Last Words

by Michael Koryta

First published 2015

Mark Novak arrives in Garrison carrying the weight of his wife's death and a career hanging by a thread. The private investigator has come to this Midwest town to investigate what happened in its notorious cave system. A young woman died in those underground passages. The man who carried her body out faces accusations of murder from half the town. He insists on his innocence and begs Novak to find the truth. Garrison keeps its secrets buried deep. The locals resist Novak's questions about the death. As he digs into the case, Novak discovers he must confront someone who knows the caves like his own mind. This adversary appears unhinged but displays an unsettling familiarity with Novak himself. The investigation forces the grieving detective to navigate both the physical dangers of the cave system and the psychological maze of a killer who seems to understand him too well.

Genres: mystery, crime, detective, psychological-thriller

Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful

Tropes: adversary, unreliable-narrator

Setting: Garrison

449 pages · Kindle Edition · Hodder & Stoughton

Content warnings: death

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