This review first appeared on my blog: http://www.knittingandsundries.com/2011/05/miracle-of-mercy-land-by-river-jordan...

FIRST SENTENCE: I was born in a bolt of lightning on the banks of Bittersweet Creek.

It is 1938, and Mercy Land, 27 years old, is an editorial assistant to Doc Philips, who is 77 years old, the owner of The Banner, Bay City's oldest newspaper. She was born and raised in Bittersweet Creek, not really a town, more of a bump in the road, and with her Aunt Ida's encouragement that she was meant to see more of the world, went to Bay City when she was 20.

One evening Doc calls Mercy up to his office and shows her a book with gold words that move like liquid fire. The book just showed up in his office, and by putting one's hand on it, the book can "tell" you everything about someone else's life. Doc feels that Mercy is somehow at the center of the book's purpose there, and determines to keep the book safe until it's purpose is fulfilled. Soon Doc and Mercy are visiting with the book every night, and the stories in the paper are getting thinner andt thinner.

When Doc suddenly announces his imminent retirement, he calls a stranger to town to take over the paper. John Quincy is a very handsome flim-flam artist who walks with a limp, and Mercy feels that somehow, she has met him before. The mystery of who John is and what purpose he will serve in both Doc and Mercy's life is at the center of the novel, as old secrets and guilt come into play.

Written in the first person in the voices of Mercy and John, with excerpts from Doc's journals, the language is languid and the flow absolutely lovely. River Jordan is an accomplished writer, with descriptive phrases such as this:

That was Bittersweet, and it is just like it sounds. It was the good of life mixed with the taste of sorrow. It was unexpected storms that would come out of nowhere - hard, cold rains even in the summertime, thunder that would scare your heart right out of your chest, and lightning like you have never seen. The rains that would last for days on end, turning the banks of Bittersweet into a sopping-wet, muddy mess. Then they would be gone, and the sun would come out so bright you'd think you had imagined it all ...

add greatly to the flow of the narrative. Despite that, I didn't fall in love with this book. Maybe my expectations were set too high based on my reaction to Saints in Limbo, but, honestly, I think that there were simply too many words for a too thin and sometimes confusing plot. At the end, I felt dissatisfied, having come away with very few answers to some larger pieces of the plot.

QUOTES

The book deserves a man full of answers who would know exactly what to do with such as this and perhaps not meddle, as I have. But what man, any man, even a better man than I, would not try to make amends with his own past? To repair the loss of things not done?

"...He's not that man at all. He's two men. One that's still there from the past, and one that's let something dark get under his skin. You gotta be careful and know which one you're talking to."

Name after name of people and the stories of their lives surfaced. But those stories appeared to have no end and no beginning. They were eternal, forever stories and the weaving of them just as far-reaching. It was as if every person's actions overlapped into another life and another and yet another so that lives were not at all as we saw them - short, independent stories - but were layered over one another in what appeared to be infinity.

Writing: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Plot: 2 out of 5 stars
Characters: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Reading Immersion: 3 out 5 stars

BOOK RATING: 3.25 out of 5 stars ( )

From the Publisher:
What if you had the power to amend choices you made in the past? Would you do it even if it changed everything?

Mercy Land has made some unexpected choices for a young woman in the 1930s. The sheltered daughter of a traveling preacher, she chooses to leave her rural community to move to nearby Bay City on the warm, gulf-waters of southern Alabama. There she finds a job at the local paper and spends seven years making herself indispensible to old Doc Philips, the publisher and editor. Then she gets a frantic call at dawn—it’s the biggest news story of her life, and she can’t print a word of it.

Doc has come into possession of a curious book that maps the lives of everyone in Bay City—decisions they’ve made in the past, and how those choices affect the future. Mercy and Doc are consumed by the mystery locked between the pages—Doc because he hopes to right a very old wrong, and Mercy because she wants to fulfill the book’s strange purpose. But when a mystery from Mercy’s past arrives by train, she begins to understand that she will have to make choices that will deeply affect everyone she loves—forever.

My Take:
Quite Unexpected!!

Reading the synopsis of this book, my expectations were high. I was looking forward to a scintillating story line and an investigation into the mystery. That’s exactly what I got but in a totally different path. The story started out very good but then the introduction of the “curious book” was nothing like I had imagined. It was more of a fantasy book rather than a mystery or thriller. Personally, that’s not really my favorite genre. But since I had started it, I wanted to finish it.

The book is written from three different viewpoints—Mercy, Doc, and the invited stranger John Quincy. There is sometimes overlap and repetition from each of them on a particular segment. That was a little difficult to follow on occasion. The further the storyline progressed, the more unrealistic it seemed to me---the reason I say it’s a fantasy.

But parts of it did intrigue me to continue reading. The parts of Mercy’s life back in Bittersweet were interesting and Doc’s past was heart-warming. However, it just wasn’t enough for me to give it a high rating. Unfortunately, I have to give this book a 3-star and that’s only because of those small interesting portions and the phenomenal cover art.

I received a free copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah as part of their Blogging for Books program in return for my review. My opinions are honest and unbiased. ( )

This book is a spiritual thriller with a bit of supernatural thrown into the mix. The story takes place in a small town in Alabama in the 1930's. About a book that is found by the owner of a newspaper, that has the ability to change the people in the book and their destinies. A young woman who is a reporter and general girl Friday to the owner/editor, Mercy is one of the main characters. She loves working at the newspaper and especially working with her boss, Doc. She finds out about the book and has the chance to look at it and between her and Doc, they spend a lot of time reading this book. Someone from Mercy's past comes to town and is also interested in this book. This novel is about the choices that we make in life and the relationships that make our lives what they are and what path our lives take. I read this book in almost one sitting, it was mezmerizing without being overly religious. A very enjoyable read. ( )