Day of Reckoning Seisan no hi Don S Hunter 2025
SYNOPSIS
This story is about a six bereaved individuals who had a close family member murdered - for five members, no perpetrators were ever found and in the sixth case, two perpetrators were charged and tried for the murder of a member's father. However, the trial took place just prior to the group starting but the judge dismissed the case for a technicality. As each group member told their tragic stories and showed pictures of their loved one, Michael was feeling increasingly worried that the group was taking on a life of its own. The sixth member (Micheline) whose father was murdered and the trial of the two perpetrators ended with a dismissal, is married to Kenji (of Japanese descent) and they run a mixed martial arts program. Detective Edward Kogan whose partner was gunned down, was assigned to investigate, what seemed to be a connection between Michael’s group members and a rash of killings that may well be connected to his group. Lots of twists and turns keep this story intriguing - a compelling read.
Don S Hunter
Day of Reckoning Seisan no hi Don S Hunter 2025
SYNOPSIS
This story is about a six bereaved individuals who had a close family member murdered - for five members, no perpetrators were ever found and in the sixth case, two perpetrators were charged and tried for the murder of a member's father. However, the trial took place just prior to the group starting but the judge dismissed the case for a technicality. As each group member told their tragic stories and showed pictures of their loved one, Michael was feeling increasingly worried that the group was taking on a life of its own. The sixth member (Micheline) whose father was murdered and the trial of the two perpetrators ended with a dismissal, is married to Kenji (of Japanese descent) and they run a mixed martial arts program. Detective Edward Kogan whose partner was gunned down, was assigned to investigate, what seemed to be a connection between Michael’s group members and a rash of killings that may well be connected to his group. Lots of twists and turns keep this story intriguing - a compelling read.
Don S Hunter
Chapter One
Michael O’Donnell
Michael O’Donnell was a forty-year-old psychotherapist who specialized in grief work. He had been providing individual and group therapies for the past five years for many people struggling with the impact of a family member’s death. Michael’s therapy sessions had always been intense and emotional.
Michael was five feet nine inches tall, average weight and known for wearing nothing but black clothes (this had always been an ongoing source of humor for his family and those who have worked with Michael). Most often, this included black Levi jeans (loose fit), a black, three-quarter zippered sweater, and black Doc Martens (which used to be black cowboy boots in his younger days). His original red hair, now almost gone, was shaved very close to the scalp, and he always kept his facial hair trimmed short – well … almost always.
He was somewhat of a movie fanatic and saw others as resembling various actors – a bit of a personality quirk; he thought that he looked like a young Harrison Ford, but others had told him he was more like Anthony Hopkins!
Thirteen years ago, Michael’s beloved twenty-five-year-old sister Josie was murdered. She was walking north on the west side of Parkside Drive, as it hugs the east side of High Park. Just south of Bloor Street, she was grabbed, dragged into the park, raped, and strangled – the police believe it was just after midnight, as they recorded the time of death as 1.00 am.
After searching the area and interviewing local neighbors, the police never found any clues or leads that gave them a credible witness – a potential perpetrator was never identified. The detectives told Michael and his parents that they assumed it was a transient, homeless person, and that Josie just happened to be in the “wrong place at the wrong time”. The case was flagged “cold”, after three months.
Michael was furious.
Josie always looked up to Michael, he was her protector and mentor. Michael struggled with Josie’s death, as he felt he had failed her – in life and in death. He also experienced a falling out with his parents, who seemed to blame him for Josie’s death.
“Why didn’t you pick her up after the show?” his dad had screamed at him.
Neither his mom or dad ever said anything else openly about Michael being responsible for Josie’s death, but from that day on, Michael deeply felt their accusatory glances and a coldness he had never experienced before. The obligatory calls home, about once every month, on birthdays, Thanksgiving, and a brief visit at Christmas, have been the extent of his contact with his parents – the coldness from them has never warmed.
The first year following Josie’s murder was heartbreaking, and he was unable to continue his therapy practice. Michael felt that he would explode if he didn’t find a way to “work through” his powerful thoughts and emotions. He knew that he was dealing with denial, anger, guilt, and shame, but all at an intellectual level, and as a therapist, he knew in his gut that wasn’t what he needed to do. He had lost the meaning and purpose in his life.
He spent many months meditating at home, walking through High Park, slowly working through his grief over losing Josie and, to a large extent, his parents as well. His wasn’t a family that could grieve together and support each other.
Michael finally decided to arrange a few meetings with a past therapist and mentor, who encouraged him to connect with a bereavement support group for family members who had lost someone because of violence. The group of eight members, with a professional leading, met weekly for ten weeks. This was exactly what Michael needed then, as the second year after Josie’s death was even more difficult than the first.
He developed a close relationship with Dr. Ravi Kumar, the therapist who had facilitated that group and had encouraged him to offer grief counselling in his own practice. She reminded him so much of the actress Monica Bellucci, who has had many different roles in movies, and Michael was immediately struck by her beauty and her deep, sultry voice – she was mesmerizing. He was thankful for her advice, for he then restarted his practice, specializing in “grief counselling.”
It was difficult for Michael from an emotional perspective, and as he listened to his clients’ stories of loss, thoughts and memories of Josie frequently surfaced, but that seemed to help him to express more empathy and compassion. He realized after that first year seeing clients again, it was a way to keep Josie’s memory alive.
