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    The Cypress House
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    The Cypress House
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    The Cypress House
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Cypress House

    Written by Michael Koryta

    Narrated by Robert Petkoff

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A journey to Florida's coast becomes an inescapable nightmare in the newest supernatural thriller from international bestseller 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).
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateJan 24, 2011
    ISBN9781607886815
    Unavailable
    The Cypress House
    Author

    Michael Koryta

    Michael Koryta is the New York Times bestselling author of fourteen novels. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages and has won or been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Edgar Award, Shamus Award, Barry Award, Quill Award, International Thriller Writers Award and the Golden Dagger.

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    Reviews for The Cypress House

    4.5/5

    22 ratings21 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I like the story about the times. The period during the depression where people were desperate and vulnerable.
    • 5/5
      The Cypress House was the first novel I've read of Michael Koryta, and I think I'd pick up another one... I think. I literally just finished this, and perhaps reviewing it so soon won't do it the justice I think it deserves. It was strange, unusual, and altogether different from anything I've read in a long time. And I liked it! It definitely doesn't fit the mould of a 'whodunit' as so many of my previous reviews do, but it is an exciting thriller with just enough supernatural to make it enjoyable without being over the top.

      The basic premise is what I loved most - Arlen Wagner can see death. Let me elaborate. The year is 1935 and Wagner is a WWI veteran who works on construction projects. His father, an undertaker, was thought to be insane over his belief that he could communicate with the dead. But now Arlen has his own dark skills, and is able to see death manifest itself in the soon-to-be-dead. One would imagine such a skill would be incredibly sobering during the war years, and Arlen does his best to avoid it. However, on a train one night, he looks around to see death in the eyes of all his fellow passengers. Bound for Florida Keys and unbeknownst to the men, they are travelling around the time of the infamous Labour Day hurricane that killed over 400 people. Arlen tries to warn his fellow passengers, but only himself and a young man named Paul Brickhill refuse to re-board the train.

      They stumble out of harms way (albeit temporarily) and into the corruption of Depression-era Corridor County. A man, Walt Sorenson, takes a chance on the two of them, and the find themselves at an eerily remote inn, Cypress House, and in the presence of its beautiful but mysterious owner, Rebecca. Witness to a horrific crime, Arlen and Paul are thrown into a dark and shady world of corruption and cover up, where people in post-prohibition times are doing their best to survive... at a terribly high price for those around them. Surprises and unexpected plot twists await, with a final act worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster or a top-10 bestselling novel.

