Two brothers with a shared tragic past, caused by a two-second decision that haunts them both. One decides to avenge it. The other, to forgive. Both will pay for their choices - more than they could ever imagine.When he was a teenager, Adam Austin made a decision that led to the death of his little sister. His brother Kent learned to forgive her murderer but he never forgave Adam.Twenty years later, Kent is the coach of the successful high school football team in Chambers, Ohio and Adam is the town's bail bondsman - someone people turn to when they need help. When the girlfriend of one of Kent's star players asks Adam to track down her father who has just been released from prison, Adam agrees. Days later, she is murdered at the address he gave her.Overwhelmed by guilt in this horrifying echo of the past - Adam is determined to atone for his mistakes.But this is a game outside of the brothers' control. And every decision they make is matter of life and death ...
'THE PROPHET is a relentless, heart-in-your-throat thriller about ordinary people caught in the middle of an extraordinary nightmare. It's about the sins of the past haunting the hopes of the present and the need to find redemption from the jury of your own conscience. It's also ... irrefutable proof that [Koryta] has enough game to one day be considered a master of the genre.' Dennis Lehane
'Elegantly written ... Koryta shows great sensitivity in examining how each brother deals with these parallel tragedies' New York Times
'Friday Night Lights meets In Cold Blood in this powerful tale ... This book succeeds on any number of levels. It's a brilliantly paced thriller that keeps its villains at a tantalizing distance, a compelling family portrait, a study in morality that goes beyond the usual black-and-white judgments, and an entertaining spin on classic football fiction. A flawless performance.' Kirkus Starred Review
'Koryta triumphantly returns to crime fiction with this multilayered exploration of guilt and redemption ... [he] has a gift for melding a suspenseful, twisty plot with a probing, unflinching look at his protagonists' weaknesses' Publishers Weekly
Author
About Michael Koryta
Michael Koryta's Edgar Award-nominated first novel was published when he was just twenty-one and it was followed by four more straight thrillers and then his first supernatural thriller SO COLD THE RIVER in 2010. His works have been translated into twenty languages. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana, where he has worked as a newspaper reporter and private investigator, and in St. Petersburg, Florida.