-
How It Happened
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff, Christine Lakin
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Crime Fiction
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $29.65
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Envy the Night
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the seven years since he learned his US marshal father lead a double life as a contract killer - and committed suicide to avoid prosecution - Frank Temple III has mostly drifted through life. But when he learns that Devin Matteson, the man who lured his father into the killing game only to later give him up to the FBI, is returning to the isolated Wisconsin lake that was once sacred ground for their families, it's a homecoming Frank can't allow.
-
-
This book calls for a sequel...
- By shelley on 05-07-19
By: Michael Koryta
-
So Cold the River
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It started with a documentary. The beautiful Alyssa Bradford approaches Eric Shaw to unearth the life story of her father-in-law, Campbell Bradford, a 95-year-old billionaire whose childhood is wrapped in mystery. Eric grabs the job, even though the only clues to Bradford's past are his hometown and an antique water bottle he's kept his entire life. In Bradford's hometown, Eric discovers an extraordinary past.
-
-
Not bad
- By Scott S. on 08-16-10
By: Michael Koryta
-
Last Words
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Markus Novak just wants to come home. An investigator for a Florida-based death-row defense firm, Novak's life derailed when his wife, Lauren, was killed in the midst of a case the two were working together. Two years later her murderer is still at large, and Novak's attempts to learn the truth about her death through less-than-legal means and jailhouse bargaining have put his job on the line.
-
-
Competent Airplane Reading
- By Mark E. White on 08-26-15
By: Michael Koryta
-
The Cypress House
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Arlen Wagner has an awful gift: he can see death in the eyes of men before it strikes. He's never wrong. So when Arlen awakens on a train one hot Florida night and sees death's telltale sign in the eyes of his fellow passengers, he tries to warn them. Only 19-year-old Paul Brickhill believes him, and the two abandon the train, hoping to escape certain death. They continue south, but soon are stranded at The Cypress House - an isolated Gulf Coast boarding house run by the beautiful Rebecca Cady - directly in the path of an approaching hurricane.
-
-
Great book read by a great narrator!
- By Michele on 01-28-11
By: Michael Koryta
-
Never Far Away
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once a wife, mother, and witness to a gruesome crime, Leah Trenton was extended a miraculous olive branch in the form of the state's protected witness program. But for this second chance at life, Leah would have to leave behind her Midwestern roots to the northernmost tip of Maine. Alone and isolated along the banks of the Allagash River, she is determined to focus on the present, on her reclaimed future, but the demons of her past, are relentlessly chipping away at Leah's protected hideaway.
-
-
Unfinished business
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 03-10-21
By: Michael Koryta
-
Those Who Wish Me Dead
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 13-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.
-
-
Get past the intro, then hold on
- By James on 06-13-15
By: Michael Koryta
-
Envy the Night
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the seven years since he learned his US marshal father lead a double life as a contract killer - and committed suicide to avoid prosecution - Frank Temple III has mostly drifted through life. But when he learns that Devin Matteson, the man who lured his father into the killing game only to later give him up to the FBI, is returning to the isolated Wisconsin lake that was once sacred ground for their families, it's a homecoming Frank can't allow.
-
-
This book calls for a sequel...
- By shelley on 05-07-19
By: Michael Koryta
-
So Cold the River
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It started with a documentary. The beautiful Alyssa Bradford approaches Eric Shaw to unearth the life story of her father-in-law, Campbell Bradford, a 95-year-old billionaire whose childhood is wrapped in mystery. Eric grabs the job, even though the only clues to Bradford's past are his hometown and an antique water bottle he's kept his entire life. In Bradford's hometown, Eric discovers an extraordinary past.
-
-
Not bad
- By Scott S. on 08-16-10
By: Michael Koryta
-
Last Words
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Markus Novak just wants to come home. An investigator for a Florida-based death-row defense firm, Novak's life derailed when his wife, Lauren, was killed in the midst of a case the two were working together. Two years later her murderer is still at large, and Novak's attempts to learn the truth about her death through less-than-legal means and jailhouse bargaining have put his job on the line.
