I picked up Under the Mercy Trees by Heather Newton in the library, not knowing what to expect, and  was pleasantly surprised by this debut novel.

This is a character driven novel, centering on the siblings of a missing man in rural North Carolina. When Leon Owenby is discovered missing, his brother Martin returns from a depressing life in NYC to a rather depressing life back in his hometown, to help look for him.

This could have been a grim novel, yet Newton magically weaves the stories of all these broken family members together in a way that makes us care deeply about them. I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next, and I found myself pulling for Martin until the end.

Newton plumbs the depths of family relationships with great skill and insight. An impressive debut.