"Tonight I said Goodbye"
When investigator Wayne Weston is found dead of an apparent suicide in his home in an upscale Cleveland suburb, his wife and five-year-old daughter missing, Lincoln Perry and his partner Joe Pritchard are hired by Weston's father to bring some resolution to the high-profile case.The investigators quickly discover there is much more to the situation than has been described in the prevalent media reports: rumors of gambling debts and extortion, a millionaire real estate tycoon, and a group of Russians with ties to organized crime who don't appreciate being investigated—a point they make clear with baseball bats.
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| Terminal Tower photos |
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| Not my favorites, but some good moments. |
Winner of the annual SMP/PWA Prize for Best First PI Novel and nominated for an Edgar award for the Best First Novel!
"The Ridge"
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In an isolated stretch of eastern Kentucky, on a hilltop known as Blade Ridge, stands a lighthouse that illuminates nothing but the surrounding woods.
For years the lighthouse has been considered no more than an eccentric local landmark — until its builder is found dead at the top of the light, and his belongings reveal a troubling local history.
For years the lighthouse has been considered no more than an eccentric local landmark — until its builder is found dead at the top of the light, and his belongings reveal a troubling local history.
For deputy sheriff Kevin Kimble, the lighthouse-keeper's death is disturbing and personal. Years ago, Kimble was shot while on duty. Somehow the death suggests a connection between the lighthouse and the most terrifying moment of his life.
Audrey Clark is in the midst of moving her large-cat sanctuary onto land adjacent to the lighthouse. Sixty-seven tigers, lions, leopards, and one legendary black panther are about to have a new home there.
Her husband, the sanctuary's founder, died scouting the new property, and Audrey is determined to see his vision through.
Her husband, the sanctuary's founder, died scouting the new property, and Audrey is determined to see his vision through.
As strange occurrences multiply at the Ridge, the animals grow ever more restless, and Kimble and Audrey try to understand what evil forces are moving through this ancient landscape, just past the divide between dark and light.
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Whisper Ridge—Home to Dreams—November 6, 1992-April 27, 1996
So reads the strange epitaph carved beside the door of the home called Whisper Ridge, a multimillion-dollar piece of architectural majesty that once housed the beginnings of a unique program for paroled murderers. It was the passion of Alexandra Sanabria, the daughter of a deceased Mafia don, but the program never got off the ground. Uninhabited for twelve years, the home now remains as a strange monument to dangerous secrets.
Now the investigation is active again and decade-old threats are circling, confronting Perry with a sordid family mystery that will challenge both his abilities as a detective and his commitment to that calling.
"So Cold the River"  |
| West Baden Springs Hotel |
In Bradford's hometown, Eric discovers an extraordinary history—a glorious domed hotel where movie stars, presidents, athletes, and mobsters once mingled, and mineral springs whose miraculous waters were reputed to cure 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 area's dark history. He discovers that something besides the historic resort town 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.
An interview with Michael Koryta on NPR
"The Prophet"
Adam Austin hasn't spoken to his brother in years. When they were teenagers, their sister was abducted and murdered, and their devastated family never recovered. Now Adam keeps to himself, scraping by as a bail bondsman, working so close to the town's criminal fringes that he sometimes seems a part of them.
Kent Austin is the beloved coach of the local high school football team, a religious man and hero in the community. After years of near misses, Kent's team has a shot at the state championship, a welcome point of pride in a town that has had its share of hardships.
Just before playoffs begin, the town and the team are thrown into shock when horrifically, impossibly, another teenage girl is found murdered. When details emerge that connect the crime to the Austin brothers, the two are forced to unite to stop a killer—and to confront their buried rage and grief before history repeats itself again.
