Summer of the Redeemers by Carolyn Haines

From the Publisher

This lyrical and suspenseful novel, set in the Deep South, has at its center Bekkah Rich, crossing the border between the enchanted world of adolescence and the grown-up world of enticement, danger, and evil. The story it tells, the voice that tells it, and the spell it casts are utterly original - and indelibly its own. For Bekkah, growing up on Kali Oka Road deep in rural Mississippi, the summer of 1963 is a sunlit time of lazy, playful days, and friends scaring each other with tales of the mysterious child murder that happened ten years before at Cry Baby Creek. But playfulness abruptly ceases when Kali Oka is invaded by strangers . . . and her best friend's baby sister is stolen. A menacing, secretive religious cult, rumored to be involved in baby selling, snake handling, and brainwashing, moves into the abandoned church at the end of the road. And occupying the old McInnis place is Nadine Andrews, a single woman with bleached blond hair, a mysterious past, nine horses, and a penchant for young boys. To Bekkah, the members of the cult are a darkly tantalizing curiosity she becomes obsessed with . . . especially the wild and angry young Greg, who vandalizes her precious possessions. But Nadine represents something even stronger - Bekkah's craving for the freedom, independence, and excitement that riding beautiful horses represents. With her parents immersed in work and turbulent local unrest, Bekkah has to deal with temptations by herself . . . which she does by yielding to them. By the time fall and school arrive, kidnapping and murder have occurred on Kali Oka Road, and Bekkah discovers that nothing is quite what it seems: goodness can mask evil, godliness can mask deviltry, kindness can mask lust, fantasy ghosts can be all too real, allies and enemies can bewilderingly trade places, and even the bedrock of family unity can threaten to splinter. Set during a marvelously rendered Mississippi summer, Carolyn Haines' lush, authentic novel about the passage fr

Publishers Weekly

Surprising events, most of them sinister, catch the reader unaware in this coming-of-age story set in rural Mississippi in 1963. Narrator Rebekkah Rich, an independent and smart 13-year-old, is secretly thrilled to be staying at home on Kali Oka Road for her summer vacation. Busloads of religious zealots from The Blood of the Redeemer Church have set up headquarters at the end of the street, and, even more intriguing, a glamorous young woman, Nadine Andrews, has moved in nearby with her show horses and has promised to give the delighted teenager riding lessons. Kali Oka is drenched in history and haunted by tales of a murdered baby, stories never far from Bekkah's mind as she spies on the grimly repressive church members and becomes further involved with Nadine, who seems to be behaving in an increasingly bizarre and dangerous fashion. Meanwhile, the civil rights movement is reaching Kali Oka and Bekkah's parents, liberals and intellectuals, are at risk from local racists. While her parents are out of town, Bekkah digs deeper into myth and reality. Why are there so many new graves on Redeemer property? Who is the woman, naked underneath a bloody dress, who seems to be following her? Harrowing, richly atmospheric and sharp-edged, this hardcover debut maintains suspense until its final pages. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates . (June)

Library Journal

The security and comfort of life on Kali Oka Road in rural Mississippi is altered forever with the arrival of the Blood of the Redeemers Church and the mysterious Nadine Andrews. Bekkah Rich, a headstrong and impulsive 13-year-old with a passion for horses, unwittingly initiates a disturbing chain of events. In defiance of her mother, Bekkah begins to work at Nadine's horse farm. But even the attractions of horses cannot divert her curiosity about the fanatical religious group. Bekkah is convinced they have hurt a young woman and may be a danger to Nadine, but her interference only helps to fuel community tensions and contributes to a tragic killing. Part murder mystery, part coming-of-age novel, Bekkah's story evokes the emotions and rhythms of a Southern summer. This hardcover debut should appeal to a wide readership. [Doubleday Book Club and Literary Guild selections.]-Jan Blodgett, St. Mary's Cty. Records Ctr. & Archives, Leonardtown, Md.

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