Rennie Airth is the author of six novels, including the John Madden series. The first, River of Darkness, was nominated for Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity awards, and won the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière.
The Reckoning (John Madden Series #4)
by Rennie Airth
eBook
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ISBN-13:
9780698170278
- Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
- Publication date: 08/14/2014
- Series: John Madden Series , #4
- Sold by: Penguin Group
- Format: eBook
- Pages: 368
- Sales rank: 50,710
- File size: 743 KB
- Age Range: 18 Years
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Inspector John Madden—who debuted in River of Darkness—returns in a gripping post–World War II murder mystery
On a quiet afternoon in 1947, retired bank manager Oswald Gibson is shot in the head while fishing. In Scotland, a respectable family doctor is killed in the same
manner—and with the same gun. What is the connection? Scotland Yard’s Detective Inspector Billy Styles and local detective Vic Chivers are baffled until a letter from
Gibson is discovered that might shed some light on the case—a letter concerning former Scotland Yard detective John Madden. Despite Madden’s legendary memory, he has no recollection of meeting Gibson or any idea of what their relationship might have been. Madden is happily retired from police work, but agrees to help his former protégé Styles and the clues they uncover only deepen the mystery. When a third man is killed in a similar fashion, Madden and Styles find themselves in a race against time to find the killer before another man ends up dead.
A smart, intricately plotted mystery, this is the fourth title in the critically acclaimed and much loved John Madden series.
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Great news for lovers of British mysteries: John Madden is back! Yes, even though we were led to believe that when 2009's The Dead of Winter completed the trilogy begun a decade earlier we had seen the last of the former Scotland Yard inspector and his family, friends, and colleagues. But now another puzzling set of murders brings Madden out of retirement. And, once again, we find the elements that made this series a hit among discerning readers. Though the novel is set during the aftermath of World War II, the crux of the case Madden must solve is lodged in the military infrastructure of World War I—the war in which Madden served. As he reunites with former protégé Billy Styles and retired DCS Angus Sinclair to examine the evidence in a series of killings that seem to be related only by method, Madden again employs the natural profiling skills he has been developing since his first case to uncover their common motive. VERDICT Although this well-crafted tale can certainly stand on its own, be sure to recommend the earlier titles to series newcomers. Fans will not need to be persuaded.—Nancy McNicol, Hamden P.L., CT
“I have been a huge fan of Rennie Airth’s novels featuring John Madden since first reading River of Darkness, and had been eagerly awaiting The Reckoning—it does not disappoint. Airth is at the top of his game, engaging the reader with dense plotting, page-turning narrative and expert characterization. I absolutely could not put it down!”—Jacqueline Winspear, author of Maisie Dobbs
“The marvelous John Madden returns in a stunning new mystery—Rennie Airth’s The Reckoning will keep you pinned to the page to the very end!”—Charles Todd, New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries and the Bess Crawford Mysteries
“The Reckoning is about the comforts of redemption and forgiveness—and the impossibility of forgetting.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
“[The Reckoning] delivers all the suspense and twisty plot turns that readers have come to expect from this popular series.”—Booklist
“[John Madden] is a compatriot of such understated sleuths as...Simon Serrailler, or of Adam Dalgliesh.”—The Spectator (UK)
Praise for Rennie Airth:
“Move over, Inspectors Alleyn, Dalgliesh, and Morse, and make room for John Madden in the pantheon of great, civilized English sleuths. With THE DEAD OF WINTER, Rennie Airth now carries us through the third of Madden’s encounters with a killer sprung from a Europe at war with itself. It’s safe to say that once you’ve read it, you will start longing for Madden’s next case.” – Jane Kramer, The New Yorker
“Enter John Madden, protagonist of three fine novels…Madden is seamlessly admirable…In an era when our real-life heroes tend to have feet of thick, grubby clay, it can be bracing to spend time with a man who is naturally but not implausibly noble.” – The Washington Post Book World
“[Airth’s] meticulously detailed procedural mysteries are beautifully written…[he] has produced three novels that are well worth reading, and rereading, whenever we’re engaged in war.” – Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times
“One of the best mysteries in years.” – The Boston Globe
“Airth writes with arresting authority and compassion…a major talent.” – Chicago Tribune
“It’s the tactics and the terrain, the morale and the characters that make the difference between an average thriller and one as good as this.” – Christopher Dickey, The New York Times Book Review
“A mystery thick with atmosphere and even psychoanalysis….Pay close attention to detail – the author did.” – Susan Hall-Balduf, Detroit Free Press
“Starts off as a genteel British whodunit but soon escalates into a suspense thriller…. However, Airth’s novel has an added psychological assurance and a tension-packed elegance. It’s up there with the works of P. D. James and Ruth Rendell. High praise indeed.” – Pauline Mayer, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
John Madden comes out of retirement in post-World War II Britain to help solve a case from his past. Hikers enjoying the countryside near the Sussex town of Lewes see a slightly built man in a red sweater approach Oswald Gibson as he's enjoying a peaceful day of fishing. But no one sees when Gibson is ordered to kneel and is shot execution style, and no one sees the killer leave. Chief Inspector Detective Billy Styles orders a thorough investigation and police search, but the murderer seems to have vanished. Besides noting similarities between Gibson's death and that of a doctor in Aberdeen, Styles finds a letter Gibson was writing to Scotland Yard to inquire about the whereabouts of John Madden, the former detective who taught Styles his trade. Madden doesn't recognize Gibson from the photographs the murdered man's brother shows him, and the only clue so far is that Gibson and the Scottish doctor were both shot with identical bullets, German-made with iron cores. The execution of a third man confirms the killer's pattern of visiting the victims in advance, apparently to establish their identities before delivering the coup de grace. Then an entry in Gibson's diary gives Madden the link he needs to the killer and to his own past: a tragic incident he tried and failed to prevent during World War I. Now he realizes he's in search of someone skilled at deception and disguise and who won't stop until all the parties involved pay for a long-ago injustice. Although the exposition, interspersed with scenes from Madden's domestic life, is leisurely, momentum builds to a satisfying ending. Madden's fourth case (The Dead of Winter, 2009, etc.) maintains Airth's reputation for carefully constructed, highly detailed plots. Although the hero doesn't dominate the present-day action, his past involvement adds an emotional element to his determination to end the killings.