I love reading my favorite authors early books because you can see so much of their greatness developing. As with all of Keith's books, this is very much a character driving tale. While it has a bit of supernatural elements, they are the sub-plot.

This book tells the stories of various families in Riptide, and how they are all connected to each other through various misadventures. This six degrees of Kevin Bacon but with tragedy instead of movies.

The use of multi-POV adds elements to the story that draw you deeper into the grief of the cast. Many of them have no idea why they are connected, but seeing their lives unfold from all angles make the last few chapters hit harder. I 100% had an oh shit moment towards the end. All of the pieces slipped into place, in a way that was foreshadowed, but still completely unexpected.

You'll love this book if you love light plot, but heavy character reads that mix in just enough paranormal to make you wonder if it really was paranormal or the eyes playing tricks. ( )

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Please see full reviews at www.coffeeandtrainspotting.wordpress.com ( )

After reading the newest Rosson collection Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons I was thrilled to get a look at a version of his backlist title The Mercy of the Tide. The Mercy is a alt. history/magical realism tale that is about where many are grieving and aching to change.

Akin to Stephen King Rosson's story features kids as protagonists in a small run-down city in America of the past but clearly not our past but some other alternative one and, as expected, something sinister lurking beneath.

In The Mercy of the Tide Rosson endows nearly every character with flaws and they are wonderful! The town looms large as a character initself and Rosson wonderfully paints that picture.

The Mercy was Rosson's debut and it is a great read for those, as I was, looking to engage with this authors previous work. ( )

Set in the Pacific Northwest in the early 80's, THE MERCY OF THE TIDE brought home a robust sense of time and place.

In a small Oregon town, tragedy strikes in the form of a drunk driver. In towns like this, with an event like this, nearly everyone is affected as the ramifications ripple outward. Then, other things start happening. Dead, mutilated birds appear on people's doorsteps. A skeleton is found in a local park. One deputy thinks he knows what's happening: it's related to an old native American legend. Can the goings-on in town be attributed to the legend, or are they attributable to humanity? You'll have to read this to find out!

I very much related to the characters in this book. There's one named Toad, (a nickname for Todd), and I knew a Toad when I was growing up, which was about the same time period as in this book. I also remember being afraid of the Russians and nuclear war. There's a young girl in this book who is obsessed with nuclear annihilation. The music mentioned: Motorhead, The Ramones, and others-they formed the soundtrack of my teen years. I remember Ronald Reagan being shot as well-so all these things were perfectly drawn as far as I'm concerned.

The writing here was very good, especially the character development. The powerful themes of guilt and grief abound, and the reader cannot help but feel for these people. However, I did have a few issues. I can't get too deeply into what those issues were because SPOILERS, but I can say I felt let down regarding the native American legend portion. I wanted more! I thought the denouement was perfect though-it shocked the hell out of me, but it also made me so mad I'm gritting my teeth just thinking about it.

Overall, I was impressed with this author and the book. The narration was excellent, as I've come to learn-Joshua Saxon's work always is. I recommend this book-especially to those readers who came of age during this time period in American history. If you're like me, you will feel the powerful rise of fond nostalgia.

*I received an audio version from Meerkat Press in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!* ( )

I almost put this book down after a few pages. The clarity and precision of the sentences and word choices, the focus on the inner worlds of people struggling with loss, the suspicion that nothing much seemed to be happening. I thought, oh my, this looks like beautiful writing, but I don't feel in the mood to read a pitilessly realistic novel about people making bad decisions and stewing in grief and regret.

I'm very glad that I did not put the book down. What looks at first like lack of momentum is just the author carefully arranging the set, and slowly raising the curtain. Before you realize it, you're caught in a story that you didn't expect, and things pick up pace, eventually to the speed of a thriller.

The telling of the story is done with surprises, so the less said about the plot, the better. I'll just mention that the book rewards careful reading and attention to details.

Some things I like about the book, which I don't think will spoil anything for anyone: wonderfully accurate depiction of a 1980s working class town on the Oregon coast (I'm old enough to remember that period as a young adult); characters who had depth and felt like real people to me; the author's mastery of pacing in his storytelling; the previously mentioned precise word choices.

It makes me want to find more books by this author, and to keep an eye out for new ones. ( )