Summer of the Redeemers [Paperback]

Carolyn Haines (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2005

Along with the sweltering heat of the Mississippi pine barrens, the summer of 1963 brings intruders to Kali Oka Road: The Blood of the Redeemer churchers, members of a secretive religious sect, and Nadine Andrews, a single woman of marrying age more interested in her horses than starting a family.

Both threaten the predictable sameness of this rural, tightly knit community. And both provide irresistible temptation for thirteen-year-old Bekkah Rich, who is willing to risk hell fire in her efforts to spy on the newcomers.

But then her best friend’s baby sister disappears, surrounding Bekkah in a web of kidnapping and murder. Suddenly, summertime antics become deadly serious, and those who were once a curiosity are now tainted with evil.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An inquisitive young girl is drawn into the dangerous world of a religious cult that disrupts a peaceful Mississippi town in the summer of 1963.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From 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.
--Jan Blodgett, St. Mary's Cty. Records Ctr. & Archives, Leonardtown, Md.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: River City Publishing (February 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579660606
• ISBN-13: 978-1579660604
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,818,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carolyn Haines is the author of eighteen novels, including the acclaimed Sarah Booth Delaney mystery series. She was honored with the prestigious 2009 Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence. Haines was also 2010 recipient of the Harper Lee Award. Born and raised in Mississippi, she now lives in Alabama on a farm with more dogs, cats, and horses than she can possibly keep track of!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carolyn Haines is a treasure!, October 26, 2007

By 

Tina Tierson (Vancouver, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Summer of the Redeemers (Paperback)

This is one of the finest books I've ever read! In Summer of the Redeemers, Carolyn Haines has created a book rich in place, atmosphere, characters, detail, and heart. I believe it ranks right up with To Kill a Mockingbird in significance. It's a book of many layers. Her characters are so real and resonate with life. It is a coming of age story as well as a murder mystery, but there are many underlying themes; family bonds, friendship, loyalty, love, the unease of 1963. This is not only a "southern" novel, but a novel that speaks to all.

I'm a big fan of Ms. Haine's "Bones" series, which are delightful. But even in that series there are deeper streams flowing, which make them several notches above other "cozies." Ms. Haines is a master of her craft, a gifted writer. Read the Sarah Booth Delany series, and read her other marvelous novels: Touched, Fever Moon, Penumbra, Season of Innocents, Judas Burning, Revenant, and her heartbreaking, magnificent biography, My Mother's Witness. But be sure to read Summer of the Redeemers; you'll be more than glad you did!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I've read in a long time, March 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Summer of the Redeemers: A Novel (Paperback)

I am from the small town of Lucedale, Mississippi ( the town on which I believe "Jexville" is based), and after reading "Summer of the Redeemers," I have to say that not even Anne Rice or Stephen King could make the hair stand on the back of my neck like Carolyn Haines does.

Her writing is exquisite, her characters real and believable and the subject matter hits so close to home that it makes her stories all the more believable and realistic to someone who has grown up in a Southern small town.

I do not want to spoil the book for anyone, but "Redeemers" is definately something to get now ( I see that at least the hardcover edition is out of print), before it is too hard to find. Luckily enough, I bought all of the existing Haines books for my mother a couple of years ago as a Mother's Day present, and am just now getting around to reading them.

Believe me...it was worth the wait. I'm ready to read "Touched," and then move on to the "Bones" series.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Haines!, January 9, 2007

By 

L. Davis "mystery/thriller addict" (Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Summer of the Redeemers (Paperback)

Everytime I read one of Carolyn Haines books I am drawn into them, turning the pages as fast as I can. She has embarked on a new journey with this book, away from her usual "Bones" series, but with even more success! I felt this one followed much along the lines of Penumbra. Awesome, scarey, characters that are believable, and of course the inclusion of the flavor of the old south (which I love).
I am looking forward to her next release!