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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a complex mystery that was at times a little hard to follow, but then i did it as an audio in the car.
I really enjoy Michael Koryta's writing style and this book was quick paced. It follows and FBI agent immediately following a confession regarding two missing presumed murdered teenagers. The premise was really intriguing as the confession leads to bodies but not where they were supposed to be or killed how the confession stated.
So the question is why would someone confess to a crime but give all of the wrong details in such a believable way? The answer to this kept me guessing right until the end and I found the conclusion so satisfying.
I thought the narrative style and the way the story unfolded was similar to True Detective and I really enjoyed the guessing of it all. The small town fishing element was something that I haven't read a lot about before and although it wasn't a major part of this storyline it was intriguing and added to the background of the characters and storyline in an interesting way.
So the question is why would someone confess to a crime but give all of the wrong details in such a believable way? The answer to this kept me guessing right until the end and I found the conclusion so satisfying.
I thought the narrative style and the way the story unfolded was similar to True Detective and I really enjoyed the guessing of it all. The small town fishing element was something that I haven't read a lot about before and although it wasn't a major part of this storyline it was intriguing and added to the background of the characters and storyline in an interesting way.
3.5 stars. Was a decent read, not my favorite of his books but it was good.
Engaging page turner, but a little light on specifics. You really have to pay attention to the implications here. Excellent plotting, pacing, characters, dialog; all the important stuff.
It seems that I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as my fellow Goodreaders, but that doesn't mean that I disliked it. This was overall an entertaining read, and while I had to suspend some belief in the plot's plausibility, it kept me reading and wanting to know "how it happened". The story did drag a bit in a few spots, and it didn't seem to hold that creepy factor that so many of his other books have, so maybe I'm just more drawn to his books with a borderline (or full on) supernatural thread to them. I would definitely recommend this to readers who are more looking for a police procedural rather than a psychological thriller. Well written, claustrophobic, and tense, I think a majority of readers will take to Koryta's latest novel.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley.
This excellent audio book starts off amazingly and gradually becomes more of a typical mystery but it was still well above average especially with its characters.
A traditional detective novel elevated by Koryta's remarkable creativity. No supernatural elements as in many of Koryta's novels, but the twists and turns and surprises in this story made it definitively Koryta: a very detailed world where you never know what is going to happen next.
How It Happened opens with a confession detailing the murders of Jackie Pelletier and Ian Kelley. Unfortunately, the confession came from Kimberley Crepeaux, a young woman not particularly known for honesty. More importantly, her confession implicates a respected and much-admired member of the community, Mathias Burke.
FBI investigator Rob Barrett as an expert in confessions, he is certain she is telling the truth. He also recalls a childhood incident that revealed a wickedness in Mathias Burke that is hidden to most people under his hard-working ambitious caretaker/landscaper facade. When they search for the bodies where Kimberley told them to look and they are not found, it looks as though she is the liar, but Barrett resists the obvious, setting him at odds with the rest of law enforcement and the community.
The story is fast-paced and well written, but it suffers from the villain explaining everything at the end like some Bond villain giving Bond time to escape his certain death, except of course, it’s after the villain has been caught. The sneering, look-how-clever-I-am confession was just too much and ruined the story for me. I am a show, don’t tell reader so this is kind of resolution is designed not to appeal to me. Frankly, I thought the whole solution was overwrought, reaching deep into conspiracy and far more complicated than it needed to be for some small-town murder.
How It Happened at Little, Brown and Company
Michael Koryta author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/07/04/9780316293921/
FBI investigator Rob Barrett as an expert in confessions, he is certain she is telling the truth. He also recalls a childhood incident that revealed a wickedness in Mathias Burke that is hidden to most people under his hard-working ambitious caretaker/landscaper facade. When they search for the bodies where Kimberley told them to look and they are not found, it looks as though she is the liar, but Barrett resists the obvious, setting him at odds with the rest of law enforcement and the community.
The story is fast-paced and well written, but it suffers from the villain explaining everything at the end like some Bond villain giving Bond time to escape his certain death, except of course, it’s after the villain has been caught. The sneering, look-how-clever-I-am confession was just too much and ruined the story for me. I am a show, don’t tell reader so this is kind of resolution is designed not to appeal to me. Frankly, I thought the whole solution was overwrought, reaching deep into conspiracy and far more complicated than it needed to be for some small-town murder.
How It Happened at Little, Brown and Company
Michael Koryta author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/07/04/9780316293921/