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Detective Bobby Mac Thriller #3
Reckoning
Reckoning is the third book in the Detective Bobby Mac Thriller series, returning Detective Bobby Mac to the streets of Denver. It's been ten years since facing the loss of his brother, Jax, but Mac has a new life now with his wife and daughters.
When a series of murders grips the city in terror, Mac joins an inter-agency task force charged with bringing the Judas Killer to justice.
After eight murders over the course of a year and the task force being no closer than when they began, events take a brutally personal turn. Detective Mac will come face-to-face with a past he's been running from for over a decade.
Once again in a gritty cop-drama twisted with a bit of the paranormal, the storytelling that has been compared to a mixture of Dennis Lehane, James Lee Burke, Michael Connelly, and Dean Koontz, R.S. Guthrie brings you his best Bobby Mac book yet. Reckoning will bring the trilogy of books together for a finale that will have you riding the edge of your seat and your jaw on the floor.
When a series of murders grips the city in terror, Mac joins an inter-agency task force charged with bringing the Judas Killer to justice.
After eight murders over the course of a year and the task force being no closer than when they began, events take a brutally personal turn. Detective Mac will come face-to-face with a past he's been running from for over a decade.
Once again in a gritty cop-drama twisted with a bit of the paranormal, the storytelling that has been compared to a mixture of Dennis Lehane, James Lee Burke, Michael Connelly, and Dean Koontz, R.S. Guthrie brings you his best Bobby Mac book yet. Reckoning will bring the trilogy of books together for a finale that will have you riding the edge of your seat and your jaw on the floor.
167 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2013
6 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
R.S. Guthrie
15 books319 followersR. S. Guthrie has been writing fiction for several years.
Black Beast
is the first in the series of Detective Bobby Mac Thriller books featuring Denver detective Bobby Mac.
L O S T is the second book in the popular Paranormal Mystery-Detective series; the third book, Reckoning, is now out that closes out the Detective Bobby Mac Thriller trilogy (though it is not the final Detective Bobby Mac book).
Guthrie finished his Mystery/Thriller novel set in Wyoming that has been beset by Big Oil, the millions of dollars that come with them, and the murder of a lawman's wife entitled Blood Land . The story takes place in a fictional town in his home state of Wyoming and was published in 2012. A pre-release excerpt was featured in the June 2011 issue of New West magazine. Money Land, second in the Sheriff James Pruett series, continued the saga of the Wyoming lawman and was published in late 2012; Honor Land, next in the series is scheduled for release is Summer of 2013.
The author currently lives in Colorado with his beautiful wife, Amy, three Australian Shepherds, and a Chihuahua who thinks she is a forty-pound Aussie. It is a widely known fact that the canines rule the Guthrie household.
L O S T is the second book in the popular Paranormal Mystery-Detective series; the third book, Reckoning, is now out that closes out the Detective Bobby Mac Thriller trilogy (though it is not the final Detective Bobby Mac book).
Guthrie finished his Mystery/Thriller novel set in Wyoming that has been beset by Big Oil, the millions of dollars that come with them, and the murder of a lawman's wife entitled Blood Land . The story takes place in a fictional town in his home state of Wyoming and was published in 2012. A pre-release excerpt was featured in the June 2011 issue of New West magazine. Money Land, second in the Sheriff James Pruett series, continued the saga of the Wyoming lawman and was published in late 2012; Honor Land, next in the series is scheduled for release is Summer of 2013.
The author currently lives in Colorado with his beautiful wife, Amy, three Australian Shepherds, and a Chihuahua who thinks she is a forty-pound Aussie. It is a widely known fact that the canines rule the Guthrie household.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 22, 2013
Independent book review:
Reckoning is unique
With Reckoning, RS Guthrie takes the fiction writer’s rule book, shreds it in mighty fingers and reassembles it into a new way of engaging audiences.
Reckoning is the third of Guthrie’s books to feature Denver Detective Robert Macaulay, also known as Bobby Mac and also known as the heir to the occult power of Clan MacAulay.
Busting through the genre boundaries
Reckoning, like Black Beast and LOST, the previous Bobby Mac novels, is a noir cop thriller, a police procedural whose villain just happens to be (spoiler alert!) a demon.
Right there, he’s broken the artificial boundaries imposed on genres. Guthrie’s Bobby Mac novels read like gritty cop stories, yet somehow the supernatural elements fit perfectly.
Another rule that he breaks: modulating between the first and third person perspective. Most of the book is narrated by Bobby Mac, and Guthrie’s command of the tough, no-nonsense cop dialect (ever notice how cops all sound the same, no matter where they come from?) is flawless. But where the story needs a third-person omniscient POV, Guthrie smoothly shifts for exactly as long as he needs to.
