Those Who Wish Me Dead are the sadistic and evil Blackwell brothers, who Jace Wilson saw murder a man in a quarry in 
Indiana. Their quest to hunt down and kill Jace leads the Blackwell brothers to the mountains of Montana , where Ethan and Allison Serbin run a summer survival training program for troubled youths. Jace was placed in the program by Jamie Bennett ,who was a former student of Serbin’s, Arriving in a snowstorm, Bennett asks Ethan’s help in getting Jace “off the grid” to protect him, something Bennett does not think she can do by herself. Although both Allison and Ethan have doubts about Bennett, they agree to help for the sake of the boy. Soon the Blackwell brothers arrive, bringing their evil to the mountains. Can Ethan and Allison keep their promise to keep Connor safe? The task becomes more difficult when Jace, sets out to escape from the brothers, alone! While the brother’s bring evil and a devastating fire to the mountains, Jace encounters an ex-elite firefighter Hannah Faber, who joins the fight to keep Jace safe. So begins Michael Kortya’s latest book Those Who Wish Me Dead about which Harlan Coben says…..
“Warnng: Michael Koryta‘s wonderful, riveting, and harrowing Those Who Wish Me Dead may just move you to tears. Enjoy at Your Own Risk”
I have been a reader of Michael Koryta’s work since I read several of the books in his Lincoln Perry series. (Note to self find The Silent Hour Lincoln Perry #4) I have enjoyed all of his books that I have read, they are typically filled with lots of action and a good story line and this one joins the group!!
I don’t think that Koryta is as descriptive of either his characters or the setting of the story as other authors that read but he does a great job holding your interest until the end. At first, I wasn’t sure about the book, a survivalist teacher and a group of boys with two evil men on their trail, ho hum! But that’s not the way that the story develops at all!! Actually, it seemed to me it became a quest for Jace to overcome his fears, for Hannah to make amends for decisions that she made as a firefighter and Ethan to prove to a military father that he was capable of killing when necessary!
Bottom line: a very good adventure that should make a terrific movie, so read it now so you’ll be ready to compare the two!!
Grade: A- I figured out certain aspects of the story too early, but the action, twists, and the details about forest fires and tracking overcame that!!
Book 25 of 2014