      The Cypress House, while not your typical crime novel, is full of grizzly murders and more than enough bloodshed, making it feel like one. Add to it a constant feeling of suspense mixed with dread, and this novel will keep you up all night; all the while sending chills down your spine at the horror of how far some people will go to for power, money and glory. The characters are both likeable yet flawed, and Koryta rivals my personal favourite Stephen King for showing how rotten humans can become when they are given extreme amounts of power. Loathing the locals becomes easy, and the reader will find themselves cheering on our protagonists as they try and bring some much-needed justice to the people of Corridor County. All in all, I finished this 415 gem in a small number of days, and I urge you to pick it up and do the same.
    • 4/5
      The Cypress House is a solid, entertaining read with captivating characters, ambiance, and masterly pace. I was wary, at first, when the story began with military implications, which I don't usually enjoy. Eerie, paranormal elements quickly stole the show, giving the tale more promise than discussions of guns and killing. And then, the main characters emerged, and I was truly intrigued with them, the setting, and time period--Florida Keys during the Great Depression. The villain(s) did not strike me as cookie-cutter variety, although they could well have been, and I can't put my finger on why they indeed lived and breathed. The ending was not unexpected. It had a touch of Hollywood, but I appreciated it nonetheless. Very good read. Paranormal, some horror, love story, mystery, crime -- a well-rounded adventure. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      This novel grabbed me at the beginning. In 1935 a WWII vet is on a train bound for work in the Florida keys, when he "sees death" in all of the men around him. He and a younger man get off the train (luckily, as it turns out), and travel around Florida looking for work. They end up at The Cypress House in Corridor County, where they run into a network of crime and corruption. I loved the sense of place and time, the foreboding atmosphere and especially the touch of supernatural as Arlen wrestles with his "gift" of death premonition. The writing is superb. I enjoyed the ending less than the rest of the book; it had the feel of a war story, which doesn't appeal to me personally.
    • 4/5
      Once again, Michael Koryta delivers a stellar supernatural thriller. Set in an America not long after the end of prohibition, Arlen is forced to come to terms with a gift he has been hiding for most of his life. This novel had me holding my breath to the very last page. I usually shy away from anything too supernatural, but Koryta manages to expertly balance these elements with vivid human emotions, leaving the reader satisfied in every possible way.
    • 5/5
      In The Cypress House, Michael Koryta has crafted another very interesting crime novel with a supernatural twist. Arlen Wagner is a World War 1 veteran who had fought in the horrific Belleau Wood battle in France that left 1,811 US soldiers dead. After the war, the Great Depression left him and millions of others without work. As this novel begins, Arlen works for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). He and Paul Brickhill, a teenager he had taken under his wing, are on a train with other CCC workers headed for a new camp in the Florida Keys. However, Arlen also has the ability to that see when those around him are about to die, and he knows that everyone around him and Paul are going to die on that train. Therefore, he persuades Paul to leave the train and they eventually make their way to The Cypress House, a fishing resort in a remote area of the Florida Gulf Coast that is run by the beautiful Rebecca Cady. Unfortunately, Arlen and Paul are arrested for the murder of the man who gave them a ride to the resort. Although they are eventually released from jail, they find themselves stranded at the resort without any money. They are also victimized by a corrupt and incredibly ruthless judge, police chief, and their paid henchmen/assassins, who have also been victimizing Rebecca. However, Arlen knows how to endure hardship and survive. He also knows how to kill when it is the right thing to do. Koryta is a very skilled writer. He is adept at creating unique and exotic settings and complex stories with interesting and believable characters. In The Cypress House, he builds a feeling of impending doom for Arlen, Paul, Rebecca, and the reader. He then provides a very suspenseful conclusion, which includes plenty of violence along with a supernatural twist. The Cypress House is another excellent and compelling novel by Koryta. I liked it very much.
    • 4/5
      I’m not sure why I picked this up, because it’s a combination of noir hard-boiled crime fiction (which I generally don’t like) and paranormal (or supernatural) (which I generally don’t like). But I did like this book.What makes this book work, in my opinion, are two factors. One is the eminent likeability of the main character, Arlen, who encapsulates not only the popular female swoon-type of guy (quiet, moody, masculine, sexy, and honorable), but also the fact that the author treats the supernatural element as just one more feature of the environment: weird, but part of the plot scenery. It’s 1935, and thirty-something Arlen Wagner and 19-year-old Paul Brickhill are traveling by train with a group of WWI veterans to the Florida Keys for jobs building a bridge to traverse the water. Arlen is somehow able to anticpate when a person is going to die: he can see their skeletons, and their eyes turn to smoke. When he recognizes the signs in all the men on the train, he knows he and his young protégé have to get off. (He tries to warn all them all, but only Paul will listen to him.) It turns out all the men are all killed down in the Keys in the famous Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 [in real life, one of the most intense hurricanes to make landfall in the United States in recorded history.] Meanwhile, Arlen and Paul have hitched a ride, and end up riding out the storm at The Cypress House, an isolated hotel on the Gulf Coast, where no one is in residence except the manager: the young, beautiful, and mysterious Rebecca Cady. Paul is smitten, and insists