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The Prophet
Michael Koryta, long hailed as one of the best young thriller writers at work today, has written his greatest novel ever - an emotionally harrowing, unstoppably suspenseful novel that proves why Michael Connelly has named him "one of the best of the best."
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.
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.
399 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
364 people are currently reading
5923 people want to read
About the author
Michael Koryta
51 books2,522 followersMichael Koryta (pronounced Ko-ree-ta) is the New York Times-bestselling author of 14 suspense novels. His work has been praised by Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Dennis Lehane, Daniel Woodrell, Ron Rash, and Scott Smith among many others, and has been translated into more than 20 languages. His books have won or been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Edgar® Award, Shamus Award, Barry Award, Quill Award, International Thriller Writers Award, and the Golden Dagger. They've been selected as "best books of the year" by publications as diverse as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Amazon.com, O the Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, People, Reader's Digest, iBooks, and Kirkus Reviews.
His recent thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead was named the summer's best thriller by both Amazon and Entertainment Weekly, and was selected as one of the year's best books by more than 10 publications. The audio version was named one of the best audio books of the year, as well, the second time that Robert Petkoff's narration of Michael's work has earned such an honor. The novel is currently being adapted as a major motion picture by 20th Century Fox.
Michael's previous work ranges from a trio of supernatural novels--So Cold the River, The Cypress House, and The Ridge, which were all named New York Times notable books of the year and earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly--to stand-alone crime novels such as The Prophet (A New York Times bestseller) and Envy the Night (selected as a Reader's Digest condensed book), to a series of award-winning novels featuring private investigator Lincoln Perry--Tonight I Said Goodbye, Sorrow's Anthem, A Welcome Grave, and The Silent Hour.
Various film and television adaptations of the books are underway, with The Prophet, So Cold the River, The Cypress House, and Those Who Wish Me Dead all optioned as feature films, and the Lincoln Perry series and The Ridge being developed for television. Michael has written for the screen in both feature film and television. Oscar and Emmy winners are attached to every project.
Before turning to writing full-time, Michael worked as a private investigator and as a newspaper reporter, and taught at the Indiana University School of Journalism. He began working for a private investigator as an intern while in high school, turned it into his day job in the early stages of his writing career, and still maintains an interest in the firm. As a journalist, he won numerous awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Michael's first novel, the Edgar-nominated Tonight I Said Goodbye was accepted for publication when he was 20 years old. He wrote his first two published novels before graduating from college, and was published in nearly 10 languages before he fulfilled the "writing requirement" classes required for his diploma.
Michael was raised in Bloomington, Indiana, where he graduated from Bloomington North High School in 2001, and later graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. In 2008 he was honored as a "distinguished young alumni" by Indiana University, and in 2010 he was named "distinguished alumni' by the criminal justice department.
Michael's passions outside of writing and reading involve a variety of outdoor pursuits - hiking, camping, boating, and fishing are all likely to occupy his free time when he's not working on a new book. Some of his favorite spots in the world are the Beartooth Mountains, the setting of Those Who Wish Me Dead and a place to which he returns at least twice a year; the flowages of the Northwoods in Wisconsin, where he began fishing with his father as a child and still returns each fall; St. Petersburg, FL, and the Maine coast.
His recent thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead was named the summer's best thriller by both Amazon and Entertainment Weekly, and was selected as one of the year's best books by more than 10 publications. The audio version was named one of the best audio books of the year, as well, the second time that Robert Petkoff's narration of Michael's work has earned such an honor. The novel is currently being adapted as a major motion picture by 20th Century Fox.
Michael's previous work ranges from a trio of supernatural novels--So Cold the River, The Cypress House, and The Ridge, which were all named New York Times notable books of the year and earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly--to stand-alone crime novels such as The Prophet (A New York Times bestseller) and Envy the Night (selected as a Reader's Digest condensed book), to a series of award-winning novels featuring private investigator Lincoln Perry--Tonight I Said Goodbye, Sorrow's Anthem, A Welcome Grave, and The Silent Hour.
Various film and television adaptations of the books are underway, with The Prophet, So Cold the River, The Cypress House, and Those Who Wish Me Dead all optioned as feature films, and the Lincoln Perry series and The Ridge being developed for television. Michael has written for the screen in both feature film and television. Oscar and Emmy winners are attached to every project.
Before turning to writing full-time, Michael worked as a private investigator and as a newspaper reporter, and taught at the Indiana University School of Journalism. He began working for a private investigator as an intern while in high school, turned it into his day job in the early stages of his writing career, and still maintains an interest in the firm. As a journalist, he won numerous awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Michael's first novel, the Edgar-nominated Tonight I Said Goodbye was accepted for publication when he was 20 years old. He wrote his first two published novels before graduating from college, and was published in nearly 10 languages before he fulfilled the "writing requirement" classes required for his diploma.
Michael was raised in Bloomington, Indiana, where he graduated from Bloomington North High School in 2001, and later graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. In 2008 he was honored as a "distinguished young alumni" by Indiana University, and in 2010 he was named "distinguished alumni' by the criminal justice department.
Michael's passions outside of writing and reading involve a variety of outdoor pursuits - hiking, camping, boating, and fishing are all likely to occupy his free time when he's not working on a new book. Some of his favorite spots in the world are the Beartooth Mountains, the setting of Those Who Wish Me Dead and a place to which he returns at least twice a year; the flowages of the Northwoods in Wisconsin, where he began fishing with his father as a child and still returns each fall; St. Petersburg, FL, and the Maine coast.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 831 reviews
September 10, 2015
The Austin brothers haven't spoken in years, not since high school when their sister was abducted and murdered when one of them should have been driving her home. Now, Kent is a football coach and Adam is a hard-drinking bail bondsman. When Adam unwittingly sends another girl to her doom, the two brothers must work together to find her killer...
Holy. Shit. This was one hell of a book.
The Prophet, while appearing initially to be a crime book, is really about what happens to families after a tragedy. In this case, it's about how Marie Austin's death sent her brothers in opposite directions and how another girl's death eventually brought them back together.
Adam Austin can't seem to get past his sister's death and hides from it with alcohol and a simmering capacity for violence. Kent Austin threw himself into his career as a high school football coach and the church. It would have been easy for Koryta to make either of them a stereotype but they are both well-rounded characters. It's a testament to Koryta's skill that he made me care about Kent's high school football team's winning season, which takes up a large part of the book.
I can't say enough good things about this book. Koryta had me guessing up until the end. It knew it wouldn't be a happily ever after ending but it still hit me like a shotgun blast to the chest. I may have let a man tear escape before the final page was turned.
The Prophet looks like a fairly standard crime book on the surface. A psychopath is on the loose and police can't seem to catch him. A certain wise man likened The Prophet to Mystic River, which I think is very accurate. The Prophet is one of those books that transcends genre and proceeds to kick ass on several levels. Five out of five stars.
Holy. Shit. This was one hell of a book.
The Prophet, while appearing initially to be a crime book, is really about what happens to families after a tragedy. In this case, it's about how Marie Austin's death sent her brothers in opposite directions and how another girl's death eventually brought them back together.
Adam Austin can't seem to get past his sister's death and hides from it with alcohol and a simmering capacity for violence. Kent Austin threw himself into his career as a high school football coach and the church. It would have been easy for Koryta to make either of them a stereotype but they are both well-rounded characters. It's a testament to Koryta's skill that he made me care about Kent's high school football team's winning season, which takes up a large part of the book.
I can't say enough good things about this book. Koryta had me guessing up until the end. It knew it wouldn't be a happily ever after ending but it still hit me like a shotgun blast to the chest. I may have let a man tear escape before the final page was turned.
The Prophet looks like a fairly standard crime book on the surface. A psychopath is on the loose and police can't seem to catch him. A certain wise man likened The Prophet to Mystic River, which I think is very accurate. The Prophet is one of those books that transcends genre and proceeds to kick ass on several levels. Five out of five stars.
May 21, 2013
This story is kinda like if Coach Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights and Nick Stefanos from the crime novels by George Pellecanos were brothers who had been pulled apart by a family tragedy and now faced a killer.
