The Last Honest Horse Thief

by Michael Koryta

A boy comes of age among a family of grifters in this powerful story from a New York Times-bestselling "master" (Stephen King).

Never knowing a real home, Markus Novak's only constant in life is his passion for paperback westerns. The child of a family of outlaws, he moves through the West town by town with his mother and two uncles, staying in a place just long enough to run a short con and move along. After one job goes south and his mom gets locked up, Markus finds himself in the foster care of a rancher and his wife--with whom he's strangely comfortable, yet torn by loyalty to the family he's lost.

To distract himself, he spends his days working the farm and his nights fixing a rusty old '55 Chevy. Then he discovers a note from his uncles hidden in a book at a local pawnshop and learns that they are hiding out in a mountain town near Yellowstone. Restoring the car soon becomes Markus's only hope of finding them, and maybe finally finding himself, too.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Crime

54 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 18, 2018

About the author

Michael Koryta (pronounced Ko-ree-ta) is a New York Times-bestselling author whose work has been lauded by Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Lisa Unger, Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, and David Baldacci, 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, and many others.

Michael worked as a private investigator and newspaper reporter. His first novel, the Edgar-nominated Tonight I Said Goodbye, was accepted for publication when he was 20 years old.

Michael has written for the screen in both feature film and television. Those Who Wish Me Dead was released in 2021, starring Angelina Jolie, Nicholas Hoult, Tyler Perry, Jon Bernthal and Aidan Gillen, directed by Taylor Sheridan.

He also writes bestselling supernatural thrillers under the pen name Scott Carson.

Michael was raised in Bloomington, Indiana, where he graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

He lives in Camden, Maine, and Bloomington, home of the undefeated national champion Indiana Hoosiers football team, a fact that still strikes him as surreal.

Reviews

[Alan (the Lone Librarian) Teder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcus (Mark) Novak Prequel - Bibliomysteries #37
Review of the Mysterious Press/Open Road eBook (December 18, 2018) of the original hardcover (earlier in 2018).

Larry squeezed his shoulder and forced a grin. “You’re the last honest horse thief, kid. And maybe the first. It’s clearly not your line of work. Just keep it that way, would you?”

This is actually a prequel to Koryta's earlier duo of books featuring lawyer investigator Marcus Novak. In this short story / novella for the Bibliomysteries series, Novak is still a teenage boy who helps his mother and "uncles" run grifter scams. He tires of the deception and the result is that his mother is arrested and imprisoned and he himself is put into a foster home. His "uncles" have meanwhile hidden out and are keeping a low profile while waiting for their sister's release from prison.

There isn't a "deadly book" in this story. Instead, Novak's foster father gives him a repair manual for the old car in the barn and Marcus becomes engrossed into making the car run again. But after it is working, will he be able to resist the urge to steal the car and ride off into the sunset and reunite with his family?

I thought this was a great coming-of-age type story and enjoyed it immensely, even if it didn't adhere to the Bibliomysteries mandate for stories about "deadly books".

Trivia and Links
Michael Koryta (1982-) is an American author of over 14+ published novels, mostly in the crime and supernatural genres. He also writes under the pseudonym of Scott Carson. His best known series are the Lincoln Perry (2004-2009) quartet and the Marcus (Mark) Novak (2015-2016) duology. His most popular book (based on the number of GR ratings and reviews) is Those Who Wish Me Dead (2014) which was adapted as the same titled feature film (2021) directed by Taylor Sheridan and starring Angelina Jolie.

The Bibliomysteries series are short stories commissioned by Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Press to be written around the theme of deadly books. They are individually published in limited edition signed hardcovers followed by paperbacks and ebooks, and periodically collected in anthology editions such as Bibliomysteries (2013, containing stories 1-15) and Bibliomysteries: Volume Two (2018, containing stories 16-30). There does not appear to be a Goodreads Listopia for them, but on Library Thing the current listing (as of late-October 2024) includes 41 short stories Note that there is a double count of #33 and that book #41 isn't numbered yet in that list.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Markus Novak is sent to live with a park ranger after his mother is arrested for running a con and finds a peace and self respect as the ranger trusts him to repair a banged up 55 Chevy.

An interesting short story from Koryta, where readers can feel the pressure on the main character as he struggles with his pride and his need to be reunited with his family.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've missed Markus (while waiting for the third book featuring him to come out), so this novella was a wonderful way to visit with him again and learn a little more about his childhood.

Thanks, Michael Koryta, for this glimpse.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Biblio” yes, “mystery” no—but it’s a good read

Author Koryta, who is best known for his novels of suspense and the supernatural, fashioned a relatively memorable story with “The Last Honest Horse Thief.” It’s about a teenaged boy who comes from a family of grifters. Through circumstances, he finds himself fostered with an older rancher couple who treat him well, but he still feels loyalty to the real family from whom he is separated. As a Bibliomystery, there’s not much of a mystery to the story, although the “biblio” part is mostly relevant. It ends up being a solid reading experience, with characters to invest in and care about.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this 3 1/2 stars. I enjoyed it quite a bit but it's too short even for a short story. I'd like to see it expanded into a novella or shorter novel. Still, it was fun reading about Mark as a kid and his adventures with his mom and uncles.

[Kelly Hager · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, depending on your definition, either a very long short story or a very short novella. It's nearly impossible to stop reading, although it's more character-driven than plot-driven.

It's lacking Michael Koryta's traditional suspense in that I was never afraid of Markus or the rancher and his wife. (In most of his books, I would've spent every page terrified for them.) At the same time, it's very much one of his books because I was hooked immediately and I needed to know what would happen. 

I don't know what it is, but I've always been fascinated by grifters and people who work short cons. I wish there had been more of a focus on that, but that didn't make me like this any less.

I hope this gets fleshed into a novel at some point; I love it but would like a lot more of it. (We already have two Markus Novak novels, so the market is there!) Recommended.

[Kyle O’Keefe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow I loved this. I typically enjoy novellas, but this one really packed an emotional punch in its very short 77 pages. The characters came through so clearly, and it was crushing being in this child’s head while he makes the choices he makes. i always love the backdrop of the American west- one of my favorite settings. I cried at the end. Loved it.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Far too short

I’ve been Koryta fan for years and when I saw this title I thought I had missed one. It is a great beginning for a full novel because it makes the reader ask: What’s next? Or, perhaps my Kindle had a hiccup and left me stranded with that farmer’s vintage car. Whatever is going on, I do feel cheated.

[Ginny Youngblood · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the book I thought it was going to be the next book in the Marcus Novak series picking up where the second book left off. That’s why I only gave it 3 stars. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of his books but I felt short changed on this one. It was more of a short story.

[Peter McDermott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first thing I'd ever read by Michael Koryta. I'm going to have to dig out all his other work now. Cracking good crime novel. Not much crime, to be honest. It's a book about relationships in criminal families. I loved it.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story about a boy with a family of grifters. The mother is put into jail and the uncles split due to arrest warrants. The boy is turned over to a foster family who treats him fairly. He repairs an antique car and sneaks it out so he can’t get to his uncles.

[Victoria McVicker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story? More like an essay. I want my money back.

Love this author, but I don’t like getting ripped off.

[Jill Bjorklund · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seemed more like one chapter from a whole story. It felt unfinished to me.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good short story

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

How important can a car’s window crank be? Very important, indeed.

[Sandra J Stapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good to see Mark as a kid . Love these book I hope there will be more .

[Rich Buickerood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t usually like short stories, but this one had good character development and an interesting plot.

[Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story told too true.