Courage Resurrected

Ray Courage Private Investigator Series: Book 3

Fiction - Mystery - Sleuth
218 Pages
Reviewed on 05/31/2015
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Courage Resurrected: A Ray Courage Mystery is Book 3 in R. Scott Mackey's Ray Courage Private Investigator Series. November 11 is a tragic anniversary for Ray Courage, despite it being 13 years after the fact. He's never stopped wondering about the death of his wife, Pamela, on a quiet road in the small Delta town of Freeport bordering the Sacramento River. This anniversary is disturbingly different, however, as he's received an e-mail from a sender identifying herself as Pam1111. In it, she accused him of trying to kill her and promised to exact vengeance upon him. Ray's efforts to keep himself from daring to dream that his wife might still actually be alive spur him on to investigate the tragic accident once again. He's not the only one wondering about the circumstances behind the fiery car wreck. Detective Carla Thurber of the Sacramento Police Department has her own questions about whether the former detective on the case fully investigated it.

R. Scott Mackey's private investigator novel, Courage Resurrected: A Ray Courage Mystery, is the third book in this series, but this story works quite well as a stand-alone mystery. Ray Courage's background as a former college professor lends a somewhat intellectual air to his present career as a private eye. As his friend Rubia likes to say, when he's nervous, he starts talking like Shakespeare. This literary dimension doesn't stop him from sleuthing with the best of them, even when the case is very, very personal, as it is in this book. Mackey's characters are well-developed and multi-dimensional, and his plot moves at a breakneck pace. Courage Resurrected is a compelling and highly entertaining story filled with mobsters, gang members, and a host of other personalities, that also has an inspired mix of action, strategy, and humor. It's most highly recommended.

Valerie Rouse

Courage Resurrected is an intriguing tale concerning the fatal accident that claimed the life of Pamela Courage. Her husband, Ray Courage, began receiving strange emails from someone pretending to be his dead wife. On top of that, a police detective turned up on his doorstep to ask questions about Pamela’s death which occurred thirteen years ago. This unusual turn of events propelled Ray to do some digging of his own. He sought out his father-in-law and other contacts. Unknown to Ray, a psychologist that Pamela had consulted was also killed on the exact date that Pamela died. Was there a common link? Ray discovered that two persons wanted to harm Pamela. Claire, the daughter of the psychologist, had a personal vendetta, and Pamela’s boss Mastrov who was peeved about Pamela’s ethical stance concerning a financial report.

Courage Resurrected is a mystery novel with plenty of surprises. The plot does not follow the usual predictable route. I love the twists of the plot that author R. Scott Mackey developed. I enjoyed reading the interactions between the main character and the persons of interest. This really helped to foster the depth of the storyline and increase the gripping suspense. The pace of the novel began slowly at first, increasing as the action unfolded. The language used is colloquial and is easy to understand. I could feel the tension rising while reading the book and trying to figure out who was the real culprit. This indicates the creative skills of the author. I love the fact that the author traced the mental anguish that the main character was feeling; the burning desire to solve the dilemma, even though he was an ordinary citizen, mixed with feelings of self-doubt. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is an excellent read.

Gisela Dixon

Courage Resurrected: A Ray Courage Mystery by R. Scott Mackey is a mystery novel and the third one in a series. Ray Courage is a private investigator whose wife died in a car accident 13 years ago. Since then, he and his daughter have rebuilt their lives and things seem to be going smoothly until one day when Ray receives an email that is about to change his life. The email apparently is from his wife Pam, whom he had supposed dead, in which she accuses him of wanting to kill her and to watch out. Not knowing what to think, Ray begins on his path to get to the bottom of it and can’t help but hope sometimes that his wife is still alive. As the plot thickens, Ray finds himself in trouble and realizes that the police think he murdered his wife. Soon, Ray finds himself on the run and his search for the truth to get to the bottom of the mystery makes for an engaging page-turning detective novel.

Courage Resurrected: A Ray Courage Mystery by R. Scott Mackey is a fun, exciting read and I was intrigued and interested in the plot within the first few pages. I liked the character of Ray and how he is portrayed, and found myself rooting for him. The novel is fast-paced with an element of thrill and kept me reading and wanting to know more. Overall, this is a fun mystery novel that I would recommend to all mystery buffs.

Charity Tober

Courage Resurrected: A Ray Courage Mystery by R. Scott Mackey is an engaging and suspenseful mystery fiction read. The story follows Ray Courage (and just by his name, you know he’s going to be a heroic character!) as he attempts to unravel the unsettling mystery surrounding his late wife’s death. He thought she was killed in a car accident thirteen years ago, but when he starts to receive disturbing emails from someone pretending to be his dead wife, he will stop at nothing to uncover the truth. Throw in the police suspecting him of killing his wife, as well as a creepy psychopath intent on keeping things covered up, and you have one exciting non-stop action-packed story.

I found Courage Resurrected to be a very thrilling book and I could not stop reading it! I just had to find out what was really going on. I thought the premise was intriguing and the author did a superb job keeping the mystery and suspense going throughout the entire book. Not only was Ray trying to discover the truth, he was also trying to stay one step ahead of law enforcement as he tried to clear his name. I was really rooting for Ray to figure everything out and not get caught. Nothing seemed like filler in the book to me; every plot and subplot had a purpose and kept the story constantly moving forward until the exciting finale. I think fans of mystery fiction and thriller genres will find a new favorite author in R. Scott Mackey.

Faridah Nassozi

In Courage Resurrected by R. Scott Mackey, thirteen years earlier Ray lost his wife Pam in a gruesome car accident that was concluded to be a hit and run. The other driver was never caught and Pam's remains were burned beyond recognition. On the 13th anniversary of Pam's death, Ray received a disturbing email suggesting that Pam was not killed in the accident. The emails continued to come, setting into motion a series of unwanted events including painting Ray as a suspect in Pam's murder and, on a darker note, awakening a ruthless murderer who preferred to keep the truth about Pam's death buried. Not sure whether the emails are just a mean hoax or real, Ray sets out to uncover the true circumstances surrounding his wife's death. He will, however, need to locate the elusive person behind the emails, outsmart a gang of killers, and outrun a detective bent on nailing him for Pam's murder.

Courage Resurrected by R. Scott Mackey is a captivating, adrenaline pumping investigative story filled with enough suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire reading. I was especially impressed by how R. Scott Mackey portrayed Ray's predicament. It was spot on and very suspenseful; it kept me reading nonstop and rooting for him to outsmart the elusive forces that haunted him. Courage Resurrected by R. Scott Mackey is a truly compelling novel with a well developed plot and characters that are easy to connect with - all brought to life through a seamless writing style. A well deserving ending with a 'too good to be true' partner and a major twist that I could never have seen coming, not in a million years.