He has created his own style here. It's as if Bobby Mac is sitting beside you on the porch, telling you what happened. No, actually, it's more like he's sitting across a campfire on a moonless night, telling you about what is deep in those shadows. At times, Guthrie gets a little too philosophical, waxing about the relationships between parents and children or mentors and protégés; occasionally, I started to lose patience. But for all that, Guthrie kept me flipping pages (or flicking my iPad screen, to be precise).
Plot
This trilogy is all about the battle between a demon, Samhain, who is opposed on earth primarily by the Clan MacAulay of Scotland. Today, that clan is represented by Detective Bobby Macaulay of the Denver police force, who has inherited the Clan’s ancient weapon against Hell, the Crucifix of Ardincaple.
Decades ago, Pink Floyd said "One day you find, 10 years have got behind you.” The story of Reckoning picks up where LOST left off, but 10 years later. Bobby Mac has remarried, had another family — triplet girls — and is starting to think about retiring from the police force. Evil returns in the form of a serial killer plaguing Denver. In a nod to noir thrillers of yore, the first case mimics the Black Dahlia.
Like any good police procedural, the story follows Bobby Mac tracking down clues and fighting against the awful realization that the enemy he knows best, and thought destroyed, has returned.
Best and worst
The best part of Guthrie’s stories are the relationships between the characters. They’re all combinations of positive and negative qualities, inconsistent and flawed. You never really know their motivations, because the characters themselves are never really sure just what combination of attitudes, fears, desires and blindnesses are driving them.
I have always enjoyed Guthrie’s descriptions of Bobby Mac and his son trying to communicate through all the layers of love and mistrust and history and baggage. However, as mentioned, this time it seemed to get a little long. The narrative seemed to keep veering off onto tangents.
Also, I felt that with this installment of the story, you really had to have read the first two books to understand what was going on.
For example, as the book approaches the final confrontation between good and evil, Bobby Mac explains "the whole story" to his partner, but not explicitly in the story. The book reads more like "I told him the whole story,” rather than recapping it, or describing some action that would encapsulate the conflict. While this technique is a good way to abbreviate another info-dump and avoid rehashing stuff that loyal readers already know, it also risks alienating those who have not read the previous installments. (Maybe it's a clever way of boosting sales of the other books.)
Overall, Reckoning, the finale of the Bobby Mac trilogy (although Guthrie keeps saying he'll have other stories about Bobby Mac) is an enjoyable, satisfying completion to the trilogy. It wraps it all up in Guthrie's lean, aggressive writing style without missing a beat or leaving a loose end untied.
And it's engaging, one of those stories you can't put down.
If you want a good read that breaks all those worn out conventions of genre boundaries and unnecessary rules, read Reckoning. But you should probably read LOST first, and probably Black Beast before that.
Reckoning is unique
With Reckoning, RS Guthrie takes the fiction writer’s rule book, shreds it in mighty fingers and reassembles it into a new way of engaging audiences.
Reckoning is the third of Guthrie’s books to feature Denver Detective Robert Macaulay, also known as Bobby Mac and also known as the heir to the occult power of Clan MacAulay.
Busting through the genre boundaries
Reckoning, like Black Beast and LOST, the previous Bobby Mac novels, is a noir cop thriller, a police procedural whose villain just happens to be (spoiler alert!) a demon.
Right there, he’s broken the artificial boundaries imposed on genres. Guthrie’s Bobby Mac novels read like gritty cop stories, yet somehow the supernatural elements fit perfectly.
Another rule that he breaks: modulating between the first and third person perspective. Most of the book is narrated by Bobby Mac, and Guthrie’s command of the tough, no-nonsense cop dialect (ever notice how cops all sound the same, no matter where they come from?) is flawless. But where the story needs a third-person omniscient POV, Guthrie smoothly shifts for exactly as long as he needs to.
He has created his own style here. It's as if Bobby Mac is sitting beside you on the porch, telling you what happened. No, actually, it's more like he's sitting across a campfire on a moonless night, telling you about what is deep in those shadows. At times, Guthrie gets a little too philosophical, waxing about the relationships between parents and children or mentors and protégés; occasionally, I started to lose patience. But for all that, Guthrie kept me flipping pages (or flicking my iPad screen, to be precise).
Plot
This trilogy is all about the battle between a demon, Samhain, who is opposed on earth primarily by the Clan MacAulay of Scotland. Today, that clan is represented by Detective Bobby Macaulay of the Denver police force, who has inherited the Clan’s ancient weapon against Hell, the Crucifix of Ardincaple.
Decades ago, Pink Floyd said "One day you find, 10 years have got behind you.” The story of Reckoning picks up where LOST left off, but 10 years later. Bobby Mac has remarried, had another family — triplet girls — and is starting to think about retiring from the police force. Evil returns in the form of a serial killer plaguing Denver. In a nod to noir thrillers of yore, the first case mimics the Black Dahlia.
