Mercy Blog Tour

 

SUMMARY:

MERCY, set in the small Mississippi town of the same name, weaves a tale of past and present and reveals what can happen to three generations of family when money and secrets collide.

Davis Sanford, contemptuously dismissed by his family almost a decade ago, is a recovering alcoholic and the grandchild of local timber baron and pillar of the community, Frank Sanford.  An early-morning phone call from his old haunt of Mercy draws Davis home one more time for the impending death of the family patriarch.  Jennifer Martin returns to the scene as Davis's girlfriend, and the two embark on a weekend journey through his past.

As the prodigal son copes with his grandfather's mortality, he must also face his disapproving father and a wealth of personal history he has tried for years to leave behind.  Together with Jennifer, Davis uncovers one family secret after another, at last discovering the sin that has shaped, conflicted, and ultimately driven them all to the tragic existences they lead.

REVIEW:
Mercy is Susan Sims Moody's second novel.  It is different from her other two novels in that it includes little vignettes of the past and that it is darker towards the end of the story.  In the vignettes, you see the secrets that affected the three generations come about.  You also see what can happen to person when keeping a secret becomes unbearable.  Davis faces his family members and his past as he works to figure out what happened to a letter his grandfather wrote to his wife, Cora.  He also shows how a tragic past does not have to be your future.

Mercy is a good story with a lot of twists and turns.  The ending is dark and caught me a little by surprise.  I kind of thought it might happened but was astonished that it actually did occur in the story.

The author provided a free copy of this book for review.  I was not compensated in any way.

Susan Sims Moody is a native Mississippian and graduate of Mississippi State University.  She is married to Tom and has two children.  They currently live in Wisconsin.