Actually, I’m just being glib and that’s not doing justice to this book. Let’s start over:
In 1989, Adam Austin was a high school football star and his younger brother Kent looked to follow in his footsteps. As their team was in the middle of a season that would culminate in a state championship, Adam blew off giving their sister Marie a ride home one night, and that moment of teenage irresponsibility had horrible consequences when Marie was abducted and murdered.
Over 20 years pass. Adam now works as a bail-bondsmen with a private detective’s license, and Kent became the football coach of their old high school team. While Adam is a hard-drinker who spends his nights hunting down criminals who miss their court dates, Kent is a sober church going family man and community leader. Adam wallows in his guilt over Marie’s death by living in their childhood home and preserving her room exactly as it was when she died, but Kent tries to avoid any mention of his late sister. The two brothers have barely spoken in years after Adam became enraged at Kent for visiting their sister’s killer in prison and praying for the man.
As Kent prepares his undefeated football team for the play-offs, a young woman visits Adam with a request that he track down her father who was just released from prison. Adam makes a quick hundred bucks without missing his next beer, but this act results in a brutal murder that again links the two brothers in tragedy and rocks their small Ohio town.
I thought this one would be a straight up thriller, and while it has a few of those elements, it’s really more like Lehane’s Mystic River in that it’s about the impact to a family and a community caused by a crime, and all the ways that people try to make their peace with that. It’s the different lives and attitudes of the two brothers that really make this book hum as it examines how they dealt with their grief and loss, and how they both took it to extremes that are sadly understandable.
Adam thinks that Kent committed an unforgivable offense to Marie’s memory by offering forgiveness to her killer without understanding that it was how Kent was able to get some closure. Kent believes that Adam’s refusal to move on is just a stubborn decision on his part, but he can’t see that Adam has never found a way to forgive himself for her death.
Koryta does an excellent job of making both of these men sympathetic. Instead of the caricature of a screaming football coach who only cares about winning, Kent is a thoughtful and kind man who truly believes that he’s helping teenagers become upstanding adults, and he holds himself to extremely high standards. Adam seems like a cynical and lazy drunk at the beginning, but he’s also a determined man who refuses to let anything stand in the way of dealing with what he feels responsible for.
And oddly enough, this is also a book about sports. Kent sometimes feels silly at worrying about football games in the midst of everything going on, but he also knows that carrying on is the only way to get through something terrible. He struggles to strike a balance between letting his players know what’s really important versus what a championship would do for their struggling small town. Football is one thing that Adam and Kent can still talk about, and as Adam notes, sometimes it makes you feel better to just to hit the shit out of somebody.
I got to meet Michael Koryta recently, and I wish I had read this before that because I would have heaped praise on him. (Read about that encounter at Shelf Inflicted.)
Actually, I’m just being glib and that’s not doing justice to this book. Let’s start over:
In 1989, Adam Austin was a high school football star and his younger brother Kent looked to follow in his footsteps. As their team was in the middle of a season that would culminate in a state championship, Adam blew off giving their sister Marie a ride home one night, and that moment of teenage irresponsibility had horrible consequences when Marie was abducted and murdered.
Over 20 years pass. Adam now works as a bail-bondsmen with a private detective’s license, and Kent became the football coach of their old high school team. While Adam is a hard-drinker who spends his nights hunting down criminals who miss their court dates, Kent is a sober church going family man and community leader. Adam wallows in his guilt over Marie’s death by living in their childhood home and preserving her room exactly as it was when she died, but Kent tries to avoid any mention of his late sister. The two brothers have barely spoken in years after Adam became enraged at Kent for visiting their sister’s killer in prison and praying for the man.
As Kent prepares his undefeated football team for the play-offs, a young woman visits Adam with a request that he track down her father who was just released from prison. Adam makes a quick hundred bucks without missing his next beer, but this act results in a brutal murder that again links the two brothers in tragedy and rocks their small Ohio town.
I thought this one would be a straight up thriller, and while it has a few of those elements, it’s really more like Lehane’s Mystic River in that it’s about the impact to a family and a community caused by a crime, and all the ways that people try to make their peace with that. It’s the different lives and attitudes of the two brothers that really make this book hum as it examines how they dealt with their grief and loss, and how they both took it to extremes that are sadly understandable.
Adam thinks that Kent committed an unforgivable offense to Marie’s memory by offering forgiveness to her killer without understanding that it was how Kent was able to get some closure. Kent believes that Adam’s refusal to move on is just a stubborn decision on his part, but he can’t see that Adam has never found a way to forgive himself for her death.
Koryta does an excellent job of making both of these men sympathetic. Instead of the caricature of a screaming football coach who only cares about winning, Kent is a thoughtful and kind man who truly believes that he’s helping teenagers become upstanding adults, and he holds himself to extremely high standards. Adam seems like a cynical and lazy drunk at the beginning, but he’s also a determined man who refuses to let anything stand in the way of dealing with what he feels responsible for.
And oddly enough, this is also a book about sports. Kent sometimes feels silly at worrying about football games in the midst of everything going on, but he also knows that carrying on is the only way to get through something terrible. He struggles to strike a balance between letting his players know what’s really important versus what a championship would do for their struggling small town. Football is one thing that Adam and Kent can still talk about, and as Adam notes, sometimes it makes you feel better to just to hit the shit out of somebody.
I got to meet Michael Koryta recently, and I wish I had read this before that because I would have heaped praise on him. (Read about that encounter at Shelf Inflicted.)
February 26, 2019
Adam and Kent Austin are estranged brothers, both still reeling from the murder of their young sister when they were teenagers. Adam feels especially guilty because on the night of his sister's murder he blew off driving her home to be with his girl.
Adam is now a bail bondsman and Kent is coach of the high school football team. The football team is on track to a state championship when the girlfriend of a star player is murdered.
Adam feels compelled to investigate the crime and finds disturbing connections to himself and his brother.
This is a well-written suspense thriller that draws you in and keeps you turning the pages. Highly recommended to mystery fans.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
December 19, 2016
*Contains spoilers*
I have been on a Michael Koryta reading spree lately. While I really liked all his books that I've read, The Prophet is my (new) favorite. The murder of their sister while they were all young shaped the lives of her two surviving brothers sending them on two totally different life paths. Years later a death of another young girl bring them together again. While the brothers are complete opposites in beliefs their characters are so well developed you understand and sympathize with both of them.
There are things in the story that should be mentioned in case it would influence your enjoyment. One of the brothers lives a religious life. You aren't preached at, but he does talk about his faith and his faith is put to the test by the new murderer so it is central to the plot. Another thing that needs mentioning is football. I'm a football fanatic so all the football talk thrilled me, but I understand how it could be too much for someone who doesn't enjoy the game. I don't think you should skip the book because of the football, just skim if it isn't your thing. The ending was sad, but necessary in context of the story. Overall a good enjoyable read.
I have been on a Michael Koryta reading spree lately. While I really liked all his books that I've read, The Prophet is my (new) favorite. The murder of their sister while they were all young shaped the lives of her two surviving brothers sending them on two totally different life paths. Years later a death of another young girl bring them together again. While the brothers are complete opposites in beliefs their characters are so well developed you understand and sympathize with both of them.
There are things in the story that should be mentioned in case it would influence your enjoyment. One of the brothers lives a religious life. You aren't preached at, but he does talk about his faith and his faith is put to the test by the new murderer so it is central to the plot. Another thing that needs mentioning is football. I'm a football fanatic so all the football talk thrilled me, but I understand how it could be too much for someone who doesn't enjoy the game. I don't think you should skip the book because of the football, just skim if it isn't your thing. The ending was sad, but necessary in context of the story. Overall a good enjoyable read.
September 29, 2015
I’ve always been a fan of football movies. Which is strange considering I don’t particularly care much for the sport itself. Watching it live, I find it slow, boring and I only vaguely understand the rules enough to get by. However, if told right and paced correctly in a story, there’s a special sort of high drama that goes hand in hand with the sport.
Michael Koryta uses an infinitely talented and well disciplined high school football team chasing the state championship as a backdrop for a story about murder in a small town. The Austin brothers, Kent and Adam, lost their sister Marie amidst their glory days as gridiron gladiators for Chambers High. Fast forward to the present as a murder occurs that echos the death of Marie Austin all those years ago.
