I saw the audio book, Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House , when I was trolling through my on line library. I didn’t think a lot about it but then did a double take. It said “Beyond the Kitchen House”. Could it be true? Did the author of The Kitchen House: A Novel
write a sequel? The answer was YES!!
I was super happy and put myself on the waiting list. I’ve stalked by waiting list week after week hoping the book would be available soon..then finally it was my turn. I was so happy…but a little leery. Would it be as good as the first book? Was I filled with anticipation only to be let down?
It’s always hard to read a sequel…hard but exciting too.
My, I loved this. The book did carry me on and I felt good to learn more about the family and what became of everyone. The book deals with slavery so I never like to say that I enjoyed the book. Reading about mistreatment and atrocities is never something I love but I do appreciate what people live through. I appreciate the strong character, the stick-to-it-ness of people, and the triumph over the tragic. I always like to believe that I could be the strong one..the one who does the right thing even if it puts me in danger.
Here’s what Amazon had to say, “Jamie Pyke, son of both a slave and master of Tall Oakes, has a deadly secret that compels him to take a treacherous journey through the Underground Railroad.
Published in 2010, The Kitchen House became a grassroots bestseller. Fans connected so deeply to the book’s characters that the author, Kathleen Grissom, found herself being asked over and over “what happens next?” The wait is finally over.
This new, stand-alone novel opens in 1830, and Jamie, who fled from the Virginian plantation he once called home, is passing in Philadelphia society as a wealthy white silversmith. After many years of striving, Jamie has achieved acclaim and security, only to discover that his aristocratic lover Caroline is pregnant. Before he can reveal his real identity to her, he learns that his beloved servant Pan has been captured and sold into slavery in the South. Pan’s father, to whom Jamie owes a great debt, pleads for Jamie’s help, and Jamie agrees, knowing the journey will take him perilously close to Tall Oakes and the ruthless slave hunter who is still searching for him. Meanwhile, Caroline’s father learns and exposes Jamie’s secret, and Jamie loses his home, his business, and finally Caroline.
Heartbroken and with nothing to lose, Jamie embarks on a trip to a North Carolina plantation where Pan is being held with a former Tall Oakes slave named Sukey, who is intent on getting Pan to the Underground Railroad. Soon the three of them are running through the Great Dismal Swamp, the notoriously deadly hiding place for escaped slaves. Though they have help from those in the Underground Railroad, not all of them will make it out alive.”
I very much enjoyed the book. If you were a fan of The Kitchen House, I’m sure you’ll like this book as well…and if you haven’t read The Kitchen House, give it a try. It’s a good one. Amazon readers gave this book 4.7 stars. I agree! Wonderful book!