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A Novel
by Heather Newton
Thirty years ago, Martin Owenby came to New York City with dreams of becoming a writer. Now his existence revolves around cheap Scotch and weekend flings with equally damaged men. When he learns that his older brother, Leon, has gone missing, he must return to the Owenby farm in Solace Fork, North Carolina, to assist in the search. But that means facing a past filled with regrets, the family that never understood him, the girl whose heart he broke, and the best friend who has faithfully kept the home fires burning. As the mystery surrounding Leon's disappearance deepens, so too does the weight of decades-long unresolved differences and unspoken feelings - forcing Martin to deal with the hardest lessons about home, duty, and love.
"Newton delivers a stirring debut novel told from the perspective of four central characters embroiled in a family drama that spans generations and is riddled with defensive secrecy and emotional penury in equal measures…. Newton delivers across the board with these characters." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. A melancholy mood suffuses Newton's nimble debut.... [An] eloquent, sorrowful novel.... Readers of both Pat Conroy, on one hand, and Carson McCullers, on the other, will relish Newton's flawed characters and piquant portrayal of small town life." - Booklist
"A brilliantly crafted novel of a complex family bound by love and hate, hope and regret, a family that must come to terms with each other and in the process, forgive themselves. You’ll find a bit of your own family there and perhaps something of yourself." - Sandra Dallas, author of Whiter Than Snow and Prayers for Sale
"A novel that seamlessly, beautifully, twines past with present to show how we can never escape our histories or the deeds - good and bad - that create those histories. The powerful, swelling conclusion of this book raised gooseflesh on my arms and had me near tears." - Tom Franklin, New York Times bestselling author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
This information about Under the Mercy Trees was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Heather Newton's short stories have appeared in Crucible, Encore, Wellspring, and elsewhere She lives with her family in Asheville, North Carolina, where she is an attorney and mediator.
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