When the Reckoning Comes

A haunting novel about a black woman who returns to her hometown for a plantation wedding and the horror that ensues as she reconnects with the blood-soaked history of the land and the best friends she left behind. More than a decade ago,Mira fled her smallsegregated hometown in the south to forget. With every mile she traveledshe distanced herself from her past: from her best friend Celinemocked by their town as the only white girl with black friends; from her old neighborhood; from the eerie Woodsman plantation rumored to be haunted by the spirits of slaves; from the terrifying memory of a ghost she saw that terrible day when a dare-gone-wrong almost got Jesse–the boy she secretly loved–arrested for murder. But now Mira is back in Kipsen to attend Celine’s wedding at the plantationwhich has been transformed into a lush vacation resort. Mira hopes to reconnect with her friendsand especiallyJesseto finally tell him the truth about her feelings and the events of that devastating long-ago day. But for all its fancy renovationsthe Woodsman remains a monument to its oppressive racist history. The bar serves antebellum drinksentertainments include horrifying reenactmentsand the service staff is nearly all black. Yet the darkest elements of the plantation’s past have been carefully erased–rumors that slaves were tortured mercilessly and that ghosts roam the landsseeking vengeance on the descendants of those who tormented themwhich includes most of the wedding guests. As the weekend unfoldsMiraJesseand Celine are forced to acknowledge their history togetherand to save themselves from what is to come.