The Cypress House

by Michael Koryta

A journey to Florida's coast becomes an inescapable nightmare in the newest supernatural thriller from international bestseller Michael Koryta.

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

When Arlen awakens on a train one hot Florida night and sees death's telltale sign in the eyes of his fellow passengers, he tries to warn them. Only 19-year-old Paul Brickhill believes him, and the two abandon the train, hoping to escape certain death. They continue south, but soon are stranded at the Cypress House--an isolated Gulf Coast boarding house run by the beautiful Rebecca Cady--directly in the path of an approaching hurricane.

The storm isn't the only approaching danger, though. A much deadlier force controls the county and everyone living in it, and Arlen wants out--fast. But Paul refuses to abandon Rebecca to face the threats alone, even though Arlen's eerie gift warns that if they stay too long they may never leave. From its chilling beginning to terrifying end, The Cypress House is a story of relentless suspense from "one of the best of the best" (Michael Connelly).

Genres: Thriller, Horror, Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal, Suspense, Mystery Thriller

415 pages, Hardcover

First published January 24, 2011

About the author

Michael 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.

Reviews

[Kemper · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fine folks who run Goodreads can point to this review with their sponsors as proof that their ads actually work because I got this book after seeing it several times here on the site. Granted, I got it from the library so I didn’t actually spend any money on it, but the fact that I sought it out and read it after seeing it on here has to count for something, right? (Oh, and I will never watch that Gnomeo & Juliet movie because the damn thing expanded all over my screen if my cursor got within a half-mile of it so that’s one ad that actually made me hate the thing it was selling.)

Anyhow, for once Internet advertising was useful because I read an entertaining book that I probably wouldn’t have checked out otherwise. Arlen Wagner is a World War I veteran trying to get by during the Great Depression by working for one of the government coservation projects. He befriends a young man named Paul Brickhill who has a knack for construction and engineering, and when their current job ends, Paul talks Arlen into going down to the Florida Keys with him to work on a bridge project.

However, Arlen has a creepy gift. He can tell when people are about to die because he begins seeing them as skeletal figures with smoke in their eyes. On the train to Florida, Arlen begins seeing that everyone on the train is going to die in the near future. He talks Paul into getting off the train with him, but the other men think he’s crazy and continue on towards disaster.

Arlen and Paul catch a ride with a slick stranger who makes a stop at an isolated fishing resort run by the beautiful but secretive Rebecca Cady. Before they realize what they’ve gotten into, Arlen and Paul have gotten on the bad sides of a corrupt local judge and sheriff, and then caught in a hurricane. Arlen just wants to get out of the county, but before it’s all over, he‘ll be seeing a lot more people with skeleton features and smokey eyes.

I hadn’t read Koryta before, but I’ll checking out more of his work. Here, he’s created a period crime piece with a spooky supernatural twist. The haunted Arlen and the gifted but naïve Paul are a couple of great characters, and the Florida beaches and swamps make a nice backdrop for the drama. This is quality fast-paced creepy story telling.

[Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out my interview with Michael Koryta in August 2012 >>http://more2read.com/review/interview-with-michael-koryta/

A haunting Cleverly written story. The main protagonist Arlene has some scores to settle and souls to help close to home and out of town. The story is set in a bleak weather and financial climate. He finds himself in a town where more than his carpentry skills are needed. One woman a resident of Cypress House is in his need of his help, trapped in a web of bribery, murder and drug running at the hands of a gang of violent men. Arlene has already his own demons to deal with as he battles with and tries to understand his deceased fathers last words and days of lives. As time goes by he becomes closer to his father more than ever and starts to understand and realize his father. This was a a chilling story of human struggle in desperate times, a story written about many times before but presented here in a very different atmosphere and supernatural twist.

"This life was nothing but a sojourn anyhow. A temporary stay, that of a, stranger in a strange land."

“Love lingers,” Arlen said. It’s this place, he thought. There’s something wrong with this place. Death hides here, even from me. The Cypress House, it was called. The Cypress House. That brought back memories, too. Not of a highway tavern, though. No, no. The cypress houses of Arlen’s youth had been quite different than that. They’d been houses of death another sort entirely. The last Pope was in one now. Every Pope who’d passed on was, as far as Arlen knew. Always would be. Cypress Wood was required in the sacred burial rites of many faiths in many lands. The branches of the trees themselves were symbols of death mourning."

"You’re all I have in this world, son, that death can’t take. This world isn’t anything but a sojourn, to be sure, but death removes every trace unless you’re taken pains to leave one behind. You’re my trace, Arlen."

