The Cypress House

By: Michael Koryta

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

A journey to Florida's coast becomes an inescapable nightmare in this supernatural thriller from international bestselling author Michael Koryta.

Arlen Wagner has seen it in men before: a trace of smoke in their eyes that promises imminent death. He is never wrong.

When Arlen awakens on a train one hot Florida night and sees death's telltale sign in the eyes of his fellow passengers, he tries to warn them. Only 19-year-old Paul Brickhill believes him, and the two abandon the train, hoping to escape certain death. They continue south, but soon are stranded at the Cypress House—an isolated Gulf Coast boarding house run by the beautiful Rebecca Cady—directly in the path of an approaching hurricane.

The storm isn't the only approaching danger, though. A much deadlier force controls the county and everyone living in it, and Arlen wants out—fast. But Paul refuses to abandon Rebecca to face the threats alone, even though Arlen's eerie gift warns that if they stay too long they may never leave. From its chilling beginning to terrifying end, The Cypress House is a story of relentless suspense from "one of the best of the best" (Michael Connelly).

©2011 Michael Koryta (P)2011 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Michael Koryta is one of our new dynamos in the world of books, and in The Cypress House he spreads his range, wedding suspense with the supernatural in the eeriness of 1930s Florida. He uses the psychology of place to penetrate the human heart and delivers his tale of hurricanes and love and hauntings with great narrative force. Koryta's becoming a wonder we'll appreciate for a long time."—Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter's Bone

"The Cypress House is a dazzling blend of suspense, the supernatural, and superb storytelling. What a gifted writer. Michael Koryta is the real deal."—Ron Rash, author of Serena

"Koryta's masterful follow-up to So Cold the River effectively combines supernatural terror with the suffocating fatalism of classic American noir....Koryta excels at describing both scenery and his characters' inner landscapes. It's hard to think of another book with equal appeal to Stephen King and Cornell Woolrich fans."—Publishers Weekly

Suspenseful and enjoyable

Just finished this one and enjoyed it very much. The characters were rich and believable and had complex motivations that kept me interested. The paranormal elements added some flavor to a good story and but did not overpower it.

Enjoyed the suspense

A very enjoyable listen. Had some good twists and plenty of suspense. Went through it faster than I usually go through books because it kept my interest and kept me wanting to know how the next situation turned out. A little corny in places, like when the narrator kept whispering the word "dead", but all in all a good story with an excellent narrator.

Long, but worth it

This book only gets 3 stars from me because, so far of the 9 books I've listened to by Mr. Koryta, this is my least favorite. It becomes obvious pretty shortly in the story that this is one of the authors earlier works. His characters are good, but the plot doesn't move quickly, the setting isn't as fully developed as other books, and towards the end the story starts to really drag. I don't have to be told how "evil" the antagonist is a hundred times before I get it. He has gotten better with his editing since, but still Koryta remains a far better author than a good majority of the trite works ending up on audible now. So, if you like a good thriller-style story, it's a recommended listen.

Great book read by a great narrator!

I generally stay away from supernatural books; not my thing. However, this one piqued my interest and I decided to give it a try. It's a great book!!!! Fantastic story development, it moves at a good clip and the narrator is amazing. I'll definitely look for more books narrated by Robert Petkoff; he managed to make the characters distinct without any of them sounding like caricatures. I absolutely loved this book!!

Great Book

Never a dull moment I was looking for a new author to listen to and I found him. Narrator was outstanding.

The Cypress House is better than The Ridge.

I'm not a fan of books that deal with the supernatural, but am a big fan of crime novels. The Cypress House is a terrific crime novel that would have been even better if the main character had not been able to talk with the dead. It adds nothing to the novel.

Koryta is a wonderful young writer. His first books, the Lincoln Perry series, were his best novels until Those Who Wish Me Dead (released in 2014), which is probably the best mystery/thriller book released so far this year and is Koryta's best novel. I have now read 9 or 10 Koryta novels, all except So Cold the River which I will read soon, All 9 except The Ridge and The Cypress House have earned 5 star ratings. The Ridge has been the only disappointment.

Excellent!

I don't usually like stories with any supernatural elements but this one was great. I listened to it into the wee hours of the night and found myself hovering under the blankets towards the end when it got a little creepy. Great story and narrator. Also liked The Ridge. Great author. Will read more from him.

Gripping Read, hard to put down

This is my second Koryta book, after a surprisingly wonderful time reading "So Cold the River" - this one is not as good, but still well worth the money and the time to listen. Koryta's at his best when he's not playing in Steven King's sandbox, and unfortunately, this book spends a little too much time there, drawing comparisons that are unfair, but there all the same.

The story's good, the historical context is interesting, and the reading is pretty good too, though the producer's heavy-handed use of a scary sound effect every time something scary happens is a bit silly - this doesn't detract too much from the experience but is kind of a facepalmer. It happens a lot at the beginning, which may turn you off, but then it calms down. I'd read another Koryta book, hands down, and finished this one in about a week, so minor gripes aside, it was one of the better ones I found on Audible this year.

A really good "read"!

I was at the edge of my seat at so many parts! Really great "read"!

Absolutely wonderful!

Michael Koryta at his best!
From the cast of characters to the intense storyline, Cypress House had my undivided attention. Supernatural genius!