that he and Arlen stay on after the hurricane passes to help Rebecca repair the damage. But the real damage, and recurring dangers, are only just beginning.Discussion: Koryta’s excellent atmospherics make the swampy, croc- and snake-filled, tree-dense Gulf area into a convincingly sinister hiding place for some of the worst (but realistically drawn) evil people you ever wanted not to meet. Counterbalancing these villains Arlen and Paul would be ipso facto loveable in any event, but they deserve the reader’s affection on their own. In addition to their predilection for hard work, their enterprising natures, and a chivalry which necessitates bravery, Arlen exudes a smoldering sexiness and wary intelligence, and Paul is innocent and eager - like a happy puppy who doesn’t understand why everything isn’t quite right. In addition, their feelings toward each other are part of what makes this book so appealing.Rebecca is the only character I wasn’t really taken with – the author didn’t convince me why all the men would be falling in love with her beyond the fact of her beauty (which, however - and admittedly, is enough for plenty of men). Evaluation: This sultry, southern noir thriller has a little something for everyone: there is a bit of the gothic, some romance, some mystery, and some gritty, page-turning suspense. The author is starting to accumulate prizes, and I can understand why.
    • 4/5
      I have read a number of reviews for this good and agree with most this is a very good story, well told, with interesting characters, but it is like Peter Staub wrote the movie Key largo.
    • 5/5
      First book I've read from this author. Picked it up thinking...dunno. But WOW I'm so glad I did. I fell in love with the characters and read along as if I was right there with them. I love books like that. Will definitely be seeking out others from Koryta.
    • 4/5
      Wow, a terrific blend of mystery,suspense and the supernatural. Added to the mix, are some wonderful charatcers, especially Arlen Wanger, a man that can see death in your eyes. Much great character development and a plot that races along,propelling you to turn the pages to find out how it all plays out. I will be reading more of Koryta in the future. A terrific author.
    • 5/5
      Because I consider myself an eclectic reader, I have few favorite authors. I like a lot of writers. I like a lot of types of books.But, if I had to pick one of my top five contemporary mystery/suspense writers Michael Koryta would definitely be on that list.In his follow-up to So Cold the River, Koryta takes us again into the supernatural. This time his main character can tell when death “is on you”. Arlen knows when you are about to die, and he does what he can to stop it.Koryta has this great ability to make his semi-ridiculous plots seem natural and real. I never doubted Arlen’s ability, and during the audio when he used his power it frreaked me out as well.Robert Petkoff again reads Michael Koryta’s book, and I have to admit I liked him better in Cypress House when compared to So Cold. I found his varying voices adequate, and it was like visiting an old friend. Similarly, the sound effects were less intrusive in this audio book. In fact, I thought they added to the story, and I wondered if readers (instead of listeners) were missing something.If you haven’t read/listened to a Michael Koryta book, you should. He is a great modern writer, and I have yet to be disappointed.
    • 4/5
      Supernatural-tinged thriller that reminds me of Stephen King or Joe Hill, where the tension just keeps ratcheting up. World weary WWI veteran Arlen Wagner is on a train bound for some Civilian Conservation Corps work in the Florida Keys during the Great Depression, when he starts to see the supernatural signs of impending doom- smoky eyes and skeletal features- overlaid on the faces of the CCC men in the train with him. It's a talent, or curse, that he developed during the war. Only young Paul Brickhill agrees to disembark the train with him in mainland Florida, and they hitch a ride with a fellow who brings them to Cypress House on the Gulf, a strangely empty boarding house run by beautiful, grim young Rebecca Cady. Soon enough they find that while they have escaped whatever would befall the men on the train, they've found themselves in a corrupt town filled with dangerous men, and an impending hurricane to boot.
    • 5/5
      Truly a paranormal story that I enjoyed more than at first thought. Caught myself trying to look ahead and figure it out, but it just wasn't possible. Good read!
    • 4/5
      Well-written, creepy tale with echoes of Matthiessen's Shadow Country. The hurricane, local isolation, the criminal network, struggles to survive in early 20th century Florida--just add in a supernatural element, make the main character a self-sacrificing hero a la Lee Child, and there you are. So, of course, I recommend Lee Child as a similar writer, if not as good. And Matthiessen's book. Also consider James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux.
    • 4/5
      At first I didn't enjoy this book very much. It is a dark story, obviously written by a man, as there was nothing likeable about the situation, characters or the storyline for quite some time. Set in the depression, Arlen and his young protege, Paul, get on a train headed toward Florida to a CCC work camp. Having already survived the war, Arlen has learned that he possesses an unusual supernatural gift of predicting the imminence of a person's death by visualizing them in skeletal form with smoke coming from their eyes. When he abruptly notices that all the passengers of the train have taken on this aural form, Arlen only manages to get Paul to leave the train and their trajectory toward certain death. By happenstance, they find themselves stranded at the Cypress House, a resort now used by gangsters for their illegal activities. As the novel slowly progresses, it becomes clear that there will be no easy escape from their circumstances, as they come to know the resort owner, Rebecca, who has been forced to work for the mob to protect her brother. The novel gradually becomes more tense and suspenseful and there is no relief from the ominous overtones of the storyline. The use of the supernatural is an interesting twist on the storyline, which would have otherwise just been another mobster suspense novel. In the end, I found myself unable to put down The Cypress House, though it was a little dark and mobster focused for me. It definately is an intense novel and one that will probably stay with me due to the supernatural thread that became an important focus of the storyline towards the end.
