THE RECKONING

Respected war hero and pillar of the community Pete Banning, without any explanation before or after, murders his pastor. Thus begins this saga, which includes sometimes painful views of the racist and misogynistic way of life in Mississippi in the 1940s, along with the intense cruelties of war. Michael Beck, who has narrated many of John Grisham's books, is well tuned to the slow, even pace of the story, which includes lengthy, detailed descriptive passages. Beck excels at dialogue, voicing men, women, blacks, whites, young, and old with varying degrees of Southern accents. Even patient listeners, however, may find themselves fast-forwarding to find the answer to the question at the center of the story: Why did Pete Banning kill the Reverend? E.Q. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2018]