Tag: Michael Koryta

 

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!

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!!

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