Like any good police procedural, the story follows Bobby Mac tracking down clues and fighting against the awful realization that the enemy he knows best, and thought destroyed, has returned.
Best and worst
The best part of Guthrie’s stories are the relationships between the characters. They’re all combinations of positive and negative qualities, inconsistent and flawed. You never really know their motivations, because the characters themselves are never really sure just what combination of attitudes, fears, desires and blindnesses are driving them.
I have always enjoyed Guthrie’s descriptions of Bobby Mac and his son trying to communicate through all the layers of love and mistrust and history and baggage. However, as mentioned, this time it seemed to get a little long. The narrative seemed to keep veering off onto tangents.
Also, I felt that with this installment of the story, you really had to have read the first two books to understand what was going on.
For example, as the book approaches the final confrontation between good and evil, Bobby Mac explains "the whole story" to his partner, but not explicitly in the story. The book reads more like "I told him the whole story,” rather than recapping it, or describing some action that would encapsulate the conflict. While this technique is a good way to abbreviate another info-dump and avoid rehashing stuff that loyal readers already know, it also risks alienating those who have not read the previous installments. (Maybe it's a clever way of boosting sales of the other books.)
Overall, Reckoning, the finale of the Bobby Mac trilogy (although Guthrie keeps saying he'll have other stories about Bobby Mac) is an enjoyable, satisfying completion to the trilogy. It wraps it all up in Guthrie's lean, aggressive writing style without missing a beat or leaving a loose end untied.
And it's engaging, one of those stories you can't put down.
If you want a good read that breaks all those worn out conventions of genre boundaries and unnecessary rules, read Reckoning. But you should probably read LOST first, and probably Black Beast before that.
May 11, 2013
Just when I think I can recognize the writing of R.S. Guthrie, he surprises me once again. He has become a chameleon in styles of writing. Each time finding a new way to entrance me with his story. I have read all of his books, most recent of his releases: Blood Land and Money Land. His writing in that series is melodious, deep, driving you ever forward within the pages of his imagination. Then along comes Reckoning, the third and last in the Detective Bobby Mac Thriller Trilogy.
I have no other word than "mesmerizing" to describe his writing style in Reckoning. Denver Detective Bobby "Mac" Macaulay has been thrust into a battle between the forces of Good and Evil, not by his choosing but a path that has been preordained by his lineage. Black Beast where it all began, LOST where the unthinkable happened, and now Reckoning where, as Bobby Mac declares, "this is where it all ends." R.S. Guthrie writes with an edge and stays close to the police officer's vest in telling it from a detective's point-of-view in this easy-to-believe, could-really-happen, tale.
I'm sure from the male reader's perspective, Bobby Mac comes off as a man's man: hard, walking that sometimes obscure line between justice and fairness, dishing out better than he gets; I can tell you with certainty that from the female reader's perspective, Bobby Mac comes off as not only that true man's man, with bravado, intelligence, tenderness, and loyalty, but also with a healthy dose of sexissimo.
From the first page you are placed into a scene filled with tension and fear, a place none of us want to ever be; you are led into a maze filled with twists and turns, a behind the scenes look at how a serial killer is profiled, hunted down, or...is the serial killer the one doing the hunting? R.S. Guthrie kept me guessing, never allowing me to figure out completely what was coming next - perhaps, you think, you have a suspicion - but you'll never be right. That is one consistency with this author, he NEVER lets you see what's beyond the bend in the curve until he's ready.
The ending is brilliant and, contrary to a great number of books, the Epilogue wraps it all up and leaves you breathless with the last line. You can't imagine it turning out any better or being told in a more masterful way.
From Reckoning: "A reckoning is nothing less than a demand for the balancing of the scales of truth." Today, as I turned the last page, I found I had a payment of truth of my own due: That I sincerely hope R.S. Guthrie decides to continue to write more books with the Bobby Mac character. Life just wouldn't be the same without Bobby Mac in it, or the hope that someone like him could exist.
I have no other word than "mesmerizing" to describe his writing style in Reckoning. Denver Detective Bobby "Mac" Macaulay has been thrust into a battle between the forces of Good and Evil, not by his choosing but a path that has been preordained by his lineage. Black Beast where it all began, LOST where the unthinkable happened, and now Reckoning where, as Bobby Mac declares, "this is where it all ends." R.S. Guthrie writes with an edge and stays close to the police officer's vest in telling it from a detective's point-of-view in this easy-to-believe, could-really-happen, tale.
I'm sure from the male reader's perspective, Bobby Mac comes off as a man's man: hard, walking that sometimes obscure line between justice and fairness, dishing out better than he gets; I can tell you with certainty that from the female reader's perspective, Bobby Mac comes off as not only that true man's man, with bravado, intelligence, tenderness, and loyalty, but also with a healthy dose of sexissimo.
