The Cypress House - Softcover

Koryta, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0316053694 ISBN 13: 9780316053693

Publisher: Lb Books, 2012

Synopsis

Arlen Wagner has seen it in men before--a trace of smoke in their eyes that promises imminent death. He is never wrong.

So when he awakens on a train one hot Florida night and sees death's telltale sign in the eyes of his fellow passengers, he abandons the train with nineteen-year-old Paul Brickhill. Soon the two men are stranded at the Cypress House--directly in the path of a hurricane. But there are much deadlier threats than the storm in this place, and Arlen's eerie gift warns that they'll never leave. From its chilling beginning to terrifying end, The Cypress House is a story of relentless suspense from the novelist Michael Connelly calls "one of the best of the best."

About this title

Review:

Gangsters, a silent but heroic drifter with second sight, and a whopper of a Florida hurricane. How can you go wrong? (Stephen King)

Koryta builds tension deftly and discreetly... Koryta gives us an intricate and satisfying thriller with a very human heart to its evil. He evokes post-Prohibition America, the grind and the grit and the poverty, with great skill. Koryta is better known in the US, where he's won a handful of prizes, but he deserves to make a name for himself here too. (Observer)

Michael Koryta is one of the most exciting new voices in crime fiction. He stands out from the crowd by virtue of an easy elegance in his prose style, a consuming interest in America's turbulent history and a knack for successfully incorporating elements of the supernatural into his stories. This novel may be his best yet . . . [a] wonderfully gripping slice of prime Americana (Mail on Sunday)

The tension is cranked up expertly by Koryta, who creates the perfect atmosphere. And like his hero, he possesses an unusual gift - the ability to write a sure-fire bestseller. (News of the World)

What makes the novel so gripping, apart from Koryta's scalpel-sharp prose and eye for detail, is the characterisation of Wagner, a laconic drifter haunted by the past. Recommended. (Guardian)

A striking scare story... a tale of swampland corruption and brutality mixed with a dose of the paranormal that makes it no surprise that Dean Koontz is one of Koryta's admirers... Never less than gripping and with the element of the supernatural blending strangely seamlessly with the murderous reality, Koryta has crafted a noir novel that simultaneously echoes of the 1948 film Key Largo, starring Humphry Bogart, and the Eagles' Hotel California. (The Times)

A supernatural mystery that intensifies the suspense by thickening the atmosphere . . . Koryta sets a beautiful scene (New York Times Book Review on SO COLD THE RIVER)

Koryta is incredibly adept and assured as a writer, and wonderfully evokes the swampy, sweltering claustrophobia of the deeply corrupt Depression era Corridor County. The Cypress House is a great read and firmly establishes Koryta as one of my 'must read' authors. (Crime and Publishing blog)

A wonderfully evocative novel. The narrative is sumptuous and atmospheric, just what I've come to expect from Michael Koryta... The Cypress House is by no means your average thriller. Koryta blends the supernatural with a dark psychological narrative, taut until its captivating conclusion. Few authors can command an audience like Koryta and yet again he delivers a magnificent yet exhausting novel educing the harsh realities of post-prohibition America - a must-read for sure. (milorambles blog)

Michael Koryta's rich storytelling skills in The Cypress House demonstrate writing at its very best. Following the huge success of So Cold The River, with such a spellbindingly brilliant - yet entirely different - novel, shows Koryta is here to stay... a tour de force that is destined to take a high place of honour in the pantheon of great, supernatural thrillers. (chrishigh blog)

Book Description:

'Few novelists warrant mention alongside Stephen King or Peter Straub. Michael Koryta, however, earns comparison to both.' - Dennis Lehane

About this edition

• Publisher: Lb Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0316053694
• ISBN 13: 9780316053693
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464