This novel took me a lot longer than it should have to read, and there's one very simple reason for this. I didn't want to finish the book. You're probably wondering why.

Because the writing, the characters, the story and the world in this last of three Niceville novels was so heartbreakingly beautifully realized, that I actually got sad at the thought of leaving Stroud's world. That doesn't happen that often.

I found there were times when I lost a bit of the plot, because I was caught up in the actual writing. I'd read and then stop myself and ask what it was that was that made that sentence or that paragraph so good. So, I often had to go back and reread it for the story.

The characters were as real as any I've ever read in fiction. And the story...As I've likely said in the previous two reviews, I've never read anything like this before. One part action thriller, one part mystery, one part gothic southern horror. It shouldn't work. But instead, it works wonderfully, and that's all because of the incredible skill of the author, Carsten Stroud.

Amazing writer. Amazing book. Amazing trilogy.

And yes, I'm absolutely bummed that it's at an end. I will definitely go back and reread this one. ( )

I really struggled to keep all these characters straight, and how they had fit into the first two novels in this series. Maybe it had been too long in between them, I don’t know. But it was annoying to keep getting people switched around, and what their relationships were to each other, throughout.
I still kept trucking through to the end, only to find that the author had fizzled out and (supposedly) tied it up - but not as smartly as I would have liked. And the six months later chapter at the very end? It just made it seem like there is another book, or maybe another series coming from these characters in Niceville. I don’t like the way this all ended, it seemed like Stroud got tired of this series and just tacked something on the end.
Also, the author couldn’t seem to stick with one genre alone, in this novel. I’d rather he had stuck with the supernatural storyline that seemed SO strong in the first two novels, instead of changing out to some kind of shoot-‘em-up-type of novel, here.
3.5 stars, and recommended only if you absolutely have to know what happened next. ( )

Meh.
It wasn't bad and I'm glad to finish the trilogy, but I thought it was definitely not as good as the first two, and there was a bit of a letdown in the pat conclusion(s). ( )

As amply proved in Niceville and Homecoming, Stroud is a genius at combining viciously-realized action sequences with scenes of terrific suspense, topping it all off with a gift for characterization firmly in the rarefied realm of Elmore Leonard and George Pelecanos. Be warned, however; The Reckoning is not meant to be read before the first two acts. You go in blind, you’re going to be more than confused. Go in armed, and you’re set for one hell of a fine time.

Read the full review at The Redeblog. ( )