DIE FAMOUS

4 stars out of 5

I’ve read a couple of this author’s books and a short-story collaboration (appropriately titled “Short Story”) with Karin Slaughter, but all those were several years ago so my experience isn’t recent. But the premise sounded intriguing – and I’ve never had a bad book from this publisher – so I requested a pre-release copy at NetGalley and here we are. And once again, it was an enjoyable experience overall.

It was, though, a bit difficult to “get into” – mostly, I guess, because of what actually makes the story work as well as it does: frequent switching of perspectives of three different characters. You have Savannah Cody, the mother of Alford; the father of that child, Edward “Nickel” Terhune, who’s on the run as part of the Brady Gang, wanted Bonnie and Clyde-style bank robbers; and Alford (undoubtedly the most sympathy-generating among the three).

The main theme is that Savannah decided, as she tells an interrogator after the fact, that Eddie – the now most-wanted man she loved and who still loves her – needs to die, and she’ll be the one to do the dirty deed. But even the FBI can’t find Eddie, who was the Brady gang’s getaway car driver – so how can she?

Actually, she knows something others don’t: there’s a place in the United States Eddie dreamed of – and Savannah shared that dream. When push comes to shove, then, she’s convinced that’s where Eddie would head next – or die trying. The question is, by whose hand?

I wish I could be more specific, but that would ruin the story for others. As I mentioned earlier, there are a few too many backward jumps to suit my style, but they do get the job done in the end with a few twists and quite a few turns along the way. Well worth a read, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to tag along on the journey by way of a pre-release copy.

Die Famous by Michael Koryta (Little, Brown and Co., September 2026); 415 pp.