If you knew a secret, a terrible secret, one that could destroy a family, would you keep your silence? Would you choose friendship over justice? Would you hide the truth to protect someone you love? What would you do if you were only nine years old? The summer of 1999 begins on a joyous note for best friends Gabrielle Westin, the white daughter and granddaughter of the wealthy and powerful Remington-Westin clan, and Leander Washington, the African American son of a family of modest means. The children’s deep and platonic friendship is sealed in their emotional blood sibling’s ceremony, in which they pledge commitment to one another throughout life and vow to have no secrets between them. But that idyllic day in late May cannot last. Young Leander witnesses an evil deed committed on the wooded grounds of the Remington-Westin estate. Several male members of Gabrielle’s family are moving about in the Ramble that day, but which one committed the appalling act? Leander alone knows the identity and he makes a gut-wrenching decision, one that no nine-year-old child should be forced to make. He breaks the sworn oath made earlier that day to Gabrielle. Out of love for her and her family, he vows to keep the secret. The complex dynamics of this powerful southern family are expressed through differing points of view, none more endearing than the bond between the two children. Their connection knows no gender or racial disparity and rises above the lust and greed that seeps into their way of life. It appears nothing can ever tarnish the faith that they place in each other. Or can it? With the passage of time, buried secrets find their way to the surface. A series of tragic events brings about the emotional unraveling of the man guilty of committing the grisly act twenty years previous. When the truth is revealed along with Leander’s part in suppressing it, the very foundation of the Remington-Westin family begins to crumble. Gabrielle is heartbroken and feels betrayed by her best friend. Over The Devil’s Back spans twenty years and tells the story of a complicated family, each member struggling to come to terms with temptation, past regrets and long-held secrets. Melva Haggar Dye is a free-lance writer of both fiction and nonfiction. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications including Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul. This is her second novel, the first being All That Remains. After living for many years in Houston, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she returned to her native Western North Carolina. She and her husband make their home in Lake Lure, NC.
