Customer Reviews

New Mercies

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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!!

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.

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!

In 1933 Nora Bondurant leaves her hometown of Denver to take over the pre-Civil War Avoca mansion that her recently murdered Aunt Amalia left her. Interestingly Nora did not know of the existence of her aunt as her parents never mentioned that her father had a sister or that she came from Natchez. Nora first learned of Amalia when a lawyer sent her a letter informing her she of her inheritance. In Natchez she learns that Amalia was killed by a courting neighbor in a murder suicide.

Nora finds the change of scenery welcoming as she hides from feelings of guilt caused by her divorce from Tate and subsequent death of her ex spouse back in Denver. Simultaneously, she also feels somewhat like an outsider since no one will share much about her aunt, her lover who allegedly killed her, or their relationship. For that matter she knows little about this side of the family and no one is forthcoming with information. Still Natchez begins to feel like home due to Ezra, Aunt Polly, and others including the goats.

The story line provides an intense perusal of Depression Era Mississippi especially "slaves" through the eyes of a Rocky Mountain expatriate. The murder-suicide adds interesting suspense as Nora wants to know more about her previously unknown aunt, but that takes a back seat to the deep scrutiny of 1930s Deep South relationships. Fans will cherish this powerful historical fiction and seek other works by Ms. Dallas (see THE PERSIAN PICKLE CLUB and BUSTER MIDNIGHT'S CAFÉ).

Harriet Klausner

While I did have some trouble getting into this book, I decided that it was because I was reading it in ten or twenty page segments. It is much better read in several long sittings. That aside, I can honestly say that I was quickly drawn into the mysteries of Avoca.

Dallas captures the language, the customs, the dress, everything about the depression era 30's with the understanding of a person who had lived then. So clearly, she has done her homework.

I loved Aunt Polly. She is a woman filled with wisdom and many talents. I believe that she had a fondness for Nora that she was not to willing to show too quickly. She probably knew more about Nora, than Nora knew about herself, just by her instincts.

The situation between Nora and her husband and how that all ended came as no surprise. Reading between the lines, it was all rather predictable. Still and all it was tragic.

By the time Nora has been accepted by the main players as a member of "old Natchez" and the mystery has been solved, the book ends on a very upbeat note, in a room as bright and white as Avoca was dark and dreary in the beginning.

This book will not leave you disappointed. Has all the intrigue, mystery depth we know and love her for. I won't go into the story too much, but I love these books because she writes about Colorado, and her descriptions just make you feel like you are there. At Avoca, I could see the statue and the goats running around.

We find out secrets in this book and our character learns to let go and love again. I wish I could give it more stars!

Sandra Dallas has a unique talent, and her readers are the lucky participants. _New Mercies_ is no exception. The characters are finely drawn, making the reader want to meet every single one. The underlying themes of suspense and mystery - even murder - keep this story interesting from the first page to the last.

My only nit to pick is that Nora seems unrealistically enlightened for the time period. She is a divorced career woman in 1933. She has surprisingly modern attitudes about bi-racial relationships, homosexuality, and social equality even though she is an old-money former Junior Leaguer. Not totally realistic for the time period, IMO.

That said, I love Southern literature - particularly set during the Great Depression - and Sandra Dallas offers a story that contains these elements and also kept me glued to my chair for the better part of two days.

Definitely worth the time and money. You will remember these characters for a long time. I would give it five stars except for my reservations about Nora's enlightenment, and because I don't think this one quite measures up to _The Persion Pickle Club_.

I read a couple of Sandra Dallas's novels several years ago and really enjoyed them, so I have no idea why it took me so long to pick up another one. I stumbled across this one in the library the other day and, as usual, I just loved it!

Dallas often sets her novels in the early 1900's, and she gets the feel of those times so right somehow. This one is set in 1933 and it begins in the small town of Natchez , Mississippi , with a young lady from the North pulling up to a decrepit mansion. Nora Bondurant, normally a big city girl, recently received a telegraph that said her aunt, Miss Amalia Bondurant, has died and left her everything, including her house. This wouldn't raise much interest in Nora, most likely, except for two facts -- first of all, Nora had no idea she HAD an aunt in Mississippi . And secondly, said aunt, locally known as "The Goat Lady," has been murdered.

Nora arrives in Natchez to find the house falling down and two former slaves still trying to stay on top of the place. She immediately befriends the two, Ezra and his mother Aunt Polly, who, it turns out, were extremely dedicated to Miss Amalia. As she begins to explore the house and ask Ezra and Polly questions about her aunt, she also begins to meet the locals, many of whom can also shed some light on Miss Amalia. Soon she's learned a bit more about her aunt than she bargained for, however, and out of the past comes a truth that ultimately became the motive for her murder.

This is a really entertaining novel, with great characters and a wonderful sense of place and time. I will be looking for more by her soon! And this time I mean that! Recommended!

Dallas is at the top of her game with this novel. The suspense she creates is superb, and this book makes for delicious reading. In a break from her previous novels, she's moved this tale out of the 19th century, but the past can't be forgotten in this tale of a Southern family and the remnants of a society still clinging to the values found in the Old South. This one successfully made its way around my circle of reading friends.

My first experiene with Sandra Dallas was her book, "Prayers for Sale" which prompted me to search out her other writings. Although her writings are not labeled 'Christian fiction' as such, she has good sound Christian messages, presented in very subtle ways which are welcomed by Christian believers and not overwhelming to those who are not. This book is no exception. Her writing is finely crafted with wonderful turns of phrasing and excellent use of language. Her writing is a real treat to read and will more than satisfy the reader.