characters that we may see again. At least I hope so. Actually, I hope we will see Lincoln Perry and Mark Novak (Rise the Dark and Last words) again!

Here’s what author Nelson DeMille writes about How It Happened.…

“Michael Koryta is one hell of a writer, and HOW IT HAPPENED is one hell of a murder mystery. It’s a tribute to Koryta’s craftsmanship and skill that the reader…can’t put the book down until the last layer of the onion is peeled away to reveal the truth at the core of this gripping tale…. A remarkable achievement that rises high above the genre.”

Links

Author’s Website
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About Michael Koryta

Michael Koryta is a New York Times-bestselling author whose work has been translated into more than 20 languages and has won or been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Edgar® Award, Shamus Award, Barry Award, Quill Award, International Thriller Writers Award, and the Golden Dagger. They’ve been selected as “best books of the year” by numerous publications.

 

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The Silent Hour – Michael Koryta – Lincoln Perry #4

My first introduction to the books of Michael Koryta was via his Lincoln Perry detective series.I read books two and three in the series.Why I never read book one, I don’t know. Most recently I’ve read a couple of his stand-alone thrillers (A couple of the others are on my “to be read” shelves).

Frankly, I haven’t thought about Lincoln Perry for several years. That was until I spotted The Silent Hour book four in the series at my library a few weeks ago.When I saw it, I remembered how much I liked the books. I was not thrilled when he ended the series. Anyway, I checked it out and now it’s book 31 for 2016.

The Plot…..

The Silent Hour could be subtitled “the case Lincoln Perry didn’t want.” That’s because from the moment ex-con and self-confessed  Parker Harrison asks Lincoln to find the missing Alexandra Cantrell, Lincoln is not thrilled. Alexandra and her husband Joshua had provided a semi halfway house for ex-cons called Whisper Ridge. Alexandra and Joshua gave the ex-cons employment around their majestic  home and a chance to get back their dreams. Parker had been one of those ex-cons the Cantrells helped.

Then the Cantrells suddenly disappeared abandoning the multi-million dollar mountainside home. Two aspects of the case made it less than attractive for Lincoln. First the Cantrells had been missing for twelve years and secondly Alexandra was the daughter of a mob boss! Ex-cons and  mob bosses – what could go wrong?

Lincoln was ready to walk away from the case when he discovered that the bones of Joshua Cantrell were found in Pennsylvania. They had been found at about the time Lincoln was first contacted by Parker. Why hadn’t Parker mentioned the bones being found?  Hmm, the case was getting more and more intriguing.When a PI shows up from Pa. asking Lincoln’s help in finding out what happened to Joshua. Lincoln is sucked into the mystery! But will the case be the last case for Lincoln?

Bottom-line

The Silent Hour is certainly a four-star book for me. The plot twists and turns and just when you think you’ve figured it out- you haven’t! I have enjoyed the interplay between all of the main characters in the series, Lincoln and his girlfriend Amy Ambrose and his partner Joe Pritchard. This book is no exception, even though Joe is in Florida miles from Cleveland. From The St. Petersberg Times….

The inventive plot of The Silent Hour surprises right up to the end, and in Perry, Koryta has created a classic tough detective—a man with enough dark passages in his own past to recognize them in others, a bulldog who just can’t let go until the ending of the story is told, no matter how close to hell it takes him.”

Final Thought

I  wrote earlier that I have enjoyed this series and was sad to see it end. however having checked back in with the books of Michael Koryta I discovered that he has a new PI series featuring. Mark Novak book one Last Words  was released in  August of 2015 and book two Rise of the Dark will be released on August 16th of this year. I just went to Amazon and bought the Kindle Edition for $2.99  Check that out here. I look forward to checking them out! Once again though, those two standalones are waiting to be read! Too many books too little time!

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Table of Contents

Those Who Wish Me Dead are the sadistic and evil Blackwell brothers, who Jace Wilson saw murder a man in a quarry in Indiana.

Their quest to hunt down and kill Jace leads the Blackwell brothers to the mountains of  Montana , where Ethan and Allison Serbin run a summer survival training program for troubled youths.

