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Love Mercy (Love Mercy Johnson Mystery #1)
New from the national bestselling author of The Saddlemaker's Wife and the Agatha Award-winning Benni Harper mystery series.
After being widowed, Love Mercy Johnson has come to terms with her life in Morro Bay, California. She spends her time writing columns for a regional magazine, helping her in-laws work their ranch, and trying to move on. But her dreams of reconciliati...more
After being widowed, Love Mercy Johnson has come to terms with her life in Morro Bay, California. She spends her time writing columns for a regional magazine, helping her in-laws work their ranch, and trying to move on. But her dreams of reconciliati...more
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
March 3rd 2009
by Berkley Hardcover
(first published January 1st 2009)
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This novel is set in the Benni Harper world, but is not featuring Benni, Gabe and the rest of the gang. It is also set about 10 years in the future of the Benni books, with Gabe retired and them all living back at the ranch. Since I have as of yet to say a word about what this book IS about, guess its that time. Love Mercy is the name of 1 of the 3 main female characters. Love, her granddaughter Rette and friend Mel, are those 3 characters. Love and Mel are picking up the pieces after the loss o...more
I did not want to like this book! I was very annoyed that my favortie characters from the Benni Harper mysteries would only be mentioned in passing and an entirely new set of characters would be introduced!..As it turns out, I loved the story! Looks like this will be a fun new series for Earlene Fowler!
"After being widowed, Love Mercy Johnson has come to terms with her life in Morro Bay, California. She spends her time writing columns for a regional magazine, helping her in-laws work their ranch...more
"After being widowed, Love Mercy Johnson has come to terms with her life in Morro Bay, California. She spends her time writing columns for a regional magazine, helping her in-laws work their ranch...more
This first book of a new Earlene Fowler series was disappointing. I really wanted to like it more. Love Mercy Johnson is still getting over the death of her husband. She is part owner of a local diner in fictitious Morro Bay, and she has a wide circle of friends, including Benni Harper. One of her granddaughters arrives on her doorstep with a stolen banjo and a tale of woe. There is no mystery involved, just a gentle and very cliched story of family and friends helping each other get by. I found...more
Being the first novel in a projected series, there was a lot of groundwork to lay for the characters. The setting is the same as the Benni Harper series and the tables have turned. Love Mercy Johnson is a minor character in those books and now Benni and her milieu are the minor characters. They drift in and out so we know that everyone's doing well in the present, as the Benni books take place in the 1990's. This novel has Fowler's trademark ranch life stories and religious faith, although the f...more
I picked this book randomly from my library list, expecting it to be one of my new favorites mysteries from Earlene Fowler. At first I was disappointed because I thought it was a romance and I hate romance... well i was surprised to fall in love with this book. It does talk about love, but the love between grandma Love and one of her estranged grand-daughters, Rett.
The deep, complicated feelings, memories, thoughts of the main and side characters are extremely real, like the author is entering...more
The deep, complicated feelings, memories, thoughts of the main and side characters are extremely real, like the author is entering...more
Very disappointing. I've loved all of Earlene Fowler's books up to this point and have always been excited when they came out. This one takes a lot of character development at the beginning and I was about to abandon it. But I knew I had liked her books before so I gave it a bit more time. This new series is preachy and frankly I really do not like that. I also did not like the chapter breakups by character as I do not like that literary device and think it is a cop out. The characters got a lit...more
This was a nice laid back book where nothing really happens. Mostly I read it to find out what happened to Benni and Gabe from her Benni Harper books, but this story was nice too. I thought the 2-3 different storylines were a little distracting as they were all kind of ignored until they hit a crisis point and then wrapped up rather neatly in a chapter or so...but I guess that's just books in general, not necessarily this one in particular. I was wondering if this book would make me cry at some...more
This was an ok book, but not one that I necessarily want to keep reading because of the characters in the book. I follow Earlene Fowler's blog, and she mentioned that this one is supposed to be the first book in a three book series. What I liked was the continuing development of Ford Hudson's character from the Benni Harper mystery series, but what I didn't like was the shadowing of what happens to the rest of the characters from that series. Being a huge fan of the Benni Harper books, seeing wh...more
Most of the first disk I kept thinking I had read this book before. Then I realized...I hadn’t read it before, the story line was just so overused and predictable that it felt like I had. Listening to it was like watching a Lifetime movie. It’s tolerable for no other reason than its mind numbingly distracting, but it doesn’t offer any sort of true enjoyment. The story line, characters, setting, the whole shebang were blasé due to their lack of originality. The only character that stood out was M...more
Hmm. Truthfully, this book was a disappointment. Perhaps because I picked it up right after Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Perhaps just because it isn't as good as the other Fowler books I've read.
