New Releases by Michael Koryta

Stunning."—Publishers Weekly (starred review) Whisper Ridge is a multimillion-dollar piece of architectural majesty that once housed a unique program for paroled murderers. The program never got off the ground, however, despite the passion of Alexandra Cantrell, daughter of a notorious Mafia don, and her husband, Joshua. Twelve years later, the uninhabited house is in ruins. It remains a strange monument to dangerous secrets...until Joshua''s bones are found buried deep in the forest. "The inventive plot of The Silent Hour surprises right up to the end."—St. Petersburg Times Private investigator Lincoln Perry isn''t thrilled about having to unearth this enduring mystery—one that continues to capture the media''s attention. His new client is no picnic either: Parker Harrison served fifteen years for murder but claims Alexandra Cantrell''s intervention saved his life. Following a trail that leads straight to the heart of Cleveland''s organized crime scene, Perry finds himself immersed in a case that challenges his abilities as a detective and his commitment to that calling. Now he''s glancing over his shoulder at every turn—and pushing the bounds of safety even as he backs away... "Michael Koryta is one of the best of the best...his Lincoln Perry is going to be around for a long, long time."—Michael Connelly

Now a major motion picture: So Cold the River is a chilling, supernatural tale "guaranteed to put the cold finger down your spine" (Michael Connelly). It started with a beautiful woman and a challenge. As a gift for her husband, Alyssa Bradford approaches Eric Shaw to make a documentary about her father-in-law, Campbell Bradford, a 95-year-old billionaire whose past is wrapped in mystery. Eric grabs the job even though there are few clues to the man''s past -- just the name of his hometown and an antique water bottle he''s kept his entire life. In Bradford''s hometown, Eric discovers an extraordinary history -- a glorious domed hotel where movie stars, presidents, athletes, and mobsters once mingled, and hot springs whose miraculous mineral water cured everything from insomnia to malaria. Neglected for years, the resort has been restored to its former grandeur just in time for Eric''s stay. Just hours after his arrival, Eric experiences a frighteningly vivid vision. As the days pass, the frequency and intensity of his hallucinations increase and draw Eric deeper into the town''s dark history. He discovers that something besides the hotel has been restored -- a long-forgotten evil that will stop at nothing to regain its lost glory. Brilliantly imagined and terrifyingly real, So Cold the River is a tale of irresistible suspense with a racing, unstoppable current.

Michael Koryta''s Envy the Night is the 2008 winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for best mystery/thriller. In the seven years since he learned that his U.S. marshal father lead a double life as a contract killer--and committed suicide to avoid prosecution--Frank Temple III has mostly drifted through life. But when he learns that Devin Matteson, the man who lured his father into the killing game only to later give him up to the FBI, is returning to the isolated Wisconsin lake that was once sacred ground for their families, it''s a homecoming Frank can''t allow. Frank finds Matteson''s old cabin occupied by a strange, beautiful woman and a nervous man with a gun. But when a pair of assassins arrives on their heels, he knows Matteson can''t be far behind. The wise move would be to get out of town--but that doesn''t feel right. After all, contract killer or not, Frank''s father was at heart a teacher. And his son was an excellent student....

Following the murder of prominent attorney Alex Jefferson, Cleveland private detective Lincoln Perry is called in by the victim''s widow to help locate Jefferson''s estranged son, only to find himself the prime suspect in the killing of the missing man.

A remarkable debut mystery from the award-winning author of the 2003 St. Martin''s Press/Private Eye Writers of America Prize for Best First Private Eye Novel. Michael Koryta''s Tonight I Said Goodbye marks the emergence of a stunning new voice in crime fiction. With its edge-of-your-seat pacing, finely drawn characters, and rock-solid prose, Tonight I Said Goodbye would seem to be the work of a grizzled pro; the fact that the author is just twenty-one years old makes it all the more amazing. Investigator Wayne Weston is found dead of an apparent suicide in his home in an upscale Cleveland suburb, and his wife and six-year-old daughter are missing. Weston''s father insists that private investigators Lincoln Perry and Joe Pritchard take the case to exonerate his son and find his granddaughter and daughter-in-law. As they begin to work they discover there is much more to the situation than has been described in the prevalent media reports. There are rumors of gambling debts and extortion, and a group of Russians with ties to organized crime who don''t appreciate being investigated--a point they make clear with baseball bats. With some assistance from newspaper reporter Amy Ambrose, Perry and Pritchard believe they are making swift progress. But then they are warned off the investigation by a millionaire real estate tycoon and the FBI. Just when they feel they are closing in on a possible source of answers, another murder forces them to change direction in the case. Perry travels to a resort town in South Carolina and there he finds more than one game being played, and all of them are deadly. The stakes quickly become very personal for Perry, and it''s clear that there will be no walking away from this case. In a debut that has already garnered praise from some of today''s top writers, Michael Koryta immediately establishes himself as a standard bearer for the next generation of crime writers. Tonight I Said Goodbye is a 2005 Edgar Award Nominee for Best First Novel.

Once Lincoln Perry and Ed Gradduk were friends. Then Perry became a cop, Gradduk turned dangerous, and their friendship imploded. Now, Gradduk is dead. And Perry wants to use his PI license to prove that whatever else his childhood friend might have been, he wasn''t a murderer. For the police, this case is over. The woman Gradduk is alleged to have killed can''t tell her side of the story, and the building she entered with him has burned to the ground. But Perry is making connections to a wave of arson that struck Cleveland seventeen years ago-fires that lit up the dark secrets of two families, a local powerbroker, and at least one crooked cop. Now Perry and his partner can see ties between the past and present, between innocents and criminals-and sirens that keep playing... With an intense exploration of both character and crime, Sorrow''s Anthem establishes Michael Koryta as one of the top young mystery writers in America today.