Kent is the head coach of Chambers High when he’s informed of Rachel Bond’s death, his all-star wide receiver’s girlfriend. Kent hasn’t spoken to Adam in years but is brought into the case when it turns out Rachel visited Adam requesting he help her locate her estranged father. Working as a bail bondsman, Adam has never fully been able to move on following his sister’s death as he’s always blamed himself for indirectly causing it. When Rachel is murdered at a location Adam believed she would find her father, Adam views finding and killing the man responsible as a way to atone for past sins.
Michael Koryta hadn’t been on my radar until a review popped up on Goodreads that caught my eye. Now after reading The Prophet, I suddenly want to go out and grab everything Koryta’s written. His characters in The Prophet feel real enough to be anyone from smalltown, USA. Their actions and reactions seem genuine and the natural drama that would certainly arise out of losing a family member plays out perfectly over the course of the story.
The progression of the story was easy to follow but with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. I thought this was a hell of a read and it will likely sit alongside The Last Child as my go-to recommendations for thrillers.
Michael Koryta uses an infinitely talented and well disciplined high school football team chasing the state championship as a backdrop for a story about murder in a small town. The Austin brothers, Kent and Adam, lost their sister Marie amidst their glory days as gridiron gladiators for Chambers High. Fast forward to the present as a murder occurs that echos the death of Marie Austin all those years ago.
Kent is the head coach of Chambers High when he’s informed of Rachel Bond’s death, his all-star wide receiver’s girlfriend. Kent hasn’t spoken to Adam in years but is brought into the case when it turns out Rachel visited Adam requesting he help her locate her estranged father. Working as a bail bondsman, Adam has never fully been able to move on following his sister’s death as he’s always blamed himself for indirectly causing it. When Rachel is murdered at a location Adam believed she would find her father, Adam views finding and killing the man responsible as a way to atone for past sins.
Michael Koryta hadn’t been on my radar until a review popped up on Goodreads that caught my eye. Now after reading The Prophet, I suddenly want to go out and grab everything Koryta’s written. His characters in The Prophet feel real enough to be anyone from smalltown, USA. Their actions and reactions seem genuine and the natural drama that would certainly arise out of losing a family member plays out perfectly over the course of the story.
The progression of the story was easy to follow but with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. I thought this was a hell of a read and it will likely sit alongside The Last Child as my go-to recommendations for thrillers.
January 28, 2015
Another excellent thriller from Koryta & well read. It was quite a bit longer than I expected. Could have ended at the end of part 3, about the 3/4 mark, but continued on. I usually don't like that, but there were threads that needed resolution & it was a great one.
The characters might have spent a bit too much time thinking, but they were well & clearly drawn from kids to adults. There was plenty of action & it all made sense. Quite horrifying at times & every parent will have to empathize with one of the main characters. Best of intentions & hell awaits. Horrifying, but satisfying. Uplifting & sad.
Incredibly, he even made football interesting. (I rarely know when the Super Bowl is on or who is playing.) Anyone who knows this area knows that High school football is often televised, though. Very big deal & Koryta actually got my blood up a bit. Incredible. The man is a wizard.
The characters might have spent a bit too much time thinking, but they were well & clearly drawn from kids to adults. There was plenty of action & it all made sense. Quite horrifying at times & every parent will have to empathize with one of the main characters. Best of intentions & hell awaits. Horrifying, but satisfying. Uplifting & sad.
Incredibly, he even made football interesting. (I rarely know when the Super Bowl is on or who is playing.) Anyone who knows this area knows that High school football is often televised, though. Very big deal & Koryta actually got my blood up a bit. Incredible. The man is a wizard.
August 6, 2020
This is an excellent book. I already like this author but this book is his shining star IMO. I went to bed reading it last night and woke up reading it this morning, untl I was finished. One of the things I enjoyed about the book was: in some books you can never figure out where the title came from, but in this book, you saw over and over again where the title could come from. I really like that. I saw myself that to me this book has three stories.
The first story is the psychological thriller where you never can figure out "who done it". It keeps surprising you with twists and turns.
The second story is a story of redemption for the two brothers who are the main characters for the story. Both brothers blame themself for what happened to their sister when they were younger and you see why they both feel the need for redemption and how they go about it. I will say and this is a spoiler, in a perfect story, that happy ever after, one of the brothers did not have to die but in this story you know everything is not happy ever after but people life with it.
The third story is of high school football in a small town. I have lived in this situation and loved it. A town I lived in was so focused on football for so many years, when you went to a game on friday night it looked like you were going to a rock concert, as a friend of mine said. The coach is the hero of the town because he has a winning football team. Everyone looks up to him. He is a respected member of the community and most people would do anything for him. LIke I said I lived in that type of situation and I must say I have always loved high school football.
So, again, I thought this was a wonderful book and can't quit thinking about it or talking about it.
The first story is the psychological thriller where you never can figure out "who done it". It keeps surprising you with twists and turns.
The second story is a story of redemption for the two brothers who are the main characters for the story. Both brothers blame themself for what happened to their sister when they were younger and you see why they both feel the need for redemption and how they go about it. I will say and this is a spoiler, in a perfect story, that happy ever after, one of the brothers did not have to die but in this story you know everything is not happy ever after but people life with it.
The third story is of high school football in a small town. I have lived in this situation and loved it. A town I lived in was so focused on football for so many years, when you went to a game on friday night it looked like you were going to a rock concert, as a friend of mine said. The coach is the hero of the town because he has a winning football team. Everyone looks up to him. He is a respected member of the community and most people would do anything for him. LIke I said I lived in that type of situation and I must say I have always loved high school football.
So, again, I thought this was a wonderful book and can't quit thinking about it or talking about it.
November 14, 2017
The Prophet popped onto my radar rather suddenly, and just as suddenly I was reading it. It seemed just the thing I was looking for.
It didn't disappoint. In fact, it's one of the better books I read this year. And this is something to celebrate, looking back on a year that tragically boasted 12 DNFs.
This is the story of a football town, and the disappearance of a young girl. The focus is on two brothers, Kent Austin, the coach of the high school football team with a State championship in sight, and Adam, a bail bondsman (and thanks to this novel I now understand what that is). Michael Koryta spins this mystery/crime thriller while keeping the small town feel present, and this works on every level.
I could totally empathize with every character in this book. Fantastic stuff.
It's a rare thing for me to read over a hundred pages in one sitting, but I did that today to finish the story. It has been a while since a novel was so hard for me to put down. This isn't literary greatness, but the character development sure is, and although there was one minor hiccup that irked me a bit, I can't dock a star.
Reading is all about entertainment for me, and being able to buy into the characters and story. The Prophet delivered, and I am very happy to dish out five stars for this one.
As a bonus, I now have a burning desire to start Friday Night Lights, thanks to the comments in Brandon's review...this will happen soon :)
Incidentally, is it just a bizarre coincidence that Koryta chose the name Kent Austin? Kent Austin is a very well known former CFL quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, turned coach for several teams.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_Au...
It didn't disappoint. In fact, it's one of the better books I read this year. And this is something to celebrate, looking back on a year that tragically boasted 12 DNFs.
This is the story of a football town, and the disappearance of a young girl. The focus is on two brothers, Kent Austin, the coach of the high school football team with a State championship in sight, and Adam, a bail bondsman (and thanks to this novel I now understand what that is). Michael Koryta spins this mystery/crime thriller while keeping the small town feel present, and this works on every level.
I could totally empathize with every character in this book. Fantastic stuff.
It's a rare thing for me to read over a hundred pages in one sitting, but I did that today to finish the story. It has been a while since a novel was so hard for me to put down. This isn't literary greatness, but the character development sure is, and although there was one minor hiccup that irked me a bit, I can't dock a star.
Reading is all about entertainment for me, and being able to buy into the characters and story. The Prophet delivered, and I am very happy to dish out five stars for this one.
As a bonus, I now have a burning desire to start Friday Night Lights, thanks to the comments in Brandon's review...this will happen soon :)
Incidentally, is it just a bizarre coincidence that Koryta chose the name Kent Austin? Kent Austin is a very well known former CFL quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, turned coach for several teams.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_Au...