"He loved Work. Physical labor. It was a strange thing, maybe, but he loved the ache in his muscles at the end of a day, loved the sweat that coursed from his pores, loved the sound of a saw and the feel of a hammer, the clean crack of a well-struck nail. So many men wandered this country now, looking for so simple a thing as work. It was a bizarre notion when you stopped to think about it, and Arlen figured it was a birth pang of a new world. So much had happened to cause this Depression, so many things he understood and more that he did not, but in the end they all captured a simple idea: you couldn’t depend solely on yourself anymore. Not in the way men once had. You could have skill and strength and desire, but you had to find someone who needed to utilize those things. Was a time when, if you knew how to work metal, you’d set up a blacksmith shop and make l enough to support your family. Now, if you knew how to work metal, you’d likely need a job in a factory where the needs of not a town but a state, a nation, a world, had to be met. It was all about size now: the big ran the world on the sweat of the small, and if the big faltered for any reason, the small were the first to go."

“Cypress is damn strong."
“It makes the finest coffins,” Arlen said.“How in the hell do you know a thing like that?”
“My father told me,” Arlen said. “He paid a lot of mind to such things.”

You can view video interview on my blog here >>

www.more2read.com/?review=the-cypress-ho...

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I gave it four stars but with a big reservation.

A question I always ask myself when reading a novel of the supernatural is, "Are the supernatural elements essential to the story." Or is it just a gimmick. Many paranormal romances violate this principle four times before breakfast. Fortunately I do not read very many PR. The Cypress House, not a PNR by any definition although there is a romance, failed this particular requirement. The supernatural aspect seems a little hacked on to me. Especially disturbing is how the book description hints at more supernatural horrors. While there is plenty of evil awaiting our protagonist, it is not the supernatural variety.

Yet even with that complaint, The Cypress House is an engaging thriller with lots of terrifying moments. Arlen Wagner is an admirably strong hero with demons of his own to struggle with. The villains in this novel are truly villainous. The Southern depression era setting with its hurricanes and swamps lend a colorfully rich background to this thriller. The plot regarding wandering laborers and local corrupt authorities is quite riveting. In fact, I liked this book better than the previously read The Ridge in which the supernatural elements were core to the story.

The main thing taken away from this reading is that Michael Koryta is an excellent writer and a truly gifted storyteller. While I would prefer more emphasis on the supernatural, Koryta's tale focusing on the horrors of our fellow humans is not to be taken lightly. I will be reading more Koryta soon.

[Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Gangsters, a silent but heroic drifter with second sight, and a whopper of a Florida hurricane. How can you go wrong?" (Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly )
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"Michael Koryta is one of our new dynamos in the world of books, and in The Cypress House he spreads his range, wedding suspense with the supernatural in the eeriness of 1930s Florida. He uses the psychology of place to penetrate the human heart and delivers his tale of hurricanes and love and hauntings with great narrative force. Koryta's becoming a wonder we'll appreciate for a long time." (Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter's Bone )



"Michael Koryta has fashioned a great character in his reluctant prophet, Arlen Wagner, a good man who ends up with an awful lot of blood on his hands before the denouement of this deliciously dark tale. Koryta is a fantastic storyteller, and the many admirers of his previous novel, So Cold the River, will find similar chilly pleasures awaiting them here." (Scott Smith, author of A Simple Plan and The Ruins )
My Review

A haunting Cleverly written story. The main protagonist Arlene has some scores to settle and souls to help close to home and out of town. The story is set in a bleak weather and financial climate. He finds himself in a town where more than his carpentry skills are needed. One woman a resident of Cypress House is in his need of his help, trapped in a web of bribery, murder and drug running at the hands of a gang of violent men. Arlene has already his own demons to deal with as he battles with and tries to understand his deceased fathers last words and days of lives. As time goes by he becomes closer to his father more than ever and starts to understand and realize his father. This was a a chilling story of human struggle in desperate times, a story written about many times before but presented here in a very different atmosphere and supernatural twist.

"This life was nothing but a

sojourn anyhow. A temporary stay, that of a, stranger in a strange land.

, “Love lingers,” Arlen said."



"It’s this place, he thought. There’s something wrong with this place. Death hides here, even from me.

The Cypress House, it was called. The Cypress House. That brought back

memories, too. Not of a highway tavern, though. No, no. The cypress houses of Arlen’s youth had been quite

different than that. They’d been houses of death another sort entirely. The last Pope was in one now. Every Pope who’d passed on was, as far as Arlen knew.

