The Shape of Mercy By Susan Meissner, A Review
March 8th, 2011 § 2 Comments
Lauren Durough was born into privilege. As the only child of her wealthy parents, Lauren feels the weight of bearing the Durough name and rebels by attending a state school and living in the dorms. As a further bid for individuality, Lauren decides to take a job to earn her own spending money. When she is hired by a wealthy matron to transcribe the diary of a young girl accused of witchcraft in Salem Massachusetts during the infamous witch trials, she is unprepared for just how much her perspective will be changed.
Susan Meissner has a quality in her writing that gives it an edgy sincerity. Her word choice and style make her easy to read, and are a credit to the genre. I did, however, feel that style waned a bit towards the second half of the book. Some of the characters are well developed, though some other characters feel a bit shallow. Somehow I was left wanting a little something more from some of them. The point Meissner is trying to make with her story is quite clearly stated, though a little too much for my tastes, as I tend to like excavating a story’s lesson rather than have it served to me on a platter. But over all, The Shape of Mercy is a decent read.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
Read an excerpt from this book here.
Thanks for another great review. You are good at this, Eden! And, I was helped just as a writer, hearing that you liked to discover the story’s message, not have it handed to you.
God bless you, your reading and your writing!
Thanks Deb. Blessings!