-
-
Competent Airplane Reading
- By Mark E. White on 08-26-15
By: Michael Koryta
-
The Cypress House
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Arlen Wagner has an awful gift: he can see death in the eyes of men before it strikes. He's never wrong. So when Arlen awakens on a train one hot Florida night and sees death's telltale sign in the eyes of his fellow passengers, he tries to warn them. Only 19-year-old Paul Brickhill believes him, and the two abandon the train, hoping to escape certain death. They continue south, but soon are stranded at The Cypress House - an isolated Gulf Coast boarding house run by the beautiful Rebecca Cady - directly in the path of an approaching hurricane.
-
-
Great book read by a great narrator!
- By Michele on 01-28-11
By: Michael Koryta
-
Never Far Away
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once a wife, mother, and witness to a gruesome crime, Leah Trenton was extended a miraculous olive branch in the form of the state's protected witness program. But for this second chance at life, Leah would have to leave behind her Midwestern roots to the northernmost tip of Maine. Alone and isolated along the banks of the Allagash River, she is determined to focus on the present, on her reclaimed future, but the demons of her past, are relentlessly chipping away at Leah's protected hideaway.
-
-
Unfinished business
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 03-10-21
By: Michael Koryta
-
Those Who Wish Me Dead
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 13-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.
-
-
Get past the intro, then hold on
- By James on 06-13-15
By: Michael Koryta
-
The Prophet
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adam Austin hasn't spoken to his brother in years. When they were teenagers, their sister was abducted and murdered, and their devastated family never recovered. Now Adam keeps to himself, scraping by as a bail bondsman. Kent Austin is the beloved coach of the local high school football team, a religious man and hero in the community. After years of near misses, Just before playoffs begin, the town and the team are thrown into shock when horrifically, impossibly, another teenage girl is found murdered.
-
-
Don't worry Mel - Everyone did click no
- By John on 06-13-15
By: Michael Koryta
-
Tonight I Said Goodbye
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Investigator Wayne Weston is found dead of an apparent suicide in his home in an upscale Cleveland suburb, and his wife and six-year-old daughter are missing. Weston’s father insists that private investigators Lincoln Perry and Joe Pritchard take the case to exonerate his son and find his granddaughter and daughter-in-law. As they begin to work, they discover there is much more to the situation than has been described in the prevalent media reports.
-
-
Worthwhile effort
- By Janice on 07-14-11
By: Michael Koryta
-
The Ridge
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In an isolated stretch of Eastern Kentucky, on a hilltop known as Blade Ridge, stands a lighthouse that illuminates nothing but the surrounding woods. For years the lighthouse has been considered no more than an eccentric local landmark - until its builder is found dead at the top of the light, and his belongings reveal a troubling local history.
-
-
For when you're itching for a spooky story...
- By Brandilyn on 06-21-12
By: Michael Koryta
-
If She Wakes
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tara Beckley is a senior at idyllic Hammel College in Maine. As she drives to deliver a visiting professor to a conference, a horrific car accident kills the professor and leaves Tara in a vegetative state. At least, so her doctors think. In fact, she's a prisoner of locked-in syndrome: fully alert but unable to move a muscle. Trapped in her body, she learns that someone powerful wants her dead - but why? And what can she do, lying in a hospital bed, to stop them?
-
-
Took a chance... glad I did!
- By Tawny on 07-11-19
By: Michael Koryta
-
When a Stranger Comes to Town
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Cindy Kay, Janina Edwards, Fajer Al-Kaisi, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's been said that all great literature boils down to one of two stories—a man takes a journey, or a stranger comes to town. While mystery writers have been successfully using both approaches for generations, there's something undeniably alluring in the nature of a stranger: the uninvited guest, the unacquainted neighbor, the fish out of water. In the newest collection of stories by the Mystery Writers of America, each author weaves a fresh tale surrounding the eerie feeling that comes when a stranger enters our midst, featuring stories by prolific mystery writers.
-
-
The narrators are outstanding here.
- By Jennifer Baratta She/Her on 05-16-21
By: Michael Koryta
-
The Stolen Hours
- By: Allen Eskens
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews, Christine Lakin, Tina Huang
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lila Nash is on the verge of landing her dream job - working as a prosecutor under the Hennepin County Attorney - and has settled into a happy life with her boyfriend, Joe Talbert. But when a woman is pulled from the Mississippi River, barely alive, things in the office take a personal turn. The police believe the woman’s assailant is local photographer Gavin Spenser, but the case quickly flounders as the evidence wears thin. It seems Gavin saw this investigation coming - and no one can imagine how carefully he has prepared.
