Those Who Wish Me Dead

April 21, 2014
A lack of morally complex characters facing tough ethical choices makes this fast-paced thriller a lesser effort for Edgar finalist Koryta (The Prophet). At an abandoned quarry in Indiana, 13-year-old Jace Wilson, who’s just jumped into the quarry’s pool, sees two men in police uniform cut a man’s throat and toss him into the water. The killers chase Jace after finding his clothes, but he manages to escape. Jamie Bennett, a former U.S. Marshal, places Jace in the care of a friend of hers, survival trainer Ethan Serbin, who takes him along on a wilderness training program that he runs for troubled youths in Montana, though Ethan doesn’t know which of the seven boys he’ll be instructing needs witness protection. Inevitably, the two creepy killers get on Ethan’s trail. For someone as smart as Ethan is supposed to be, he fails to anticipate an obvious move on the part of the killers, leading to the first of several developments that many readers will view as contrived. Agent: David Hale Smith, Inkwell Management.

Starred review from June 1, 2014
Hiding a teenage murder witness among a bunch of delinquent kids in a survival-training program in Montana seemed like a good idea. But when two coldblooded killers track him there from Indiana, everyone's life is at grave risk.The program is run by Air Force veteran Ethan Serbin, who lives with his wife, Allison, in a mountain cabin. She distrusts Jamie Bennett, a federal marshal and former trainee of Ethan's who shows up in the middle of the night, having recklessly driven into a blizzard, to plead for their help. Jamie says the boy, Jace Wilson, is too hot for even a witness protection program. When Jace arrives, it's anonymously, under the name Connor Reynolds. He's badly lacking in confidence but proves adept in handling himself outdoors. Just as he's settling in, though, the killers-two brothers with a creepy way of conversing with each other even as they're about to commit an atrocity-infiltrate the mountain community. Knowing what they're capable of, Jace/Connor drifts away from the pack, teams up with a female fire ranger who feels responsible for her boyfriend's accidental death and fervently hopes an escape route he devised as part of his training will lead them to safety. Having joined the ranks of the very best thriller writers with his small-town masterpiece, The Prophet (2012), Koryta matches that effort with a book of sometimes-unbearable tension. With the exception of one plot turn you'll likely see coming from a mountain pass away, this novel is brilliantly orchestrated. Also crucial to its success is Koryta's mastery of the beautiful but threatening setting, including a mountain fire's ability to electrify the ground, radiate a lethal force field-and create otherworldly light shows.Summer reading doesn't get better than this.

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Starred review from March 15, 2014
Koryta, a widely praised veteran of cross-genre tales, has upped his game with this stand-alone's seamless blend of western-wilderness thriller and mainstream crime fiction, with a prickly dab of horror. Ethan Serbin, an elite survival-skills instructor during his Air Force career, now runs a similar program for troubled teens in the Montana wilderness. Without warning, a former student reappears, pleading with Ethan to take on a special student. Jace Wilson witnessed the terrifyingly calculating Blackwell brothers committing murder, and he's in hiding until he can testify. In Ethan's camp, the former student reasons, Jace will be off the grid and protected by one of the few men certain to help him survive. Ethan agrees, and once the teens arrive that summer with Jace hidden among them, it's not long before the brothers come for him, flaunting their mystifying ability to manipulate the authorities attempting to keep Jace's location secret. Unmatched in weapons and brutality, Jace; Ethan; his wife, Allison; and a young fire watcher named Hannah Faber battle to survive a raging wildfire and the murderous intent of a creepy pair of killers rivaling the deadly preacher in The Night of the Hunter. A must-read for fans of C. J. Box and Nevada Barr. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Combine Koryta's existing fan base, the current vogue for wilderness thrillers, and an aggressive marketing campaign, and you get a novel certain to attract a whole lot of eager readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

Starred review from April 1, 2014

Kortya (The Prophet) opens his latest thriller with a very likeable 13-year-old Jace Wilson witnessing a brutal murder committed by assassins--and brothers--Jack and Patrick Blackwell. Instead of being placed in the regular witness protection program, the boy is hidden in a Montana wilderness survival camp for troubled teens, run by Ethan and Alison Serbin. Jace and Ethan are soon putting their outdoor skills to the test as they are hunted down by the Blackwell brothers. Allison and a former firefighter named Hannah round out the cast of characters in this fast-paced, terrifically entertaining novel. VERDICT The Blackwell brothers' devious methods, the fire raging across the mountains, and the actions of those trying to save Jace will keep readers up well into the night. With a national author tour and movie rights already sold, this, Kortya's tenth novel, could be the one that brings the talented writer into the mainstream. [See Prepub Alert, 1/6/14.]--Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2014

After 13-year-old Jace Wilson witnesses a murder, the police sneak him into a wilderness skills program for troubled teens to protect him as they seek out the killers. But are the Montana mountains and the woman in the fire lookout tower enough to protect him? From the New York Times best-selling author.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2014

Kortya (The Prophet) opens his latest thriller with a very likeable 13-year-old Jace Wilson witnessing a brutal murder committed by assassins--and brothers--Jack and Patrick Blackwell. Instead of being placed in the regular witness protection program, the boy is hidden in a Montana wilderness survival camp for troubled teens, run by Ethan and Alison Serbin. Jace and Ethan are soon putting their outdoor skills to the test as they are hunted down by the Blackwell brothers. Allison and a former firefighter named Hannah round out the cast of characters in this fast-paced, terrifically entertaining novel. VERDICT The Blackwell brothers' devious methods, the fire raging across the mountains, and the actions of those trying to save Jace will keep readers up well into the night. With a national author tour and movie rights already sold, this, Kortya's tenth novel, could be the one that brings the talented writer into the mainstream. [See Prepub Alert, 1/6/14.]--Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.