Reckoning Hour by Peter O’Mahoney #PeterOMahoney @duran.troy @troyduranaudiobooks @brilliancepublishing #LincolnDeanLegalThriller #ReckoningHour

the setup…
Defense attorney Dean Lincoln and his wife Emma have returned to their hometown of Beaufort, South Carolina, leaving Chicago for at least a year while her mother deals with a health crisis. In the meantime, he’ll be working at the law office of his former mentor, Bruce Hawthorne, immediately taking on two criminal cases, one a murder. They are challenging enough but not more than the town itself who now considers him a “city boy” who needs to respect how things are done in Beaufort.

the heart of the story…
I’m not sure which was tougher, navigating the legal system in Beaufort or representing the two clients whose prospects for avoiding jail looked dim. Their approach to justice reminded me of the true life Murdaugh family and the power and control they yielded. I loved how Dean wasn’t intimidated by the power brokers and stood firmly in his values, even when if felt dangerous.

the narration…
Troy Duran sounded like how Dean was described and behaved. He was no nonsense in his storytelling and focused on the law. I enjoyed his performance.

the bottom line…
I like when a legal thriller delivers those courtroom moments as this one did, ups and downs. There was a lot of info regarding courtroom protocols, which I already knew but it didn’t slow me down. Beaufort culture was as much a character as the people involved in the story. There weren’t a lot of heroes but lots of characters with good intentions and flaws. It made this a much more compelling listening experience and the case resolutions were far from predictable. I’m excited to start the next book in the series and have a new author whose backlist I’m dying to explore.

Book Info

• Release Date: July 1, 2025
• Series: Dean Lincoln Legal Thriller #1
• Narrator: Troy Duran
• Audio Length: 7 hours, 56 minutes
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio

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(Thanks to Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)