Following a year of helping individuals with their journey through grief, he began to feel that something was missing, so he again consulted with Ravi. She encouraged him to start a mutual support therapy group, reminding him of how valuable the group experience had been for him. Although intrigued with the idea, Michael was very uncertain about his skills with groups, having not led a group since his initial training.
During the years that followed, Michael has facilitated four such groups, increasing his confidence in the group approach for helping people as they move through their grief. He found himself in what he had come to call his therapeutic zone – his active listening and facilitative reflections, which naturally presented themselves, and the memories of Josie rose with no effort on his part.
The police had never found the person who murdered Josie, and this has been an increasingly painful “thorn in his side” for the past thirteen years. Michael has always been careful about his powerful negative attitude towards the police. “They completely fucked-up the investigation into Josie’s murder!” he had told Ravi. “There were witnesses who they labelled as ‘unreliable’, who had information they should have followed up on.”
Ravi had cautioned him about such anger being triggered in his work with the bereaved. “Michael, you need to be aware of your own triggers and remember that you have to remain neutral, and that will not be easy!” she had shared with him at the end of their group meeting one day.
Micheal had smiled. “I know – I’ll take care of that!”
However, as a therapist, Michael had never believed in “neutrality.”
People come for therapy because they want and need active support and advice about their life – Michael had this recurring thought frequently, although not something he shared with Ravi – or any other therapists. He knew that he had to let go of the past, particularly the anger and rage he still connected with from time to time.
And yet, it was his current group of bereaved folks who pushed him to question the concept of “reckoning”.
Michael was sitting at the old dark-stained roll-top desk in his study, reviewing the files on each group member. He had never been a terribly organized person. His written summaries of his sessions had always been done in point form – he developed a habit of writing words and phrases clients used, which triggered his recollection of the interactions – anyone else reading his notes wouldn’t understand the context, except his clients.
Now that everything was done in a secure computer program, he spent little time keeping notes, allowing him more time to be fully present his understanding of these bereaved clients and considered strategies and techniques that would be most helpful, connecting them together.
He then reminded himself that he had to be extra cautious with his notes on this unique group, because something about the way they were responding to his therapy, and with each other, was causing him to question their next moves, and ultimately his own. His notes needed to be clear and concise, if Michael was ever subpoenaed to testify; he needed to read from his notes, while remembering “confidentiality”.
Having been trained in a variety of therapeutic modalities, he was able to consider cases from different perspectives, giving him and his clients access to a range of strategies. He was a true, compassionate clinician, not a researcher, not an accountant, and not a good businessman – he’s always struggled with the moral and ethical issues with “selling himself” as an extremely skilled clinician.
Michael lived on the second and third floor of an old duplex on Wright Avenue, in the heart of High Park. On the main floor of his apartment was a renovated, open-space area that had a living room with a large picture window, dining room, powder room, kitchen, with a room off to the side where he has his office.
On his second floor (the third floor of the house) were two large bedrooms and a full bathroom. The week before Josie died, she had stayed over in the guest room – the last time it was used.
Sitting at the desk, in his black, swivel office chair that he ordered from Staples, with the six file folders in front of him, he gazed out the large window where he could see the tops of the trees in High Park – it was a beautiful view, but also a reminder of where Josie had been murdered.
Michael then returned his attention to the files in front of him, before closing his eyes and replaying in his mind the events each group member shared with him and the rest of the members of their group in their first session …
Day of Reckoning | Seisan no hi is a grim tale about six troubled individuals struggling with the boundaries between justice and revenge.
Six individuals were brought together in therapy by the trauma of losing a close family member. For five of these members, no perpetrators were ever found, causing additional pain and suffering, and for the sixth case, two perpetrators were charged and tried for murder, but the case was dismissed for technicality. Guided by Michael, the group’s therapist, each member revealed their tragedy through stories and shared pictures of their loved ones. However, a darker, more sinister plan begins to unfold outside of the safety of these therapy sessions. Having felt this group's particular atmosphere before, Michael becomes increasingly worried that the group is taking a life of its own.
This compelling story was made even more captivating by its remarkable character development. The first half focuses on each therapy group’s members and their lives outside therapy, allowing the reader to connect with each character. The chapters are light and engaging, giving the reader a sense of calm before the dark storm. Each chapter plays a huge role in connecting the reader with each character, which is necessary for the book's second half. In some cases, this is a make-or-break for the story, but in this case, the writing is strong and helps the reader empathize with the character, strengthening the story even more in the second half when the storyline becomes more shocking.
The second half brings on the chills and thrills of an action—and adventure-heavy story. Now, the reader is emotionally connected to the characters and riding down this story's emotional roller coaster. The story's flow flows well, making it a quick read and incredibly difficult to put down. There was a little bit of everything exciting in the second half: some action, adventure, mystery, and twists. It was exceptional in every way. The story also had a strong and emotional ending, sending all the characters on a new adventure focused on healing.
This story will have you hooked from the first page. This story was written by an author who genuinely understands character development, compelling descriptions, and the flow of the story. This story would be triggering for some, focusing on the loss of family members, but if that doesn’t bother you, this is a highly recommended read, not just for action and adventure readers.