Book Review: "The Ridge" by Michael Koryta

So I was back in the library and its mid-2025. It's really warm in my apartment and on the whole, it's alright I guess. I'm going to share something with you here: I've lost a lot of hair so I'm going to have to go back to the doctor's office again. But, at least I've got books and, good books like this one. Again, I love horror novels but I'm often very picky about the psychological thriller sub-genre. I think this time, I hit a good jackpot. The Ridge is as weird and terrifying as it is also thrilling and cold. It has a great atmosphere and Koryta's writing is brilliant.

In rural Kentucky, a bizarre lighthouse stands deep in the forest which is also miles from any coastline. Its builder, the reclusive Wyatt French, is found dead from an apparent suicide, but something about the scene feels off. Not only is there a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere, but there is also a dead guy in a suicide that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I love the way this book starts - immediately we are let into a world where we aren't quite sure of the whole picture. It is weird, might be supernatural and could be really dangerous to anyone who goes in.

Wyatt French had been obsessively documenting strange occurrences tied to the lighthouse and the surrounding ridge. Deputy Sheriff Kevin Kimble, who has a dark past of his own, begins investigating the death. His search leads him to Wyatt’s unsettling notebooks and clues pointing to a mysterious blue light that locals have seen glowing in the woods; one Wyatt believed was a harbinger of violence and death. I love folklore and especially a localised one. If there's anything to do with a local urban legend, I am definitely going to be interested in it.

Nearby, Audrey Clark runs an exotic animal sanctuary housing big cats and bears. Still mourning the sudden death of her husband, she’s thrust into turmoil when she’s asked to temporarily relocate her animals near the ridge and she's unaware of the area’s grim history. I love this because it shifts focus and yet, we are still imbued with the local legend, constantly wondering if something is going to wander out of the woods at any minute. I definitely felt like I was one of the locals who had already witnessed this and I'm waiting to see it again to show someone it's really there.

As Kimble investigates deeper, he uncovers local legends about the ridge: a place believed to be cursed or haunted for over a century. The mysterious blue light has been associated with unexplained deaths, disappearances, and madness. Wyatt French’s obsessive documentation reveals he believed the light marked a supernatural boundary, and that it was linked to historical tragedies. I love the layers here. Wyatt French has documentation where people didn't initially believe anything - yet his death was suspicious. Then you've got the local urban legend and after this, the situation with the animals which is becoming worse and worse as they start to act out. The other final layer is that each character is unreliable and has some sort of buried secret in their past - a source of stress for them that pervades like a heartbeat in their lives. It makes them doubt themselves.

In an intense confrontation, Kimble, Audrey, and Roy face the truth of the ridge: it is a place that amplifies darkness within, feeding off trauma and pain. Wyatt's suicide was part of a larger attempt to resist the influence, not surrender to it. The characters must confront their own grief, guilt, and personal demons to survive. I don't want to tell you exactly what happens next but things get really real really quickly. The confrontation is both imbued with emotion and the supernatural force which serves as a barrier from the truth about the situation. Alongside the idea of a local legend, this makes for a really compelling read which also happens to be really intense too. If you're looking for both a horror read that has the capacity to be a psychological thriller because of its pace, then this one is for you.

All in all, this was a great escapist read with many layers and I totally got lost it in. If you like the kind of books I read, then this is highly recommended!