Jace was placed in the program by Jamie Bennett ,who was a former student of Serbin’s, Arriving in a snowstorm, Bennett asks Ethan’s help in getting Jace “off the grid” to protect him, something Bennett does not think she can do by herself.

Although both Allison and Ethan have doubts about Bennett, they agree to help for the sake of the boy.  Soon the Blackwell brothers arrive, bringing their evil to the mountains.

Can Ethan and Allison keep their promise to keep Connor safe?  The task becomes more difficult when Jace, sets out to escape from the brothers, alone!

 While the brother’s bring evil and a devastating fire to the mountains, Jace encounters an ex-elite firefighter Hannah Faber, who joins the fight to keep Jace safe.

 So begins Michael Kortya’s latest book Those Who Wish Me Dead about which Harlan Coben says…..

“Warnng: Michael Koryta‘s wonderful, riveting, and harrowing Those Who Wish Me Dead may just move you to tears. Enjoy at Your Own Risk” 

My Thoughts

I have been a reader of Michael Koryta’s work since I read several of the books in his Lincoln Perry series. (Note to self find The Silent Hour Lincoln Perry #4) I have enjoyed all of his books that I have read, they are typically filled with lots of action and a good story line and this one  joins the group!!

I don’t think that Koryta is as descriptive of either his characters or the setting of the story as other authors that  read but he does a great job holding your interest until the end.

At first, I wasn’t sure about the book, a survivalist teacher and a group of boys with two evil men on their trail, ho hum! But that’s not the way that the story develops at all!!

Actually, it seemed to me it became a quest for Jace to overcome his fears, for Hannah to  make amends for decisions that she made as a firefighter and Ethan to prove to a military father that he was capable of killing when necessary!

Bottom Line

Bottom line: a very good adventure that should make a terrific movie, so read it now so you’ll be ready to compare the two!!

Grade: A-     I figured out certain aspects of the story too early, but the action, twists,  and the details about forest fires and tracking overcame that!!

Links

Author’s Website
Goodreads
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About Michael Koryta

Michael Koryta is a New York Times-bestselling author whose work has been translated into more than 20 languages and has won or been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Edgar® Award, Shamus Award, Barry Award, Quill Award, International Thriller Writers Award, and the Golden Dagger. They’ve been selected as “best books of the year” by numerous publications.

 

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Book 34 for 2012 is the latest from Michael Koryta The Prophet. I have read a couple of the books in the Lincoln Perry  series and really liked the series! I also started one of Koryta’s stand-alone novels So Cold the River, got bogged down in the middle, and never finished it, so I’ve stayed away from some of his other books, passing them up for other reads. Well, I’m sorry that I have and will need to go back and make up for that after reading The Prophet. 

The Prophet revolves around brothers Adam and Kent Austin. Twenty-two years ago, Austin was supposed to take his sister home from school, he didn’t, he went to be with his girlfriend, Chelsea who was leaving town. What could go wrong it was only three blocks. lots she didn’t make it! Several days later her body was found and a family was shattered forever. Twenty-two years later, Adam is marking time as a bail bondsman, while Kent is the successful head coach of their high school football team the Chambers Cardinals, who are on their way to an undefeated season and a state championship, that is until the girlfriend of the teams star receiver is found brutally murdered. Soon the murder is tied to the Austin brothers and Adam and Kent who through the years have not even spoken must now work together to not only solve this crime, but deal with the memories of their sister!

The book was a couldn’t put down page turner for me, with characters that I think will stay with me for a long time! It was a starred Kirkus review. From the review:

Friday Night Lights meets In Cold Blood in this powerful tale of distant brothers whose torment over the murder of their sister when they were teens is compounded by the murder of another targeted teenage girl–a killing one of the brothers is determined to avenge even if that means committing murder himself.

Author Elin Hilderbrand says:

A delicious read, intricately woven, with characters who are impossible to forget. Michael Koryta excites and satisifes on every level. 

So check out The Prophet. As for me,  The Cypress House and The Ridge that have been added to my to be read list!!

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