New Mercies by Sandra Dallas

New Mercies by Sandra Dallas

Natchez, Mississippi, in 1933 is a place suspended in time. The silver and china is still dented and cracked from Yankee invaders. And the houses have names...and memories. Nora Bondurant is running away--from her husband's death, from his secrets, and from the ghosts that dog her every step. When she receives a telegram informing her that she has an inheritance, Nora suddenly has somewhere to run to: a house named Avoca in Natchez, Mississippi. Now, she's learning that the lure of Natchez runs deep, and that, along with Avoca, she's inherited a mystery. Nora's aunt Amalia Bondurant was killed in a murder/suicide, and the locals are saying nothing more--except in hushed, honeyed tones. As Nora becomes more and more enmeshed in the community and in her family's history, she learns surprising things about the life and death of her aunt: kinship isn't always what it seems, loyalty can be as fierce as blood relations, and every day we are given new mercies to heal the pain of loss and love.

Jane Smiley of Vogue Magazine deemed award-winning author Sandra Dallas a quintessential American voice. She is the author of several books, including The Bride's Home, Prayers for Sale, and Tallgrass. Her books have been optioned for cinema adaptations and have been translated into a dozen languages. She is a two-time winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award and the Willa Award for Women Writing the West. Dallas worked for Business Week for 25 years as a writer covering the Rocky Mountain region before turning to fiction in 1990. She and her spouse live in Denver, Colorado.