Always would be. Cypress Wood was required in the sacred burial rites of many faiths in many lands. The branches of the trees themselves were symbols of death mourning."





" You’re all I have in this world, son, that death can’t take. This world isn’t anything but a sojourn, to be sure, but death removes every trace unless you’re taken pains to leave one behind. You’re my trace, Arlen."



"He loved Work. Physical labor. It was a strange thing, maybe, but he loved the ache in his muscles at the end of a day, loved the sweat that coursed from his pores, loved the sound of a saw and the feel of a hammer, the

clean crack of a well-struck nail. So many men wandered this country now, looking for so simple a thing as work. It was a bizarre notion when you stopped to think about it, and Arlen figured it was a birth pang of a new world. So much had happened to cause this Depression, so many things he understood and more that he did not,

but in the end they all captured a simple idea: you couldn’t depend solely on yourself anymore. Not in the way men once had. You could have skill and strength and desire, but you had to find someone who needed to utilize those things. Was a time when, if you knew how to work metal, you’d set up a blacksmith shop and make l enough to support your family. Now, if you knew

how to work metal, you’d likely need a job in a factory where the needs of not a town but a state, a nation, a world, had to be met. It was all about size now: the big ran the world on the sweat of the small, and if the big faltered for any reason, the small were the first to go."



"“Cypress is damn strong."

“It makes the finest coffins,” Arlen said.“How in the hell do you

know a thing like that?”

“My father told me,” Arlen said. “He paid a lot of mind to such things.”

You can view video interview on my blog here >>

www.more2read.com/?review=the-cypress-ho...

[Jane Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ½ stars. Bad subject matter for me, artificial secret keeping, stupidity, too much helpless victim feel.

This was not entertaining or fun. I was not surprised or delighted. I liked the beginning, but the longer I read the more annoyed and frustrated I felt. The biggest problem was subject matter. The second problem was people keeping secrets for no good reason.

SECRETS:
Secrets were used to create mystery and conflict. They did not make sense. Some were stupid. Several times I wanted to shake a character and say “tell them.”

Arlen loves Paul like a son and does things to help and protect Paul. At the end of the book, Paul has been given a gift from an anonymous source. Arlen is the source but does not tell Paul he did it. Why keep that secret? It was the end of the book and I was ready for some happy feelings, but instead I get another secret. I was annoyed.

Many of the secrets were Rebecca not telling Arlen what was going on. Arlen also kept secrets from Paul. I liked Envy the Night by this author. In that book characters didn’t tell all they knew, but it fit their motivations.

SUBJECT MATTER - METAPHOR STYLE:
Two guys are looking for work and accidentally walk into a nest of poisonous snakes. Instead of running away like sane people, they stay because of a pretty girl. The leader of the snakes tells the girl he will kill her brother if she doesn’t do what he wants. The brother is tied up. She thinks as soon as he gets untied they can leave. But when he is no longer tied, he wants to stay. She doesn’t tell him the snakes are poisonous. And she continues to NOT tell him. Most of the story is about snakes threatening good guys.

In contrast, in Envy the Night by Koryta, thugs come to town and have no idea that two very skilled and talented good guys will cause problems for them. That was fun because the good guys had some control. That is also what’s going on with the fabulously successful Jack Reacher series (by Lee Child). Thugs have no idea what they’re up against when they meet Reacher. In Cypress, the good guys have no power and suffer.

I feel helpless when I think about corruption in the world around me. I read fiction to feel good. I want to see someone with control. Books like this pull me down rather than up.

ACTUAL STORY BRIEF:
Arlen was a soldier in WWI who is now traveling with Paul looking for work during the depression. They pass through a town where the judge and sheriff are part of a drug organization. When Arlen and Paul arrive, the judge and sheriff put them in jail, beat them, and take all their money. When they get out of jail, instead of leaving they hang around.

A secondary story is Arlen’s psychic gift. He sees smoke in the eyes of people who will die. His father had a psychic gift of talking to people after they died.

OPINION ABOUT THE PSYCHIC TALENTS:
The story was good in the beginning about Arlen’s gift. And the ending climax scene had some of this which was very good. But the main story would have been better if it focused more on this gift - having more psychic things happening during the middle of the book.

Another annoyance: Arlen kept insisting that his father was insane which was not true. And Arlen did not believe his father had a psychic ability. Because Arlen had his own psychic gift, it did not make sense that he disbelieved his father’s.

