The Miracle of Mercy Land

A Book Review: The Miracle of Mercy Land by River Jordan (2010).

Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed below are my own. I was under no obligation to give the book a positive review.

Mercy Land is a person, not a place in River Jordan's new book, The Miracle of Mercy Land. Our heroine, Mercy, finds herself with a mysterious, magical book whose powers could be used for great good or great evil.  Her employer, a crusty old newspaper man, fearful of the book's abilities, locks it away and entrusts Mercy with the sole key.  In a rather dramatic showdown between good and evil, Mercy must use her God-given gift to cause a miracle to save the soul of a childhood friend--the man she loves.

Full of colorful characters, Mercy Land, paints a beautiful story of redemption and finding one's place in the world.  The chosen settings flip between the warm gulf shores of Alabama to an old-fashioned backwoods village in the South, all occurring against the pre-WW2 drama of the 1930s.  Jordan, the author, is good at spinning a folk tale. The story had an almost dream-like quality, weaving a spell around me, yet the middle dragged at points as if the story just needed to fill space to allow enough time to elapse between the well-crafted beginning and ending.  Overall, the story was a fulfilling read and I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommended for fans of books of a fairytale type nature, realistic fantasy, folk fiction, or Andrew Petersen.