Those Who Wish Me Dead

OK, so I went on a little Michael Koryta journey. First book out of the gate was Those Who Wish Me Dead.

Goodreads Stats

Why I Read This Book/How I Heard About It

I've known about Michael Koryta for quite some time. I learned of him from a Stephen King book recommendation on Twitter several years ago. When Stephen King recommends a book, I read it!

I was also aware that Michael Koryta is a local author who lives in Bloomington, Indiana. Most of his books are set around here and that's really fun to see from a pretty famous author. I read The Ridge a long time ago, because it was based on the Exotic Feline Rescue Center. I was fascinated with the place for a couple years of my life and I wanted to read a thriller set in that location. It was great, by the way.

I received the Morgenstern's Bookstore & Cafe newsletter and saw that Michael Koryta was coming to do a reading from his most recent book and was going to sign books as well! I was so excited to go and meet him, so I decided to speed read a couple more of his novels beforehand. And then, guess what? I DIDN'T EVEN GO!!!!! Haha. Oh well.

Goodreads Summary

When fourteen-year-old Jace Wilson witnesses a brutal murder, he's plunged into a new life, issued a false identity and hidden in a wilderness skills program for troubled teens. The plan is to get Jace off the grid while police find the two killers. The result is the start of a nightmare.

The killers, known as the Blackwell Brothers, are slaughtering anyone who gets in their way in a methodical quest to reach him. Now all that remains between them and the boy are Ethan and Allison Serbin, who run the wilderness survival program; Hannah Faber, who occupies a lonely fire lookout tower; and endless miles of desolate Montana mountains.

The clock is ticking, the mountains are burning, and those who wish Jace Wilson dead are no longer far behind.

First Impressions

I think I started with this book because I have heard about the movie. I guess it has some pretty big stars: Angelina Jolie, Aidan Gillen, and Nicholas Hoult. I have not seen the movie, but I figure if they made a movie, the book must be good?

The main thrust of this book is survival in the wilderness. There is also quite a lot of information about wildfires. I generally like books about groups of boys who experience life-changing things together (like Stand by Me). This is kind of like that, but Jace quickly ends up setting off on his own. It's one of those reads where you are constantly asking yourself, "What would I do in this situation? Could I survive?"

And the villains in this story are absolutely chilling and terrifying.

Final Thoughts

I liked the story and the characters. At some points, I felt there was almost a little too much description of everything (landscape, step by step narration of events, etc) but overall, it was a good read. And there was a really nice twist at the end.

Rating on Goodreads

I rated this book 3 out of 5 stars.

My rating method:

• I rarely rate books 5 stars. I save this for the absolute best books I've read. You know the ones...the ones that you can't get out of your head, even after you've finished them. The ones you think about for weeks afterwards.

• If a book is really, really good, I'll give it 4 stars. If you see a 4-star rating from me, I'd definitely recommend it to you to read.

• If it's just OK, it gets 3 stars. Basically, it means I could take it or leave it. I'd probably read it again because it wasn't terrible. But not like a favorite or anything.

• If I rate it 1 or 2 stars, I would not recommend anyone read it. It either didn't hold my interest or I couldn't relate to the characters/plot.