MY FAVORITE PART:
Paul was fun to watch and think about. He was a 19-year-old engineering genius. He was in control when it came to machines and structures.

NARRATOR:
The narrator Robert Petkoff was pretty good. But I have mixed feelings about his southern drawl for Arlen.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Unabridged audiobook length: 11 hrs and 54 mins. Swearing language: moderate but rarely used. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: 3 referred to no details. Setting: 1935 mostly Florida gulf coast with a little back story. Book copyright: 2011. Genre: paranormal mystery suspense.

OTHER BOOKS:
I really enjoyed Envy the Night by this author. Gave it 5 stars.

[Daniel Audet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book, having read through it in a few days. Koryta has a great writing style, it's no wonder he has a large following. Characters in this book are engaging and vivid. The flavor and atmosphere of the day (1935) is there throughout, along with the description of the hurricane and it's aftermath. The paranormal aspect of this book seems, well, normal, to the characters in terms of their reality and to the reader it becomes a plausible aspect. I'll be looking up other books from this author to read and I highly recommend this book, even if you're not a paranormal book fan....you will be. Stay tuned....

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I started The Cypress House 2 days ago and I'm about 100 pages in. First of all I'm sorry I did not discover this author Michael Koryta sooner, it's certainly no fault of his I just need to get out more - I guess. Right off the bat Koryta grabs you and pulls you into the story as if you were already riding along, I love this and it's something all the best authors are able to do. The reviews you may have seen regarding this book and author, the positive ones, in my humble opinion are all true. Having messaged back and forth with Michael Connelly in the recent past I can tell you he doesn't twist the truth for anyone....EVER. So, if he says this guy's"...the best of the best...", and I agree, then that's what he is, you can take that to the bank.
OK, back to our story....There is nothing standard issue about this tale or the way Koryta rolls it out. He breaks a few writing rules and it works to make this story, and the critical backstory, bring you up to speed on a drama playing, and about to play out, with ominous tie-ins to the characters recent history. Then, as a killer hurricane threatens the south coast of 1935 Florida (something the author beautifully and fully captures in flavor and setting)something happens to the good(or maybe not-so-good) samaritan who helps our 2 heroes out while on their way to a work camp in the Florida Keys. Our main character has a special skill, a skill he does not want and it allows him to see things he does not want to see. I'm not one for cliches', though I can only dream my own books will be spoken of this way, but, this book IS one of those you won't be able to put down. I'm thrilled to have discovered not just this great thriller but this author. More soon as I read through The Cypress House.

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I'm very much looking forward to reading this book, having grown up in LA and Florida. FL mostly. I am a lover of the tropics so anything based in this area in my fav genre is sure to catch my attention. I will get back to you on this book soon, and other books by this author, Michael Koryta.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

I really enjoyed this period piece thriller that has a tiny bit of supernatural added in for flair and color. This is my first Koryta novel that I have read, but I am now a fan and will be sure to read his other works.

This novel's strength is that it is built around a very likable, believable, and rememberable protagonist named Arlen. The side characters are colorful and sufficient to compliment Arlen. Corridor County, the town, the place itself was to me the second strongest character of this book. The time period of the 1930's depression era was also a tangible player in this crime thriller. I loved the way that all the action, the events, and the main plots were shaped by the setting and the time.

The supernatural aspect of this book is small, and not completely necessary, but it works. It gives this story it's heart and emotion. The backstories of all the main characters also add to our investment in their outcome. Their stories are the reason we care about them by the books end. Arlen is a strong and able hero that could easily carry a series. Even though we learn a great deal about the man, it is very clear that there is much more to him than we are given. He appears to know more than he lets on. He seems to be too prepared to be just a man looking for work. Arlen is also a man that has an extraordinary gift that for most his life he has shunned and down played.

The setting and the time make this book an immersive read. You are there at the old time bayou setting. You can hear the howling hurricane force winds. You can  smell the ocean, the beaches, and the farmers fields. You can almost feel the heat of the scorching Florida sun. I love well done period pieces, and Koryta has done a fine job at recreating Florida of the 1930's. I loved the backstories and the themes that play throughout. "Love Lingers" as Arlen's father used to tell him.

The plot is fairly straight forward and does include a couple of twist along the way. There is not a lot of action but the end sequences are competent and suffice to tie up our story. The supernatural is done with a light touch that only adds to the time frame novel, not detract from it. I will be sure to read more of Koryta and highly recommend this book to those that like a good thriller, noir, and depression era pieces.

