Finder's Magic

Author: C. M. Fleming
ISBN: 978-0-9790857-1-0
Publisher: On Stage Publishing
Audience: Middle grades

Finder's Magic is magical. It's packed with excitement, mystery, intrigue, despair, and hope. Young and old readers alike will enjoy C. M. Fleming's story of early twentieth century Atlanta.

Hank McCord thinks life can't get any worse. His father's dead, he and his mother both work in the mill and barely survive, and his best friend is leaving town. Unfortunately, life's about to take a dark and sinister road that Hank McCord might not survive. After witnessing the murder of his best friend at the hands of two mill supervisors, Hank McCord goes into hiding with the help of a stranger, Calvin Yates. A young Negro boy, Calvin thinks Hank's crazy for wanting to go to the sheriff. The sheriff's not going to believe Hank!

Against his better judgment, Calvin hides Hank in the cabin of an old blind black woman, Miz Mancala. Some say she's a witch because she can find lost things. Hank becomes a threat to the small enclave of black families when he's framed for his own friend's murder! The law and the Klux Klux Klan (KKK) are looking for Hank and Calvin.

Their salvation is one another, according to Miz Mancala. After a vision, the old woman encourages the two boys to work together. If they don't, they'll surely die together, she warns them. Can a poor white boy and an orphan black boy forget that they're not supposed to like or trust one another?

The author does a good job of capturing the nuances of the south. The colloquial dialogue adds a wonderful flavor. Descriptive passages draw a vivid picture of dark shanties hidden by old trees and a dangerous mill that thrives on child labor -- it's a picture of want and harsh survival. You'll dread the river's cold rushing river, hear the trees cracking in the cold wind, and smell catfish frying in the campfire. You'll fall under the spell of Miz Malcala's soft voice and her savory warm biscuits.

Fleming gives us a stark peek at racism and labor abuse in the early 1900's. Although the story's fiction, the plot's historically plausible -- 1911 Atlanta was a corrupt and dangerous place. The story's more than exciting; it's downright scary.