-
-
Couldn’t stop listening!
- By Erin Michelle on 09-10-21
By: Allen Eskens
-
My Sister's Grave
- Tracy Crosswhite, Book 1
- By: Robert Dugoni
- Narrated by: Emily Sutton-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tracy Crosswhite has spent 20 years questioning the facts surrounding her sister Sarah’s disappearance and the murder trial that followed. She doesn’t believe that Edmund House - a convicted rapist and the man condemned for Sarah’s murder - is the guilty party. Motivated by the opportunity to obtain real justice, Tracy became a homicide detective with the Seattle PD and dedicated her life to tracking down killers.
-
-
Story not for me--but that's just my taste
- By Kathi on 01-30-17
By: Robert Dugoni
-
Good as Dead
- A Novel
- By: Susan Walter
- Narrated by: Kimberly Woods, Suzanne Elise Freeman, James Anderson Foster, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Holly Kendrick’s husband is dead. Holly saw it all. In one violent moment, a hit-and-run accident turns Holly’s life upside down. Then a fixer for the high-powered guilty party approaches Holly with an offer she is in no position to refuse. Holly and her daughter, Savannah, will want for nothing, beginning with a luxury dream house - all for the price of their silence. But when their sudden appearance in privileged Calabasas, California, piques the curiosity of neighbors, the price becomes greater than they imagined.
-
-
Thank you!
- By Tawny on 10-02-21
By: Susan Walter
-
A Blood Thing
- By: James Hankins
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vermont’s promising young governor, Andrew Kane, is at another public meet-and-greet when a stranger from the crowd slips him a cell phone and whispers, “Keep this with you...keep it secret...you’re going to need it after the arrest.” Hours later, Andrew’s brother, Tyler, is taken into custody - framed for the brutal murder of a young woman - and Andrew discovers there is only one way to free him: answer the mysterious phone and agree to a blackmailer’s demands. All the governor has to do to make it all go away is compromise everything he stands for and grant a full pardon to a convicted felon.
-
-
Edge of your seat psychological thriller...
- By shelley on 06-06-18
By: James Hankins
-
The Loot
- Charlie McCabe Thriller, Book 1
- By: Craig Schaefer
- Narrated by: Susannah Jones
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Sergeant Charlie McCabe returns from fighting in Afghanistan, she hopes to leave the war behind. Instead, she comes home to a father whose gambling has put him in deep trouble with a violent loan shark. She finds work as a professional bodyguard, but to save her father, she needs to get serious cash together fast. However, her father isn’t the only one who needs saving. When Charlie’s first client - a wealthy executive with a shady past - narrowly escapes a bomb plot, Charlie’s investigation leads her into the heart of Boston’s criminal underworld.
-
-
Excellent first in a series... GREAT FIND!
- By shelley on 08-04-19
By: Craig Schaefer
-
The Ursulina
- By: Brian Freeman
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this gripping follow-up to his Edgar Award-nominated mystery, The Deep, Deep Snow, Brian Freeman tells the story of Rebecca Colder, a young sheriff’s deputy who faces the most excruciating choice a mother can make.
-
-
Drivel, Well Not All
- By Empress Karen on 06-26-21
By: Brian Freeman
-
Twenty Years Later
- By: Charlie Donlea
- Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Avery Mason, host of American Events, knows the subjects that grab a TV audience’s attention. Her latest story - a murder mystery laced with kinky sex, tragedy, and betrayal - is guaranteed to be ratings gold. New DNA technology has allowed the New York medical examiner’s office to make its first successful identification of a 9/11 victim in years. The twist: The victim, Victoria Ford, had been accused of the gruesome murder of her married lover. In a chilling last phone call to her sister, Victoria begged her to prove her innocence.
-
-
Reads like an abridged novel
- By cristina on 03-27-22
By: Charlie Donlea
Publisher's Summary
"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".
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)
More from the same
What listeners say about How It Happened
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- shelley
- 05-16-18
Don't Judge a book by it's cover!
Michael Koryta has written another page turner with this thrilling new book.