[Trudi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book completely by accident one day whilst poking around my library’s fiction stacks. I had never heard of this Michael Koryta guy before but the unusual premise for this one grabbed my attention immediately, and a few enthusiastic reviews here on GR convinced me to give it a try.

This book is all kinds of awesome, and I think what I enjoyed about it the most is that it’s so hard to categorize –- it’s like ten genres in one. That isn't to say the book is confused, far from it. Koryta has such control over the magic he weaves here. He is a skilled storyteller, an absolute master at pacing and plot. His descriptive prose is so lush on the one hand and so cuttingly precise on the other that the entire novel unfolds in cinematic detail. I could see and feel everything – like the thick humidity of the swamp, sweaty and heavy on my skin making it hard to breathe. I smelled the sickening fetid rot and the coppery stench of blood. My pulse raced with fear and worry, my bile rose in disgust and outrage. I lusted for revenge and prayed for forgiveness. I carried the characters’ guilt and heart ache on my shoulders and longed for their escape and redemption

Koryta manages to accomplish so much here – a supernatural tale firmly grounded in realism containing aspects of both the historical and the crime novel. There is mystery, there is love, there is corruption, there is betrayal, there is friendship. In an interview Koryta explains:

while I grasp the idea of genre differences, I’ve never particularly cared about them as a reader. I can be equally entertained by Elmore Leonard or Stephen King or Pat Conroy. They are all gifted storytellers, and if you’re telling me a good story I’m not … inclined to worry about the genre.

Amen, ain’t that the truth? I always thought so anyway. As for this book? Read it.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arlen sees things.

He doesn’t want to.

But sees them anyway.

This time it just may save his life.

This was written well and pretty entertaining. Supernatural suspense/thrillers (if that’s even what this was) can be rough for me sometimes, but Koryta executes this one very well. Reminds me of a series I just watched on Netflix that I can’t remember the name of.

I was a little irked that Arlen was so stubborn regarding his fathers past even though he had some powerful reasons to think differently. He came around eventually.

Overall, a very promising author and a decent and entertaining story. (Yes, I am aware that this dude has written a bunch of books, but this was my first of his.)

3.5 Stars

[William Bentrim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cypress House by Michael Koryta

This is a story of the great depression, the despair and the illicit means some used to survive. It is a love story in many ways as well as a crime and violence filled occult tale of how people can be trapped in situations beyond their control.

Michael Koryta is an artist. His characters have such life that it is simplicity itself to visualize them and their surroundings. I read the book while in Florida and found myself looking around for some of the scenery or characters.

The story was set in a time of depression and post war trauma. That setting resonated with today’s recession and returning veterans. War changes people and Koryta captured that essence of humanity.

I also liked how he showed a love between two unrelated men that had nothing to do with gender bias or sexual preference. Sometimes the depth of friendship is love that has absolutely nothing to do with sexuality. That type of relationship seems practically taboo in contemporary fiction.

Arlen Wagner’s skepticism of his own talent promoted belief in what he experience, much more than a simple presentation of that talent.

This the second of his books I have read and I will be actively seeking out the rest.

I highly recommend the book.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE CYPRESS HOUSE, by Michael Koryta is a supernatural thriller with violence, trust, friendship, strong bonds of family, and the lives of those a century's past. While the beginning started out strong, I did feel it was a little slow going building on the characters during the middle, without much THEN in the way of action. Once that was past, everything was nonstop!

The writer delivered great, sympathetic characters and evil villains in a time period that was beautiful to read about. I think this may have been my first Michael Koryta book, but it definitely won't be my last.

Recommended!

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Michael Koryta read thanks to the recommendation of one of my author friends Alafair Burke and I was not the least disappointed. This very interesting story kept me intrigued start to finish and I will certainly be reading more of Koryta's works. 8 of 10 stars

[Jo Anne B · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You’ve got a touch of the gift yourself, boy. I’m sure of it. I see it in you. You’re going to need to believe. And something you need to know, son? Love lingers.”

Arlen Wagner’s father told him this before he was shot to death. All because people thought he was insane, including his son. Isaac Wagner claimed he could talk to dead people. Arlen wouldn’t realize he was telling the truth until he himself was able to do the same. Hard to believe someone has supernatural powers until you have them yourself.

