Receive Me Falling by Erika Robuck
Title: Receive Me Falling
Author/website: Erika Robuck
266 pages
Publisher: Elysian Fields Press
Publication date: January ’09
Genre: Contemporary/historical fiction mix
Would I recommend it: A hedged yes – debut author
I found this a pleasant read but not anything I’ll most likely remember beyond next week. It will blend in with all the other contemporary/historical fictional stories I’ve read. I found the last 30 or so pages the most interesting of the entire story. Even though I’m not gushing about this one I did enjoy it enough to give another book from this new author a try.
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.
Posted in 2 Responses to “Receive Me Falling by Erika Robuck”
- File M for Murder (Cat in the Stacks, #3) by Miranda James February 7, 2012
- Mozart’s Last Aria by Matt Rees February 7, 2012
- Restless in the Grave (Kate Shugak, #19) by Dana Stabenow February 7, 2012
- A Dark Anatomy (Cragg & Fidelis, #1) by Robin Blake February 7, 2012
- Wish list | February ’12 selections February 1, 2012
- Blog update June 30, 2011
- No Rest for the Wiccan (Bewitching Mysteries, #4) by Madelyn Alt June 28, 2011
- On the Way to the Wedding (Bridgertons, #8) by Julia Quinn June 28, 2011
- The Witch Is Dead (Ophelia & Abby, #5) by Shirley Damsgaard June 28, 2011
- When He Was Wicked (Bridgertons, #6) by Julia Quinn June 22, 2011
- HF Giveaway | The Turning of Anne Merrick by Christine Blevins February 5, 2012
- Mailbox Monday | February ’12 (January’s books) February 5, 2012
- February happenings the Mailbox Monday blog January 31, 2012
- Server issues for January’s MM host At Home with Books January 11, 2012
- Mailbox Monday | January ’12 (December’s books) January 8, 2012
I might give this one a shot then.
I quite liked it, too, but nothing to really rave about.