The Reckoning [Mass Market Paperback]

Sarah Pinborough (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2005

From School Library Journal Grade 8 Up Fifteen-year-old Chloe Saunders and her friends Tori, Simon, and Derek are genetically altered supernaturals on the run from the evil corporation that created them. Hiding out with a family friend, they are trying to make sense of their predicament and discover what sinister plans the Edison Group has in store for them. As a powerful necromancer who can raise the dead in her sleep, Chloe struggles to control her abilities and figure out how to best use them to keep everyone safe. To further complicate matters (as if running for your life were not enough), Chloe wrestles with her feelings for Simon, a good-natured sorcerer, and Derek, a misunderstood werewolf. This nail-biting climax to the series continues to captivate readers with its edge-of-one's-seat pacing. Armstrong's story is full of action, romance, deception, and intrigue as well as complex characters and serious teenage issues. A satisfying addition for fans of the supernatural. Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in present-day England, Pinborough's gripping tale of supernatural suspense focuses on four childhood friends, Gina, Rob, Jason and Carole-Anne, whose innocence vanished one tortuous summer after a series of bizarre and violent incidents at Syracousse, the beautiful estate house belonging to Gina's parents. Since the day Gina's mother murdered her father, Syracousse has stood empty. A quarter-century later, without warning, more strange violence afflicts the four. After Carole-Anne's mysterious suicide, Rob, Jason and Gina—reunited almost as strangers—link the recent tragedies to Syracousse, where they return for a gruesome finale. Particularly adept at writing from the male perspective (the scenes involving Rob and Jason tend to be more emotionally convincing than the ones with Gina and Carole-Ann), Pinborough (The Hidden) deftly handles the multiple subplots. While some readers may feel she overdoes the foreshadowing in the book's many flashbacks, fans of Bentley Little, Richard Laymon and Dean Koontz will be pleased.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 338 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (October 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843955503
• ISBN-13: 978-0843955507
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,349,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When your house loves you back..., June 23, 2008

By 

Ravenskya "Princess of Horror" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Reckoning (Mass Market Paperback)

This may well be the first female horror writer that I have ever read - I don't consider Anne Rice to be horror, more gothic romance, but none-the-less, I was curious to see how a fellow female would approach the genera.

First of all, she is a British writer, but seems to be very Americanized... if random words like "quid" didn't suddenly pop up I would have easily imagined this being an American tale. The lead character is a writer who has lived his life in excess and suddenly begins having terrible nightmares about his childhood. Realizing that he needs to come to terms with something terrible that has happened he leaves his exciting drug frenzied life in London to return to his small hometown in hopes of conquering his mental demons. Much of the story is told in flashback, to when Rob (the writer), Jason and Carrie-Anne were children. They met Gina, a well to do young lady that seemed to have "special" powers. Though her powers seemed benign at first, suddenly they take a much darker turn. When Rob returns to the small town he discovers that terrible things have been happening up at "Syracousse" - Gina's old house. The three friends had not spoken since their childhood, and suddenly they discover that they may have been wrong about Gina's powers and what they thought had happened in their childhood.

The plot in this book is familiar, most haunted house tales all share similar traits. What was so intriguing about this book was the understated writing style. Though I never found myself "scared" or "covered in goose-bumps" I was truly intrigued with what was going on. I had a hard time putting the book down because it was interesting... the characters were fairly 3D and you find yourself waiting on the flashbacks to come so that you can find out more about what happened to them when they were children. I also loved that her horror was so low key, more brooding and dark than "in your face" which seems to be a rare occurrence. I will be picking up more titles by this author in the near future. She makes a refreshing read after plowing through several of the more gory authors.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Captivating..., July 23, 2006

By 

Kelli Owen - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Reckoning (Mass Market Paperback)

Do not, I repeat, not go home again. It isn't pretty and it never turns out the way you hope it will. Pinborough shows us yet another example of this in a swirl of clichés: an author protagonist, returning home, supernatural powers [that are just accepted and never really questioned], friends reuniting to fight their childhood demons, and [of course] a haunted house. At first glance this is overused material, but much like the history of any old house, there are layers, secrets and intrigue underneath that old wallpaper and the clichés simply hold the story, rather than become the story.

The characters are childhood friends torn apart by the addition and actions of a new friend, reuniting to deal with demons from the past that threaten the future. Wait, don't make that face quite yet. Again, formulaic, but it's the way they're painted that makes all the difference. Pinborough's style takes a big chunk of the credit here, as the characters are a beautifully orchestrated balance of past and present, faults and virtues. You genuinely care about them, even the arrogant.

The atmosphere and pace work hand in hand with the story. A small town setting is a very casual picture to paint for most readers, and the subtly with which she does so is flawless. Keeping the action going at just the right speed is partially style and partially storyline itself; giving you enough clues to move you forward, but not quite enough to figure it all out too soon. And the end was amazing! Using my own first page/last page rule* I can safely say I'll be reading her next book...

A captivating read that borders on beach book but requires you pay attention if you want to figure it out early. Rating is a 3½ [Amazon doesn't have 3 1/2 so we'll round to 4] - grab it or just join Leisure's book club and order it.

*First page/last page rule - the first page gets me to read this book, the last to read your next book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The shades of gray between darkness and light hide the truth out of plain sight, February 14, 2009

By 

- Kasia S. (New York City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Reckoning (Mass Market Paperback)

Lately I am plowing through Pinborough's books and am slowly beginning to see that they are good, each one of her stories is interesting and as a reader I am curious to what she will come up with next. The horror in this story is creepy, like a cold chill on your back, it swirls up the spine and unsettles the reader, each chapter starts to reveal that something from the past is coming back to haunt four childhood friends. They have moved on or so they think they did, but events in their childhood town are calling their attention with weird deaths and acts of violence at Syracousse, now abandoned house that they once loved so much. The beautiful and grand home of mysterious and alluring Gina was a magical mansion to Rob, Jason and Carole-Anne, who weren't as well off as Gina. But under the shiny façade something dark is lurking around the girl, an invisible field of protection seems to keep her safe and accident free, while others suffer the aftermath. After growing jealousy between the friends an accident breaks them apart and after that nothing is ever the same. Later a horrible murder shatters the peace and their childhood is a dark stain, a bad memory that suddenly is calling them back. Not all of them get a chance to meet as something is messing up everything they touch, and it's up to a coward to save them and for once do something helpful for others. The house is calling them back and they have no choice but to answer it's alluring song and try to get to the bottom of the strange accidents from their past.

I enjoyed the flashbacks to the past that gave me glimpses of the now aged characters and what propelled their choices that altered their fate. Rob was a flawed hero of the tale, with issues and weaknesses that steered his actions and the people who he encountered made for an interesting read. Gina was the glowing siren that enchanted the boys and was acting more snobbish and mean spirited with the growing discord that enveloped the whole house. Jason and Carole-Anne changed too; some were weaker than others and suffered for their inability to fight back the darkness that tapped into their veins and mind. This was a nice little story that touched on different things, an old mystery, possible haunting and ghosts and unexplained phenomenon's that permeated everything and everyone and the ending was just right, no on can say that anyone got off easy. There was plenty of chills and thrills and some nice twists that kept things interesting.

- Kasia S.