The author captured the setting in the early 1930s perfectly, rife with people desperate for jobs and money. Arlen and his traveling companion Paul were on a train headed to the Keys to get paid doing labor for the CCC- Civilian Conservation Corps. Arlen is a wonderful main character. He is a wise, experienced, honest man with a calm demeanor that made sure to make things right. He is a war veteran that has seen more than what most people see in their lives and gives him an air of omniscience. He is able to see if people were going to die by seeing either smoke in their eyes or their body as a skeleton. While on the train, he sees everyone as skeletons, and tells them they need to get off the train. Noone believes him, so they proceed onward to the Keys without Arlen and Paul. That left Arlen and Paul hitching a ride to a town that had a lot in store for them, despite its beauty.

The town they ended up in was run by corrupt men including the Sheriff, judge, and all their henchmen. The judge Solomon Wade was the man in charge that kept his people paid and under his rule. He got men (and women) killed that he didn’t like and told Arlen that “All these people are smoke and I am the match.” Arlen had sensed the town was “off” and realized noone was able to leave the town since they would be able to tell outside authorities of the corrupt leaders running the show there. There was a big storm and he and Paul stayed at the Cypress House and remained after the storm to earn some money fixing up the place, since the sheriff had stolen all their money. Paul is infatuated with the owner of the inn, Rebecca who old enough to be his mother. Arlen ends up falling in love with her and when Paul learns of this he takes off. Arlen learns of the sheriff’s hold on Rebecca and plans to get Rebecca, her brother Owen and himself out of there alive. The plot ensues and there is a lot of bloodshed and twists involved.

I really enjoyed this book. The writing was very much like Arlen’s demeanor and the nature surrounding the town, calm and subdued, but packed with a punch. This is my first read of Koryta’s and not my last.

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it possible to have loved a supernatural thriller more than I loved SO COLD THE RIVER? I didn't think so until I read THE CYPRESS HOUSE. This is an eerie, historic, wild book with the best swamp chase I've ever read. Definitely add to your to-read list.

[Kelly Hager · Rating 5 out of 5]

So that I don't spoil anything, here's the synopsis from the back of the book: "Arlen Wagner has seen it in men before---a trace of smoke in their eyes that promises imminent death. He is never wrong.

When Arlen awakens on a train one hot Florida night and sees death's telltale sign in the eyes of his fellow passengers, he tries to warn them. Only nineteen-year-old Paul Brickhill believes him, and the two abandon the train, hoping to escape certain death. They continue south but soon are stranded at the Cypress House---an isolated Gulf Coast boardinghouse run by the beautiful Rebecca Cady---directly in the path of a hurricane.

The storm isn't the only approaching danger, though. A much deadlier force controls the county and everyone living in it, and Arlen wants out---fast. But Paul refuses to abandon Rebecca to face the threats alone, even though Arlen's eerie gift warns that if they stay too long, they may never leave."

This is the second Michael Koryta book I've read. I got a copy of So Cold the River at BEA last year, and was completely blown away at how amazing it was. This book is better. It's so amazing that I can't even talk about it, because I don't have a vocabulary to express how much everyone needs to read this book. (And yes, as an English major who reads books the way I do, I do find that shameful.)

But I love this book so much, I have lost the words. So please read this book so that we can be speechless together. :) (And read So Cold the River, too. Just don't drink the water.)

[Emmaline Soken-Huberty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got an autographed copy of this book since my fiance is from the author's hometown and I really, really wanted to like the novel. Much it is good. Koryta has a strong grasp on plot and I liked the post-WWI setting and how that war haunts the main character, Arlen, and colors much of his personality. It's a fast-paced, intriguing read.

HOWEVER, my biggest complaint is Koryta's writing of the novel's sole female character, Rebecca. Initially, she is an infuriatingly stoic, mysterious beauty who everyone seems to be in love with for some reason, and then she dissolves into "woman with dark past who needs a man's help." Not original. In one scene, she becomes nude for no good reason and is described by a male character has having a body that is "soft and absent of fat." Really? This flaw in the novel was especially distracting to me because I study the depiction of women in literature and the media, so others with less of a focus on that area may not have as much of a problem with Rebecca.

[Cindy Meilink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very seldom does a "perfect" book come along–a book with strong believable characters, an enthralling plot, and dialogue so rich that you can immerse yourself inside it–The Cypress House is such a book.

Arlen Wagner is a man with a gift, or a curse, depending on one's perspective. Arlen can see impending death. Having seen death reflected on the passengers of a train, he gets off with his riding companion and urges others to do the same. He and his younger friend, Paul, are the only passengers to disembark and the only passengers that survive after the train heads straight into a hurricane.

Because of their change in plans, Arlen and Paul ultimately land at Cypress House, an isolated boardinghouse on the gulf where they meet Rebecca and enter a world ruled by Solomon Wade and filled with corruption and murder.

