The Reckoning

I have a story to tell you, Diane. It is my story and your story and the story of a century that remade the world. When we reach the end, you will be the ultimate arbiter of whether it was worth your time. You will also sit in judgment on me.

In a cottage in Normandy, Lina Rose is writing to the daughter she abandoned as a baby. Now a successful if enigmatic author, she is determined to trace her family’s history through the two world wars that shaped her life. But Lina can no longer bear to carry her secrets alone, and once the truth is out, can she ever be forgiven?

Chonghaile stuns in her second book for Legend Press weaving a complex narrative covering conflict, secrets, judgement and what it takes to sever family ties.

'Ní Chonghaile is a writer who knows her subject matter inside out. At times philosophical, in parts emotional, The Reckoning is a great example of how a natural storyteller can take a genre and make it their own'
--Daniel Seery, author of A Model Partner

‘Chonghaile has succeeded in writing a moving story about memories, regret, and the ties that bind. Both wise and gentle, The Reckoning is a novel with heart’
--Tiffany McDaniel, Not-the-Booker Prizewinning author of The Summer that Melted Everything 

‘Clár Ní Chonghaile has done it again… The Reckoning is a novel about family, memory, and the possibility of forgiveness – and it will stay with you long after you have savoured the last page’
--Léan Cullinan, author of The Living

'A gorgeous, absorbing tale. The characters' experiences of loss and their stoic sense of survival brought history to life in a way I had never seen it before… a compelling and captivating story, filled with adventure, love and regret'
--Nicola Cassidy, author of December Girl