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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

A Matter of Mercy by Lynne Hugo

Author: Lynne Hugo
Publisher: Random House Alibi
Date of publication: August 2014


Caroline Marcum thought she’d escaped the great mistake of her life by leaving Wellfleet harbor, but is forced to face it when she returns, reluctantly, to care for her dying mother. Ridley Neal put his past-and his prison term-behind him to return home to take over his father’s oyster and clam beds. Casual acquaintances long ago, when a nor’easter hits the coast, Rid and Caroline’s lives intersect once again. When Rid and two other sea farmers are sued by the wealthy owners of vacation homes who want to shut them down, and Caroline accidentally meets the person she most wronged, they each must learn to trust-and love. Inspired by a 1996 lawsuit, A Matter of Mercy is a riveting novel about treasuring the traditional way of life in the shallows of beautiful Cape Cod bay by discovering where forgiveness ends. And where it begins.

I was looking forward to read A Matter of Mercy especially because of the setting.  Being familiar with the area, I am always ready for a story about Cape Cod or Massachusetts in general.  I could tell right away that the author had researched the material very well before writing.  Her description of the area were spot on and I learned a few things about farming clam and oyster beds.

The problem was the rest of the story.  I was never able to fully connect with the characters. I was expecting more of a mystery but I never felt like it got started.  The story was slow and I found myself seeking out other things to read.  I stopped at about 20% of the way through.  The book has gotten great reviews, so I'll just have to chalk it up to not being a book for me.  

About the author:

Lynne Hugo is a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship recipient who has also received grants from the Ohio Arts Council and the Kentucky Foundation for Women.  She has published five previous novels, one of which became a Lifetime Original Movie of the Month, two books of poetry, and a children’s book.  Her memoir, Where The Trail Grows Faint, won the Riverteeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize.  Born and educated in New England, she and her husband currently live in Ohio with a yellow Lab feared by squirrels in a three state area.  www.LynneHugo.com

Purchase Links

Connect with Lynne

Lynne Hugo’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Tuesday, September 2nd:  Bibliotica
Wednesday, September 3rd:  5 Minutes for Books
Thursday, September 4th:  Mockingbird Hill Cottage
Friday, September 5th: Vox Libris
Monday, September 8th:  Patricia’s Wisdom
Tuesday, September 9th:  Good Girl Gone Redneck
Friday, September 12th:  Svetlana’s Reads and Views
Monday, September 15th:  Fiction Zeal
Tuesday, September 16th:  Time 2 Read
Wednesday, September 17th:  Stitch Read Cook – author guest post, “A Day in the Life”
Thursday, September 18th:  Chronicles…
Monday, September 22nd:  Walking with Nora
Tuesday, September 23rd:  Mom in Love with Fiction
Wednesday, September 24th:  From the TBR Pile
Thursday, September 25th:  Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Monday, September 29th:  Deckled Edge Books
Tuesday, September 30th:  Jorie Loves a Story

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this book for the tour.