Win a free signed copy of THE RIDGE

We have contests planned for THE RIDGE and hope to get some great participation. Each Monday from now until release a short video or photograph featuring the cats at the Exotic Feline Rescue Center will be posted on Facebook and on Michael's blog, and we will ask for possible captions. The following Monday, the moderators and Michael will vote on the winner, who will receive a signed first-edition hardcover of THE RIDGE as soon as it comes out. Please send your video and photo captions to cypresshousevp@gmail.com and do not post them directly to the Facebook page.

Winners will be asked for their address and a pristine signed copy of the book will be shipped to them courtesy of the Poisoned Pen. www.poisonedpen.com
Let's open the first caption contest up with this photo.

Here comes THE RIDGE

It seems kind of impossible, but publication of THE RIDGE is less than three months away. This novel marks the last of what I've considered a very loosely connected trilogy of supernatural stories: SO COLD THE RIVER, THE CYPRESS HOUSE, and THE RIDGE all feature different characters, settings, and even time periods, but they're bound together not just by the supernatural elements but also thematic tissue. The next book -- so far down the road I won't even hazard a guess at a release date -- is a return to the traditional crime novel, but I hope you will have a chance to check out THE RIDGE this June. These three books have been a lot of fun for me, a chance to do something a little different, to fuse mystery and the uncanny and up the ante of the creepiness factor. I can only hope they've been half as fun to read as they were to write. Here's the publisher's synopsis of the new book:

In an isolated stretch of eastern Kentucky, on a hilltop known as Blade Ridge, stands a lighthouse that illuminates nothing but the surrounding woods. For years the lighthouse has been considered no more than an eccentric local landmark-until its builder is found dead at the top of the light, and his belongings reveal a troubling local history.

For deputy sheriff Kevin Kimble, the lighthouse-keeper's death is disturbing and personal. Years ago, Kimble was shot while on duty. Somehow the death suggests a connection between the lighthouse and the most terrifying moment of his life.

Audrey Clark is in the midst of moving her large-cat sanctuary onto land adjacent to the lighthouse. Sixty-seven tigers, lions, leopards, and one legendary black panther are about to have a new home there. Her husband, the sanctuary's founder, died scouting the new property, and Audrey is determined to see his vision through.

As strange occurrences multiply at the Ridge, the animals grow ever more restless, and Kimble and Audrey try to understand what evil forces are moving through this ancient landscape, just past the divide between dark and light.

The Ridge is the new thriller from international bestseller Michael Koryta, further evidence of why Dean Koontz has said "Michael Koryta's work resonates into deeper strata than does most of what I read" and why Michael Connelly has named him "one of the best of the best."

Hope that has you intrigued. If not, perhaps James Patterson's perspective will interest you: “A man in love with the woman who shot him. Who could possibly resist that story? Not me. Read on, and discover one of the scariest and most touching horror tales in years.”

One of the central elements of THE RIDGE is a big-cat rescue preserve, modeled after the fascinating Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point, Indiana, where more than 200 cats -- tigers, lions, cougars, leopards, ocelots -- have been saved from abusive conditions to live out the rest of their lives in a healthy, safe, and happy environment. I encourage you to visit www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org to learn more about Joe Taft, his staff, the cats, and the incredible work being done by the rescue center.

Due to the fact that this is a two-book year, and I've been on the road pretty steadily since last winter on domestic and international fronts, the tour for THE RIDGE will be limited. Otherwise, that next novel might not be out until 2025. So, with the exception of local signings (Bloomington, Indianapolis, and yet another try at Cleveland, thinking they can't snow me out in June) I'll be making two stops where readers from around the world can have a book signed and inscribed if they so desire. Both Murder by the Book in Houston (www.murderbooks.com) and The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, AZ, (http://www.poisonedpen.com) do a wonderful job with mail-order and have for years. Just order via their sites or give them a call, and I'm happy to inscribe as you desire, and you'll never even have to leave the comfort of your couch. Although it would sure be nice to see you if I'm passing through your area! Full backlist is also available at both stores.

Signings in Bloomington (Barnes and Noble, June 6) and Indianapolis (Big Hat Books, June 7) will also be fundraisers for the EFRC. More details on those events to come.

Recommended reads for March

I was traveling a great deal this month, which meant I was reading a great deal. Having just returned from a wonderful literary festival in Lyon, France, I knocked off eight books in the last few days alone. Being an insomniac on an overnight flight isn't ideal for sleeping, but it's a grand chance to catch up on reading. Here are some of the recent titles read and enjoyed:

1) Helter Skelter, by Vincent Bugliosi. One of those "everyone has read it but me" books that I finally picked up. Wow. The story of the Manson Family, the murders, and the trials are of course compelling, but I was in awe of the sheer enormity of information compacted into a gripping narrative by Bugliosi. The bestselling true crime story of all time also provided me with a laugh. The moment during voir dire in which one of the defense attorneys questions jurors by asking if they or any member of their families has ever been a victim of homicide, only to be interrupted by a subordinate who points out that a "homicide victim" wouldn't be of much use as a juror...you just have to laugh. If you ever want to receive a truly odd look from someone beside you on a plane, burst into loud laughter, then respond to the question of "what are you reading?" by saying "Helter Skelter." I'm pretty certain I made a new insomniac out of that poor passenger.

2) Bringing Adam Home, by Les Standiford. Sticking with the true crime thread, this account of the Adam Walsh case, cowritten by Standiford and detective Joe Matthews, is a compelling work, tragic but also inspirational, a reminder of the power of determination.

3) Why We Make Mistakes, by Joseph T. Hallinan. There isn't a lot in here that will prevent you from making future mistakes, but the studies of human error and the underlying causes are fascinating and troubling and sometimes amusing. You'll finish the book far better informed about the foundations behind mistakes, and in some cases -- pilot error, medical error -- you'll learn how careful scrutiny of patterns helped reduce fatal errors by an enormous percentage. This book was recommended to me by my father, who lost his copy midway through and had to buy a second one. Talk about the "ideal reader" for Mr. Hallinan.

Winnipeg Free Press reports...

That you should read The Cypress House!

"With last year's So Cold The River, 20-something Michael Koryta veered from the familiar P.I. genre (his Lincoln Perry series) and started knocking on the door of the creepy-crime school run by Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Connolly. In The Cypress House (Little, Brown, 432 pages, $28), he's graduated cum laude.
A ramshackle roadhouse in the stormy, Depression-era Florida Keys lends a suitably eerie backdrop to this gothic-noir tale of revenge, romance and reconciliation as itinerant First World War vet Arlen Wagner stumbles across a nest of corruption, dope-running and murder. That Wagner also senses when folks are not long for this world just spooks things up a tad without crimping the western-inspired shoot-'em-up finale.
Koryta manages to bust a host of genres while uniting them all through clever plotting, deft character portrayals and cut-with-a-knife atmosphere. He's way too young to do that."

A few international links

Montreal's Jacques Filippi offers a very generous review of The Cypress House:

He is a specialist like Scorsese and Hitchcock are in their field. Michael Koryta has already been compared to writers like Stephen King, Peter Straub and Dennis Lehane; soon, if they are very good, other writers will be compared to Michael Koryta.

And France offers you a teaser trailer for So Cold the River (or, in France, The Lost River). I'll be there in a few short weeks. Looking forward to it, and I'm comforted that Perdue in my title there is not spelled Purdue. That would have been too much for an Indiana grad to bear.

http:/www.dailymotion.com/video/xhd66g_trailer-koryta-2_creation