When the Reckoning Comes: A Novel [B2049]

2021 PB in nice clean condition. 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 small, segregated hometown in the south to forget. With every mile she traveled, she distanced herself from her past: from her best friend Celine, mocked 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 plantation, which has been transformed into a lush vacation resort. Mira hopes to reconnect with her friends, and especially, Jesse, to finally tell him the truth about her feelings and the events of that devastating long-ago day. As the weekend unfolds, Mira, Jesse, and Celine are forced to acknowledge their history together, and to save themselves from what is to come.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "An absolute gut punch of a horror novel. McQueen draws on real life horrors to set a scene that is equally terrifying and familiar with the plantation wedding background. I love how she crafted a narrative that is unapologetic in its bashings of the erasure of slavery at modern "historical" sites and the romanization of the antebellum by white people."; "This story is incredible and heart breaking. Many times I wanted to put it down because the truth of history can be painful, but much like the characters, I needed to see it through. The ending left me wanting a more clear 'end' to the story but instead it left me heartbroken and yearning for a better outcome for human kind."; "The beginning was so slow, but it really paid off in the end. I am definitely haunted by this book."; "Very disturbing novel about the horrors of slavery, racism, and the importance of not forgetting the horrible truth of the past."