January 19, 2020
A compelling thriller concerning two estranged brothers who have taken different paths to deal with a shared personal tragedy....forced to come together when a young girl is murdered by someone out to test their limits.
Koryta nails the personalities of the brothers, their troubled relationship, and how they deal with personal loss flawlessly. And keeps the suspense on high burn, creating a thriller that will keep you guessing....with an ending that strikes hard and true.
Highly recommended thriller by one of the best in the business.
Koryta nails the personalities of the brothers, their troubled relationship, and how they deal with personal loss flawlessly. And keeps the suspense on high burn, creating a thriller that will keep you guessing....with an ending that strikes hard and true.
Highly recommended thriller by one of the best in the business.
October 29, 2017
Check out my interview with Michael Koryta in August 2012 >>http://more2read.com/review/interview-with-michael-koryta/
Kent Austin a coach of a football team and is brother Adam Austin, a bail bondsman, are two main characters from this story.
Coach is a family man who walks with prayers in mind and hopes he has conquered vengeance with forgiveness and offered redemption for the guilty.
Their kin had been murdered in the past and a recent murder with possible links to people near him, bring the past back into the present scope of things. He's a mentor of sorts to his band of men but he himself and his prayers are to be put to their greatest test.
The bondsman is the vengeance wing of the brothers and he will dish death at the point of a bullet without remorse he likes a more solid and macabre approach forgiveness is not a used word in his vocabulary used since their sisters death. He does become a likeable character as the story unfolds.
This story is different from the recent two of this authors that I have read. Cypress house and So Cold the River are both atmospheric and supernatural thrillers. This is more a realistic crime thriller with a noir feel to it, a struggle of two men, two brothers fates and personal plights in tow. What keeps you reading and makes this a good read is the need for an outcome and resolution to whole matter and for guilty to be found.
Kent Austin a coach of a football team and is brother Adam Austin, a bail bondsman, are two main characters from this story.
Coach is a family man who walks with prayers in mind and hopes he has conquered vengeance with forgiveness and offered redemption for the guilty.
Their kin had been murdered in the past and a recent murder with possible links to people near him, bring the past back into the present scope of things. He's a mentor of sorts to his band of men but he himself and his prayers are to be put to their greatest test.
The bondsman is the vengeance wing of the brothers and he will dish death at the point of a bullet without remorse he likes a more solid and macabre approach forgiveness is not a used word in his vocabulary used since their sisters death. He does become a likeable character as the story unfolds.
This story is different from the recent two of this authors that I have read. Cypress house and So Cold the River are both atmospheric and supernatural thrillers. This is more a realistic crime thriller with a noir feel to it, a struggle of two men, two brothers fates and personal plights in tow. What keeps you reading and makes this a good read is the need for an outcome and resolution to whole matter and for guilty to be found.
"On Sunday morning, Adam rose with motion in his mind.
Something he knew he'd have to admit from the start-he wasn't a detective. Had never been police, had never worked as a PI despite holding the license, had never built an investigation into any sort of crime, let alone something as complex as a homicide. But what he was, what he'd devoted his adult life to becoming, was a hunter. And this was a hunt. His challenge now was not only to do a job for which the police were far better prepared and equipped, but also to do it faster.
Speed and pressure. He had to find ways to apply them.
He was as good as anyone at finding people who were trying to hide. The problem was that he always knew his targets. Not just their names but personal information, a sense of their lives, of who they were. That helped the hunt. In this situation, he had absolutely none of that, and it threatened to freeze him, a bloodhound being told to start the search without being offered an initial scent. How in the hell did you begin?"
Review also @ http://more2read.com/review/the-prophet-by-michael-koryta/
September 13, 2014
Fantastic read from Koryta, who does crime fiction much better than supernatural. The writing is top notch and the charecterizations are spot-on. The troubled relationship between brothers Adam and Kent is well-played and the football background is blended in nicely without overwhelming the main storyline. The ending is powerful and satisfying. Very highly recommended.
October 25, 2012
I really like Michael Koryta's recent novels. So Cold the River, The Ridge, and The Cypress House were all really good mysteries with a supernatural twist. They were suspenseful without really being gory enough or scary enough to fall into the horror category. I also really liked the first of the Lincoln Perry mystery series, Tonight I Said Goodbye. It was a tightly crafted detective novel that kept me guessing.
Because his last three novels were supernatural suspense, I was expecting this novel to fall into that same category. It didn't. The Prophet is a straight-up mystery/thriller. It's also a very masculine book that delves into brotherly relationships and football. In fact, it had way too much football for my tastes. I can say that I never figured out who the perpetrator was and was very surprised by the ending. However, there was way too much football.
I listened to the audio version of this book and the production was very good. Robert Petkoff is a very good narrator. However, I kind of wish I had purchased it in hardback so I could pass it on to my husband. I think he's like it. It's got brothers and football. It's got a lot of football.
Because his last three novels were supernatural suspense, I was expecting this novel to fall into that same category. It didn't. The Prophet is a straight-up mystery/thriller. It's also a very masculine book that delves into brotherly relationships and football. In fact, it had way too much football for my tastes. I can say that I never figured out who the perpetrator was and was very surprised by the ending. However, there was way too much football.
I listened to the audio version of this book and the production was very good. Robert Petkoff is a very good narrator. However, I kind of wish I had purchased it in hardback so I could pass it on to my husband. I think he's like it. It's got brothers and football. It's got a lot of football.
August 9, 2012
36 stars!
Review of The Prophet by Michael Koryta
Publication date August 7, 2012
I had hoped this would be one of my favourite author’s stunning Supernatural thrillers (this is what happens when one doesn’t read the blurb LOL). It isn’t-but it is a stunner nonetheless. As far as I am concerned (and I believe I’ve read all his books to date), author Michael Koryta cannot write an imperfect book. Yet in “The Prophet” he has gone above and beyond even his usual perfection, and written a book so deep that I cannot set it aside, cannot stop thinking about it, and will never forget it. His characterizations are incredibly deep and detailed-as if the author was not only omniscient but psychologically talented and wise as well. I won’t give anything away, but I must say that Mr. Koryta deals with issues of morality (and ethical relativity), faith, fear, sibling connections, parent-child relations, revenge, sociopathy, crime, vigilantism-and the list goes on. But it’s never a surface skimming: Mr. Koryta delves deep, deeper than I could have ever expected. He doesn’t just cut to the bone; he digs out the marrow.
I read this book over the course of two evenings (it would have been in one setting were it not that I needed to devote time to Review books) but I doubt it will ever leave my mind. The emotional, moral, psychological, and ethical impact of this book is so deep, so powerful, it’s like a meteor dropped on my soul. Read it-read it-read it-but never forget it.
Review of The Prophet by Michael Koryta
Publication date August 7, 2012
I had hoped this would be one of my favourite author’s stunning Supernatural thrillers (this is what happens when one doesn’t read the blurb LOL). It isn’t-but it is a stunner nonetheless. As far as I am concerned (and I believe I’ve read all his books to date), author Michael Koryta cannot write an imperfect book. Yet in “The Prophet” he has gone above and beyond even his usual perfection, and written a book so deep that I cannot set it aside, cannot stop thinking about it, and will never forget it. His characterizations are incredibly deep and detailed-as if the author was not only omniscient but psychologically talented and wise as well. I won’t give anything away, but I must say that Mr. Koryta deals with issues of morality (and ethical relativity), faith, fear, sibling connections, parent-child relations, revenge, sociopathy, crime, vigilantism-and the list goes on. But it’s never a surface skimming: Mr. Koryta delves deep, deeper than I could have ever expected. He doesn’t just cut to the bone; he digs out the marrow.
I read this book over the course of two evenings (it would have been in one setting were it not that I needed to devote time to Review books) but I doubt it will ever leave my mind. The emotional, moral, psychological, and ethical impact of this book is so deep, so powerful, it’s like a meteor dropped on my soul. Read it-read it-read it-but never forget it.
August 19, 2012
Way too much football in this book, both literally and (perhaps?) as a metaphor. Not a big fan of the game, so there were many pages of boredom and skimming of excrutiating (to me) high school football game details. Kent Austin, one of two brothers who are the novel's protagonists, is a beloved high school footbal coach. He and his brother Adam have not spoken in years, since their sister was abducted and murdered. Adam is a bail bondsman, struggling with overwhelming guilt and remorse relating to the night of his sister's death.
