Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

This was an emotionally powerful family story with excellent narration.

Let me start by saying that if you alternate between listening and reading, this is a great listen! The narrator did a fantastic job with the accent and slang way that us southerns talk. .This story moves between pre- and post-slavery, showing how their lives were shaped over time. It’s an emotional roller coaster story about family, courage, and loyalty. Highly recommend!

It's captivating and disturbing how real and raw this is it’s a story that needs to be told! I loved how they had different timelines and locations and the narrator did a fantastic job with all the different accents. I would recommend this to everybody

This is an emotionally powerful story about two families in the South—a plantation owner family and an enslaved family that serves them. Both families fight for their legacy as the Civil War ends and Reconstruction begins.

This multigenerational story takes place at Road’s End Plantation in Red Clay, Alabama. Claude, the plantation owner who inherits the property from his father, is initially seen as an ally to the enslaved. However, Fancher gradually reveals Claude's true nature. His quest for power, sense of entitlement, and disrespect for Black lives underscore the deep-seated racial inequalities that persist to this day.

However, Felix H Parker’s family (the enslaved family) story is where my heart found hope! Despite enduring unimaginable trauma and oppression, Felix's family manages to hold onto hope, love, and joy, finding ways to survive and even thrive as they navigate the post-slavery, Jim Crow-era South. Their perseverance and determination to build better lives serve as a testament to the resilience of Black families throughout history.

I paired the book with the audiobook, and Dion Graham's narration truly elevates the story. His ability to convey the weight of the historical context while bringing the characters to life makes this audiobook exceptional. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for him to narrate this story, but I could feel his soul woven into it!

This book was amazing! This story proves why oral storytelling is so important. Why intergenerational relationships and dialogue is crucial in understanding the past as it often impacts the future. The story of Pleasant and Felix also highlighted the need for community and collectiveness post emancipation. It also shows that people are able to redeem themselves of their wrongdoing as had Addie. Overall, this book and the narration was very well done.

Read If You Like:
- Multigenerational family sagas
- Historical fiction exploring slavery and Reconstruction
- Stories set in the American South
- Narratives addressing racial tensions and societal change
- Novels intertwining personal and collective histories

In 1943, a frail white woman named Adelaide Parker arrives in Red Clay, Alabama, at the home of a Black family mourning the recent death of Felix H. Parker, a former slave. Her unexpected visit and the revelation, "…a lifetime ago, my family owned yours," unsettle the grieving household. Adelaide seeks to share a story filled with ambition, betrayal, violence, and redemption—events that have intricately bound their families since the Civil War and Reconstruction era. As she recounts her tale, gaps in her knowledge emerge, prompting a collaborative journey to piece together their shared history. Spanning locations from Red Clay to Paris, the Côte d’Azur, and New Orleans, the narrative delves into human frailties, exposing long-hidden secrets and blurring the lines between good and evil.

Charles B. Fancher draws upon his own family history to craft a vivid portrayal of the South during a transformative period in American history. The novel confronts the harsh realities of slavery, the turbulent transition during the Civil War's final months, the hopeful yet challenging Reconstruction era, and the oppressive Jim Crow laws that followed. With a rich sense of place and complex, memorable characters, this story offers a profound exploration of resilience, the quest for redemption, and the enduring impact of the past on the present. It's a compelling read for those interested in deeply human stories set against the backdrop of significant societal shifts.

Thanks so much to the publisher for my ALC!

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the digital copy of this audiobook; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Red Clay opens the story in 1943 at the funeral of an African American family’s patriarch, Felix Parker. The family is approached by an old white woman named Adelaide Parker, who says that her family owned Felix before the Civil War. And thus begins the journey even further back in time, to the Road’s End Plantation close to the end of the war.

What we get is a story of Felix’s enslaved family during the Civil War and beyond, when everyone’s lives in the south were turned upside down with the end of slavery. We see what both Parker families have to deal with and how they coped.

Felix is drawn as a man full of complexity who is building his life through carpentry. John Robert Parker, his former owner, lets Felix in on a family secret that makes the white man’s family very wealthy. Felix has to deal with all the angry white men who had to give up their free labor because the slaves were freed. Just because the blacks are free does not mean that they are safe from harm. The KKK becomes very much a part of life during Reconstruction.

This book just reminds the reader of parts of the United States’ past that often gets pushed under a rug. These painful times must be revisited often in order to move forward as a nation, not backwards like some would like to see in the present day.

The complexity of the characters kept me absorbed in the story, and the narration by Dion Graham is top notch. He is a gifted narrator whose work added to the lushness of the story. I would definitely listen to something Graham narrated again.

In 1943, the former slave Felix Parker has just died. Attending his funeral is Adelaide Parker, the daughter of the family that once owned Felix, his parents and siblings in Red Clay, Alabama. This is the story of the intertwined Parker families, from the days of the Civil War, through Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era. While Adelaide (who was a mean little girl) knows only part of the story, Felix held some big secrets about her family. And Adelaide wants to fill in the gaps in her knowledge. The two Parker families are not related by blood, but by a shared history.

