The Silent Hour (Lincoln Perry) [Mass Market Paperback]

Michael Koryta (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2010 | Series: Lincoln Perry

Whisper Ridge is a multimillion-dollar piece of architectural majesty that once housed a unique program for paroled murderers. The program never got off the ground, however, despite the passion of Alexandra Cantrell, daughter of a notorious Mafia don, and her husband, Joshua. Twelve years later, the uninhabited house is in ruins. It remains a strange monument to dangerous secrets…until Joshua’s bones are found buried deep in the forest.

“The inventive plot of The Silent Hour surprises right up to the end.”
—St. Petersburg Times

Private investigator Lincoln Perry isn’t thrilled about having to unearth this enduring mystery—one that continues to capture the media’s attention. His new client is no picnic either: Parker Harrison served fifteen years for murder but claims Alexandra Cantrell’s intervention saved his life. Following a trail that leads straight to the heart of Cleveland’s organized crime scene, Perry finds himself immersed in a case that challenges his abilities as a detective and his commitment to that calling. Now he’s glancing over his shoulder at every turn—and pushing the bounds of safety even as he backs away…

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Edgar-finalist Koryta spins a dark tale of broken dreams and second chances in his stunning fourth mystery to feature Cleveland, Ohio, PI Lincoln Perry (after 2008's A Welcome Grave). When Perry starts receiving letters from convicted murder Parker Harrison, he ignores them until the man shows up in his office. Twelve years earlier, the then recently paroled Harrison worked for Alexandra and Joshua Cantrell, a couple who ran a rehabilitation program for violent offenders. Then they disappeared, and Harrison wants Perry's help in tracking down Alexandra. Suspicious why Harrison waited so long, Perry discovers that Joshua's bones were recently unearthed in Pennsylvania. Ken Merriman, a Pittsburgh PI, soon arrives in Cleveland, asking Perry for help finding out who killed Joshua. That Alexandria's brother heads one of Cleveland's most notorious mob families complicates matters. Perry has to reconsider everything he thought he knew about right, wrong and everything in between. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR MICHAEL KORYTA

The Silent Hour

“Koryta spins a dark tale of broken dreams and second chances in his stunning fourth mystery to feature PI Lincoln Perry.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The inventive plot surprises right up to the end, and in Perry, Koryta has created a classic tough detective—a man with enough dark passages in his own past to recognize them in others, a bulldog who just can’t let go until the ending of the story is told, no matter how close to hell it takes him.”—St. Petersburg Times

“Feisty plotting and the most memorable prose since Chandler. Koryta belongs on every genre reader’s bookshelf.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Koryta writes with maturity and grace, delivering clipped, crisp prose and crackling suspense.”—Booklist

“Koryta is definitely one of the best of the new generation of U.S. mystery writers.”—The Globe and Mail (Canada)

“The plot is intricately woven and moves forward slowly with intuitive leaps of faith. As a protagonist, Perry is completely human, with knowledge, ability and insecurities. The twists in the story are so unexpected that the reader can only scratch his or her head in awe and wonderment.”—Crimespree magazine

Envy the Night

Winner of the los angeles times book prize

NOMINATED FOR A BARRY AWARD

“Gallows humor leavens this heart-pounding thriller...Take yourself to an island, pull up an Adirondack chair, and scare yourself silly with this one.” —Boston Globe

“Revenge drives this superb stand-alone...Koryta's dialogue is as sharp as the knives his characters wield, and his plot twists at the most unexpected moments. This thriller places Koryta solidly in the company of the genre's most powerful voices.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Koryta's skill as a writer—and as a crafter of complicated plots —will fascinate.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“A great new stand-alone novel. Envy the Night is a story full of family history, with a likable protagonist and a strong sense of place...Koryta's characters are irresistible.” —Charlotte Observer

“Superb writing and storytelling from Michael Koryta...Envy the Night represents his best work to date.” —New York Times bestselling author George Pelecanos

“This diabolical novel, laid out in simple but eloquent prose and pitch-perfect dialogue, heralds a changing of the guard. I have seen the future of 'The Best Mystery Writer in America' and its name is Michael Koryta.”   —New York Times bestselling author Ridley Pearson

A WELCOME GRAVE

A Shamus Award Nominee

“A nuanced, mature novel that proves both the depth of Koryta's talent and the vitality of the PI genre.” —New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman

“Sentence for polished sentence, no one in the genre writes better.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Addictively readable.”—Chicago Tribune