Flash forward, and yet another teenage girl is found murdered. Again, there are ties to both brothers, and details emerge that involve them both in this crime. They unite to try and and stop this killer. The story moves along (football parts excluded) and it works well regarding the brother's relationship, and the horrors of dealing with grief over violent deaths.
Flash forward, and yet another teenage girl is found murdered. Again, there are ties to both brothers, and details emerge that involve them both in this crime. They unite to try and and stop this killer. The story moves along (football parts excluded) and it works well regarding the brother's relationship, and the horrors of dealing with grief over violent deaths.
October 28, 2014
Well this book was mostly about a football coach and his brother, they lost their sister to a murder, and the story tells how they both coped with this loss in their lives.
When another young girl loses her life in a horrific way when one is a successful American football coach and the other one a bailsman it will change their lives again and set them on a course that unites them again in a way.
And that was the thriller bit and the rest is about the game of American football. While a writer like Ian Fleming can write about a card game like bridge in Moonraker or golf in Goldfinger and you feel like learning the game instantly Mr. Koryta does not have that skill when he has a lot more words aimed at that part of his novel.
The book is too much about the season the highschool might become state champion and too little about the thriller-aspect of the story. And when we finally get a bit of a twist in the tale I did not feel impressed as it was actually expected by me.
Mr. Kortya does write a decent tale which is rather easy to read, but the subject matter was just not for me as the game does not really interest me outside of the televised annual Superbowl which used to be an excuse for me and my friends to drink into the early hours and talk rubbish (if we were ladies it would be qualified as gossiping).
I might be tempted to read another one of Mr Koryta, but not this year.
When another young girl loses her life in a horrific way when one is a successful American football coach and the other one a bailsman it will change their lives again and set them on a course that unites them again in a way.
And that was the thriller bit and the rest is about the game of American football. While a writer like Ian Fleming can write about a card game like bridge in Moonraker or golf in Goldfinger and you feel like learning the game instantly Mr. Koryta does not have that skill when he has a lot more words aimed at that part of his novel.
The book is too much about the season the highschool might become state champion and too little about the thriller-aspect of the story. And when we finally get a bit of a twist in the tale I did not feel impressed as it was actually expected by me.
Mr. Kortya does write a decent tale which is rather easy to read, but the subject matter was just not for me as the game does not really interest me outside of the televised annual Superbowl which used to be an excuse for me and my friends to drink into the early hours and talk rubbish (if we were ladies it would be qualified as gossiping).
I might be tempted to read another one of Mr Koryta, but not this year.
October 7, 2012
Well, finally finished this great book. It's not that it takes a long time to read, I just had life getting in the way ;) Definitely recommend this one, you won't be disappointed.
August 7, 2012
A small town in Ohio, once the home of steel, now dying, population decreasing and a very good high school football team that means much to the people who haven't left. Two brother, taking different paths after the murder of their sister and someone who wants to test one of the brothers faith. Another winner by Koryta, a thriller that explores the concepts of revenge and redemption, faith and acceptance. It is also a novel about what family means, that despite differences there may be times when this is all one has left. Highly recommend. ARC from NetGgalley.
August 1, 2012
3 Stars
Michael Koryta is one of my favorite authors writing today. His books are creative and unique in that they often combine the everyday with a touch of the supernatural. His environments and his locations are characters in themselves, giving the books life and imagination. The Ridge and The Cypress House are two of my favorite reads of his that I recommended to my family and my friends. In this book, The Prophet, Koryta steers his tale in a direction of the main stream. This is his most accessible book to date as it does not contain any of his extra special touches. It is however, quite ordinary and forgettable as a tale of a small town murder mystery. This book is also a very familiar tale of estranged brothers, separated by more than age; they both define their lives by how they respond to a shared family tragedy.
Unfortunately, Koryta misses the bigger picture in this book and does not give us what he does best. The atmosphere here is at best a sufficient small high school football town that is painted with colors that we are all familiar with. In the Ridge the location and the animals were main characters, plot points, and were part of the overall theme. The night time elements were surreal and borderline magical. Likewise, in the Cypress house, Florida’s hot coastline landscape is a key character in the story. The locations forced many decisions and turned the plot on its own accord. In The Prophet, the small town simply is a place to hold our story.
The cast is not a large one and the side characters are merely two dimensional page fillers. Adam is the most unique and interesting character in my opinion but he plays the second role to our main protagonist Kent. Kent, a former high school football star is now the legendary coach of Chambers Ohio. He makes major life changes after a major tragedy affects his family. He blames himself as does his older brother Adam. Childhood competition leads to adulthood resentment and estrangement as each brother disapproves greatly with the others life choices. Koryta tries to get the reader to empathize with Kent but simply comes up short by failing to give us enough backstory about him that we could really like. The plot points are spelled out with giant street signs that make the outcome very easy to see, and give us nothing new to cheer over. I did not care for Kent one way or another, I was indifferent. Same is true with all the football analogies, I did not find them to be profound or revealing even though I am a huge fan of the sport and can easily identify with some of the obsessions. Too many of the major plot points were done in an almost cheesy in your face and obvious matter. This book was far too ho-hum and ordinary for me to really get into. Once and author makes such a great name for himself as has Koryta, by being so creative and unique, he cannot go back to being plain and simple without disappointing his fan base. I expected more than a breezy summer read.
The title of this book is “The Prophet”, but it probably should have been called “The Preacher”, as it could not have been more in your face with its messages than it was. It was done with such a heavy hand that I found myself annoyed and a bit angry too.
On the positive note, I am a huge fan of Michael Koryta and feel that he is an author not to be missed by those that love creative, surreal, and mysterious thrillers. His writing is part poetic, part lyrical, and at times truly exceptional.
““There is no God.
You walk alone in the darkness.
To prove this, to imprint it in the mind so deeply that no alternative can so much as flicker, is the goal. This is power, pure as it comes.
Bring him the hopeful and he will leave them hopeless. Bring him the strong and he will leave them broken. Bring him the full and he will leave them empty.
The prophet’s goal is simple. When the final scream in the night comes, whoever issues it will be certain of one thing: No one hears.
What he has been promised in Chambers, Ohio, is strength and resiliency. He has looked into a confident man’s eyes and heard his assurance that there is no fear that will not bow to his faith.
The prophet of hard times, who has looked into many a confident gaze in his day, has his doubts about that.””
I really had high anticipation about this book and feel quit let down. I never thought that I would read a plain and ordinary murder mystery by Michael Koryta. Koryta is a special writer and a gifted one, this book however is not. To me it does not compare to some of his other amazing works.
Michael Koryta is one of my favorite authors writing today. His books are creative and unique in that they often combine the everyday with a touch of the supernatural. His environments and his locations are characters in themselves, giving the books life and imagination. The Ridge and The Cypress House are two of my favorite reads of his that I recommended to my family and my friends. In this book, The Prophet, Koryta steers his tale in a direction of the main stream. This is his most accessible book to date as it does not contain any of his extra special touches. It is however, quite ordinary and forgettable as a tale of a small town murder mystery. This book is also a very familiar tale of estranged brothers, separated by more than age; they both define their lives by how they respond to a shared family tragedy.
Unfortunately, Koryta misses the bigger picture in this book and does not give us what he does best. The atmosphere here is at best a sufficient small high school football town that is painted with colors that we are all familiar with. In the Ridge the location and the animals were main characters, plot points, and were part of the overall theme. The night time elements were surreal and borderline magical. Likewise, in the Cypress house, Florida’s hot coastline landscape is a key character in the story. The locations forced many decisions and turned the plot on its own accord. In The Prophet, the small town simply is a place to hold our story.
