Skip to content
Vendor
Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories

AN HONEST MAN

Michael Koryta

In AN HONEST MAN, the murder of several politicians at sea has shattering implications for a local lobsterman and a young boy.
Israel Pike was a killer, and he was an honest man. They were not mutually exclusive.
After discovering seven men butchered aboard their yacht including two Senate rivals - Israel Pike is regarded as a prime suspect. A troubled man infamous on Salvation Point Island for murdering his own father a decade before, Israel has few options, no friends, and a life-threatening secret.

Elsewhere on the island, 12-year-old Lyman Rankin seeks shelter from his alcoholic father in an abandoned house only to discover that he is not alone. A woman greets him with a hatchet and a promise made in her mysterious French accent: "Make a sound and I'll kill you."

As the investigation barrels forward, Lyman, Israel, and the fate of the case collide in immutable ways. Written with mounting suspense, stirring emotion, and deep understanding of character, Koryta continues to prove why Stephen King has called him "a master" and Michael Connelly has deemed him "one of the best of the best, plain and simple."

MICHAEL KORYTA is the New York Times bestselling author of seventeen novels - including Those Who Wish Me Dead, which has been adapted into a film starring Angelina Jolie and directed by Taylor Sheridan. His previous novels were New York Times notable books, national bestsellers, and have won numerous awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Koryta is a former private investigator and newspaper reporter. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana, and Camden, Maine.
Available products
Book

Published 2023-07-25 by Mulholland

Book

Published 2023-07-01 by Mulholland

Comments

Michael Koryta is one of those writers who has brought Faulknerian prose to the crime novel.

Michael Koryta is an outstanding crime writer. His writing is taut and to the point, his characters are credible, and the Maine setting is brought beautifully to life. And he answers, with complete believability, the question of why people remain on Salvation Point, when poverty and violence surround them.

Israel Pike is a deep, emotionally flawed character who shines enormously on the page, and Lyman Rankin runs with him stride for stride. Michael Koryta is an exceptionally gifted storyteller. Every scene sparkles, from the superlative action scenes to the intimate human threads woven throughout. Take my advice: turn these pages. They will not disappoint.

As in his other novels, Koryta's characters evoke feelings of sympathy, anger, and joy. Readers will stay engaged until the end.

Elegantly written, stark and gorgeous. Michael Koryta is a treasure, and his skillful wisdom with character and setting and emotion are unmatched. An Honest Man will captivate you from page one. It is wry and knowing, ridiculously immersive, and utterly heartbreaking. It's a story that feels not only truly told, but actually true... aching with the bitterness of reality, and the danger that comes not only from greed, but also from love. I will admit, Michael Koryta makes me cry every time. This is a terrific book by a supremely gifted storyteller.

AN HONEST MAN by Michael Kortya has been nominated for the very prestigious 2024 Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Novel by The Mystery Writers of America!

Koryta is a force to be reckoned with in modern suspense, and An Honest Man is one of his finest achievements to date.

This is Koryta's best book. It grabbed me hard and wouldn't let go. A wonderful suspense novel with good writing and lots of texture. It feels like it came straight from the heart.

Bulgaria: Obsidian

Superb... This is top-tier suspense.

We sat down with bestselling crime author Michael Koryta about his latest book. Read more...

Matthew Turbeville had a fascinating conversation with Michael about AN HONEST MAN... Read more...

One of crime fiction's go-to writers.

Michael Koryta's An Honest Man is a hatchet waiting for you in a dark room. This thing is sharp, gloomy, nuanced, violent, strangely elegant, and it smells like salt and blood. From crackling dialogue to complex characters, Koryta delivers everything. As a reader, I love his work. As a writer, I hate how easy he makes it look. Koryta is too damn good.

A macabre ghost ship adrift off the coast of Maine, a nest of islanders bristling with dark history, an ex-con/prodigal son and a lone cop allied against a depraved criminal network, a boy on the run from violence who must shelter a young woman who seems to have emerged from the sea itself - all woven together so deftly, and with such intensity of feeling, that the reader must simply hang on as the waves keep coming - and man do they come. An Honest Man is one hell of a ride, and Michael Koryta is a master at the helm.

we have a real treat for you today. Michael Koryta is back to discuss books set in Maine (including his newest, An Honest Man)... Read more...