Mercy Hill by Hannah Thurman

     Four sisters, being raised in an employee cottage on the grounds of a mental hospital complex of buildings in Raleigh, North Carolina. Idyllic childhood, right? Four extremely smart sisters, a. mother, the doctor of psychiatry for the complex, focussed on saving the institution and pushing her girls to excel. Setting these goals above everything else in her world. One father, the peacekeeper for the family, tiring from his position as at home caretaker for the girls and as buffer for the mother's rants and overpowering need to control everything.  Could anything go wrong in this setting, could anything go right? 

    Mercy Hill, a debut Novel by Hannah Thurman, strongly reminds me of the Pulitzer novel, Demon Copperhead in the flavor of a story that compels the reader to continue the journey with the characters, even though each step is painful to experience. The fact that the Cross family is a dysfunctional family is a given, with a mother and father who have experienced difficult, perhaps tragic childhoods, and begin their family not only with the baggage of their pasts, but in a physical setting isolated from other families and children, surrounded by mentally ill patients.

    I was hesitant to request this Advanced Reader's Copy from NetGalley because it was such a heavy premise of a story. Yet I did and I am glad I decided to read the story. Yes, it was dark at times, but I was so engaged in the story that I wanted to know what would happen to the family.  How would the sister's mature, what would happen to the mental hospital, and the family as a whole.  I can honestly say that as a first book, Thurman did an excellent job.  The book was engaging. I felt the story moved along so well I eagerly stayed with the story through it's completion and felt very satisfied with the ending. I'm eager to see the responses to it as it publishes May 5, 2026 by Doubleday Books.  I think it will be much talked about in reading circles.  I encourage all to read it next spring and experience this accomplished new author.  

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