The cast is not a large one and the side characters are merely two dimensional page fillers. Adam is the most unique and interesting character in my opinion but he plays the second role to our main protagonist Kent. Kent, a former high school football star is now the legendary coach of Chambers Ohio. He makes major life changes after a major tragedy affects his family. He blames himself as does his older brother Adam. Childhood competition leads to adulthood resentment and estrangement as each brother disapproves greatly with the others life choices. Koryta tries to get the reader to empathize with Kent but simply comes up short by failing to give us enough backstory about him that we could really like. The plot points are spelled out with giant street signs that make the outcome very easy to see, and give us nothing new to cheer over. I did not care for Kent one way or another, I was indifferent. Same is true with all the football analogies, I did not find them to be profound or revealing even though I am a huge fan of the sport and can easily identify with some of the obsessions. Too many of the major plot points were done in an almost cheesy in your face and obvious matter. This book was far too ho-hum and ordinary for me to really get into. Once and author makes such a great name for himself as has Koryta, by being so creative and unique, he cannot go back to being plain and simple without disappointing his fan base. I expected more than a breezy summer read.
The title of this book is “The Prophet”, but it probably should have been called “The Preacher”, as it could not have been more in your face with its messages than it was. It was done with such a heavy hand that I found myself annoyed and a bit angry too.
On the positive note, I am a huge fan of Michael Koryta and feel that he is an author not to be missed by those that love creative, surreal, and mysterious thrillers. His writing is part poetic, part lyrical, and at times truly exceptional.
““There is no God.
You walk alone in the darkness.
To prove this, to imprint it in the mind so deeply that no alternative can so much as flicker, is the goal. This is power, pure as it comes.
Bring him the hopeful and he will leave them hopeless. Bring him the strong and he will leave them broken. Bring him the full and he will leave them empty.
The prophet’s goal is simple. When the final scream in the night comes, whoever issues it will be certain of one thing: No one hears.
What he has been promised in Chambers, Ohio, is strength and resiliency. He has looked into a confident man’s eyes and heard his assurance that there is no fear that will not bow to his faith.
The prophet of hard times, who has looked into many a confident gaze in his day, has his doubts about that.””
I really had high anticipation about this book and feel quit let down. I never thought that I would read a plain and ordinary murder mystery by Michael Koryta. Koryta is a special writer and a gifted one, this book however is not. To me it does not compare to some of his other amazing works.
November 9, 2021
Great book! His writing reminds me of Dennis Lehane.
July 30, 2012
Adam and Kent are brothers, but couldn't be more different. They haven't been close in years, probably ever since their sister Marie was murdered. Kent is a high school football coach and Adam is a bail bondsman and occasional private detective.
One of Kent's players' girlfriends goes to Adam to help find her father. He tracks him down and gives her the address. When the girl is later found murdered, Adam vows to find him and kill him. In his mind, it's all wrapped up with his sister's death...to the point that he calls the suspect "Gideon" while he works to find out who it is. (Gideon is the first name of the man who murdered Marie.)
This is a hard book to classify. It's obviously got some mystery aspects, but it's more of a thriller, I think. Even more than that, though, it's a story of brothers, people who should be close but aren't. And it's about what you do for family, even if you aren't close. Possibly, in this case, especially if you aren't close.
I've loved Michael Koryta's novels since I read So Cold The River. Every new novel I've read has replaced the one before it as my favorite of his. This one is my new favorite.
And while I've said this literally every time, I cannot imagine how his next book will improve upon this one. (If it gets better, it may actually kill me somehow.)
This book reminded me a lot of early Dennis Lehane novels. It's gritty and unsettling and practically dripping with unease. You know? It's like, I would read this book and I would literally get goosebumps.
I hope you've already been reading Michael Koryta. If not, this is definitely the best time to start. This is an incredible, incredible book, one that I won't soon forget.
Highly recommended.
One of Kent's players' girlfriends goes to Adam to help find her father. He tracks him down and gives her the address. When the girl is later found murdered, Adam vows to find him and kill him. In his mind, it's all wrapped up with his sister's death...to the point that he calls the suspect "Gideon" while he works to find out who it is. (Gideon is the first name of the man who murdered Marie.)
This is a hard book to classify. It's obviously got some mystery aspects, but it's more of a thriller, I think. Even more than that, though, it's a story of brothers, people who should be close but aren't. And it's about what you do for family, even if you aren't close. Possibly, in this case, especially if you aren't close.
I've loved Michael Koryta's novels since I read So Cold The River. Every new novel I've read has replaced the one before it as my favorite of his. This one is my new favorite.
And while I've said this literally every time, I cannot imagine how his next book will improve upon this one. (If it gets better, it may actually kill me somehow.)
This book reminded me a lot of early Dennis Lehane novels. It's gritty and unsettling and practically dripping with unease. You know? It's like, I would read this book and I would literally get goosebumps.
I hope you've already been reading Michael Koryta. If not, this is definitely the best time to start. This is an incredible, incredible book, one that I won't soon forget.
Highly recommended.
August 6, 2021
The only other Koryta book that I have read is Envy The Night, and that was several years ago, but I remember that I really liked it and had planned to read more. I was excited to read The Prophet because of my past experience with the author and because the story is set around a high school football team. The writing was great, and I really enjoyed the journey through the story. I will be reading another Koryta novel soon.
February 24, 2022
This was the first book I have read by Koryta, and I am looking forward to reading his others. The story was original, strong character development, and was an excellent vehicle for examining grief, growth, and the impact of our decisions, both mundane or momentous. The author also managed some elegantly worded insights into human behavior along the way. I would highly recommend!
July 27, 2012
Michael Koryta's ninth book, The Prophet, is scheduled for release on August 7, 2012. After three paranormal thrillers, The Prophet is a return to Mr. Koryta's roots: a mystery set in northeast Ohio. Since I am a fan of mysteries, a fan of Mr. Koryta, and a northeast Ohioan, I was excited to get my hands on a copy of this thriller. And I was not disappointed. On page five, still part of the prologue, I knew I was hooked after reading this, a glimpse inside the mind of the as of yet unknown antagonist:
Unshakable confidence. Unshakable stupidity.
He is fascinated by the confident specimens of the helpless. He finds no fascination in the fearful.
The story is about Adam and Kent Austin, brothers who are tormented over twenty years after their sister was kidnapped and murdered. Adam, the older of the two, blamed himself, and joined his father in drinking too much and obsessing on revenge. He ruined his chances of advancing his promising football career when he left Ohio State after only one semester. He eventually returned to his home to work as a bail bondsmen in a struggling blue collar city. Kent focused on football, becoming the head coach of the high school team he played on. He found religion, had a beautiful family, and was cool, calm, and collected; a respected member of society. Neither of the brothers had fully moved on after the death of their sister, and when another high school girl is found murdered, it comes back to haunt them. It doesn't take long for Adam and Kent to realize they both were to blame for the girl's death, and the killer doesn't seem to have any intention of letting them forget it.
Michael Koryta has grown as an author with every book, but The Prophet may be the most notable since Envy the Night. He superbly developed the character of two protagonists. Both brothers had likable and dis-likable qualities, both had good intentions, and despite doing things differently, neither were really wrong in the reasoning behind their choices. The antagonist was beautifully despicable, rich with evil, a pleasure to hate.
Good character development is what makes an author great, which makes me feel as if I know the characters and understand their thoughts and actions. Consider this exchange between Adam and Kent:
He looked back at Kent. "Can you do that? Because you're going to need to. The shotgun rounds will drop him, but they won't keep him down. Not a .410 shell, which is what this takes. So you'll need to be able to finish it. Can you do that?"
I don't hope to have the opportunity to find out."
"Can you do it?" Adam said. "Because otherwise, there's no point, Kent. Go buy some pepper spray and hope the neighbors hear with Beth screams."
Kent winced, turning his head as if to shed the words. Then he swallowed, looked back at Adam, and extended his hand for the gun.
This exchange was emotional for me, brought tears to my eyes; brothers, not on the best terms, but there for each other, talking about decisions that had to be made, life and death decisions, about character, and fundamental truth. But to a reader who had not read the 253 previous pages, hadn't known Adam and Kent Austin, would likely not have had a similar response, there would be no emotional investment in the people having that conversation.
Dialogue like this, between characters that seem alive and real to a reader, is what makes reading worth it, something that can rarely, if ever, be captured in a movie or television show. Plot is sometimes secondary to good, believable characters; a good plot can not survive bad characters, but a book with a weak plot but likable heroes can. In The Prophet, a reader will experience the best of both.
