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A review by mmarlborough
Mercury by Amy Jo Burns
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thanks for the ARC Netgalley! I was really excited for this one after seeing it everywhere. While well written and pretty compelling, I didn’t fully love this one - but admit that it may have been my timing in reading it.
Marley’s an outsider to Mercury, PA and immediately gets caught up in the drama and allure of the Joseph family. The men of this family are infamous because of their closeness, troublemaking, and their roofing business. Each brother means something different to Marley. She’s judgmental of the patriarch and has a complicated alliance with the matriarch of the family. Decades later, a body is found in the town’s church which has ramifications for the Joseph family and Marley.
I found the mystery of this book compelling (especially with the timelines and multiple viewpoints.) I love messy, complicated family dramas but there were A LOT of similar themes to Ann Napolitano’s “Hello Beautiful,” which I read right before this and it worked much better for me. This was a bit dragged out and the brothers blended a bit too much for my taste. I think if I read this at a different time it probably would have been a 4⭐️ read for me, but it didn’t quite get there at this time.
✨Trigger Warnings: Miscarriage, Death of a Parent, Murder, Dementia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicide Attempt
Marley’s an outsider to Mercury, PA and immediately gets caught up in the drama and allure of the Joseph family. The men of this family are infamous because of their closeness, troublemaking, and their roofing business. Each brother means something different to Marley. She’s judgmental of the patriarch and has a complicated alliance with the matriarch of the family. Decades later, a body is found in the town’s church which has ramifications for the Joseph family and Marley.
I found the mystery of this book compelling (especially with the timelines and multiple viewpoints.) I love messy, complicated family dramas but there were A LOT of similar themes to Ann Napolitano’s “Hello Beautiful,” which I read right before this and it worked much better for me. This was a bit dragged out and the brothers blended a bit too much for my taste. I think if I read this at a different time it probably would have been a 4⭐️ read for me, but it didn’t quite get there at this time.
✨Trigger Warnings: Miscarriage, Death of a Parent, Murder, Dementia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicide Attempt