Black Cake

Black Cake

THE TOP 10 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND NEW DISNEY+ SERIES

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Crossing continents and juggling lives, Black Cake is a powerful story of love and loss, kinship and separation, heartache and hope, spanning sixty years in the life of one family


Eleanor Bennett won't let her own death get in the way of the truth. So when her estranged children - Byron and Benny - reunite for her funeral in California, they discover a puzzling inheritance.

First, a voice recording in which everything Byron and Benny ever knew about their family is upended. Their mother narrates a tumultuous story about a headstrong young woman who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder, a story which cuts right to the heart of the rift that's separated Byron and Benny.

Second, a traditional Caribbean black cake made from a family recipe with a long history that Eleanor hopes will heal the wounds of the past.

Can Byron and Benny fulfil their mother's final request to 'share the black cake when the time is right'? Will Eleanor's revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?

'I was instantly taken in by this multi-generational tale of identity, family, and the lifelong push and pull of home. This novel has a tremendous heart at its centre, and I felt its beat on every page. What an extraordinary debut' Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes

© Charmaine Wilkerson 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Reviews

  • Unputdownable. Astonishing. Twists and turns so shocking they will leave your head spinning and your heart aching
    Grazia

About the author

Charmaine Wilkerson

Charmaine Wilkerson, an American writer, spent much of her childhood living in the Caribbean and is now based in Rome. A former television news reporter, journalist and recovered marathon runner, she is a debut novelist and an award-winning writer of short fiction. Black Cake is in development as a Hulu original series produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films, Marissa Jo Cerar and Kapital Entertainment.
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