Rise the Dark

By: Michael Koryta

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Rise the dark.

These were the last words written in Lauren Novak's notebook before she was murdered in a strange Florida village. They've never meant anything to the police or to her husband, investigator Markus Novak. Now the man he believes killed her is out of prison, and draws Markus to the place he's avoided for so long: the lonely road where his wife was shot to death beneath the cypress trees and Spanish moss in a town called Cassadaga.

In Red Lodge, Montana, a senseless act of vandalism shuts the lights off in the town where Sabrina Baldwin is still trying to adjust to a new home and mourning the loss of her brother, who was a high voltage linesman just like her husband, Jay. As the spring's final snowstorm calls Jay deeper into the mountains, chasing the destruction on the electrical grid, Sabrina is abducted by Garland Webb, the man Markus Novak believes killed his wife. Drawing them all together is a messianic villain who understands that you can never outpace your past. You can only rise against the future.

Critic reviews

One of the Best Books of 2016 - Michael Connelly, The New York Times Book Review, Kirkus Reviews

"A superb thriller literally humming and buzzing with power and tension, given depth and resonance by Koryta's fascination with pitting lone human emotion against a vast and forbidding landscape."—Lee Child

"This book arrived with high praise from several stars of the genre--"A master," says Stephen King; "Outstanding," adds Lee Child--and they're right. Rise the Dark is both first-rate entertainment and an unusually interesting thriller in terms of its characters, its plot and the ideas it explores, which include the electrical grid, Tesla's history, spiritualism, and the nation's possible vulnerability to a right-wing takeover."—The Washington Post

"Among his many gifts, Michael Koryta is a virtuoso in his use of outdoor settings... his thrillers present the great outdoors in their most frightening aspects. The book's atmospheric power and strong cast of supporting characters make Rise the Dark compelling from the get-go."—The Chicago Tribune

"Welcome to Michael Koryta's latest nightmare.... Wonderfully eerie scenes... [and] distinct thrills." —Marilyn Stasio, New York Times

"Koryta always uses setting to great effect in his bestselling thrillers... In Rise The Dark, Koryta again constructs a hold-your-breath thriller around believable characters and the bonds, familial and romantic and ideological, that bind them. It's a wild ride."—Tampa Bay Times

"Koryta has a gift for terrific suspense that immerses the reader while also delivering prose that almost reads like poetry....[A] road that should definitely be traveled."—The Associated Press

"For fans of darker mystery and suspense, you won't be disappointed."—Marion Star

"A frightening thriller about the holes in our infrastructure and the security protecting it. In this second Markus Novak novel, following 2015's Last Words, Koryta effectively combines a compelling premise, a villain who seems too smart to be stopped, and a revealing look at the hero's dysfunctional family."—Booklist

"As with his spellbinding 2014 effort, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Koryta employs the desolate Montana setting with such mastery and deep sense of mystery that it's a compelling character itself. And with an intriguing cody that reverberates with themes of family, myth, and psychic possibility, this new novel leaves us keenly anticipating the next installment of the Novak saga. Again proving himself one of today's top thriller writers, Koryta creates edgy suspense not with trickery but with characters who test the limits of their courage."—Kirkus Reviews - Starred Review

So suspenseful.

Great read and many twists and turns. I loved the book and highly recommend on the edge of your seat read

More Marc Novac please

Just a fantastic book, start to finish. The writing is so beautiful sometimes that I go back just to hear it again. Simply marvelous.

Scary But Good

I listened to the first book and it slowly pulled me into the plot. This one is also a bit dark but very good story line and narrator is excellent.

Terrific!!!

The characters, the story and the writing combine to deliver a stellar white knuckle experience. This is actually my third time listening to this particular book, which doesn’t disappoint, even now. Robert Petkoff is the perfect narrator for Koryta’s books. And don’t miss his other books. Every one a unique gem. I only wish he’d write faster!

Good Follow-up

This is a follow-up to "Last Words." It was entertaining, as was the first in the series. I don't think reading the first book is absolutely necessary to enjoy this one. Koryta covers enough of it in this one without making you sit through a complete recapping of the whole previous book, {which I appreciated.} If you like Koryta, you'll like this one.