    • 4/5
      The Cypress House by Michael Koryta This is on my list of "best reads" so far this year. What would you do if you looked someone in the eye and just knew they were going to die? Would they believe you if you told them? Doing just that is how Arlen and Paul end up at The Cypress House where they meet the beautiful and mysterious Rebecca. She is in trouble though and both men will have to decide if they stay with her, for their own reasons, or go. Michael Koryta managed to take bits and pieces of genres, mix them to together, and write a great story. There's a little something for everyone. The characters are deep and complex but yet easily liked. I could see something of myself in Arlen, Paul and Rebecca. Recommending this book comes easily for me.
    • 5/5
      I have been waiting on this book, so when it was released I had to read it. I am midway through a few other books and decided to put everything on hold to finish this one. Seriously my belief is that a book by Koryta should never be delayed….and after reading “The Cypress House” that belief only got stronger. Koryta is one of the best story tellers of our generation and he has proven it one more time.The story is partly a historical fiction; not one of my favorite genres; but if written right why not? The paranormal suspense and romance is a great addition and helped maintain the excitement. With every page I thought I could predict what is going to happen next only to be disappointed by how naive I was. The backdrop, setting and the era in which the novel is based is spot on. The book left me with nightmares, I would doze off and have dreams about the Cypress house, opening a box to find a dead man’s hands or predicting an approaching death.The characters were realistic, by being flawed and imperfect. Arlen’s reactions to his supernatural power is justifiable and though you may not always agree with him; you cannot help but acknowledge and appreciate it. The relation between Paul and Arlen is bitter-sweet – a friendship and a commitment that would almost make one of them risk their life for the other. Becky, sorry Rebecca is dull in the beginning but soon grows to be a character the story cannot do without. Her reasoning, passion, silence and ignorance make her just the right mystery woman to live in the Cypress House. Truly enthralling was the fact that the characters entered and left the story at the right time.. Small details like Owen being introduced much later or Paul leaving and coming back again are what makes Koryta the best in what he does.Rated a 5 on 5 and falls in the category : “if-you-have-not-read-it-you-are-missing-out-on-something-brilliant.” Definitely one of 2011′s best books; just make sure you leave the lights on.Here are the reviews for the other books by Michael Koryta. I still have not managed to read “So Cold the River” but I promise I will get to it soon.
    • 5/5
      Very seldom does a "perfect" book come along–a book with strong believable characters, an enthralling plot, and dialogue so rich that you can immerse yourself inside it–The Cypress House is such a book.Arlen Wagner is a man with a gift, or a curse, depending on one's perspective. Arlen can see impending death. Having seen death reflected on the passengers of a train, he gets off with his riding companion and urges others to do the same. He and his younger friend, Paul, are the only passengers to disembark and the only passengers that survive after the train heads straight into a hurricane.Because of their change in plans, Arlen and Paul ultimately land at Cypress House, an isolated boardinghouse on the gulf where they meet Rebecca and enter a world ruled by Solomon Wade and filled with corruption and murder.Michael Koryta is to be commended on such an outstanding book! A word of warning, however...once you start this book, you won't be able to put it down.Excellent!!!
    • 4/5
      What I liked most about The Cypress House was the writing. Great imagery and well-written scenes really made me feel like I was there while everything was happening. A touch of the supernatural, which I like. And a very masculine plot - sort of a mannish Alice Hoffman? A ex-GI who acts as father figure to a lost teenage boy, captures the heart of a strong woman, and saves a small town from corruption that has plagued them for years. Our hero would be played by John Wayne on the big screen. :)
    • 5/5
      This wasn’t at all what I expected. Despite the popularity of Koryta’s previous novel, So Cold the River, I haven’t read it yet, so this is my first experience with him. I was definitely not disappointed. Koryta gives us an unusual guy in an unusual situation, yet manages to make it all seem perfectly normal. Arlen’s "gift" — the ability to see that someone is "marked for death" — could have been the centerpiece of the story. In fact, I expected it to be. Instead, it’s just another thing about Arlen, and you even find yourself forgetting about it at times. It remains important to the plot, and influences several of Arlen’s decisions, but it doesn’t overwhelm it. I really liked the twists and turns and surprising places this story takes us, especially when Arlen shows his bad-ass side. Whether or not you’ve read Koryta before, this is a book I can heartily recommend. Don’t let the supernatural tag scare you.
    • 4/5
      Set in 1935 at the height of the Great Depression, Arlen Wagner is a man who sees the dead walking. He sees smoke in the eyes and a skeletal frame and knows that death approaches. In some cases, he can prevent it from happening, in other cases, not. Arlen and Paul Brickhill, a talented young man are traveling together when Arlen sees death on the train. They end up hitching a ride with a man who is subsequently murdered in front of the Cypress House, run by proprietress Rebecca Cady. Nothing is as it seems and Arlen and Paul end up arrested by local crooked law enforcement, have their money stolen, and are left with nothing. Having no where to go, they stay at the Cypress House to unwind the corruption of the local town.