After the loss of her only son, Sara Black finds herself spending more and more time at the Seattle hospital where she is a nurse, tending to "the tall man," the victim of a gunshot wound whose identity has remained a provocative riddle-until he starts talking. As the man she knows as Samuel draws Sara into a strange and chilling story about his past on an Alaskan island, she must face some truths of her own, as well as the realization that the patient to whom she's devoted herself may not be who he says he is. Daniel Coyleis a contributing editor atOutsidemagazine and the author ofHardball: A Season in the Projects, which was named best book of the year by theSporting Newsand made into a feature film. A former resident of Chicago, Coyle lives with his wife and four children in Homer, Alaska. After the loss of her son, Sara Black finds herself spending more and more time at the Seattle hospital where she is a nurse, tending to "the tall man," the victim of a gunshot wound. His identity has remained a provocative riddleuntil he starts talking. As the man she knows as Samuel draws Sara into a strange and chilling story about his past on an Alaskan island, she must face some truths of her own, as well as the realization that the patient to whom she's devoted herself may not be who he says he is. Gripping and compassionate, Daniel Coyle's first novel is a stirring portrayal of the power of belief and the journey one woman must take to find forgiveness. "Suspense and dark emotion collide in this haunting debut novel."Men's Journal "WithWaking Samuel, Daniel Coyle has established himself as a literary virtuoso, delivering a haunting novel with the narrative undertow of a winter storm."Bob Shacochis, author ofEasy in the Islands "The roles of the healer and the healed get all twisted up inWaking Samuel. . . A haunting first novel."Anchorage Daily News "Moving . . . An impressive debut."Booklist "[A] poignant, brooding first novel . . . Coyle tells Sara's story with graceful eloquence and authority, tracing the subtle trajectory of her return to a state of emotionally equilibrium."Publishers Weekly