How It Happened

By: Michael Koryta

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff, Christine Lakin

"And that is how it happened. Can we stop now?"

Kimberly Crepeaux is no good, a notorious jailhouse snitch, teen mother, and heroin addict whose petty crimes are well known to the rural Maine community where she lives. So when she confesses to her role in the brutal murders of Jackie Pelletier and Ian Kelly, the daughter of a well-known local family and her sweetheart, the locals have little reason to believe her story.

Not Rob Barrett, the FBI investigator and interrogator specializing in telling a true confession from a falsehood. He's been circling Kimberly and her conspirators for months, waiting for the right avenue to the truth, and has finally found it. He knows, as strongly as he's known anything, that Kimberly's story - a grisly, harrowing story of a hit-and-run fueled by dope and cheap beer that becomes a brutal stabbing in cold blood - is how it happened. But one thing remains elusive: Where are Jackie's and Ian's bodies?

After Barrett stakes his name and reputation on the truth of Kimberly's confession, only to have the bodies turn up 200 miles from where she said they'd be, shot in the back and covered in a different suspect's DNA, the case is quickly closed and Barrett forcibly reassigned. But for Howard Pelletier, the tragedy of his daughter's murder cannot be so tidily swept away. And for Barrett, whose career may already be over, the chance to help a grieving father may be the only one he has left.

How It Happened is a frightening, tension-filled ride into the dark heart of rural American from a writer Stephen King has called "a master" and the New York Times has deemed "impossible to resist".

©2018 Michael Koryta (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Is Koryta capable of telling a less-than-gripping tale?...flawless, unpredictable storytelling streaked with his usual dark undercurrents. Crime fiction doesn't get any more enjoyable." (Kirkus)

"With this searing look at an investigator's obsessive efforts to close a case that has awakened childhood demons, bestseller Koryta has produced his most powerful novel in years... Koryta, when he's at the top of his game, has few peers in combining murder mysteries with psychological puzzles." (Publishers Weekly)

Unexpectedly wonderful

The story has unexpected twists, the characters make you love/despise them, the ending is perfect. I will see what else is out there by author and narrator.

good story

I could not believe how some one could go thro all that just too show how powerful they are so sorry for Kimmie you have to read it.

THIS IS JUST PLAIN A REALLY GOOD BOOK

I have been reading/listening to Koryta for a while, and though I was never 100% with the supernatural stuff, I thought he was a good writer, and a pretty fantastic story-teller, so that kept me reaching for the next one. Well, now, for my money, he has really broken out into a whole new level. This book is completely realist - a Who done it, and Why Done it - FBI central character, essentially police procedural. BUT, it is also so much more, which is what makes it so good. The writing is compelling and powerful and, basically, totally engaging - helped by first class narration. The plot is just great. But it's not even that. It's the characters, and the character development, and the sense of place and issues. I'll cop to the fact that I come from this part of Maine, and Koryta has not only caught it, but hit the nail right on the head. Because, as much as anything else, this is a book about class, and how class works. So, while it is a really good 'thriller/police procedural', it is also, thanks to that, a really good novel. He's hit it on this one. Spend the credit, you won't be sorry.

Captivating Mystery

How it Happened by Michael Koryta is an unusual mystery because it starts with a powerful confession. FBI investigator Rob Barrett heads back to Port Hope, Maine to try to solve the murders of two young lovers. It is the small coastal town where Rob spent much of his childhood.
“And that is how it happened. Can we stop now?”, is the conclusion to the first chapter of the novel.
Rob stakes his reputation and career on the confession of a young dope addict and petty criminal, Kimberly Crepeaux. However, her account of the murders doesn’t tally with later evidence. The bodies are found 200 miles from where she says they were dumped. Naturally, most don't consider Kimberly to be a reliable witness, although Rob still holds a shred of belief in her testimony.

The foreshadowing of Barrett’s childhood in Port Hope let you know that his childhood past had drawn him back to a place he probably should not have gone back to in the first place. I wondered what was going to happen with Barrett and Liz. I wondered where the bodies went and how. Chapter after chapter brought new mysteries and also suggested a lingering doom over Barrett. But no matter what happened he persisted. He was like that pesky Columbo. He just would not go away.
It turns out the two murders are just the tip of the iceberg of a much more wide-ranging crime and Rob’s further investigations lead him to cross paths with other agencies.

The story took many twists and turns which I did not suspect but that was what kept me listening. I highly recommend the Audible reading of the book.

The best

This story is one of the most complex. You will not guess the full story until the end. The twists and turns unfold, and many times you will think they will all die before they figure it out.

L&O Criminal Intent on steroids

Proof knowing that who did or didn't do it isn't what makes the mystery, it's the road that leads you there. Some would say the book has twists and turns and on some level, they would be right, but they aren't what makes this book satisfying. That prize goes to how well the characters are developed over the length of the book, Each is flawed in their own way and those flaws feed into the psychology of how it happened. There is a line in the book that best explains what I mean. It's simple but powerful. Human nature and cultural stereotypes create blinders to the obvious of situations. The mystery is what you think and didn't think or expect in how it happened.

Great Maine story, but with a South Boston accent narration???

Halfway through listening and still distracted by the accents of the performers which sound nothing like any in the state of Maine. (I am a Mainer). They sound straight out of South Boston , like the characters in Ray Donovan. It takes some discipline to ignore this distraction, and to focus an otherwise very good book - good mystery, great characters, solid level of anticipation and surprise. Any chance of re-recording?

Really enjoyed this book!

Well done! Interesting, suspenseful, twists and turns, as well as a good narrator. I'll try another book by this author.
Scotty
Santa Fe, NM

How it went down

This book leads you on a wild ride, trying to discover how a murder happened. It drops you right into a confession and then you follow along as you try and make that confession keep ringing true no matter what the evidence says. It is truly a unique way of telling the story.

Michael Koryta Rocks!!!

Koryta does it again, and he's definitely one of my favorite suspense writers. Robert Petkoff is suberb of course, and Christine Lakin does such an amazing job with Kimberely's voice at the very beggining that it hooked me right off from the very first sentence. This is one thriller that you won't regret spending a credit on, I listened to it all in one day, basically strait through, I had to learn the truth, that's all I cared about in those 10hrs. I promise you will love this book!!!