A Matter of Mercy

Caroline Marcum thought she'd escaped the great mistake of her life by leaving Wellfleet harbor, but is forced to face it when she returns, reluctantly, to care for her dying mother. Ridley Neal put his past—and his prison term—behind him to return home to take over his father’s oyster and clam beds. Casual acquaintances long ago, when a nor’easter hits the coast, Rid and Caroline’s lives intersect once again. When Rid and two other sea farmers are sued by the wealthy owners of vacation homes who want to shut them down, and Caroline accidentally meets the person she most wronged, they each must learn to trust—and love. Inspired by a 1996 lawsuit, A Matter of Mercy is a riveting novel about treasuring the traditional way of life in the shallows of beautiful Cape Cod bay by discovering where forgiveness ends … and where it begins.

Lynne Hugo of Cincinnati, OH

Lynne Hugo is a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship recipient and grant recipient from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Ohio Arts Council. She's published five novels, one of which became a Lifetime Original Movie of the Month, two books of poetry, and a children's book. Her memoir, Where the Trail Grows Faint, won the Riverteeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize. With roots in New England, she and her husband live in Ohio with a yellow Lab feared by squirrels in a three state area.  lynnehugo.com