The Shape of Mercy

A few months back when I told my author friend Mary DeMuth that my agent recommended reading Lady in Waiting, she grabbed her copy of another Susan Meissner book, The Shape of Mercy, and told me to read it. I remembered Chip telling me it won lots of awards. And I noticed it got a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

So yesterday after worshiping at a church in our neighborhood (our own church was canceled due to a burst pipe), I stretched out and started reading. Well, that is, after I made chili for our Super Bowl gathering with my sister’s family. Anyway, I started the story mid-afternoon and I went back and finished it after the football game. I was eager to get back to it--a sensation I love when reading fiction.

As with Lady in Waiting, in this 2008 release Meissner has weaved past with present. This time the connecting piece is a diary written at the time of the Salem Witch Trials. A California college student transcribes the manuscript for its owner and in the process faces her own tendency to judge unfairly.

Meissner possesses skill at layering literary themes. She also demonstrates keen insight into the human soul and has a gift for presenting history in story form. Highly recommended.