Sweet Mercy
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2.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Stunning New Novel from Award-Winning Author
When Eve Marryat's father is laid off from the Ford Motor Company in 1931, he is forced to support his family by leaving St. Paul, Minnesota, and moving back to his Ohio roots. Eve's uncle Cyrus has invited the family to live and work at his Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge.
St. Paul seemed like a haven for gangsters, and Eve had grown fearful of living there. At seventeen, she considers her family to be "good people." They aren't lawbreakers and criminals like so many people in her old neighborhood. Thrilled to be moving to a "safe haven," Eve is blissfully unaware that her uncle's lodge is a transfer station for illegal liquor smuggled from Canada.
Eve settles in to work and makes new friends, including an enigmatic but affecting young man. But when the reality of her situation finally becomes clear, Eve is faced with a dilemma. How can she ignore what is happening right under their very noses? Yet can she risk everything by condemning the man whose love and generosity is keeping her and her family from ruin?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this coming-of-age novel, Christy winner Tatlock (All the Way Home) manages to offer readers an eclectic mixture of suspense and romance combined with deeply rooted historical elements. After her father is laid off from automotive giant Ford Motor Company in 1931, in the early years of the Great Depression, Eve Marryat is elated to move to Mercy, Ohio, from St. Paul, Minn., where she witnessed a gangland murder related to a bootlegging operation. The 17-year-old Eve considers Mercy her promised land and her chance to leave behind the St. Paul gangsters and forget about "that murder" forever. Cyrus, Eve's paternal uncle, offers the family an opportunity to live and work at his business, the Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge. Once settled, Eve and her dad Andrew quickly find out that Mercy has secrets, and Eve's safe haven turns into a crime scene right under her nose. Tatlock presents endearing but flawed characters who prompt readers to explore their own bases for judgment and ethical criticism.