The publisher's summary gives so much information that if I provide much more you wouldn't need to get the book. What the summary leaves out is how well told this story is. The protagonist is FBI investigator is Rob Barrett. He believes the story of murder told to him by a woman (based on her reputation ) he should never have believed. The characters are so realistic and believable. You can feel Barrett's anger and frustration. You will actually feel empathy for the woman who claims to be an accomplice in the murder. The father of the murdered girl's pain is palpable.
This is a complex story, but not so much that you'll get lost in it. But there are quite a few characters, each contributing to a piece of the plot.
I really enjoyed the whole book but I thought the end was lacking something.
The narrators Robert Petkoff and Christine Lakin do an excellent job.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
If you found this review helpful please indicate so.
Thank You.
79 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tina
- 05-17-18
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!!!
20 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mj
- 05-28-18
Good read
This story is a good mystery and an engaging read. M.Koryta has become one of my favorite authors as he writes stories that are multi-layered and woven through with the "human condition", rather than a formulaic murder mystery. His characters are well developed, and his descriptions of coastal Maine took me there quite vividly.
I include this because these are things I would like to know before purchasing a book: no graphic, unnecessary, violence; no explicit sex scenes, and no abuse of little kids or animals.
17 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tammy Mitchell
- 05-17-18
Koryta Rocks! Christine Lakin is mesmerizing. Robert Petkoff nails it. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I’m not sure I can convey the absolute excellence in this book. It is extremely well written, from the first word to the last. In full disclosure, Michael Koryta has been a favorite of mine since I first read “So Cold the River,” and, “Last Words.” It's no surprise, therefore, the superb character development and overall level of depth in, “How it Happened.”
I listened to the Audible version and was gripped by the opening narration of Kimberly Crepeaux, by Christine Lakin; brilliant! It truly enhanced the pleasure of this book. We love the characters we should love; hate the ones we should hate; and are at least sympathetic to the ones in between.
I don’t care to give a synopsis of this book, it’s details, as it’s already been well done. I just want to give it my highest recommendation. Even if you know, or think you know, what happened and who did what, where and why, take the ride. It’s well worth the investment. Enjoy
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Wade Lancaster
- 06-10-18
Laced With Fentanyl
The narrators are great as they usually are with Koryta books. Petkoff is the go to narrator for Koryta and he always does an incredible job.
Now, the plot is somewhat light as others have noted. But, it is still an interesting novel full of suspense and light mystery. Koryta peels back the layers of the story with enough suspense to keep the plot rolling along. Most of the characters are richly drawn and you grow to like them the more you get to know them. This is where Koryta soars...he is a top notch writer. And while this isn’t his best, it is still a solid entry. Personally, I enjoy his supernaturally centered novels the most. If you like those, you may not like his suspense/light mysteries such as this one. I hope he continues to explore both genres in the future.
He is exploring various genres, plots, characters/ development etc. as he grows as a writer and I’m glad to be on the ride.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Janise Monaghan
- 07-25-18
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?
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 05-30-18
Wow
I was hooked from the first few paragraphs. I have read all of Koryta’s books and this was the best by far. I can’t wait for his next one!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anne
- 05-17-18
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.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Paul Courter
- 05-19-18
Lightweight
Ok but thin story, narrator is good but someone needed to summarize everything in final chapters so it all to make sense. Love the author but he has done better.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Wayne
- 05-18-18
Excellent suspense thriller!
After reading the publisher's summary which contains multiple plot spoilers I almost skipped listening to this novel. But as a fan of Michael Koryta since his 2004 novel Tonight I Said Goodbye which he wrote while a college undergrad, I decided to listen. Koryta's first four novels were in his Lincoln Perry series and all were outstanding. Except for his two novel Mark Novak all of his other novels including this one and six others have been standalone. Koryta has frustrated me by his use of the paranormal (mostly ghosts) in four of his novels. In each case the paranormal had no impact whatever of the story.
How It Happened is a excellent homicide thriller about an FBI agent who believed a girls story about two murders despite her lack of credibility. The agent shows remarkable tenacity. Robert Petkofff narrates the novel brilliantly. The female narrator had a much smaller part and was not very good. My 5 star rating is for Petkoff.
I have rated the story 4 stars rather than 5 due to plot spoilers in the publisher's summary. I suspect the author likely wrote the summary.
12 people found this helpful