How it Happened

Michael Koryta (pronounced ko-ree-ta) is theNew York Timesbestselling author of nine novels, most recently THE PROPHET. His last three novels, THE RIDGE, THE CYPRESS HOUSE, and SO COLD THE RIVER were allNew York Timesnotable books and nominated for several national and international awards. In addition to winning theLos Angeles TimesBook Prize, his novel ENVY THE NIGHT was selected as a Reader's Digest condensed book. Koryta's 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.

"Cool and cunning...the story feels like the real deal... Gives me goose bumps, a credit to Koryta's descriptive powers."—Marilyn Stasio,New York Times Book Review
"Michael Koryta is one hell of a writer, andHow it Happenedis one hell of a murder mystery. It's a tribute to Koryta's craftsmanship and skill that the reader can't put the book down until the last layer of the onion is peeled away to reveal the truth at the core of this gripping tale... A remarkable achievement that rises high above the genre."—Nelson DeMille, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Cuban Affair
"This gripping and absorbing story about a protagonist coming to terms with his conflicted past, a lost love, and a crime that seems determined not to be solved could only be penned by Michael Koryta, whose sense of place and insight into the human experience are unsurpassed."—Sandra Brown, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Seeing Red
"Ingenious.. Koryta' s plotting is sure-footed, and the secrets he discloses, one by one, at the novel's end are both surprising and plausible...How It Happened[is] a book the reader won't soon forget."—The Washington Post
"Michael Koryta's latest may be [the summer's] best page-turner. This isn't a whodunit: We know from the start that the upwardly upstanding, inwardly creepy Mathias Burke murdered a young couple in the town of Port Hope, Maine. The book casts its spell in revealing the whys and wherefores of the killings, as investigated by Burke's onetime high school classmate, Rob Barrett, a Boston FBI agent whom Burke likes nothing better than to humiliate... Koryta, who has introduced supernatural elements into several novels, plays it pretty straight here. But that doesn't mean he fails to deliver his usual blend of dark psychology and pulse-pounding action."—Lloyd Sachs,Chicago Tribune
"Koryta drew on his experience as a private eye to craft this harrowing suspense novel set in Maine."—O Magazine
"With this searing look at an investigator's obsessive efforts to close a case that has awakened childhood demons, bestseller Koryta has produced his most powerful novel in years... Koryta, when he's at the top of his game, has few peers in combining murder mysteries with psychological puzzles."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Is Koryta capable of telling a less-than-gripping tale? ... flawless, unpredictable storytelling streaked with his usual dark undercurrents. Crime fiction doesn't get any more enjoyable."—Kirkus (starred review)
"Fans of Koryta's previous works, readers who enjoy rogue investigators as protagonists, and devotees of murder mysteries will enjoy this enthralling tale."—Library Journal (starred review)
"A compelling psychological thriller...ingenious...[and] heartfelt."—The Tampa Bay Times
"Koryta excels at action set in remote places, and fans ofWilliam Kent Krueger and C. J. Box will enjoy this one."—Booklist