Two journalists in a small Alabama town discover a mysterious book that makes them confront the past.If you had the power to amend choices you made in the past, would you—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 … 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.
“A tremendously well-written tale. River Jordan is a truly gifted author. Highly recommended.” – Davis Bunn, best-selling author
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Couldn’t put it down!
The Miracle of Mercy Land, by River Jordan, is unlike any other story I’ve ever encountered. It is full of life, seasoned with mystery, hope, and the complications of the past. It is written in an almost rhythmic form, not quite poetic, but has a distinct voice. For lack of a better description word it reads like honey. I promise you when you read it this will make perfect sense to you. I think this quote from the novel best sums up the story: “But if we learn our lessons from the stories, if they change us for the better, then the stories are worth fighting for and keeping (333).” Main character Mercy Land receives a phone call from her boss that sets her on a journey. Little does she know it leads her straight to her past, and sets her on the way to her future. She learns the most important lesson that perhaps one can learn, and that’s exactly who she is, Mercy Land. This novel crosses the line from the imaginable to the unimaginable, allowing the reader that brief moment of escape. Enter the magical world of Mercy Land and find your story that’s worth fighting for and keeping!
*This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.*
this was an easy to read entertaining book.
This was the fourth book I ever reviewed-my reviews have changed through the years!
From the very first sentence in The Miracle of Mercy Land, the author River Jordan takes you by the hand and pulls you into a fantastical journey full of darkness, sunshine and life.
I was surprised to find Mercy Land is the lead characters name and not a place; however that only adds to the power of her story.
This book will affect each person that reads it differently for the same reasons the character’s lives are affected differently; we all have our own weaknesses, demons, desires and individual stories.
This book is full of mysticism and fantasy, not my usual reading fare. Nevertheless, the last two books I’ve reviewed have been of this genre, and in spite of this, I’ve enjoyed both books. Perhaps the Lord is telling me to enjoy more whimsy in my life?
Mercy is a young woman who left her home in Bittersweet Creek, Alabama for Bay City, Alabama in order live her life as she wanted and not as conventional wisdom dictated.
Along the way, she becomes the indispensable right-hand woman for Doc Philips, the editor, and publisher of the local paper.
One early morning Mercy receives a strange call at her boarding house from Doc Philips. Thus begins a journey into a world of suspended belief and fantasy.
Doc possesses the biggest news story of her life, but she can’t print a word of what she knows and comes to know as a result of Doc’s mysterious call.
The Miracle of Mercy Land will leave you asking yourself a lot of questions about your own life and choices made.
I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for a blogger book review.
I am not required to write a positive review.
Very intriguing!