Woven between two worlds…. one woman desperately seeking the truth to her families heritage and one seeking a world where all people are free…. and both women more similar than they would ever know…. ~ Sheila

Every slave story is a ghost story. The haunting words of an historian and former cane worker on the Caribbean island of Nevis launch Meghan Owen on her quest to unlock the secrets of an abandoned sugar plantation and its ghosts. After Meg’s parents die in a car accident on the night of her engagement party, she calls off her wedding, takes leave of her job in Annapolis, and travels to land she’s inherited on Nevis. A series of discoveries in an old plantation house on the property, Eden, set her on a search for the truth surrounding the shameful past of her ancestors, their slaves, and the tragedy that resulted in the fall of the plantation and its inhabitants. Through a crushing phone call with her lawyer, Meg learns that her father’s estate was built on stolen money, and is being sued by multiple sources. She is faced with having to sell the land and plantation home, and deal with the betrayal she feels from her deceased father. In alternating chapters, the historical drama of the Dall family unfolds. Upon the arrival of British abolitionists to the hedonistic 19th century plantation society, Catherine Dall is forced to choose between her lifestyle and the scandal of deserting her family. An angry confrontation with Catherine’s slave, Leah, results in the girl’s death, but was it murder or suicide? Hidden texts, scandalous diaries, antique paintings, and confessional letters help Meghan Owen uncover the secrets of Eden and put the ghosts to rest.

My Thoughts:

At first this book that travels in alternating chapters from present time Meg to 19th century Catherine left me struggling to get a grip on both worlds as they unfolded.  And unfold they did.  In past reads that had a similar layout of alternating people or times I had found that I favored one story line over the other.  In Receive Me Falling, I quickly found myself enjoying both Meg’s journey into the past as well as Catherines hopes for the future.

This was not a light story line either.  Author Erika Robuck hits hard on the lives of the slaves in Catherines world.  At times the description of the beatings, the rapes, and even the deaths were enough to grab my breath and tighten my heart strings.  There is even one part of the book that was so vivid, so richly described that I placed a post it in the space to hopefully be able to ask the author about this particular scene.

A read with strong characters both female and male.  A taste of plantation reality as well as modern day heartbreak when your family is not who you thought or hoped they were.  A masterpiece in writing and I do not say these words lightly.

I received my review copy from Bostick Communications

I would rate this book PG for some strong imageing of slaves