Markus Novak, no longer investigating for the Florida death row defense firm Innocence Incorporated, is taking on the personal case that has dogged him since his introduction in Michael Koryta's Last Words--the murder of his wife, Lauren. Garland Webb, the man accused of killing Lauren, is out of prison, and Novak is determined to exact justice for both his wife and himself. He just has to find the monster first.
Webb's trail leads Novak back to the scene of Lauren's death before it takes a sharp turn, introducing him to an honest-to-goodness Pinkerton PI and sending them both to a place Novak swore he would never return, Red Lodge, Mont. Here Novak's past collides with his present, and he uncovers the truth behind Webb (who is just the tip of a terrifying iceberg), as well as the meaning of words left on Lauren's notebook before she was murdered: "Rise the dark." As Koryta tests his determined protagonist with a brilliantly sadistic villain, Novak races against time to prevent a global crisis.
Koryta's second installment in the Mark Novak series is easily appreciated on its own, but readers of Last Words and Koryta's standalone Those Who Wish Me Dead will delight in small references to his earlier works. While some of the detailed technical explanations deter from the thrilling action, Koryta constructs an enveloping atmosphere that artfully merges the landscape's beauty with the plot's terror and the darkness of his characters. This dichotomy ramps up the suspense, making Rise the Dark heart-poundingly swift and chock-full of explosive excitement. --Jen Forbus of Jen's Book Thoughts