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So I finally decided to read ‘Mercy’, which I apparently bought, used, in 2018. I don’t usually wait six years. It’s not a short book (nearly 450 pages in paperback) but I read it in just a few days.
As with many of Picoult’s novels, there’s a tantalising prologue, and then the main issue of the book is introduced in the first chapter. The prologue sees an unknown character going meticulously through her home, removing every hint of masculinity. Clearly a man has been living there, but we don’t learn any more about what has happened to him, and why she is so determined to get rid of all his things. She holds a yard sale and the neighbours buy almost everything.
The prologue ends with a surprise… and then the scene doesn’t occur until towards the end of the book, by which time I had almost forgotten about it.
Chapter one begins with a very disturbing page, again with unknown characters. I read it twice and still wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. And then the action moves to a small town in Massachusetts in the United States, called Wheelock. Cameron, the chief constable, is just leaving work. He’s dreaming about travelling, something he’s always wanted to do. But since his father died, he has been chief of the McDonald clan in the locality, as well as chief of police, and unable to go anywhere else.
Cameron is married to Allie, who grew up locally and went to the same school although he barely noticed her as a teenager. There’s some background information about them both, and we learn that Allie runs a successful flower shop. She and Cam have been married for five years and she does all she can to help him stay calm and focussed, and to ensure minimal stress in his life. But she has no idea how much he longs to travel.
Into Allie’s shop comes a young woman called Mia who asks for a job. Allie isn’t sure that she needs an assistant… and then, Cam also comes into the shop, and evidently feels a spark of kinship with Mia, a sense that he’s always known her. But then one of his staff rushes in and tells him he’s needed back at the station.
A distraught man called Jamie, claiming to be Cameron’s cousin, has arrived in a car and announced that he has killed his wife. He won’t talk to anyone other than Cameron, to whom he makes a clear and lengthy confession.
The case has to be taken to court, but despite the clear evidence of what has happened, it’s not straightforward. Jamie and his wife Maggie were not having a fight. The killing wasn’t accidental, but it also wasn’t something Jamie wanted to do. Maggie was terminally ill with an aggressive cancer that was taking over her body, and she knew she didn’t have long to live. So she asked him to kill her… and he did it out of love.
Cameron can’t be seen to support his cousin, though he feels some sympathy for him. But Graham, a young lawyer in the town, takes Jamie’s case, and we see the story gradually unfold, getting to know Jamie and Maggie better through the stories and explanations from their closest friends.
Most of the book involves the process of preparing evidence for the defence. And I have to admit it drags a bit in the middle. I lost interest with Jamie's elderly uncle seeing flashbacks into the past, and some of the details about legal procedure. I did skim a few places and don't think I missed anything.
Alongside this main plot is the growing attraction between Cameron and Mia, something that both resist as long as they can. And there are parallels drawn about what one might do when feelings become much stronger than logic and reason. As Cam is drawn into adultery, he develops more empathy with Jamie in his rather different situation.
There are some somewhat mystical threads to the book, too. Cam’s mother Ellen, who is very fond of Allie, likes dowsing and feeling energies. Allie and Mia both believe that flowers don’t just look good, but carry messages, depending on what plants and colours are chosen. And Jamie is convinced he’s going to see Maggie…
The whole is so well written that I picked up the book at every spare moment, and found it gripping. I don’t know that I related strongly to anyone, but I liked Allie very much. I felt quite drawn to Jamie, too, particularly as we learn more about the circumstances of Maggie’s illness, and how very bad it was at times. Jamie is a developer in virtual reality games, although I was never entirely certain what the relevance was of the scenes involving his skill (which is clearly extensive). I wondered if the origin of Maggie’s cancer was going to be the laser that was used to create her as a virtual person in Jamie’s world… but that theme is not explored.
I didn’t know what to expect as the trial proceeds at last, with quite a vicious prosecutor and the inexperienced but thorough defence attorney. We hear again some of the stories from friends and neighbours brought in as witnesses, and it seems that the plea of insanity at the time is unlikely to be upheld. I thought the outcome was well done, not what I had expected… Particularly as, just before the verdict is announced, something happens to Jamie that made me wonder if he were, in fact, suffering extreme delusions.
The book isn’t as draining as some of Picoult’s other novels, and I’m glad I read it. It raises some very important contemporary issues, despite having been published nearly thirty years ago. This author is very good at showing shades of grey in situations that could be seen as sharply black or white. Can it ever be right to kill someone? Is it possible to love too much? Does one partner in a relationship always care more than the other?
I found it very thought-provoking and quite moving in places.
Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews
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