Final Reckoning

by Susan Moody

13-year-old Chantal Frazer’s carefree childhood came to an end the day her sister Sabine was murdered in shocking and tragic circumstances while working as an au pair for a wealthy family in their beautiful Cotswolds home.
23 years later, Chantal visits Westerby Lodge, now converted into a luxury hotel, to attempt to find some answers. What really happened that terrible night? What is the truth about the troubled family history? As Chantal questions those who were there at the time, she discovers matters weren’t quite as straightforward as she’d been led to believe – and that someone is prepared to go to desperate lengths to ensure the truth remains hidden.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

She grew up in Oxford then moved to Tennessee for 10 years. She published two historical novels and the novelisation of the Nescafe Gold Blend advertisements under the pen name Susannah James. More recently she has also used the nom de plume, Susan Madison. She is a former Chairman of the Crime Writer's Association, served as World President of the International Association of Crime Writers, and was elected to the prestigious Detection Club. Susan Moody has given numerous courses on writing crime fiction and continues to teach creative writing in England, France, Australia, the USA and Denmark

Reviews

[mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually finished this on New Years Day. Nicely written, but killer obvious very early on.

[Mary Van Winkle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slightly spoiler-ish:

What I liked about this book:

*The premise- I really liked the premise and the promise of the mystery surrounding Chantel's sister's "obvious" murder along with two boys. I liked the atmosphere and haunting quality of the story
*Chantel- she was okay and I could understand why she might want to go to Weston Lodge as closure and I like her whole American in Europe lifestyle
*Hamilton- even though he lived and died in a few pages of the first chapter, I liked that Chantel had had a real, adult relationship to compare other men too so that even when she's maybe 90% taken in by guys, there's a little piece of herself that's left with common sense
*I didn't know exactly how the killer killed their victims until the end

What I didn't like:

* No real mystery- Even though I didn't know exactly how the murders went down until the end, I still figured out who the culprit was a couple of chapters in. What would have been great would've been a twist and frankly, I thought that's why the novel was running so long but no...just a whole lot of story and rushed wrap up where...
*The backup characters make no sense. Some, like Chantel's friends, aren't suppose to make sense, friends are often written to push the story on but the characters that Chantel spent a lot of time with meant actually very little and the characters she barely had any interaction with suddenly pop up making a big deal out of themselves
*Malcolm- He's established as a nice guy but completely underdeveloped and for Chantel to have the hots for her sister's once-boyfriend?? EW. I know this maybe happens in real life but why???
*Chantel- this is what I really didn't like about her: instead of living her own life, she completely took over the life she thought Sabine wanted to live. Its likely two siblings would be into the same thing and end up in the same profession, okay, that gets a pass but Chantel going to the EXACT same schools, marrying a Scotsman because her sisters lover was Scottish, facing death and thinking, if I live I'm going to live happily ever after with Malcolm and then worse of all, marrying her sisters last lover...if Chantel was a real woman I'd suggest she get mentally evaluated. Did the author, her editors, no one realize this character is sick? Chantel even mentions her copycat life towards the end but does she modify her life after? No, she keeps living her sisters life. I couldn't get over it the entire time I was reading the book

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

My least favorite kind of 'suspense':the kind where the plot hinges on a person behaving in a way no real life person would behave. Let's say your sister was murdered by her employer while working as a nanny in another country. You have a stack of letters she sent you in the weeks and days leading up to the murder. You are plagued by an unsettled feeling that you just cannot understand why she was killed. Yet you do not read the letters. For decades.

And when you finally do read them, you don't sit down to get it all over with and read one after the other, you dole them out to yourself incrementally over the course of months as you investigate her murder. Because while you are somehow so motivated to investigate that you traipse through heath and woods and dig up the old flames of everyone involved, you are not motivated enough to read the actual letters where your sister described what was happening in the house. Uh huh.

And readers can all guess who the real killer is by, oh, page 20.
I only finished it because I literally could not believe it was that obvious and I was expecting some surprising twist. Sigh.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, but I think it could have been better. It reminded me of the old-fashioned gothic romance/thrillers, but I think it seemed a little too short. Some of it could have been more developed and then everything at the end was over very quickly. I may read more of her books to see if I like them any better. Definitely like this type of book/style of writing.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read! I enjoyed ever page of this book and couldn't put it down. It has a gothic quality about it that really intrigued me from the start. The characters were well developed and the plot had me hooked right away. I will definitely read more of this author's novels.

