Under the Mercy Trees: A Novel

Martin Owenby has lost his way in life. Thirty years ago he came to New York City from his tiny hometown of Solace Fork in Western North Carolina with dreams of becoming a famous writer and leaving the pain and shame of his turbulent past behind him. Now he barely scrapes by editing technical manuals, and his existence revolves around cheap Scotch and weekend flings with equally damaged men.
But then he receives word that his older brother, Leon, has gone missing from the Owenby's farm, and Martin must return to Solace Fork to help his family in their search. Going back, though, means facing his past - a past filled with regrets, a past that includes Liza Barnard, the girl whose heart he broke so many years ago. The girl who never gave up on him.
Liza isn't the only one waiting for him, however. There's also his family, who never quite understood him, and his best friend from childhood, who has faithfully kept the home fires burning in case Martin ever decides to return. As the mystery surrounding Leon's disappearance deepens, so too do the weight and guilt of three decades' worth of unresolved differences and unspoken feelings. And Martin will learn the hard way that home isn't a bad place to be.
Told from the alternating perspectives of Martin, Liza, Martin's sister-in-law Bertie, and Martin's mentally unstable sister Ivy, 'Under the Mercy Trees' is a novel at once devastating and tender, and the Owenby's tale of family, love, and, ultimately, redemption is as soul-warming as it is sorrowful. Heather Newton's exquisite prose, full characterizations, and rich atmosphere make her an exciting new voice in fiction.