Beth Mac - Part Two
- D. M. Wright
- Jul 25, 2025
- 11 min read
Updated: Apr 18
 Beth Mac: Part One  Beth Mac: Part Two  Console  Dating Men: Series One  Dating Men: Series Two  Dating Men: Series Three  Nights on Hindley  Sherlock Homes: The Boscombe Billabong Mystery  The First Great Emu War of 1932  The Second Great Emu War of 1932  The Magpie  The Problem with Ralph: Chugging  Ulysses' Odyssey: Cyclops  Uncle Ian  Warlocks of Lōbethal: Class Clown  Warlocks of Lōbethal: Older  Writer, Father, Killer | TAGLINE In the shadow of prophecies fulfilled, ghosts demand vengeance as ambition's bloody throne crumbles in chaos and carnage. LOGLINE As the newly crowned captain of the college football team clings to her bloody throne amid a fresh wave of gruesome murders blamed on the Grim Reaper, Elizabeth "Beth Mac" Mackenzie fights to silence rising suspicions and ghostly hauntings — while her tormented lover, Laddie, battles inner demons, and a vengeful successor rises to claim it all in a chaotic, prophecy-fuelled finale to this darkly comedic Macbeth retelling. GENRE Primary: Dark comedy Secondary: Crime thriller, slasher-style violence, supernatural horror It’s the literary equivalent of a late-night cult film mash-up: 'Scream' meets 'What We Do in the Shadows' meets 'Macbeth' in an Australian Rules U.S. college football sorority apocalypse. Bloody, hilarious, unapologetic and proudly excessive — exactly what the GRIM series promises. SETTING 'Beth Mac' is set at the fictional Saint Judah's College in a contemporary American campus environment, revolving around the chaotic sorority/fraternity scene, the women's Australian Rules football team, ongoing parties, memorials, mosh pits, and an auditorium-turned-slaughterhouse, all under the shadow of escalating murders and supernatural hauntings. BLURB The saga continues as the town surrounding Saint Judah’s College falls victim to another tirade of horrendously gruesome deaths at the hands of the Grim Reaper. At least, that’s who everyone assumes is the culprit. As the newly crowned captain of the college football team, Elizabeth Mackenzie is hell-bent on holding power no matter who or what stands in her way. The biggest challenge of all is keeping her cards close to her chest as suspicions arise around her role in the carnage. With an undying commitment to his lover, Laddie finds himself battling some serious demons. The ghosts of lost souls act as a haunting reminder of the sacrifices he has made for Beth Mac. Meanwhile, the deputy sheriff is on a wild goose chase across Canada in an effort to track down two key players that ran for the hills after the coach of the infamous football team threw in the towel. A string of murders will do that to a person. As for the rest of the students, there’s no subtlety in their approach to staying alive. At this point, it’s kill or be killed. People are dropping off like flies and it’s only a matter of time before they’re next. As Beth Mac’s temper gets shorter and her tongue harder to hold, the eyes of her enemies are closing in on her. But will justice prevail, or can she pull it altogether before the final curtain? It’s Shakespeare on steroids! REVIEWS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Don't know what I would've done if there wasn't a sequel!! I was so glued to Part One that as much I was eager to read Part Two, I was nervous it wouldn’t be as good or have as many “uh huh!’’ moments, but I was just as hooked as the first time I picked up this series. Every time I started to grow more and more fond of a character, something would go horrifically wrong but it was so thrilling to follow! The star of the story, Beth Mac, is as irrational and dramatic as ever but you can’t help but have a bit of a soft spot for her always being on the wrong side of luck. We finally find out who the Grim Reaper is but I’m still yearning for more! Bring on Part Three! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Part Two even better! Part One of Beth Mac was great, so I didn't think Part Two could get much better, but it blew me away. Characters are crazier than ever, the plot is superb and it makes for a very fun read. *P.S. definitely read Part One first, you won't be disappointed. CONTENT WARNING This book is Not Recommended for readers under the age of 15. It contains:
