REVIEW: THIS DARK ROAD TO MERCY, BY WILEY CASH

 

 

A heart-warming story of family, loss, and broken connections, This Dark Road to Mercy: A Novel held my attention to the very end.

Easter, aged 12, and Ruby, 6, are two girls who find themselves in foster care after their mother’s death. Their father, Wade Chesterfield, an ex-minor league baseball player, relinquished his parental rights years before. So when he shows up at a school softball game, and strikes up a conversation with Easter, he inadvertently sets up a domino effect that will lead him, the girls, and some nefarious people on a trail leading to potential disaster.

How does an armored car heist figure into the story? What will Brady Weller, the girls’ court-appointed guardian, do when he realizes that Wade has taken the girls in the middle of the night? How will all of those trailing them find themselves in St. Louis at a baseball game?

The story begins in Gastonia, North Carolina, and travels to Charleston, SC, before heading to St. Louis. Along the way, some broken connections will be healed. Not only is Wade in search of a second chance with his daughters, but Brady Weller is trying to redeem himself after some mistakes of his own.

Will there be second chances for these characters? Narrated in alternating voices by Easter, the oldest girl; by Brady Weller; and by a character named Pruitt, this was a truly unputdownable tale that will linger in my mind for a long time. Five stars.