SYNOPSIS
Mercie Hillbrook lives a simple, quiet life working as a gas station attendant. Then her parents are killed. Her home is taken. The people responsible are excused for just doing their job. When an attempt to get justice her way lands her in trouble with the law, Mercie realises she still has something to lose: her own life.
Then she finds reason to believe her parents were murdered... and she doesn't care anymore.
Alongside this rollercoaster of a novella, this book includes 4 very dark short stories.
REVIEW
One of the main thoughts coming away from this book is the themes that is expressed throughout the short stories, as well as the story of Her Name is Mercie. They are all varying in messages that are taken away after reading, but very important to discuss in terms of wider society. Some of the themes are easy to distinguish, such as authority figures might not always be the good guys and so could make the whole concept corrupted from what should be a force of good. On the other hand, other themes that present themselves are relatively harder to distinguish and not always black and white. More of a grey area, which is more like what real life can be presented as being, yet still portrays that story-time element.
Particularly Her Name is Mercie can be considered as being an interesting plot for the quick readers who want to experience thrill-seeking action within the a few pages. Mercie is thrown into a world which in some ways, could very well happen to anyone if people were in a similar situation and it is sometimes scary to think how reality could make this very possible. This in some ways makes her story arc a very compelling one, due to her ordinary beginnings, but thrown into something that can easily change anyone's sense of character if put into this upsetting situation.
In terms of the other short stories, I found some more dark than others, which is great for a book like this, in the genre that it has been written. Some of the stories were very intriguing and comes up with several questions about what we know and who we know in particular. These pieces were very short, so this is something that could be suggested to many readers who only like to read, or only have time for a small amount during the day.
Don't get me wrong however, the characters and the story itself has flaws in a relative capacity and in some cases, the stories were hard to follow and sometimes some weird reading altogether. But if you can overlook this, I think that you could enjoy it. But maybe don't read it before you go to bed if you can easily be jump scared. Either way, if you like something more atmospheric or hair-raising there is plenty of stories which you can choose from which might be suited more to your taste.
RATING: *** 1/2 (3 AND A HALF STARS)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Roy is the author of Shocking Circumstances, Sharp as a Razor, and Her Name is Mercie. He is a published tattoo artist (Rise Tattoo Magazine, ATC Tattoo Books app) and the illustrator of two children's books. Raised in South Mississippi, he lived comfortably with the criminal ventures of his youth until a fistfight in 1999 ended tragically.
WHERE TO BUY
FOLLOW THE TOUR
Thanks to Blackthorn Tours for providing me a copy of Her Name is Mercie and inviting me to the blog tour.
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