Promotional Information

The new thriller from the internationally bestselling author Michael Koryta.

About the Author

Michael Koryta's novels have won the LA Times Book Prize and the Great Lakes Book Award and been nominated for the Edgar, Shamus, Quill and Barry awards. A former private investigator and newspaper reporter, he published his first novel at the age of 21. His work has been translated into 20 languages. A former private investigator and newspaper reporter, Koryta lives in Bloomington, Indiana, and St. Petersburg, Florida.

Reviews

THE PROPHET is a relentless, heart-in-your-throat thriller about ordinary people caught in the middle of an extraordinary nightmare. It's about the sins of the past haunting the hopes of the present and the need to find redemption from the jury of your own conscience. It's also . . . irrefutable proof that [Koryta] has enough game to one day be considered a master of the genre. - Dennis LehaneFriday Night Lights meets In Cold Blood in this powerful tale . . . This book succeeds on any number of levels. It's a brilliantly paced thriller that keeps its villains at a tantalizing distance, a compelling family portrait, a study in morality that goes beyond the usual black-and-white judgments, and an entertaining spin on classic football fiction. A flawless performance. - Kirkus Starred ReviewKoryta triumphantly returns to crime fiction with this multilayered exploration of guilt and redemption . . . [he] has a gift for melding a suspenseful, twisty plot with a probing, unflinching look at his protagonists' weaknesses - Publishers WeeklyEdgar-nominated mystery wunderkind Koryta (he turns 30 this year) has earned kudos from veteran thriller writers Stephen King and Dean Koontz. He proves plenty worthy of praise in this vivid portrayal of a small Midwestern town and the evils that befall it . . . With its crisp writing and steady suspense, this

After three supernatural thrillers, Thriller Award-finalist Koryta (The Ridge) triumphantly returns to crime fiction with this multilayered exploration of guilt and redemption. A momentary lapse has haunted bail bondsman Adam Austin all his life. Some two decades earlier, in his hometown of Chambers, Ohio, the then 18-year-old Adam chose to hang out with his latest love-interest one day rather than walk his 16-year-old sister, Marie Lynn, the five blocks home from school. A predator abducted Marie Lynn and killed her. Since then a gulf has existed between Austin and his then 15-year-old brother, Kent. Old wounds reopen after Adam unintentionally sends another teenage girl, Rachel Bond, to her death. The parallel events compel him to vow to not only catch but kill the person responsible. That Rachel's boyfriend happens to be the star receiver for the Chambers high school football team coached by Kent forces the brothers to reconnect. Like Laura Lippman, Koryta has a gift for melding a suspenseful, twisty plot with a probing, unflinching look at his protagonists' weaknesses. Agent: David Hale Smith, Inkwell Management. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Brothers Adam and Kent Austin have been estranged for years over the events that led to their sister's murder while they were in high school. Each, in his own way and for his own reasons, has chosen to associate with criminals in his adult life. Adam is a bail bondsman; Kent is the local high school football coach who serves as part-time spiritual counselor in a nearby prison. The murder of a teenage girl that mirrors their sister's killing and that seems to implicate them reunites the Austin siblings. As local police and the FBI work to solve the case, the brothers' feelings of family loyalty and need result in a tenuous love-hate relationship that leads to mistrust, misjudgment, and disaster. Verdict Koryta's (The Ridge) latest thriller powerfully portrays the angst of the dysfunctional family stretched to the breaking point by blame and guilt. The tension and suspense is relieved only by scenes depicting Kent's football team in fierce combat at the state finals. Gut-wrenching at every level. [See Prepub Alert, 4/19/12.]-Thomas L. Kilpatrick, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ. Carbondale Lib. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.