CHAPTERS It is a tale told by an idiot 1. The right valiant Banquo walked too late 2. Am I the mistress of your charms? 3. The blood-boltered Banquo smiles upon me 4. Cruel are the times 5. Now God help you, poor monkey 6. Stars hide your fires 7. Each new morn, new widows howl 8. It cannot be called our mother but our grave 9. Violent sorrow seems a modern ecstasy 10. Make our women fight 11. ‘Tis called the evil 12. The night is long that never finds the day 13. Let’s make us medicines of our great revenge 14. Throw physique to the dogs! 15. God forgive us all! 16. I have supt full with horrors 17. Nothing in love 18. Now does he feel his title hang loose about him 19. Do call it valiant fury 20. Swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn 21. I will not be afraid of death and bane 22. Birnam Forest comes to Dunsinane 23. All that is within him does condemn itself 24. Hail, King of Scotland! AUTHOR'S NOTE Look, if you're picking up 'Beth Mac: Part One' (and hopefully Part Two after this blood-soaked opener), you're probably wondering why an Aussie bloke from the Adelaide Hills decided to drag Shakespeare's Macbeth out of the misty Scottish castles, slap it onto a muddy footy oval at a fictional American college, and turn it into a gore-fest horror-comedy with sorority parties, grim reapers stampeding like panicked emus, and enough pop songs to make your ears bleed. Simple answer: because someone had to. I've spent years writing all sorts — military dramas, dating disasters, emu wars (yes, really), vampire romps, and whatever else popped into my head. But Macbeth has always stuck with me. It's raw, brutal and uncomfortably honest about what ambition does to people when they stop asking "should I?" and start asking "how fast can I?" That core hasn't aged a day since 1606. So why not test it in a world that's loud, chaotic and very much alive today? I wanted to write something that felt like a late-night cult film you watch with mates: fast, funny in the darkest way possible, full of over-the-top kills, ridiculous disguises, and characters who are larger-than-life disasters. Beth isn't just Macbeth with a footy boot — she's the full package: ex-soldier, Medal of Honour winner, captain material, and utterly convinced her body count is for the greater good. The goal? To make Shakespeare accessible without dumbing it down. To prove you can take classic tragedy, crank the absurdity to eleven, add Aussie slang and AFL tackles, and still hit the same gut-punch themes: unchecked ambition, guilt that won't stay dead, the thin line between fate and choice, and how power turns even good people into monsters (or at least very messy ones). Mostly, though, I wrote it because it made me laugh while writing it — and cringe, and wince, and occasionally yell at the screen (or page) in disbelief. If it does half that for you — makes you chuckle at the carnage, question your own ruthless streak, or just enjoy a bloody good yarn — then mission accomplished. No apologies for the language, the violence, or the rock montages. This isn't highbrow lit. It's bloke-friendly chaos with a body count. THEMES 'Beth Mac: Part Two' deepens and culminates the themes from Part One, using the escalating chaos of murders, ghostly vengeance and prophetic fulfillment to deliver a satirical, blood-soaked commentary on ambition's inevitable downfall in a modern college world. The Corrupting Nature of Power and Its Downfall Beth's reign as captain embodies the hollow victory of unchecked ambition — her 'throne' secured through bloodshed unravels amid paranoia, betrayals, and fiery chaos. The story satirises how power, once grasped, becomes a trap, echoing Macbeth's tragic hubris in a sorority-footy apocalypse. Guilt, Paranoia, and Psychological Torment Spectral hauntings intensify, with ghosts like Bucket accusing the living through wails and apparitions, driving characters to madness. Beth's courtroom defences highlight denial and rationalisation, while Laddie's isolation shows the mental erosion of complicity, blending horror with absurd comedy. Revenge and Cyclical Violence Vengeance fuels the plot's climax — the grim reaper's rise as the avenger mirrors Macduff's role, turning personal losses (e.g. love, friends) into a chain of brutal retaliations. The interchangeable grim reaper mask symbolises how violence begets more violence, with copycats and true killers blurring into a campus-wide bloodbath. Fate, Prophecy, and Self-Fulfilling