From the first page you are placed into a scene filled with tension and fear, a place none of us want to ever be; you are led into a maze filled with twists and turns, a behind the scenes look at how a serial killer is profiled, hunted down, or...is the serial killer the one doing the hunting? R.S. Guthrie kept me guessing, never allowing me to figure out completely what was coming next - perhaps, you think, you have a suspicion - but you'll never be right. That is one consistency with this author, he NEVER lets you see what's beyond the bend in the curve until he's ready.
The ending is brilliant and, contrary to a great number of books, the Epilogue wraps it all up and leaves you breathless with the last line. You can't imagine it turning out any better or being told in a more masterful way.
From Reckoning: "A reckoning is nothing less than a demand for the balancing of the scales of truth." Today, as I turned the last page, I found I had a payment of truth of my own due: That I sincerely hope R.S. Guthrie decides to continue to write more books with the Bobby Mac character. Life just wouldn't be the same without Bobby Mac in it, or the hope that someone like him could exist.
July 5, 2013
I was quite looking forward to the final book in the Bobby Mac series of thrillers. As usual, I wasn't disappointed. R.S. Guthrie has a way of engaging the reader with his words, so it is almost impossible to stop reading.
Some years have passed since the terrible events that made Bobby Mac lose his brother Jax happened, and he is living a quite happy life with his family. However, those happiness and peace won't last. Evil is always around, creating chaos, and provoking unexpected things to happen. When some weird murders start happening in the little town where Bobby Mac lives, he discovers soon that the circumstances are not normal. There are paranormal elements and he will know that everything is connected to that great evil that was trying to control the world on the last time they met. Bobby Mac's past is back to torment him, and surprises will make him wonder about the good and evil in the world.
If you like a thriller with paranormal touches and a TRULY unexpected twist at the end, this is the book for you. However, have in mind that this is the third book in a series, so most things won't make sense to you if you read it as a stand-alone novel, because it's not.
If I have to criticise something, it would be that there are parts that should have been developed further, since at times the events seemed rushed, but it's not something that spoils the reading. And the ending was a bit confusing for me.
Overall, it's a very recommendable book, quite suitable for a quick read while on the plane heading to your vacation.
Some years have passed since the terrible events that made Bobby Mac lose his brother Jax happened, and he is living a quite happy life with his family. However, those happiness and peace won't last. Evil is always around, creating chaos, and provoking unexpected things to happen. When some weird murders start happening in the little town where Bobby Mac lives, he discovers soon that the circumstances are not normal. There are paranormal elements and he will know that everything is connected to that great evil that was trying to control the world on the last time they met. Bobby Mac's past is back to torment him, and surprises will make him wonder about the good and evil in the world.
If you like a thriller with paranormal touches and a TRULY unexpected twist at the end, this is the book for you. However, have in mind that this is the third book in a series, so most things won't make sense to you if you read it as a stand-alone novel, because it's not.
If I have to criticise something, it would be that there are parts that should have been developed further, since at times the events seemed rushed, but it's not something that spoils the reading. And the ending was a bit confusing for me.
Overall, it's a very recommendable book, quite suitable for a quick read while on the plane heading to your vacation.
August 9, 2014
What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? - Isaiah 3:10 NIV
RECKONING is the third book in the Bobby Mac trilogy, after "Black Beast" and "L O S T."
I liked BLACK BEAST and didn't care for LOST so much. RECKONING has the formula back that I appreciate - more of a police procedural and less supernatural.
I like Detective Bobby Mac and would like to read more about him and the different characters that make up his life in the future, with less narrative about good and evil. This was a good tale with twists and turns along the way, ten years in the future from LOST. The trilogy is going to make a lot more sense to you if you read the books in order.
RECKONING is the third book in the Bobby Mac trilogy, after "Black Beast" and "L O S T."
I liked BLACK BEAST and didn't care for LOST so much. RECKONING has the formula back that I appreciate - more of a police procedural and less supernatural.
I like Detective Bobby Mac and would like to read more about him and the different characters that make up his life in the future, with less narrative about good and evil. This was a good tale with twists and turns along the way, ten years in the future from LOST. The trilogy is going to make a lot more sense to you if you read the books in order.
July 1, 2013
I only read the third book in this series, not knowing it was about the paranormal previously. Guthrie is a good writer, but this particular book was rather confusing. If you like reading about weird stuff with no explanation as to what's coming,you might enjoy it. I found it tedious at times and bizarre.
Not my thing...but I finished it.
Not my thing...but I finished it.
June 12, 2016
I finished the 3 book trilogy with Bobby Mac. Series was different from what I usually read, but
it was a fun change. I rated all three books 4 stars and not 5 stars because I am not a fan of the
paranormal.
it was a fun change. I rated all three books 4 stars and not 5 stars because I am not a fan of the
paranormal.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews