The Prophet by Michael Koryta
Fiction
2012 Hachette Audio
Length: 11 hours and 49 minutes
Reader: Robert Petkoff
Finished on 11/12/12
Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)
Publisher’s Blurb:
Two brothers in a small Midwestern town: one the high school’s beloved football coach on the verge of a state championship, one scraping by as a bail bondsman. Their sister was abducted and murdered when they were teenagers, and they’ve been divided since that day. Now a new killing with ties to both of them has forced a painful and adversarial reunion.
Michael Koryta, widely hailed as one of the best young thriller writers at work today, has written his first masterpiece—an emotionally harrowing, unstoppably suspenseful novel that shows why Dean Koontz has said, “He’s now on my must-read list.”
I don’t think I’d ever heard of Michael Koryta until one day when I glanced through an ARC of his latest book, The Prophet. I decided to give it a try, after reading the following from the cover of that ARC:
What do the #1 bestselling writers Lee Child, Stephen King, James Patterson, Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly, Scott Smith, Ridley Pearson and Dean Koontz have in common?
They all love Michael Koryta.
Now read his greatest thriller ever, The Prophet.
I’ve gotten so I really enjoy listening to mysteries and thrillers, so when the audio version came up in my library queue, I decided to skip the ARC and give the audio a try. In spite of the unremarkable reader (Robert Petkoff), the narrative held my interest, especially during the football scenes. I’ve become quite a fan of college football (Go Big Red!), so I had no trouble picturing the plays as described by Koryta. Unfortunately, it’s been a month since I finished the book and the details of the actual mystery have already faded. I wrote in my journal that The Prophet is a bit reminiscent of Defending Jacob, but today I have to idea why I thought this!
I love thrillers! (I loved Defending Jacob.) Right now I'm listening to Ali Smith's The Accidental, a story which has me mesmerized on the way to work with its thriller qualities. Thanks for putting this one on my radar; plus, you have been singularly instrumental in 'getting me' to listen to audio. It's a format I've not used much before, but why waste all those hours in the car? If I'm not praying, I'd rather be listening to a wonderful story.
ReplyDeleteI've probably said this before, but the drum in your header is exactly like one we had in my childhood home. It brings back very happy memories of Christmas Past. xoxo
I'm so happy to hear that you are now an audio listener! Some of my favorite books this year were on audio. My #1 recommendation is The Homecoming of Samuel Lake. I loved the reader!
DeleteYes, I remember that you said you had the same drum. See, we are sisters. :)
xoxo
Loved Defending Jacob and actually have the library copy on cds now, but not sure I'll get to it.
ReplyDeleteThe audio is very good, Diane!
DeleteIsn't that funny how quickly we forget the reasons why we were drawn to something in the story??? I have Defending jacob on my audio list because of Diane's great review. I might have to check this one out!
ReplyDeleteI think you'll enjoy Defending Jacob. I didn't care much for the reader/narrator, but I still thought the book was amazing.
DeleteI'm surprised you didn't like this one more. Maybe you just forgot how much you liked it by the time you posted. HA! :) I gave it a 4.25/5! Loved the football and how the plot kept me guessing.
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