The author drew on a few family anecdotes for this book, but it is a work of fiction. It is very well written and compelling, and does not at all read like a first book. The characters were vividly developed and realistic, although I occasionally thought that the dialogue was a little melodramatic. I wasn’t very interested In Adelaide’s sojourn in Europe. I thought that that part of the book was unnecessary. I was much more interested in her brother Claude and his interactions with Felix and his father. There is violence and betrayal in the book, but it’s really a success story.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Dion Graham. Hiring Mr. Graham is usually a sign that you have a quality book and you want to do it justice. He was wonderful.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

Opening the story in 1943 with the funeral of family patriarch and grandfather Felix Parker, and the provocative statement by a frail, elderly white woman, Adelaide Parker, to the family afterwards, author Charles B. Fancher expertly recreates the historical period and the lives of the Parker families at Road's End Plantation in Alabama from close to the end of the Civil War through Reconstruction. We see how the young Felix's enslaved family and peers navigate the tricky and dangerous situation on the plantation during the war, and how much is upended once people are freed.

Fancher follows the lives of both the white Parkers, and Felix's family through the years. In 1864, Road's End owner John Robert Parker ensnares Felix in a dangerous secret, which ensures the wealth of John Robert's family. Post-war, John Robert's son Charles manages the plantation, and does cope well when his former slaves progress quickly and happily with their lives without white interference.

Felix begins building his life and livelihood as a carpenter post-war, and we see a wonderfully complex portrayal of a man who knows the ever present danger of angry whites, and how tenuous his control over his and his family's lives might be, especially with the rising of the Klan during Reconstruction.

Fancher also gives us Felix's relationships with Elmira and Plessant, his parents, and his wife Zilpha. We see love, some strife, lots of struggle, but ultimately, a strong family bond that carries through the generations that follow.

We follow the white Parkers attempt to continue their privileged lives, and the changes to laws, and the use of violence, to protect their ill-gotten gains and disenfranchise the African Americans around them.

We also see a young Adelaide Parker, initially a self-absorbed and manipulative girl, open her eyes when exposed to a wider world, and make her own complicated choices, to the disgust of her family.

The story is full of great characters, and a well researched and well conveyed history of a complex time post-Civil war in America. Fancher doesn't shy away from showing different perspectives, no matter how ugly, of this period, and uses multiple characters' experiences to explore Reconstruction.

This was a moving and beautifully written, compelling novel. I was impressed by Fancher's characterization of Felix, and loved how, by focusing on the family, the author illuminated how people begin grappling with the US' ugly history.

I went back and forth between the prose and the audio of this novel, and the talented Dion Graham's skill at inhabiting characters was on full display. I'm familiar with this actor's work, and it was such a pleasure listening to many sections of this book through his wonderful acting.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Blackstone Publishing and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for these ARCs in exchange for my review.

Red Clay by Charles E Francher is his debut novel which went beyond my expectations. When I decided to listen to this ARC, I thought that it would be a family drama type historical retelling. But it was so much more than that. Taking a multiple time period approach, Charles Francher thoughtfully and reflectively walked readers through a journey of hope, love, and change. Following the main character Felix and his family on a journey through the past to understand how their family struggled, overcame, and thrived from the civil war through the Jim Crow era and its impact beyond. The author’s story is inspired by his own family’s story from slavery to modern day. The narrator did an amazing job bringing this story to life and allowing the reader to truly feel the story. Truly a wonderful listen.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book.

Red Clay is an emotionally charged story that I simply did not want to put down. It’s historical fiction at its finest and is a deeply moving and tense story that grips your heart from the very first page. Through his powerful writing, Fancher takes you on an unforgettable journey through the layered complexities of love, legacy, and healing. His vivid storytelling transports you to the red-dust roads of the South, weaving together the past and present timelines effortlessly with a heart-wrenching plot. Despite the challenges these characters faced, I loved that the story still contained moments that brought on a sense of optimism for the characters’ futures.

I took this one slower than usual only because I really wanted to savor it which allowed me time to immerse myself into this story with these characters that I’ve found myself missing ever since I finished the book. 🤧

RED CLAY isn’t just a story—it’s a powerful reflection where Fancher uses his own family’s lineage to highlight the enduring impact of racial injustice across generations. 

Why You Should Read It:
💔 Deeply emotional and thought-provoking.
🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Reconstruction Era efforts toward rebuilding unity and integrating formerly enslaved individuals into society.
🌾 Rich, atmospheric Southern setting that pulls you in.
🔄 A powerful story of redemption.
🆔 Captures the complexities of identity.
🌳 Stunning exploration of family, love, loss, and legacy.
🎯 Perfect for fans of historical fiction with a heart!