“Stylish...well observed.”—The New York Times

“Edgar-finalist Koryta stakes a claim as one of today’s preeminent crafters of contemporary hard-boiled mysteries...Despite Koryta’s youth...his haunting writing and logical, sophisticated plotting rival that of established stalwarts like Loren Estleman.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“If you haven’t already discovered Michael Koryta…now’s the time. A Welcome Grave is his best book.” —Toronto Globe and Mail

“The Rust Belt never looked so scary...a nightmare chess game.” —The Rocky Mountain News

“The story is graced by Koryta’s humor and style...”  —Cleveland Plain-Dealer

“A Welcome Grave...is proof that after only three novels it is possible to become a ‘must read’ in crime fiction...one of the best P.I.-against-the-world books I've read in a long, long time. Koryta’s dialogue remains vivid and his characters sharp as a diamond drill bit.” —Crimespree magazine

“In his third efficiently plotted mystery, Koryta lands most of his punches...” —Entertainment Weekly

“Koryta’s story-telling is enhanced by a fluid prose style...” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“An exciting novel with carefully rendered characters, even secondary ones, who will remain with the reader long after turning the last page.” —Bookreporter.com
 
“This is the book that will put Koryta on everyone’s ‘must read’ list...The action is relentless.”—The Kingston Observer

“The best entry yet in the Lincoln Perry private-eye series” —Library Journal (starred review)

“It’s time to stop referring to Michael Koryta as a boy wonder and just focus on the sheer wonder of his storytelling...A Welcome Grave is a nuanced, mature novel that proves both the depth of Koryta’s talent and the vitality of the PI genre.”—New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman

“For a while now Michael Koryta has been called one of the rising young talents in crime fiction. I say enough of that. A Welcome Grave proves the promise. Koryta is one of the best of the best, plain and simple. With stories like this, his Lincoln Perry is going to be around for a long, long time.”—Michael Connelly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (August 3, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312389574
• ISBN-13: 978-0312389574
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #426,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Koryta (pronounced ko-ree-ta)has written eight novels, praised by such authors as Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane, and his most recent novel, THE RIDGE, was called "A freshly imagined and elegantly constructed variation on the dead-of-night ghost story," by the New York Times and "a chilling supernatural thriller by a rising literary star," by the Wall Street Journal. In addition to winning the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, his novel ENVY THE NIGHT was selected as a Reader's Digest condensed book. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages. A former private investigator and newspaper reporter, Koryta graduated from Indiana University with a degree in criminal justice. He currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Bloomington, Indiana.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." Victor Hugo, June 26, 2010

By 

michael a. draper (Guilford, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Silent Hour (Lincoln Perry) (Hardcover)

Ex-con Parker Harrison pesters PI Lincoln Perry until Perry agrees to look into a case for him.

Harrison had gotten into a home for paroled murderers run by wealthy, Alexandra Cantrell and her husband, Joshua. Harrison feels that Alexandra's intersession saved his life. Now, after being missing for twelve years, Joshua's body is found, buried in the woods. Harrison wants Linc to find Alexandra.

Alexandra is the sister of Dominic Sanabria, a powerful Mafia figure. Soon after Linc begins his investigation, Sanabria pays him a visit and attempts to find out who hired him.

Another PI, Ken Merriman, approaches Linc. Merriman had been hired by Joshua's parents when he went missing twelve years ago. Now, he wants to work with Linc in his search for Alexandra. Merriman sees the advantage he'd have sinc Linc, a former cop, has connections with the local police and he has experience in dealing with homicides.

Linc is also contacted by Quinn Graham, a police detective who is working on the case of Joshua's remains being found in Pennsylvania. Quinn is a stern law enforcement official who demands that Linc go through him in any investigation.

As the story progresses, the reader sees the frustration investigators have in working a cold case. Linc wasn't too anxious to take the case in the beginning and with lack of success and another tragedy, Linc puts the case on back burner. However, something changes his mind.

The novel is a good study of a man in turmoil and provides an interesting view of how paroled people attempt to adjust to society. The plot is complex, with numerous plot twists to keep the reader guessing about the outcome.

There is less suspense than in the author's "Tonight I Said Goodbye," but perhaps this is a more factual manner in which private investigators deal with some of the cases and misfortunes that can occur.

