Review: Mercy Snow by Tiffany Baker (audio)

Title: Mercy Snow   

Author: Tiffany Baker      

Narrator: Christine Lakin  

Published: January 2014, Hachette Audio  

Length: 11 hours, 23 minutes  

Source: Library 

In the tiny town of
Titan Falls, New Hampshire, the paper mill dictates a quiet, steady
rhythm of life. But one day a tragic bus accident sets two families on a
course toward destruction, irrevocably altering the lives of everyone
in their wake.

June McAllister is the wife of the local mill
owner and undisputed first lady in town. But the Snow family, a group of
itinerant ne’er-do-wells who live on a decrepit and cursed property,
have brought her — and the town — nothing but grief.

June will
do anything to cover up a dark secret she discovers after the crash,
one that threatens to upend her picture-perfect life, even if it means
driving the Snow family out of town. But she has never gone up against a
force as fierce as the young Mercy Snow. Mercy is determined to protect
her rebellious brother, whom the town blames for the accident, despite
his innocence. And she has a secret of her own. When an old skeleton is
discovered not far from the crash, it beckons Mercy to solve a mystery
buried deep within the town’s past.

My thoughts: I’ve been a fan of Tiffany Baker ever since coming across her first book, The Little Giant of Aberdeen County. Of course, I was thrilled when I found out that her latest book, Mercy Snow, was selected to be one of She Reads ‘Books of Winter’ picks. Because I’ve enjoyed listening to her previous books, I decided to go with the audio of this book and thought it was a great audio production.

What I loved about this book are the characters. They are so richly drawn and developed. You have this small paper mill town that is run by the McAllisters. They seem to think they are above everyone and everything, that rules don’t apply to them. Then, at the other end of the spectrum, you have the Snows, who struggle to make ends meet. When a youth bus is run off the road with tragic results, of course, Zeke Snow is blamed because his broken down truck happens to be near the scene of the accident. But was he really responsible?

Shortly after the crash it becomes clear who really is responsible for the crash, but there are many secrets wrapped up in this that are slowly revealed throughout the rest of the book. And these secrets have many repercussions on the residents of Titan Falls. 

The three women that the story focuses on are June McAllister, Mercy Snow and Hazel, the bus driver’s wife. Each woman is fiercely independent and a force to be reckoned with in her own right. They are certainly not someone you want to mess with. These are women you just want to read more about –  you get captivated and entranced by their tales – and not necessarily because they are all good characters because they are certainly not. But that’s what I love about a good book – there’s a mix of good and bad characters. In this case, the good characters aren’t all good and the bad ones aren’t completely horrific. 

This was such a great book and as is typical with Tiffany Baker’s books, it contains just a touch of magic, which I have come to love. It’s not too much and, in my opinion, just gives it that little extra that makes the book stand out.

Audio Thoughts: This is the first time I’ve listened to Christine Lakin narrate and I really enjoyed listening to her. She gave all the characters their own unique voice, adding the necessary emotion when necessary. She really had me engaged and I had a hard time walking away when I needed to do something else. I can still hear her voice and her characters in my head as I think of this book and I am definitely going to be looking to see what else Christine Lakin has narrated.

Mercy Snow by Tiffany Baker is one of the She Reads “Books of Winter” reading selection picks. 

 

Head over to the She Reads website to read reviews and related posts of this book, as well as
posts related to the other “Books of Winter” selections.