Finally, just as a quick side note for those who aren't football fans, don't let that disuade you from reading The Prophet. While football was integral to the book, defined the characters, it isn't what the story was about. It was much deeper than that. And Mr. Koryta will have you if not loving football, then at least caring about the outcome of the games in this book.
Michael Koryta has become an author unto himself. His books can compete with the best--Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Daniel Woodrell, James Lee Burke, Stephen King, Lawrence Block--and he has developed a style that is unlike the others, making him a stand-out author. I look forward to reading many more books from him.
Unshakable confidence. Unshakable stupidity.
He is fascinated by the confident specimens of the helpless. He finds no fascination in the fearful.
The story is about Adam and Kent Austin, brothers who are tormented over twenty years after their sister was kidnapped and murdered. Adam, the older of the two, blamed himself, and joined his father in drinking too much and obsessing on revenge. He ruined his chances of advancing his promising football career when he left Ohio State after only one semester. He eventually returned to his home to work as a bail bondsmen in a struggling blue collar city. Kent focused on football, becoming the head coach of the high school team he played on. He found religion, had a beautiful family, and was cool, calm, and collected; a respected member of society. Neither of the brothers had fully moved on after the death of their sister, and when another high school girl is found murdered, it comes back to haunt them. It doesn't take long for Adam and Kent to realize they both were to blame for the girl's death, and the killer doesn't seem to have any intention of letting them forget it.
Michael Koryta has grown as an author with every book, but The Prophet may be the most notable since Envy the Night. He superbly developed the character of two protagonists. Both brothers had likable and dis-likable qualities, both had good intentions, and despite doing things differently, neither were really wrong in the reasoning behind their choices. The antagonist was beautifully despicable, rich with evil, a pleasure to hate.
Good character development is what makes an author great, which makes me feel as if I know the characters and understand their thoughts and actions. Consider this exchange between Adam and Kent:
He looked back at Kent. "Can you do that? Because you're going to need to. The shotgun rounds will drop him, but they won't keep him down. Not a .410 shell, which is what this takes. So you'll need to be able to finish it. Can you do that?"
I don't hope to have the opportunity to find out."
"Can you do it?" Adam said. "Because otherwise, there's no point, Kent. Go buy some pepper spray and hope the neighbors hear with Beth screams."
Kent winced, turning his head as if to shed the words. Then he swallowed, looked back at Adam, and extended his hand for the gun.
This exchange was emotional for me, brought tears to my eyes; brothers, not on the best terms, but there for each other, talking about decisions that had to be made, life and death decisions, about character, and fundamental truth. But to a reader who had not read the 253 previous pages, hadn't known Adam and Kent Austin, would likely not have had a similar response, there would be no emotional investment in the people having that conversation.
Dialogue like this, between characters that seem alive and real to a reader, is what makes reading worth it, something that can rarely, if ever, be captured in a movie or television show. Plot is sometimes secondary to good, believable characters; a good plot can not survive bad characters, but a book with a weak plot but likable heroes can. In The Prophet, a reader will experience the best of both.
Finally, just as a quick side note for those who aren't football fans, don't let that disuade you from reading The Prophet. While football was integral to the book, defined the characters, it isn't what the story was about. It was much deeper than that. And Mr. Koryta will have you if not loving football, then at least caring about the outcome of the games in this book.
Michael Koryta has become an author unto himself. His books can compete with the best--Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Daniel Woodrell, James Lee Burke, Stephen King, Lawrence Block--and he has developed a style that is unlike the others, making him a stand-out author. I look forward to reading many more books from him.
August 11, 2012
Half the storefronts are empty in Chambers, Ohio. Abandoned steel mills stand as silent monuments to a past that will never return. Two brothers, Kent and Adam Austin, work in two of the biggest industries that remain in the town - high school football and bail bonds. Their careers, like most everything else in their lives, were defined the night someone kidnapped and murdered their sister when the three of them were in high school.
The brothers have hardly spoken during the 22 years since their sister was taken. Kent is a local hero, a winning football coach and a man of faith, who talks of God and family to murderers in his prison ministry. Adam drinks too much, aches for revenge, and lives so close to the Chambers criminal element that differences often blur.
A man who calls himself "the prophet" slips into town. His passion is murder and something more: "Bring him the hopeful and he will leave them hopeless. Bring him the strong and he will leave them broken. Bring him the full and he will leave them empty." When a 17 year old girl is murdered, one whose faith Kent had tried to nurture, both brothers understand that that the killing is personal. Someone has come to town to rip the old wound open and threaten them with new ones.
Michael Koryta (pronounced koo-ree-ta) decided he wanted to be a crime novelist at the age of 16. While still in high school he interned with a private detective. His first novel, Tonight I Said Goodbye (2004) won the St. Martin's Press/PWA Best First Novel prize before he was 21. He had four more crime novels under his belt when he took a stunning turn by injecting supernatural elements into his thriller, So Cold the River (2010), which I reviewed here http://wp.me/pYql4-8W. He followed this up with two more books in the same vein, The Cypress House http://wp.me/pYql4-xF and The Ridge in 2011.
The Prophet has no overt ghosts, though people are haunted, and Adam regularly talks with his dead sister. The prophet is flesh and blood, but his menace lurks in every shadow. The "un-natural" and the "super-natural" are so "natural" in Michael Koryta's novels that his evil terrifies more than it does in most horror stories. We never know much about the killer, but we do see, in his memory, his methodical method of stalking and killing a bird when he was 11. That's enough to make him more chilling than Count Dracula.
In crossing genre boundaries at will, Koryta's new book delves deeper into the 21st century human condition than mystery and horror novels usually do. A chill wind blows through this rust belt town, under gray and threatening skies, as well meaning men and women find redemption and renewal elusive - and yet, heroism, loyalty, faith, and family all matter. As the high school football players learn, you get back on your feet and back into the line because there is nothing else you can do.
There are very, very few authors whose books I will buy they day they come out. There are few books these days that I find I cannot put down. Once again, Michael Koryta did not disappoint. I downloaded The Prophet the morning it came on line and put everything else on hold until I had finished. You may well find yourself doing the same.
The brothers have hardly spoken during the 22 years since their sister was taken. Kent is a local hero, a winning football coach and a man of faith, who talks of God and family to murderers in his prison ministry. Adam drinks too much, aches for revenge, and lives so close to the Chambers criminal element that differences often blur.
A man who calls himself "the prophet" slips into town. His passion is murder and something more: "Bring him the hopeful and he will leave them hopeless. Bring him the strong and he will leave them broken. Bring him the full and he will leave them empty." When a 17 year old girl is murdered, one whose faith Kent had tried to nurture, both brothers understand that that the killing is personal. Someone has come to town to rip the old wound open and threaten them with new ones.
Michael Koryta (pronounced koo-ree-ta) decided he wanted to be a crime novelist at the age of 16. While still in high school he interned with a private detective. His first novel, Tonight I Said Goodbye (2004) won the St. Martin's Press/PWA Best First Novel prize before he was 21. He had four more crime novels under his belt when he took a stunning turn by injecting supernatural elements into his thriller, So Cold the River (2010), which I reviewed here http://wp.me/pYql4-8W. He followed this up with two more books in the same vein, The Cypress House http://wp.me/pYql4-xF and The Ridge in 2011.
The Prophet has no overt ghosts, though people are haunted, and Adam regularly talks with his dead sister. The prophet is flesh and blood, but his menace lurks in every shadow. The "un-natural" and the "super-natural" are so "natural" in Michael Koryta's novels that his evil terrifies more than it does in most horror stories. We never know much about the killer, but we do see, in his memory, his methodical method of stalking and killing a bird when he was 11. That's enough to make him more chilling than Count Dracula.
In crossing genre boundaries at will, Koryta's new book delves deeper into the 21st century human condition than mystery and horror novels usually do. A chill wind blows through this rust belt town, under gray and threatening skies, as well meaning men and women find redemption and renewal elusive - and yet, heroism, loyalty, faith, and family all matter. As the high school football players learn, you get back on your feet and back into the line because there is nothing else you can do.
