HOW IT HAPPENED by Michael Koryta
In the magnified pace of summer reading somehow Michael Koryta’s HOW IT HAPPENED slipped past me. Since I am a big Michael Koryta fan, and think he is one of the best new mystery writers around, I don’t know how I let this happen. But now in the waning days of the season I did discover it and plunged right into its very, very interesting plot.
HOW IT HAPPENED starts with a confession. A young woman named Kimberly Crepeaux admits to the authorities her involvement in a double murder. FBI Agent Rob Barrett is the one who obtains the confession after months of talking with Crepeaux. Once she decides to confess the words flow out of her and she gives a very descriptive report of how Jackie Pelletier and Ian Kelly lost their lives. It is so detailed a confession she even tells Barrett exactly where the bodies are located.
This confession immediately grips the reader’ attention but also raises the question as to whether or not we are learning the ending of the story first. Will the rest of the book be a recap of any and all events which led up to the murders of these two people. The answer to this question is no. Thanks to Koryta’s writing skills and especially in his ability to create and weave an amazing plot there is still information to be gained by staying in the present.
Previous to this book I read Koryta’s LAST WORDS and RISE THE DARK. I found both of these books to be very intelligent in their crafting and cleverly adept in their presentation of impressive characters. Such is the case again in HOW IT HAPPENED. Rob Barrett is a character who grabs your attention by the force of his job and the way he handles it. Then Koryta expands his information on him and lets the reader see the man who inhabits his skin. He is someone you want to know and someone who has a multitude of facets.
In HOW IT HAPPENED we get a mystery that curves in so many directions that readers must be on their toes for every word or phrase that gives a clue to the future. Then there is added in a love story which is so muted and so below the radar that its impact resonates more in memory than in actual observance.
Once you have finished HOW IT HAPPENED and are digesting it, then you remember there actually was a love story between Barret and a reporter named Liz. It just gets a little swamped by some of the horrendous events that are also covered in the plot. It is important but it is never the central focus of the story.
If you have never heard of Michael Koryta then it is time you started reading his books. HOW IT HAPPENED is a great place to start and then you can pick which other ones you want to read. His talent is like a gold strike. Once you have discovered the joy of his writing you will be richer in a multitude of ways.
HOW IT HAPPENED is published by Little Brown and Company. It contains 368 pages and sells for $27.00.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
