I love this author. There are no complaints from me with this one. I like the pace, characters are very memorable and really good twists through out. Only this is our main character does slightly remind me of Lincon Perry from his P.I. Series but only similarities and it's not a bad thing! Highly recommend!

Good for what it was. There was some brief hope of a strong female character, but that went away at some point.

My blog post about this book is at this link.

Frank Temple III grew up never having to wonder if his dad loved him. His father, Frank Temple II, was supportive and present and loving. The only problem: he was also a hit man, a murderer for hire. When the FBI finally cornered Frank II, he committed suicide, leaving behind the younger Frank, conflicted and lost. Frank III was only seventeen and society had deemed his father a monster. Frank knew his father to be different, but then how do you reconcile the father with the hit man? Especially when you're seventeen?

Frank knew his father had done bad things, but he still vowed that, given the chance, he would kill the man responsible for turning in his father to the authorities, Devin Matteson. Seven years later when he receives a call from Ezra Ballard announcing Devin's return to Wisconsin, Frank packs up his few belongings and heads for the lake house that contains all his cherished family memories.

Koryta has done it again. Each time I pick up a new work penned by this master, I'm amazed that it's possible to outdo the last one. He somehow manages to accomplish that fete.

Koryta has veered from his usual style in Envy the Night. Not only has he created a new set of characters, but he's also changed his point of view, writing in third person limited this time instead of first. And he didn't miss a beat. I enjoyed the way the limited view changed, allowing for some insightful thoughts to be revealed from various characters. It also helped to heighten the theme of the novel, life is mostly an area of gray - very rarely is it ever as easy as black and white.

That theme comes through in EVERY character. Koryta has a gift with characterization and that gift seems to heighten with every novel. One factor I always look for in "great" characters is depth. Characters who know everything and somehow have the skills to fit every situation - they have no depth; they are simply flat characters; the superhero character has been done to death. Give me a REAL character. One who has flaws like the rest of the human race; one who has doubts and concerns and conflictions. Those are the characters you see in Koryta's novels. Frank Temple II is a prime example of this. I couldn't help but think of the character Michael Sullivan in the movie, The Road to Perdition. Many people said that the reason you liked Sullivan in the movie was because America just can't dislike Tom Hanks. But I don't think that's true. Instead I think the same dilemma came into play that does with Frank Temple II: the character had admirable qualities; he wasn't completely evil. Both characters truly loved their families, and that's admirable.

A lot of times it is easier on a reader for the character to be flat. Then you aren't faced, like Frank, with the confliction of feelings that are elicited. It's easy to completely hate or completely love a character. But Koryta doesn't let you off that easy. He evokes an array of emotion in his reader from every angle. Another prime example of this is Jerry, the crotchety old guy working for Nora Stafford. As his character is being built up, he fits every stereotype of the chauvinist pig.

Jerry constantly gives Nora a hard time, and he resents working for a woman. But, when he discovers that some out-of-towners roughed Nora up, he does an about face and a devoted friend shows up in his character. Koryta shows the reader, through Jerry, that it's easy to pass judgment superficially, but when you see inside the character, it isn't so easy to completely dislike - or love - him/her. Koryta sums up his theme with a great phrase, "consideration before conclusion."

Koryta did a bang-up job with the characters in this novel, and plot just drove the book home. This book was full of twists and turns. By this, Koryta's fourth book, I should know better than to think I can figure out the ending mid-way through. Koryta had me chasing my tail on this one; that's for sure. While I couldn't believe he'd be blatant about what the outcome was, it seemed like there was no other possibility - WRONG! And just when you think you've got the plot down, he throws another twist in the mix. I did have some sneaking suspicions about the outcome, but once the action hit full tilt, I forgot those suspicions had ever even existed. I was too caught up in the suspense to be making predictions.

Having a great plot to immerse yourself in is a treat in and of itself. But Koryta always adds that something extra special in his mastery of the English language. There are devices and phrases and descriptions threaded throughout the entire novel that just make me stop and reread. I just want to hear them over in my head because they are so effective.

Early in the novel Koryta uses alliteration. O.k., it isn't a new concept. Most anyone can come up with some alliteration, but the statement was "No punishment, no penance, no pain." Frank is thinking about Devin Matteson and how he got off scot-free by handing the feds Frank II on a platter. Can't you just hear the aggression, the spittle in the "p" sounds? The gritted teeth? The utter anger? Koryta didn't need an exclamation point - or an emoticon - on that phrase. The magic is in the words, and Koryta knows how to pick them.

And of course, a work by Koryta wouldn't be complete without some humor thrown in to lighten the mood. But what I want to know is exactly WHEN he was at my house to get the description of the furniture in Nora's dad's house? "Say this much for Dad's furniture, she thought, it looks like something you'd want to hide even at a garage sale, but it's comfortable."

This is definitely a book to be reread. I'm sure I'll pick up even more on the next pass through, and it isn't likely to lose any of the magic.

Magnificent!

This is the Kortya I first read--fast paced, good plot with twists, and enough character development to keep a book snob from putting it down.

Not only was this not my kind of suspense, but the writing was only so-so. Took me forever to get through it.

This is the 3rd book of Michael Koryta I've read, but not my favorite. I had a hard time getting into the story of this one. I like his books that have more of a supernatural vibe to them. I liked the characters of this book and felt he did a good job in the description and characterization of them, but for me, it fell flat compared to the other books of his I've read.