A Matter of Mercy by Lynne Hugo ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

THE TIDE ALWAYS RETURNS

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2024; Amphorae; 978-1943075850
audio, ebook, print (358 pages); women's fiction

Lynne Hugo has given us a fantastic book based on a real-life lawsuit in Cape Cod in 1996 when the rich people who had summer homes there, wanted to get the oyster farmers off of their beaches and brought a lawsuit against them.  But she's given her readers more than that -- she's created two strong characters who are letting the mistakes in the past affect their futures.  Two people who deserve happiness but are afraid that they will never get their lives in order and leave the past behind.

Caroline (or CiCi) has returned home to take care of her dying mother.  She has a lot of guilt about something that happened in her past that totally changed her life.  She didn't want to move home from Chicago to a town where everyone knew her past but she wanted to help her mother and make life comfortable for her.  She has no real friends in town and has no idea what she'll do in the future.  Ridley (Rid) has returned from prison to take care of the oyster beds deeded to him by his father.  The work is unbelievably hard but he won't let his family down and devotes himself to his work.  When Cici and Rid first meet, they realize that they knew each other in school but that was about all they had in common - that and the fact that they had both done time in prison in their recent pasts.  A lawsuit is brought against three of the oyster fishermen by a rich man who lives in a summer home and Rid's life is turned upside down.  When a nor'easter storm blows into town, CiCi and Rid's lives intersect again.  Is there a future for them as a couple?

A Matter of Mercy had it all -- well-written characters who feel like people we know -- not only the good parts of them but also their flaws are part of the story.  There is a mystery, a romance, and a lawsuit.  Most importantly it's a book about love and forgiveness -- forgiving yourself for mistakes in your life and learning how to look forward to the future instead of letting life be ruled by past mistakes.

I love reading a book that not only entertains me but also teaches me something new.  I didn't know anything at all about Oyster farming which is an aquaculture practice in which oysters are bred and raised mainly for their pearls, shells, and inner organ tissue, which is eaten.  I spent a lot of time googling for information on the lives of these fishermen and what they had to go through to produce a good crop of oysters.

Note:  This is the re-issue of a book published 10 years ago and has additional information about the true lawsuit that the story was based on.

Buy A Matter of Mercy at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is two hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

 

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