Michael Koryta is to be commended on such an outstanding book! A word of warning, however...once you start this book, you won't be able to put it down.

Excellent!!!

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arlen can see death in men's eyes but but it isn't the supernatural he needs for fear at Cypress House. It is the corrupt and evil judge and sheriff he needs to do battle with, of couse he has a little help from the dead along the way. Love Michael Koryta's writing and the way he mixes the supernatural with suspense.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two-haiku review:

He sees dead people
Gets off train in Florida
Finds much corruption

Depression era
Characters draw reader in
Compelling story

4-1/2 stars

[Jaksen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dnf for me, but I read more than three-quarters in, so I feel I can give it a 3 star or satisfactory rating.

I had read that Michael Koryta writes in a similar way to John Connolly - who I love! But I must say I was disappointed in that. It seemed to be a one-track story, with characters going somewhere, staying there, and not doing much except the same old things over and over. I wasn't interested in the 'good guys,' the 'bad guys' or those in between and I said to myself: Why am I wasting my time on this?

However, the writing is excellent, exemplary. The dialogue rich and realistic. The setting - totally creepsville, an old restaurant/inn on a swampy coast in Florida. The time period - right after WWI - also a fascinating era in history. The MC can 'see' death in a person's eyes, in other words, he can tell when you're about to die. (But not how or where or when.) What held my interest was all of this, but what failed me was the lackluster, who-cares-what-happens story line.

(There's drug running and people getting burned to death or their hands cut off, and a woman who owns the hotel who's as dull as dishwater but the MC takes her to bed anyhow. Meh.)

So three stars for great writing; two deducted for mehness.

Yes, mehness. I dont know if I'll try another book by Mr. Koryta or not.

Three stars.

[Crystal Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Michael Koryta novel was “So Cold the River”, which is one of my favorite books. I recommend it to everyone. I was excited to begin “The Cypress House”. The cover has the same eerie look to it as So Cold the River does; unfortunately, the story was nowhere near as good.

My attention was grabbed immediately as I read the first few chapters. The events on the train sucked me right into the thick of things. Right away I felt the creepy, mysterious vibe that Koryta evokes so well in his books. In no time, I found myself getting attached to the main character, Arlen, and immediately, I became curious about his “special gift”.

As I read on, the book started to fall a little flat. Not to the point of me becoming uninterested, or distracted – that never happened, but the plot sort of went in a direction I wasn’t expecting it to go. I didn’t care about the corrupt judge and his goons—I was more engrossed with the supernatural elements. I didn’t really care for the Rebecca character at all. She seemed flat and cold.

I really enjoy Michael Kortya’s writing. His books have that Stephen King feeling to them, but he doesn’t ramble on forever like King does. This book was a solid 3.5 stars.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen King recommended author and book. He says: "Gangsters, a silent but heroic drifter, and one whopper of a hurricane. How can you go wrong?" July 2011 EW Summer Reading list. He also said Koryta is "a master."

Koryta is such a great writer; I will definitely continue to read his stuff! This book was relentless, and I was on the edge of my seat all the way through; so anxious about Arlen and Paul and Rebecca. I wanted them to just get out of Corridor County and make tracks! I like the supernatural twist, too. It didn't overwhelm the story; just added a bit of spice and intrigue.

[Tay · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite book from Koryta.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one has been on my tbr forever. It was okay. It kept me interested but I didn't love it.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Koryta's latest suspense thriller is a slight departure from his usual crime novels, but it is a satisfying departure. "The Cypress House" is set during the '30s, during the era of the Depression and Prohibition. The story's protagonist, Arlen Wagner, has the supernatural ability to see when a man is going to die. Death shows itself to him as a flicker of smoke reflected in the victim's eyes. He can't see how they will die, only that it will happen soon. When he sees the smoke flicker in the eyes of every single inhabitant of the train that he and his young friend, Paul, are on, he has no choice but to get off. Sure, he tries telling people, but they think he's crazy. He and Paul exit the train, and they are left to hitchhike the desolate roads of southern Florida. The only place to stay is a once-regal now-decaying boarding house called the Cypress House, owned by a beautiful but mysterious young woman. When the only other boarder, a bootlegger named Sorenson, dies in a fiery explosion when his car inexplicably blows up, the local law enforcement arrest Arlen and Paul. There is no interrogation, only a beating and a cold cell to sleep in. Thus begins the suspenseful roman noir that resurrects the dark and hard-boiled fiction of Jim Thompson and the Depression-era humanity of John Steinbeck. Throw in some Stephen King and Peter Straub, and you have a fantastic crime thriller with a supernatural twist. Koryta has a flair for character development, dialogue, pacing, and action, which is probably why he is quickly becoming one of the hottest new writers in the mystery/crime genre. If you like great writing and a great story, check this one out.