There are very, very few authors whose books I will buy they day they come out. There are few books these days that I find I cannot put down. Once again, Michael Koryta did not disappoint. I downloaded The Prophet the morning it came on line and put everything else on hold until I had finished. You may well find yourself doing the same.
March 13, 2013
At some point we all answer for what we have done
Brothers Adam and Kent have lived through the worst that any person could imagine a murdered family member. Each had made a decision the night their sister Marie was abducted and murdered to be consumed with their own teenage lives and shirk the responsibility of taking care of their sister. The brothers grew up and moved on to other adult lives with Kent coaching their hometown team and trying to save the world through religion. Adam became a bail bondsman but never let go of the vendetta that pushed him forward. Both brothers have old feelings and new anger come to the surface when a high school girl is murdered.
Adam was hired by the murdered girl to find her recently released from prison father. He did the minimal and turned over the information to her only to find that the man he sent her to was not her father but a murderer. The guilt and overwhelming desire for justice pushes Adam to track down the person by any means and inflict his own justice. Kent tries to maintain calm and composure while reigning Adam in, but nothing is working and the mission Adam is on is as much about this young girl as it is about his sister. Marie surrounds Adam’s life and the drive behind his existence to keep her spirit close and never let her go. Kent wants the past to be gone and Adam will not let him forget, driving them farther apart with each passing day.
As the days and weeks roll on Kent pushes himself past the pain by keeping his team’s hopes of a state championship alive, while Adam prowls the night. Adam is searching for a killer and never letting any stone go unturned especially when the killer knocks on Kent’s door, literally. Adam will use the system he has been upholding to his own advantage with the one constant thought that his sister would approve. Everyone tries to control the outcome they see coming, but Adam accepts not everyone is going to get out of this alive and that is how it has to be.
Michael Koryta has written the most gut wrenching, captivating, and heart-breaking book I have read in years. The emotion he draws from the character’s circumstances shows on every page how one event truly changes everything.
Brothers Adam and Kent have lived through the worst that any person could imagine a murdered family member. Each had made a decision the night their sister Marie was abducted and murdered to be consumed with their own teenage lives and shirk the responsibility of taking care of their sister. The brothers grew up and moved on to other adult lives with Kent coaching their hometown team and trying to save the world through religion. Adam became a bail bondsman but never let go of the vendetta that pushed him forward. Both brothers have old feelings and new anger come to the surface when a high school girl is murdered.
Adam was hired by the murdered girl to find her recently released from prison father. He did the minimal and turned over the information to her only to find that the man he sent her to was not her father but a murderer. The guilt and overwhelming desire for justice pushes Adam to track down the person by any means and inflict his own justice. Kent tries to maintain calm and composure while reigning Adam in, but nothing is working and the mission Adam is on is as much about this young girl as it is about his sister. Marie surrounds Adam’s life and the drive behind his existence to keep her spirit close and never let her go. Kent wants the past to be gone and Adam will not let him forget, driving them farther apart with each passing day.
As the days and weeks roll on Kent pushes himself past the pain by keeping his team’s hopes of a state championship alive, while Adam prowls the night. Adam is searching for a killer and never letting any stone go unturned especially when the killer knocks on Kent’s door, literally. Adam will use the system he has been upholding to his own advantage with the one constant thought that his sister would approve. Everyone tries to control the outcome they see coming, but Adam accepts not everyone is going to get out of this alive and that is how it has to be.
Michael Koryta has written the most gut wrenching, captivating, and heart-breaking book I have read in years. The emotion he draws from the character’s circumstances shows on every page how one event truly changes everything.
February 8, 2013
When I started this, I thought I was in for a Raymond Chandleresque treat, complete with hard-boiled detective, savvy resigned beautiful secretary, innocent but evasive young girl, etc. etc.
And then it turned into a football novel. I'm not a big fan of football. It's violent and the game seems to be comprised of people in helmets lining up, shouting a few words then crashing into each other, piling up on top of whomever has the ball until the whistle blows. Then they stand up in virtually the same spot on the field to repeat the same thing.
At first I really liked the two protagonists - brothers, one an upstanding well-respected citizen (his only flaw - for me - was that he was the coach of the football team) and the other a hard-drinking private eye who reminded me of Sam Spade. His biggest flaws were that
As the story progressed, it became clear that the upstanding brother's family
More than the violence, it was the play-by-play descriptions of the football games that really got me down. I was very happy when the book was done.
And then it turned into a football novel. I'm not a big fan of football. It's violent and the game seems to be comprised of people in helmets lining up, shouting a few words then crashing into each other, piling up on top of whomever has the ball until the whistle blows. Then they stand up in virtually the same spot on the field to repeat the same thing.
At first I really liked the two protagonists - brothers, one an upstanding well-respected citizen (his only flaw - for me - was that he was the coach of the football team) and the other a hard-drinking private eye who reminded me of Sam Spade. His biggest flaws were that
As the story progressed, it became clear that the upstanding brother's family
More than the violence, it was the play-by-play descriptions of the football games that really got me down. I was very happy when the book was done.
February 7, 2024
Did I just find another thriller author I really like?
It sure looks that way!
When I began The Prophet, I was so distressed by the opening that I second guessed my decision to read this. My upset was quickly followed by annoyance with one of the main characters, Adam. Despite all of this, I remained intrigued by the basic premise, so I continued.
Adam was unlikable from the start. Koryta did give him a sympathetic backstory, however, and I began to comprehend his behavior, even though I still didn’t like him very much. I do think I’ve come out on the other side of The Prophet with a respect for this character, and I would say that is an impressive accomplishment on the author’s part.
Friends, I did not get anything right with this mystery! I was sure I had it all figured out and proudly announced my theory to my husband. This is one of my favorite things to do - piece together the clues in a suspense story. But I was wrong. So wrong. And I am not mad about this. I loved the challenge, but I loved the fact that the revelation successfully shocked me even more.
Here’s another thing I did not see coming: The emotional pull of the narrative! I did not expect my eyes to be welling up with tears near the end, but they did. I hadn’t realized I was so invested in the relationship between Adam and his brother, Kent, until the waterworks began.
I love when a thriller does more than the bare minimum, and Koryta certainly had all angles of a good story covered in The Prophet. I will, without a doubt, be reading more of his books in the near future!
It sure looks that way!
When I began The Prophet, I was so distressed by the opening that I second guessed my decision to read this. My upset was quickly followed by annoyance with one of the main characters, Adam. Despite all of this, I remained intrigued by the basic premise, so I continued.
Adam was unlikable from the start. Koryta did give him a sympathetic backstory, however, and I began to comprehend his behavior, even though I still didn’t like him very much. I do think I’ve come out on the other side of The Prophet with a respect for this character, and I would say that is an impressive accomplishment on the author’s part.
Friends, I did not get anything right with this mystery! I was sure I had it all figured out and proudly announced my theory to my husband. This is one of my favorite things to do - piece together the clues in a suspense story. But I was wrong. So wrong. And I am not mad about this. I loved the challenge, but I loved the fact that the revelation successfully shocked me even more.
Here’s another thing I did not see coming: The emotional pull of the narrative! I did not expect my eyes to be welling up with tears near the end, but they did. I hadn’t realized I was so invested in the relationship between Adam and his brother, Kent, until the waterworks began.
I love when a thriller does more than the bare minimum, and Koryta certainly had all angles of a good story covered in The Prophet. I will, without a doubt, be reading more of his books in the near future!
December 22, 2019
Brilliant! Adam and Kent Austin lost their sister when she was brutally murdered at age 16. Years later the brothers still live in their hometown: Adam is a bail bondsman, Kent the high school football coach. When another teenage girl is murdered the ghosts of their past collide with a present day horror.
Great characters and a story full of twists make this a great book. The book came recommended by one of my favourite authors - Dennis Lehane - and it put me in mind of his sharp and gritty style.
Great characters and a story full of twists make this a great book. The book came recommended by one of my favourite authors - Dennis Lehane - and it put me in mind of his sharp and gritty style.
Want to read
December 28, 2015This copy is marked PC of 598 copies signed by Michael Koryta.
January 13, 2016
Michael Kortya is a masterful storyteller, and he has written another gripping thriller about two brothers searching for a murderer in a football-loving town. You won’t want to put it down.
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