Dead Reckoning by Lea O’Harra

My Review of Dead Reckoning

When I was first offered to read Dead Reckoning by Lea O’Harra, I was excited. After reading the book’s synopsis, I felt it was one I wanted to read to see what happened. This book is set in two different times of Gilly’s life. She switches back and forth from when she was a child growing up to an adult coming home for her mother’s funeral.

Disclosure: I received these items in exchange for my honest review. Opinions are 100% mine.

When Gilly was a preteen, her best friend of the same age was Sally. Sally and Gilly would play together in the woods and the cemetery. While in the cemetery, they found a box tied with a ribbon that housed a dead baby girl. I will say myself at 12 years old. I would have had a terrible time finding the baby, let alone taking it. I couldn’t imagine how heart-wrenching that would be. I know they felt they were doing the right thing by burying the baby in Gilly’s front yard. But that seemed only to make things worse in the town. Mysterious flowers are left around town on strollers; two children turn up missing, then dead. Which now are blamed on the girls who are thought to have taken the baby from the cemetery.

Fast forward years later, when Gilly’s Mom passes away, and Gilly returns to her hometown for her Mom’s funeral. She is now married and living in Japan with her husband, Toshi. (who, honestly, I can’t stand). He is very condescending to Gilly. He is always talking down to her like she is some stupid woman. Nothing like you should speak to your spouse or someone you love. This made me feel bad for Gilly. Not only did she have a rough childhood but now a hard adulthood. I also noticed this with her one brother Nick, who seemed much like Toshi. Harry, Gilly’s other brother, was much more kind, and I was happy that she had him to somewhat lean on after her mother’s death.

What I loved about this book was how Lea could cross between the past and interweave it with the present. I didn’t know the “who did it” part until almost the end. I also enjoyed how Lea ended the book by tying up all the loose ends on what happened with everyone and their lives. You must get a copy for yourself to get the most out of this awesome book!

Dead Reckoning by Lea O’Harra

Publisher: Sharpe Books-UK (Sept 29, 2022) Category: Crime Fiction, Family Life, Kidnapping Tour dates: January 5-31, 2023 ISBN: Coming Soon ASIN: B0BGYG3HGX Available in Print and ebook, 289 pages

Description Dead Reckoning by Lea O’Harra

Indiana, January 2010.
It’s a hot summer’s day in 1984 when twelve-year-old Gilly and her friend Sally find a dead newborn in a shoebox in the cemetery of their tiny town. Deciding to keep their discovery a secret, they bury the body in Gilly’s yard. The results are disastrous. Flowers are mysteriously left on strollers. Two local children disappear and end up dead. A suspect is arrested and confesses, blaming the deaths on the girl’s having taken the dead baby. Gilly grows up but is haunted by what’s happened. As a young woman, she flees the town and its memories, going to Japan. Returning with her Japanese husband Toshi to attend her mother’s funeral, Gilly finds the past is not past. She’s threatened, and someone is putting flowers on strollers again. When another child is abducted, Gilly knows she must discover the truth about what happened all those years before more lives are lost.

Praise Dead Reckoning by Lea O’Harra

“Both a drama and a thriller, full of twists and human insight.”-Thomas Waugh The immediate declaration of past events, the discovery and concealment of the dead baby, provides a gripping start to this book. The story is simple yet powerful, immediately drawing the reader into a world that identifies the challenges of growing up in a small town in Indiana. The book tackles the casual racism that is often overlooked with great clarity. Although this is a crime novel, it is also a powerful story about how a single childhood event can influence the future. It compels you to share your history and become part of the small-town network. Through a nexus of characters, we see how relationships made in our formative years affect our lives. The story is more than a crime novel. It also gives a fascinating insight into life in a small town in the USA, through the eyes of somebody who never really wanted to return.”-ReallyPoshScouser, Amazon.

Praise Lea O’Harra

Lea O’Harra offers us a whodunnit set in a Japan laboring under the weight of cultural imperialism, a country where the characters find that their friends and lovers are strangers and imperfect ones at that…-Nick Sweet, author of the Inspector Vela¡zquez series. With her deep knowledge of Japanese culture, superb writing, and sensitivity to human foibles. Lea O’Harra has crafted a cross-cultural whodunnit to please Japanophiles and mystery lovers alike.-Suzanne Kamata, author of Losing Kei.

Awards Lea O’Harra

Autumn 2017 Lady First was awarded finalist™ status in the crime fiction section of the Beverly Hill Book Awards. ˜Lady First™ was also a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards in 2018.

Disclosure: “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.” Some of the links in this post are ‘affiliate links.’ This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission.

About Lea O’Harra

Lea O’Harra has published three crime fiction novels set in rural modern-day Japan: Imperfect Strangers (2015), Progeny (2016), and Lady First (2017). These comprise the so-called Inspector Inoue Murder Mystery™ series initially published by Endeavour Press (UK). She has also had a story included in Best Asian Crime Fiction, published by Kitaab Press (Singapore) in 2020. In the spring of 2022, Sharpe Books reissued the Inoue mystery series and, in September 2022, published Lea O’Harra’s fourth novel, Dead Reckoning, a stand-alone set in her tiny hometown in the American Midwest.
Website |Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

Buy Dead Reckoning by Lea O’Harra

Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk

Follow Dead Reckoning by Lea O’Harra

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus  Jan 4 Kick-off & Interview

Lu Ann Rockin’ Book Reviews  Jan 5 Review &  Guest Post

Bookgirl January 6 Amazon Review and Goodreads Review

Mark- Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Jan 9 Guest Review

Kari From the TBR Pile  Jan 12 Review & Excerpt

Jody Jan 16– Amazon Review & Goodreads Review

Bound 4 Escape  Jan 17 Guest Review

Denise- Jan 18 Review– Amazon & Goodreads Review

Lisa’s Writopia Jan 19 Guest Post

Lynelle Inspire to Read Jan 20 Excerpt

Leslie Storeybook Reviews Jan 23 Review

Ruth Media From the Heart  Jan 24 Review & Excerpt

DTChantel Jan 25 Review Amazon & Goodreads

Laura Lee -Celtic Lady Reviews Jan 26 Guest Review & Guest Post

Lisa’s Writopia Jan 27 Review

Amy Locks, Hooks and Books Jan 30 Review & Excerpt

Bee Book Pleasures Jan 31 Review