[Dutchbaby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I figured out the mystery half-way through the book. :(

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A frustrating read since the killer is obvious quite early on and the reader just has to watch the characters dithering around asking all the wrong questions. I could probably live with that if the book had something else going for it, but neither the main character nor any of the other characters really crystallize into something real, the dialogue is often ponderous and occasionally cringe worthy, there is no particular urgency to the mystery to drive the plot along, the romance was very weak, and even though it has the ingredients of a gothic novel, it lacks the gothic ambiance. So why did I finish it? A) I wanted to be able to write this review and B) it did have some art history in it, and I’m a sucker for art history. 😏

[Myth Button · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the most part, this book is riddled with good dialogue. Many of these scenes certainly feel real enouh. But the serious issue of the novel is how long it rambles. Not only is the killer obvious as soon as the killer's name is spoken, but almost every plot twist or revalation justifies the notion. This book's trying to paint itself as a whodunit, but it feels more like a bunch of random conversations than a mysterious story.

[Becca Hines · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the book was enjoyable, it was nothing more than a beach novel. The characters were rather shallow, descriptions were long-winded and the plot was rather simple. The myriad of supporting characters only helped wash out the already bland central ones. Slow to start and build with a hurried finish.

[Mystic Miraflores · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book because the advertisements for it sounded intriguing. But unfortunately it was a predictable thriller with too many coincidences. I figured out who the real killer was early on. This might be the author's first book. I hope her next book won't be so predictable.

[Michael Bassett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way, way, wayyyyy too predictable. By the time I was a third of the way through, I'd decided that Gavin was the killer, but felt it was just too predictable. The excitement of the book, then, was in trying to figure out if I was wrong or right.

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out with a lot of promise but the killer became obvious quite early. The ending relationship wasn’t based on any significant time together.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was deliciously gothic. The narrative flagged a bit. The initial crime is horrific and tragic. There are some triggers in here...violence, crimes against children, sexual violence....

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

5.25.21

[Sarah Grim · Rating 4 out of 5]

good twists

Overall enjoyable. Lots of characters to keep up with. The last few pages have the best twist of all. Good read.

[Jenna Scribbles · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up to a 3.
In need of a skilled manuscript and continuity editor.
Great imagination, poorly executed.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started well, but ended badly. Twenty-three years after her sister's murder, Chantel returns to the scene of the crime, which is now a fancy hotel. It's strange that she would do this -- she's never doubted what happened and, indeed, it seems pretty obvious. The lady of the house went on a rampage, stabbing her two sons and Chantel's sister, Sabine. All of the evidence points to that and no one has ever questioned it, including the accused who's been mute for the last 20 years.

At opening weekend, a cast of characters show up, all of whom were affected in some way from the murders: Chantel, Sabine's old boyfriend, the one survivor of the massacre, and a cop who processed the scene. This is a classic mystery set up and for a while, it works. Chantel talks to the neighbors, wonders if the investigators made a mistake. She goes home, starts a relationship with the survivor and an investigation with the ex-cop.

From this point on, you can guess the ending yourself except not the final climax which was so unbelievable horrible I can't believe an editor signed off on it.

I won't be reading anything else by this author.

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thirteen year old, Chantal Frazer’s happy-go-lucky childhood is overshadowed by her elder sister’s murder. Twenty-three years later, Chantal returns to Weston Lodge in the Cotswolds, the scene of her sister Sabine’s murder, which is now converted into a luxury hotel. Determined to find out more about Sabine’s, untimely death, Chantal finds that events were not as clear-cut as she was first led to believe.

The Gothic setting, the chilling characters and misleading clues all add up to a fairly standard murder/mystery, which didn’t quite keep my attention. Somehow, the story lacked a sense of authenticity, and I found myself skipping parts of the narrative, which for me is never a good sign. There is potential in some of the novel but the epistolary communication between the sisters seemed a bit contrived and rather uninspired.In the end, I was left feeling let down by the whole story.

Not a great book, but as always make up your own mind.

[Patricia Lane · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the premise of this and it started out fairly well, but about halfway through I lost interest. The main character, Chantal, never really gelled for me and I felt that her relationship with the detective from the past was implausible. There also seemed to be some missed connection as to why she suspected certain people, etc.

[David Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written mystery as a woman visits the place where her sister was murder some twenty-three years earlier.

http://opionator.wordpress.com/2013/0...

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an intriguing plot but much too easy to figure out what was coming next. I kept reading hoping for a twist - but really there never was one.
The only "surprise" was the motive... which really was blasé and truly disappointing.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading A Final Reckoning, I will definitely be reading more of Susan Moody.

[Terry Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing which made me like the book was the story line. It was very slow in grabbing my attention but it finished well.

[Amyem]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12733450

[Name SWight]

only so-so

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, pretty good but it was easy to guess the ending

[Angelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall pretty good, good plot, great building up. I am not usually one that can figure mystery's out, but I had this figured out about half way through, but I liked it just the same.