Doom The witches' predictions come full circle in twisted ways (e.g. Birnam Wood reimagined as explosive mayhem), questioning whether destiny or human choices seal the fate. Beth's posthumous justifications underscore how belief in prophecy accelerates self-destruction. Overall, Part Two wraps the duology as a cautionary farce: ambition's "greater good" is a delusion leading to fiery ruin, delivered through gore, ghosts, and gleeful satire that makes the tragedy both hilarious and haunting. TONE & VIBE 'Beth Mac: Part Two' maintains the same wildly irreverent, pitch-black comedic tone as Part One, but amps up the manic, apocalyptic chaos to fever-pitch levels — delivering a relentless, blood-soaked party of absurdity, heavy-metal mosh-pit mayhem, screaming ghosts, interchangeable killers, and fiery downfall that feels like a deranged cult slasher film crashing headlong into Shakespeare's tragedy with zero brakes and maximum Aussie-flavoured lunacy. POV Third-person limited Third-person omniscient Past tense 'Beth Mac' uses a primarily third-person limited / third-person omniscient hybrid POV, but with several distinctive narrative shifts and playful intrusions that give it a very cinematic, meta and eclectic feel. The dominant POV is third-person flexible/omniscient-ish for the bulk of the action — fast, external, multi-character and highly visual — but it's framed and occasionally interrupted by Beth's first-person voice as the unreliable, unrepentant dead narrator defending her legacy. This creates a tone that's cheeky, detached, theatrical and very self-aware, perfectly suiting the book's dark-comedy, slasher-Shakespeare mashup vibe. MAIN CHARACTER SNAPSHOTS Beth (Elizabeth Mackenzie / "Beth Mac") The unrepentant, posthumously narrating protagonist — still fiercely defensive from beyond the grave, justifying every murder as necessary for "Team America" and her legacy. As the newly crowned captain clinging to power amid paranoia and fresh carnage, she's hell-bent on holding her throne no matter the cost, manipulating allies and dismissing suspicions with cocky bravado. Her voice dominates the courtroom framing, blending ruthless ambition with patriotic delusion and zero remorse — Macbeth's iron will in a footy jersey, now facing the full weight of prophecy's backlash. Laddie Beth's tormented, co-dependent boyfriend — haunted by guilt, inner demons, and the fallout of their shared crimes. In Part Two, his loyalty frays under escalating horrors, spectral accusations and the psychological toll of betrayal and loss. He grapples with regret and isolation, representing the crumbling human side of ambition's cost — devoted yet increasingly broken, a tragic foil to Beth's unyielding drive. Junior (Deputy Sheriff) The determined deputy sheriff — practical, no-nonsense and increasingly exhausted by the nonstop mayhem (spontaneously combusting students, psycho killers, hazing disasters). She races through crises with a mix of heroism and resignation, prioritising saving lives and maintaining order in the collapsing campus. Her content reflection on the job's pros/cons highlights quiet resilience and a desire for career progression — the grounded "fixer" archetype amid the absurdity, cautiously moving in to help. The grim reaper A shadowy, ever-shifting antagonist that embodies the book's chaotic slasher elements — manifesting as a cloaked figure in a skull mask, who haunts the auditorium's sub-basements, pilfers costumes and weapons, and slips seamlessly into crowds. The mask and cloak become interchangeable tools of terror, adopted by various characters (or copycats) to commit crimes amid the campus mayhem, blurring lines between prank, disguise and genuine murder. Yet beneath the farce lies one true, unknown killer — a relentless, vengeful force whose identity remains shrouded, stalking not just victims but even the main characters with prophetic dread. This duality amps up the dark comedy: a costume-department gimmick for opportunistic chaos, but a singular haunting spectre driving the supernatural horror. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS For Book Clubs:
For High Schools
ISBN 9798596503371 RELEASE YEAR 2021 SERIES INFO Grim Book 2 WORD COUNT 77,000 AVAILABLE FORMATS Original edition: Paperback, Kindle Spellbound edition: Kindle Workbench edition: Kindle | |
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