An Honest Man

A Novel

Contributors

By Michael Koryta

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$19.99

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$25.99 CAD

In this breathtaking thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Wish Me Dead, the murder of several politicians at sea shatters the world of a local lobsterman who must prove his innocence and save his own life.​

Israel Pike was a killer, and he was an honest man. They were not mutually exclusive.

After discovering seven men murdered aboard their yacht – including two Senate rivals – Israel Pike is regarded as a prime suspect. A troubled man infamous on Salvation Point Island for killing 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 mysterious woman greets him with a hatchet and a promise: “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 David Baldacci has called him “an exceptionally gifted storyteller” and Michael Connelly has deemed him “one of the best of the best, plain and simple.”

  • A Tampa Bay Times Best Book of 2023

    “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."
    Stephen King
  • “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."
    David Baldacci, bestselling author of Long Shadows
  • “Michael Koryta is one of those writers who has brought Faulknerian prose to the crime novel.”
    James Lee Burke, bestselling author of Every Cloak Rolled in Blood and The Neon Rain
  • “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."
    Gabino Iglesias, author of the Edgar and Stoker Award-nominated The Devil Takes You Home
  • "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."
     
    Tim Johnston, NYT Bestselling author of Descent and The Current
  • "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."
    Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling and award-winning author
  • "Superb . . . This is top-tier suspense."
    Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
  • "As in his other novels, Koryta's characters evoke feelings of sympathy, anger, and joy. Readers will stay engaged until the end." 
    Library Journal
  • "One of crime fiction's go-to writers."
    Kirkus Reviews
  • "Koryta is a force to be reckoned with in modern suspense, and An Honest Man is one of his finest achievements to date."
     
    Bruce Tierney, BookPage
  • "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."
    Marilyn Brooks, Marilyn's Mystery Reads

On Sale
Jul 16, 2024
Page Count
384 pages
Publisher
Mulholland Books
ISBN-13
9780316535960

Michael Koryta

About the Author

Michael Koryta is the New York Times bestselling author of 12 suspense novels, including Rise the DarkLast Words, Those Who Wish Me Dead, The ProphetThe Ridge, and So Cold The River.  His work has been praised by Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Dennis Lehane, Daniel Woodrell, Ron Rash, and Scott Smith among many others, and has been translated into more than 20 languages. His books have 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.

Before turning to writing full-time, Koryta worked as a private investigator, a newspaper reporter, and taught at the Indiana University School of Journalism. Koryta’s first novel, the Edgar-nominated Tonight I Said Goodbye, was accepted for publication when he was 20 years old. He wrote his first two published novels before graduating from college, and was published in nearly 10 languages before he fulfilled the “writing requirement ” classes required for his diploma.

Koryta was raised in Bloomington, Indiana, where he graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

Koryta and his wife, Christine, divide their time between Bloomington and Camden, Maine, with a cranky cat named Marlowe, an emotionally disturbed cat named John Pryor (named after the gravestone on which he was found as an abandoned kitten), and a dog of unknown heritage named Lola.

 

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