The Deseret Reckoning

A Novel

By: Matthew Huffman

Narrated by: Megyn von Gal, Michael Russell

The latest stunning release from the author of Of Dice and Men comes a tale based in history, told through the eyes of Susan Kingsley, a shy yet bold museum assistant in the midst of change, displacement, and growth.

Susan Kingsley is a historical acquisitions assistant with career ambitions at the Smithsonian Museum. She shares an apartment with her ex-husband, FBI special agent Andrew Harrison.

Susan has discovered copies of a series of letters from 1870 describing a wagon train from Santa Fe, New Mexico, bound for the Deseret Territory, the Mormon lands prior to Utah statehood, and a hidden mine.

The new owner of the letters, twenty-seven-year-old Tom Sullivan, a distant relative of the recipient, joins two older friends on a camping trip to discover the source of the letters. While Susan tracks Tom and his letters across Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, Andrew tails her every step. After a chance encounter with Kat, a friendly face at a challenging time, a bolder, fiercer Susan emerges.

As Susan’s character arc grows, Andrew’s arc delves from petty disagreements to all-out fraud and deception, a cop with a grudge. What secrets will be revealed? What has been hidden in the mine? Will Susan succeed, or will Andrew sabotage her efforts and commit the ultimate crime?

©2023 Matthew L. Huffman (P)2024 Matthew L. Huffman

Critic reviews

"This irresistible novel manages the curious trick of making the reader want to stand up and cheer... A transformative tale of personal reinvention from a masterful storyteller." - Kirkus Reviews (Kirkus Star Award Winner)

"... a thoughtful but well-paced adventure... raising the stakes, right till the end. This novel is as much a journey of self discovery and newfound determination as it is a quest for retracing a historical trail." --BookLife

I lost my review, not typing 4 paragraphs again

Good book, nice (rare) for a single book to have a beginning, middle and end. No 17 book series? Excellent.

Narration, you know what? It was good. I could nit pick, male vs female differential. I hope the narrator continues, I’d like to hear more of her work. (REM: follow)

Story-very cool two timelines merge, long dead male voice comes alive.

So the review that I accidentally deleted isn’t worth rehashing. Bottom line is once you get out of the self imposed Susan drama, the story comes alive and is 100% excellent. Except the FBI guy, he made a grand exit but it was way late.

Two Stories in One

This was two stories in one and covers multiple genres. There was suspense, historical fiction, and mystery. It's a very interesting story.

Journey of self discovery.

Fun to follow along as Susan gains confidence. Also nice to listen to a book that doesn’t include an unnecessary love story forced in. Narration was a bit slow for me but worked really well at 1.5 speed for me.

Pretty Good

First, so far as narration, The female narrator at times was flat and seemed like AI, but would then come alive when she read other characters. She was very flat when she was the actual female lead. The male narrator was amazing.

I am a fan of dual timeline novels, and this one did not disappoint. The story was very engaging and kept me hooked until the end. I very much so enjoyed the topic, especially as I have just come off of watching the American Primeval series. If you enjoyed that, this would be a book you will appreciate.

(DISCLAIMER: female opinion) some other reviewers have stated they were glad there was not a love story thrown in. However, in my opinion there was a match that could have been made and it would not have been a far stretch. I guess that's what happens if you're used to reading romance LOL! Also, And this is not a complaint, but this is a book written by a man for a man. Is that a problem? No! it's just an observation. As a female I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I am just pointing out that the way things are described they are clearly from a male point of view. And as a matter of fact I found some of that kind of interesting to see how we can view scenes differently. The author did an amazing job of descriptive writing, but in a way that men would view things.

OVERALL: Interesting read and worth your time if you enjoy dual storyline and history.