The BOO*-k Club

Bailey and Mariah invite you to join them for BOO*-k Club (*Bloodcurdling, Ominous, and Otherworldly) each month. As avid horror readers, they cannot wait to explore some of the genre’s most interesting offerings by focusing on short story collections and novellas. Come get creeped out with us!

This month’s book is When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen

More than a decade ago, Mira fled her small, segregated hometown in the south to forget. With every mile she traveled, she distanced herself from her past: from her best friend Celine, mocked by their town as the only white girl with black friends; from her old neighborhood; from the eerie Woodsman plantation rumored to be haunted by the spirits of slaves; from the terrifying memory of a ghost she saw that terrible day when a dare-gone-wrong almost got Jesse—the boy she secretly loved—arrested for murder.

But now Mira is back in Kipsen to attend Celine’s wedding at the plantation, which has been transformed into a lush vacation resort. Mira hopes to reconnect with her friends, and especially, Jesse, to finally tell him the truth about her feelings and the events of that devastating long-ago day.

But for all its fancy renovations, the Woodsman remains a monument to its oppressive racist history. The bar serves antebellum drinks, entertainment includes horrifying reenactments, and the service staff is nearly all black. Yet the darkest elements of the plantation’s past have been carefully erased—rumors that slaves were tortured mercilessly and that ghosts roam the lands, seeking vengeance on the descendants of those who tormented them, which includes most of the wedding guests.

As the weekend unfolds, Mira, Jesse, and Celine are forced to acknowledge their history together, and to save themselves from what is to come.

Purchase a copy to read, or grab it from the library, and join us Friday, February 28th for a thoughtful and entertaining discussion about When the Reckoning Comes. This book club is free to anyone who wishes to participate. No registration necessary.

Want to keep the conversation going after club? Join the BOO*-k Club Discord server!

Content Warnings for The BOO*-k Club 2024-2025
Content Warnings for When the Reckoning Comes
Content Warnings for The Vegetarian
Content Warnings for The Fervor
Content Warnings for The Z Word
Content Warnings for Your Body is Not Your Body