[Janette Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis:
Arlen Wagner has seen it in men before--a trace of smoke in their eyes that promises imminent death. He is never wrong. When Arlen awakens on a train one hot Florida night and sees death's telltale sign in the eyes of his fellow passengers, he tries to warn them. Only 19-year-old Paul Brickhill believes him, and the two abandon the train, hoping to escape certain death. They continue south, but soon are stranded at the Cypress House--an isolated Gulf Coast boarding house run by the beautiful Rebecca Cady--directly in the path of an approaching hurricane. The storm isn't the only approaching danger, though. A much deadlier force controls the county and everyone living in it, and Arlen wants out--fast. But Paul refuses to abandon Rebecca to face the threats alone, even though Arlen's eerie gift warns that if they stay too long they may never leave.

Michael Koryta does American Gothic very, very well and The Cypress Tree is no exception with its dazzling blend of noir ingredients - small-town corruption, lies, deceit and the Great Depression. The whole blend is shot through an atmosphere that drips with menace and fatalism, impending doom and just a touch of supernatural shenanigans.

Strong characterisations, rich sense of time and place, a well written plot and the hint of a tragic love triangle make this a steamy, southern slow burner to savour. Loved it!

[Sue Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been the best book I've read for a long time!! Enigmatic characters, wonderful weaving plot that seriously gives no clues to where it's going to lead to but continually gets tighter and tighter (so you know it's not going anywhere good) and a very creepy location to settle it down into. Add in a little supernatural twist to the mystery, a drop of a love story and you've got a really fascinating, nail biting story!

It's wonderfully written. You can feel the place (honestly!!) when he writes. This book had me going right from the first sentence and you couldn't put it down. Dark and dangerous with that supernatural element that never seems to be too far from the surface - but isn't the focus of the story - so it teases you to find out where it will come into play. The story builds in tension and mystery and Michael Koryta reveals things like a strip tease - bit by bit, without showing the whole thing just to keep you waiting and watching. Best show ever!!!

Do yourself a favor - read this book! I'll be putting this author on my favorites list and getting more of his books to read! He's a master story teller!

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another 12 star read!

Another unsurpassable novel feat from Michael Koryta, whom-like Kealan Patrick Burke and Michael Marshall Smith-cannot seem to write anything less than the best. This one frightened me quite a bit, because of the unrelenting juggernaut implacability of the evil.

I truly was not sure if there would ever be a happy, or even a partially, happy ending.

The novel is suffused with violence, some of it quite graphic, other times distantly graphic (as readers we know it’s there, we see either the prequel or the aftermath) but we don’t view the process. Yet the violence here is such an intrinsic part of the evil, that it’s not gratuitous, nor unexpected, and certainly not unlikely. It just is-like water moccasins, alligators, and dinosaurs.
Not just the plot but the characterisations are stunners. I am constantly amazed at how author Michael Koryta can delve so deeply into his characters, and at how his characters can manage to be so deep! And those foundations of Supernatural-oh, how powerful that makes these novels (I refer here also to “So Cold the River” and “The Ridge”).

[SheriC · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Cypress House is my first Michael Koryta novel, but likely won’t be my last. I’m not even sure why this one was on my TBR list, as I added it years ago, long before I started keeping notes as to why I put books on the list for management/periodic TBR purges.

It was an odd mix of thriller and romance with supernatural elements, and I almost DNF’d it because it took the full (self-imposed) minimum 50 pages to engage my attention. Pacing-wise, it dragged in places with long chunks of exposition, and I felt emotionally disconnected from all the characters. The supernatural story elements served more as a convenient plot-device than interesting twist. However, the story was still interesting enough to keep me going and had a satisfying ending.

Hardcover, borrowed from my public library.

[Gatorman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Likeable but disappointing tale from Koryta. It seems to go on forever and has too many dull spots, although the climax was enjoyable. A lot of promise in the story but it just never develops into the kind of book it seems to be aiming to be, which is a thriller with smarts. The writing is terrific and the characters are interesting, which makes it even more frustrating that the book wasn't better. I enjoy Koryta's later efforts much more, such as The Ridge and The Prophet, and his earlier books Envy of Night and Tonight I Say Goodbye.