Book Review of The Speed of Mercy by Christy Ann Conlin

UPDATED: 2/5/2023

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384 pages, published on August 3, 2021 (I received an advanced copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

YOU MAY ENJOY THIS BOOK IF YOU LIKE:

Literary Fiction * Books set in Nova Scotia, Canada * Feminist Fiction

TRAVEL INSPIRATION:

The Speed of Mercy is set in Nova Scotia, Canada, in a rural area where someone new to town is sure to draw attention. The environs of the area is brought to life through Conlin’s descriptions. And no wonder since she was raised and continues to reside in rural Nova Scotia herself. She captures a haunting, eerie essence of the region.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Christy Ann conlin

The Speed of Mercy is author Christy Ann Conlin’s fourth novel, joining her three prior works: Heave (2002), The Memento (2016), and Watermark (2019). She is also the author of a young adult novel Dead Time (2011). She has won and been short-listed for a number of awards. Conlin was raised and currently resides in rural Nova Scotia.

REVIEW OF the speed of mercy BY christy ann conlin

The Speed of Mercy immediately introduces a number of strong female characters that range in age from youth to elderly and are spaced across the two time periods through which the novel moves. The book is about friendships among women and their protection for each other - in a physical sense as well as in an emotional, a psychological, and even a magical way.

At the heart of the story is a mystery about an event that occurred at Mercy Lake in Nova Scotia a few decades in the past. A sometime podcaster, Mal, seeking to gain respect for her work and somewhat bored during Covid (yes, this novel incorporates the world of Covid in which we find ourselves), discovers some strands of this mystery and goes in search of the truth. This takes her from her native Big Sur in California to Florida and then to Nova Scotia, where we learn the color of her skin stands out in the very white north.

In the present, she seeks to connect with Stella, a survivor of the mysterious event, who has been a resident at a care home ever since, having lost her ability to speak. Stella has also buried her memories so deep that they are even a mystery to herself. Stella’s best friend at the home is Dianne, a friendship that is deep and meaningful for both in spite of the fact that only one of them can communicate verbally. It is into this world that Mal seeks to ingratiate herself to uncover the mystery, all the while learning that she might herself be in danger for poking around into the secret society whose past is intertwined with the event.

The novel also takes the reader back in time to the weeks and months leading up to the mysterious event. Stella and her father, recently rendered motherless and widowed, respectively, by a car accident, move back to his hometown in Nova Scotia. Stella’s personality has changed from a sunny disposition to a traumatized teen, and her relationship with her father is uncertain. Upon entry to her new home in Nova Scotia, Stella befriends Cynthia, who has her own dark secrets and family baggage. The two girls are on the precipice of adulthood and at the mercy of dangerous games and histories of their menfolk.

Through strong friendships and multi-generational support these women seek to find a safe place in the world, even if that sometimes means being driven into self-protected shelter like in Stella’s case.

The characters in this novel are very human and believable even when contending with some elements of the supernatural. The value of human kindness is the lesson the ekes out of this novel even though it is juxtaposed with human cruelty.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this novel. The characters, setting, and plot kept me highly engaged and curious about the outcome. The fact that the novel also incorporated Covid made it very much of this time while also serving as a bit of a shock to the system that we have been in this pandemic world long enough for a novel to include it. Some of the elements of the secret society and the mystery itself (which I will not share since it would spoil the book) risked bordering on the cliche, but the rest of the novel surrounding it prevented it from falling into that trap in my opinion. The voices in the novel were representative of diverse voices in a positive way, including Stella’s mental struggles that rendered her mute and a secondary character who is transgendered. (TW: There are instances of sexual assault with underage victims in this novel that may be upsetting to some readers.)

I look forward to checking out some of Conlin’s other novels!

DISCUSS the speed of mercy

What does this novel say to you about the power of memory? Why do you think Stella’s father made the decision to move back to Nova Scotia and place his daughter in harm’s way?

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