Under the Mercy Trees

3.5*** From the book jacket 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......more

Under the Mercy Trees by Heather Newton is not easy to characterize. I think Southern Literary Fiction would be the best description, but if that was on a book shelf I would have never picked it up!  Which would be a tragedy.  Newton has created a full world filled with fascinating and distinct char......more

A very dark read. Heather Newton's writing is captivating and interesting, and focuses mainly on all the wrongs done to Martin & others in his family and immediate community. With a title like "Under the Mercy Trees", I was hoping for more focus on mercy and forgiveness, instead of all the desperate......more

For more info about upcoming books, visit my site: www.pre-reads.com No spoilers ever! In the rural (fictional) town of Solace Forks, North Carolina, death and birth are the only events that can draw the Owensby family to share the same space. In Heather Newton’s lovely debut novel, her deeply flawed......more

Heather Newton has written a remarkable novel that plunges deep into the hearts and souls of a family as they struggle to deal with the disappearance of one of their own. Leon Owensby lived alone in the dilapidated home-place, a hard, taciturn man, like his father before him, with no apparent ambiti......more