A review by megmcardle
The Cypress House by Michael Koryta

4.0

Supernatural-ish thriller from Kortya, who seems to be carving out a niche for the noir and the spooky. While I thought his previous book So Cold the River was better, both books suffer from slightly too sluggish pacing to be called real page-turners. But for The Cypress House, the imagery of the smoke-filled eyes heralding imminent death was really effective. I also enjoyed the remote house in the bayou, the sad-eyed woman in over her head, the violence on the doorsteps: all such great film noir elements. The similarities to Key Largo can't all be accidental. The opening of the book was just fantastic, but when the gangster plot takes over, the supernatural elements all but disappear, only making a strong appearance at the very end. That was a little disappointing, as it felt like he could have done more with Arlen's gift. I can't wait to see what Kortya does next, though, as even with these criticisms, this was a fun read.