New Mercies [Paperback]

Sandra Dallas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 21, 2006

Natchez, Mississippi, in 1933 is a place suspended in time. The silver and china is still dented and cracked from Yankee invaders. And the houses have names...and memories. Nora Bondurant is running away--from her husband's death, from his secrets, and from the ghosts that dog her every step. When she receives a telegram informing her that she has an inheritance, Nora suddenly has somewhere to run to: a house named Avoca in Natchez, Mississippi. Now, she's learning that the lure of Natchez runs deep, and that, along with Avoca, she's inherited a mystery. Nora's aunt Amalia Bondurant was killed in a murder/suicide, and the locals are saying nothing more--except in hushed, honeyed tones. As Nora becomes more and more enmeshed in the community and in her family's history, she learns surprising things about the life and death of her aunt: kinship isn't always what it seems, loyalty can be as fierce as blood relations, and every day we are given new mercies to heal the pain of loss and love.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

An unexpected inheritance comes with family secrets, a crumbling plantation, and emotional solace for heiress Nora Bondurant, who arrives in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1933, to settle her heretofore-unknown aunt's estate. The feisty, practical Denverite is alternately aghast and charmed with the thoroughly quirky southern community as townsfolk hint politely at the murder-suicide of Aunt Amalia (known as the "goat lady") and the neighboring plantation owner, a spurned beau. To escape a painful divorce, Nora investigates her newfound family's history and learns some unpleasant home truths, but the whole truth lies with the family's freed slaves, Aunt Polly and Ezra, who won't say a word against their beloved former mistress. Old fans will recognize Dallas' trademark leisurely pace in a new setting, a gothic-tinted South instead of the wide-open Midwest, and be pleasantly surprised. The languid pacing will not keep readers from eagerly turning pages to discover why Amalia was murdered and the reasons behind Nora's failed marriage. Dallas has crafted a honey-and-Spanish-moss-tinged tale certain to please gentle fiction readers who don't mind a little mystery. Kaite Mediatore
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Award-winning author Sandra Dallas was dubbed “a quintessential American voice” by Jane Smiley, in Vogue Magazine. She is the author of The Bride’s House, Whiter Than Snow, Prayers for Sale and Tallgrass, among others. She is the recipient of the Women Writing the West Willa Award and the two-time winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award. For 25 years, Dallas worked as a reporter covering the Rocky Mountain region for Business Week, and started writing fiction in 1990. She lives with her husband in Denver, Colorado.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (February 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312336209
• ISBN-13: 978-0312336202
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Prize-winning author Sandra Dallas was dubbed "a quintessential American voice" by Jane Smiley, in Vogue Magazine. Sandra's novels with their themes of loyalty, friendship, and human dignity have been translated into a dozen foreign languages and have been optioned for films.

A journalism graduate of the University of Denver, Sandra began her writing career as a reporter with Business Week. A staff member for twenty-five years (and the magazine's first female bureau chief,) she covered the Rocky Mountain region, writing about everything from penny-stock scandals to hard-rock mining, western energy development to contemporary polygamy. Many of her experiences have been incorporated into her novels.

While a reporter, she began writing the first of ten nonfiction books. They include Sacred Paint, which won the National Cowboy Hall of Fame Western Heritage Wrangler Award, and The Quilt That Walked to Golden, recipient of the Independent Publishers Assn. Benjamin Franklin Award.

Turning to fiction in 1990, Sandra has published nine novels, including Whiter Than Snow, and the New York Times best seller Prayers for Sale. Sandra is the recipient of the Women Writing the West Willa Award for New Mercies, and two-time winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award, for The Chili Queen and Tallgrass. In addition, she was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award, the Mountain and Plains Booksellers Assn. Award, and a four-time finalist for the Women Writing the West Willa Award.

The mother of two daughters--Dana is an attorney in New Orleans and Povy is a photographer in Golden, Colorado--Sandra lives in Denver with her husband, Bob.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Southern Reading at it's Best!!, April 23, 2005

By 

Mercedes L. Johnmeyer "The Most Happy" (Summerville, SC) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Mercies (Hardcover)

This was a great book. Sandra Dallas has once again given us an extremely well written, and totally captivating read. Set in 1933 Natchez Mississippi, this is the story of how Miss Nora Bondurant (from Denver Co.) came to know she had family in the deep south.

I'm not going to summerize the book since it's already been done here, but this story is filled with the wonderful, colorful characters that Ms. Dallas always has in her books. I very highly recommend this read. If you're a fan of southern liturature, this is definitely for you. I have read and loved every one of Ms. Dallas's books and I most certainly wasn't disappointed here. Hope you enjoy!!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunted Novel, April 29, 2005

By 

Lesa Holstine (Glendale, AZ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Mercies (Hardcover)

New Mercies is the latest novel by Sandra Dallas, author of The Persian Pickle Club. Dallas' latest book tells of people haunted by the past. Nora Bondurant is haunted by the secret behind her divorce and her ex-husband's subsequent death. When she inherits property in Natchez, Mississippi, she is intrigued by the secrets behind her aunt's murder and a neighbor's suicide. And, in 1933, the people of Natchez are still haunted by the ghosts of the War between the States, slavery, and their own losses. Two ex-slaves, Ezra and Aunt Polly, are the key to Nora's search for answers.

Dallas brings her characters and 1933 Natchez to life in this atmospheric novel.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars secrets of the South and beaten biscuits!, April 7, 2005

By 

mamareadssomuch "mamareadssomuch" - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Mercies (Hardcover)

This was a slow-going book for me but surely picked up the pace. Sandra Dallas has a talent at writing literature - not to be confused with simple fiction. This story, based in the early 30s in Natchez, MS weaves the past and present of the Bondurant family. Amalia is found murdered in her lush Southern home along with her long-time beau who is thought to have commit suicide after 'he' killed her.

Her neice comes to town because she finds out she is heiress and thus begins the mystery of this Amalia and her neighbors. The book is a bit of healing for those intertwined in this plot.

If you are a fan of southern reads, you will delight in this one. It will keep you wondering until the last few pages!