The author's theme seemed to be that the belief some people place in others can be rewarded.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE SILENT HOUR is not to be missed, September 14, 2009

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Silent Hour (Lincoln Perry) (Hardcover)

Known and revered for his Lincoln Perry novels almost immediately from the publication of TONIGHT I SAID GOODBYE, Michael Koryta took a momentary break from the series and its Cleveland area environs with 2008's ENVY THE NIGHT. If you skipped that book because of the change of locale to Wisconsin and the absence of Perry, I would urge you to go back and read it. There are passages that will resonate far after you've turned the last page. That having been said, Perry's return in THE SILENT HOUR is most welcome.

I spent my formative years in the Cleveland area in the 1960s and 1970s; it was a great time and place if you loved rock music and the trappings that went along with it. Its fortunes have risen and fallen a number of times since then, but no matter what happens, it seems informed by an ennui that never leaves --- infusing not only the city proper once one gets beyond the outskirts of downtown, but also some of the tonier suburbs such as Chagrin Falls and Rocky River. Koryta captures this feeling perfectly through Lincoln Perry, an ex-cop turned private investigator who isn't exactly sure that this is what he wants to be. Perry's state of mind results from the fact that his job brings the people around him into jeopardy, whether it be Joe, his partner in their investigation firm, Perry's girlfriend Amy, or occasionally his clients. It has also brought Perry a degree of notoriety, by turns welcome and unwelcome --- and it is the latter in THE SILENT HOUR that brings Parker Harrison to Perry's door.

Harrison is a convicted murderer who, upon release, was a resident of Whisper Ridge, a hauntingly beautiful but unusual home that housed a unique program for paroled murderers like Harrison. It was the brainchild of Alexandra Sanabria Cantrell, the daughter of a deceased Mafia don. Reluctantly aided by her husband Joshua, Alexandra had operated the erstwhile halfway house on the theory that its rural setting would aid violent offenders in their efforts to keep their darker sides in check. After a little more than three years, however, the Cantrells disappeared, apparently abandoning the program and the house, which has sat deserted and neglected for over a decade. Harrison wants to retain Perry for the purpose of locating the long-missing Alexandra; Perry is reluctant, even resistant, to do so, in part because of his basic distrust of Harrison at first sight.

Nevertheless, Perry begins an investigation and almost immediately discovers two things. The first is that someone has been paying the property taxes on the Cantrell house, which has never been sold. The second is that the decomposed body of Joshua was discovered in rural Pennsylvania at almost the exact time that Harrison began his attempts to locate Alexandra. Furious with Harrison and himself, Perry fires his client. Yet he is drawn back into the matter by a number of individuals, including a sincere but only semi-competent investigator who attempted to find Joshua when he first disappeared; a hardened Pennsylvania police investigator whose jurisdiction was the site of the discovery of Joshua's body; and a former FBI agent who is obsessed with the Sanabria crime family, particularly Dominic, Alexandra's brother. Perry wishes to be left alone, not wanting to visit the trouble that is surely coming upon Amy and the semi-retired Joe. But the case tugs at him, and pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place even as tragic events, past and present, are revealed as well.

Many surprises are uncovered here, and this continues until practically the last page, where the law of unintended consequences is laid bare for all to see. Koryta emerged fully formed as a major talent in the mystery genre with his debut novel, and with each new work he continues to exceed the promises made by its predecessors. THE SILENT HOUR is not to be missed.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Study in Character, August 12, 2009

By 

J. Forbus (Lorain, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Silent Hour (Lincoln Perry) (Hardcover)

Lincoln Perry has ignored Harrison Parker's letters for several months, but when the ex-con shows up at his office door step, he doesn't have much choice but to talk to the man. So, he'll listen and politely decline. Parker wants Perry to locate his former employer, Alexandra, who disappeared with her husband twelve years ago; he's convinced Lincoln is the right man to tell the story.

The case seems simple enough and despite his determination not to take it, Perry agrees. Then little by little, he discovers all the details that Parker conveniently left out of his explanation. The details that walk Perry right into the middle of a murder investigation with possible ties to the Cleveland mob.

This is the summary of the crime that Lincoln investigates in this novel. But it is really more of a by-product of the main focus of THE SILENT HOUR. Lincoln does have to be a storyteller and find something that is hidden from the world. However, that search is internal. What Lincoln needs to find most in this novel is his way, the answers to his own questions. Lincoln must find the person inside himself who isn't full of the rage and the hate and vengeance. Even more than a crime novel, THE SILENT HOUR is a passionate study in character.

This is a Koryta novel that is going to wreak havoc on the spectrum of the reader's emotions, more so than any of the novels before it. And when Lincoln's story has finally been told, the reader will forever be changed.