In The Reckoning, the gruesome murder of a Niceville family helps detective Nick Kavanaugh finally admit that there is a dark, supernatural presence in his town. Along with a group of confidants, Nick must confront the creature at its source before it fully takes over his foster son, Rainey Teague, allowing an evil relation from the past, Abel Teague, to become immortal.
The woman who lives in a strange limbo, inside Nick's antique mirror, takes in lost souls and has them fight the evil that has descended on Niceville. Together, these spirits chase down an evil sorcerer who seeks to live forever by inhabiting Rainey's body. But metaphysical villains are only part of the problem. Mob goons shacked up in a hotel suite face off with FBI surveillance camped out in the high-rise across the street, as the goons figure out what to do after the death of their boss.
Carsten Stroud (The Homecoming) takes readers back to Niceville in The Reckoning, the third installment of his series, a novel that tells a fascinatingly macabre story. Stroud seems more confident and playful in this novel, showing off with blackly humorous chapter titles like "Never Get Out of the Car," with a local policeman who investigates a haunted sewer, or "Tito Detects Stuff," in which a Mafia hitman takes out an informant. While the plot is complicated, the story rockets along, keeping readers engaged and looking for every next twist and turn. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor