An Honest Man

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

After discovering seven men butchered aboard their yacht – including two Senate rivals – Israel Pike is regarded as a prime suspect. A troubled man infamous on Salvation Point Island for murdering 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 Stephen King has called him “a master” and Michael Connelly has deemed him “one of the best of the best, plain and simple.”

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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. Feels like it came straight from the heart.

– Stephen King

Michael Koryta is one of those writers who has brought Faulknerian prose to the crime novel.

– James Lee Burke

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

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

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

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

Finely wrought characters dealing with real human pain seamlessly interwoven into a twisty, suspenseful narrative of class and violence in a coastal Maine town.

– Mark Roybal, executive producer of MARE OF EASTTOWN and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

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