Book Review: The Reckoning

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Reckoning     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Jeff Long
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Fantasy   Thriller   Supernatural
Atria, July 2004, $25.00, 288 pp.

The New York Times assigns Photojournalist Molly Drake to accompany the U.S. Army as they retrieve the bones of a pilot who went missing in Cambodia. However, they find no sign of bones or dog tags until Molly sees through the lens of her $10,000 camera the remains of a mass grave. With the monsoon about to begin, depart, their mission failed.

Once again, Molly uses her camera lens to find a cache of bones in a well. The Cambodian government allows them one week to find what they seek but Molly, archeologist Duncan and Kleat, who is looking for the thirty-year-old bones of his brothers are ordered off the project. One of the people who watched the dig shows her a dog tag and tells the group there are nine others; he will lead them to it. Unable to contain their excitement, Molly, Duncan, Kleat and their guides follow Lukas to a deserted ancient city thought to be two thousand year old. Molly sees and experiences things that can only be attributed to the supernatural as she discovers the truth about her path.

THE RECKONING starts as a thriller and metamorphosis into a supernatural tale. Cambodia, a place where legends and myths are closer than most people ever experience, works its magic on the visiting Americans, especially Molly, who sees and hears things the other’s don’t. There are very few people, who could cope with what Molly experiences and stay sane, but she is a strong woman and it will take a lot to break her. Jeff Long has written a thrilling chiller in which the natural and the paranormal world collide with fantastic results.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner