Black Cake

This book. Wow. I loved it so much. The storytelling. The characters. The plot. Just unputdownable. Benny and Byron are estranged siblings. But when their mother dies, everything changes. Their mother leaves them just two things: an eight hour voice recording (and a stipulation that they must listen to the whole thing together, in the presence of their family lawyer… and a black cake (a traditional Caribbean dessert; now I must figure out where to get some!). In listening to the recording, they learn about a headstrong girl named Covey who grew up in the Caribbean (the island is never specified), and loved to swim. Secrets emerge about Benny and Byron’s family, and everything they thought they knew about their mother (and father) is challenged. Spanning the sixties through modern day and addressing everything from race to the forced adoptions that happened in the sixties and seventies, it is fascinating. The characters were so real, the story was incredible… I couldn’t put it down. I cannot recommend this book enough, I honestly can’t think of a single friend or family member that won’t absolutely love it. (This went to my mom the second I finished it – that’s my mark of a really good book!) Order on Bookshop.org or Amazon.