A Tangled Mercy by Joy Jordan-Lake

genre: contemporary/historical fiction

Told in two time periods, A Tangled Mercy is a story of Charleston, of its slaves and their attempted revolt - as well as its contemporary citizens and their secrets.   Kate returns to Charleston after the death of her mother in order to search for answers.  Answers about why her mother seemed to be in mourning for Kate's whole life, answers to why her parent's marriage fell apart and, in someways most importantly, why her mother was so interested in the 1822  attempted slave revolt.

Switching between 2015 and 1822, the story is both Kate's as well as Tom Russell's, a slave and blacksmith who helped provide the mutinous slaves with weapons.  As we weave between their stories we see slavery for the heinous practice it was - how it ripped apart families and forced the most unimaginable decisions.  We meet both the slaves and their owners - as well as those who lived at the time and whose eyes were opened to the terror of slavery. 

We also see modern Charleston as a city determined to thrive despite its dark history - its diverse population a place where questions can be answered and even in the darkest of tragedy, hope can be found.

I really liked this.  I loved that it's both historical fiction, mystery and a tiny bit of romance.   I like that it didn't shy away from the ugliness of slavery, it really made me think.  I liked all the protagonist characters, even if a few of them were a bit too perfect to be true.  As someone who fell in love with Charleston after a five day visit, I also loved reading about so many places that were familiar, that I could picture in my mind.  I wish I'd read it before my trip but I really enjoyed having this wonderful city in my mind again.  Great read.