Saturday 8 February 2014

Book Review: MERCY SNOW BY TIFFANY BAKER


MERCY SNOW
BY
TIFFANY BAKER

I rated this 9/10

About the Book:
In the tiny town of Titan Falls, New Hampshire, the paper mill dictates a quiet, steady rhythm of life. But one day a tragic bus accident sets two families on a course toward destruction, irrevocably altering the lives of everyone in their wake.
June McAllister is the wife of the local mill owner and undisputed first lady in town. But the Snow family, a group of itinerant ne'er-do-wells who live on a decrepit and cursed property, have brought her--and the town--nothing but grief.
June will do anything to cover up a dark secret she discovers after the crash, one that threatens to upend her picture-perfect life, even if it means driving the Snow family out of town. But she has never gone up against a force as fierce as the young Mercy Snow. Mercy is determined to protect her rebellious brother, whom the town blames for the accident, despite his innocence. And she has a secret of her own. When an old skeleton is discovered not far from the crash, it beckons Mercy to solve a mystery buried deep within the town's past.

"Mill business wasn't always pretty - no one was trying to say otherwise - but when was anything lovely in Titan Falls?"
Mercy Snow is a wonderfully atmospheric and beautifully written novel which centres on the families living in the small town of Titan Falls.  The Androscoggin River, a long-troubled stretch of water, beautiful on the surface but poisoned underneath, sulphur dioxide escaping from the paper mill which dominates and employs most of the towns people.
The mill owner's wife June McAllister is still considered (even after 20 years) an outsider because she 'tries too hard'.  Head of the local ladies Sewing Circle she is manipulative and feared by the other ladies.

When 19 year old Mercy Snow and her back woods siblings arrive in Titan Falls looking for their long dead father, they are met with distrust and dislike from the townspeople.  The Snows had a reputation for being elusive on the best of days and downright shady on the rest of them.
Life hasn't been easy for Mercy and her family, making their living from the land, picking herbs, fungi and plants, killing and eating wild animals, travelling from town to town getting work wherever they could, never settling anywhere until they arrive in Titan Falls.
When the local bus crashes in a ravine, killing a young girl, the local people suspect Mercy's brother, Zeke, of causing the accident, the loudest accusing voice belonging to June McAllister.
Mercy was the most amazing character, she was not bitter or jealous, she tried hard to scrape a living for herself and her little sister, did not make any trouble, and she was determined to clear her brother's name.  Secrets and lies come to the surface, and Mercy has her own of sweetening the whole town!
This is the same slowly flowing style of descriptive writing as Tiffany Baker's debut novel The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, (read my thoughts here) the same sort of quirky characters in a small town, though Mercy Snow is a little darker.

I was totally engrossed from start to finish, I sympathised with Mercy and her sad life, wanted her to be happy, I felt like I lived in the town due to the richly detailed writing.  I feel that Tiffany Baker has written another best seller and I heartily recommend it.


Available to buy from ..... Amazon.co.uk ...... Amazon.com

Source:  I received a copy of this eBook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

In the tiny town of Titan Falls, New Hampshire, the paper mill dictates a quiet, steady rhythm of life. But one day a tragic bus accident sets two families on a course toward destruction, irrevocably altering the lives of everyone in their wake.

June McAllister is the wife of the local mill owner and undisputed first lady in town. But the Snow family, a group of itinerant ne'er-do-wells who live on a decrepit and cursed property, have brought her--and the town--nothing but grief.

June will do anything to cover up a dark secret she discovers after the crash, one that threatens to upend her picture-perfect life, even if it means driving the Snow family out of town. But she has never gone up against a force as fierce as the young Mercy Snow. Mercy is determined to protect her rebellious brother, whom the town blames for the accident, despite his innocence. And she has a secret of her own. When an old skeleton is discovered not far from the crash, it beckons Mercy to solve a mystery buried deep within the town's past. - See more at: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/tiffany-baker/mercy-snow/9781455512737/#desc

2 comments:

  1. Carole, Glad to read your favorable review on this one. I liked it as well, but her first book was my favorite.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Diane, I do like her writing style, it's very descriptive.

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