I've really enjoyed the Benni Harper mystery series by Earlene Fowler.
I really liked The Saddlemaker's Wife (stand alone book also by Fowler).
I looked forward to this one, but it was lacking for me. It had some great potential for character development and story line development but I felt ev...more
I've really enjoyed the Benni Harper mystery series by Earlene Fowler.
I really liked The Saddlemaker's Wife (stand alone book also by Fowler).
I looked forward to this one, but it was lacking for me. It had some great potential for character development and story line development but I felt ev...more
This was my first book by this author that I had listened to and I really enjoyed it. I also started reading the first Benni Harper book at the same time so that was a little confusing but they seemed like different characters so it didn't take away from the story of Love and her granddaughter. I found the characters very real and loved the country music references. I could relate to the story of August as my mom had Alzheimer's before she passed away and we faced the situation of wondering how...more
Finally a good book!! Just a story of small town people and their struggle to get through life's ups and down. Love Mercy Johnson is the name of the main character and the story revolves around her getting back together with her astranged granddaughter who is 18 and has hitch hiked across the country to find her. Good story. The author says she will write more books in the series this was just published last year so probably no new ones yet. The author has another series set in the same location...more
I enjoyed this book, although not as much as Fowler's Benni Harper series. It's the kind of book you read when you want something that's easy to follow; when you want a book that's good, but you really don't want to concentrate on a deep book, or you don't have time for a book that's so good that you can't put it down so you stay up until 3 a.m. reading. The characters are endearing, it's just not as suspenseful as Fowler's Benni Harper series. But for fans of the series (like me) Benni does hav...more
Love Mercy Johnson has been living alone in Morrow Bay, CA, since the death of her beloved husband Cy, from cancer, a year ago. Their only son Tommy was killed 10 years earlier, leaving 3 daughters, but her d-in-law cut their connection a year later when she remarried. When the middle grand-daughter, 18 year old Rett shows up out of the blue, the people and relationships begin to mend.
Many of the characters from the Benni Harper series make appearances - at a later point in their lives. This ha...more
Many of the characters from the Benni Harper series make appearances - at a later point in their lives. This ha...more
I really love Earlene Fowler's Benni Harper mystery series. But her new book, that has nothing to do with dead bodies, is even better. At first I wasn't sure about a story told from the viewpoint of three women--I didn't know if I'd be able to keep everything straight. But I got caught up in the story of three women of three different ages, family relationships, past regrets, loss, hurt, and hope. I certainly hope this will be the start of a new series, because I want to know more about Love Mer...more
Earlene Fowler is the author of the popular "Bennie Harper" series. This tale of loves lost and found uses the same town and local folk but focuses on two new characters. Love and her long-lost granddaughter, Rett short for Loretta Lynn, who shows up on her doorstep with a whole heapin' pile o' troubles.
Well written, enjoyable. My version of the romantic beach novel one reads while on vacation and trying to not think too much.
Well written, enjoyable. My version of the romantic beach novel one reads while on vacation and trying to not think too much.
As the author states in her Notes from the Author, "The Love Mercy novels . . . are not mystery novels . . . But they will deal with another kind of mystery: that of the human heart, especially with how it pertains to family."
Earlene Fowler is a Christian author. She has created some wonderful characters in this book.
I thought this book was well-worth reading, and I will be seeking out more of her books.
Earlene Fowler is a Christian author. She has created some wonderful characters in this book.
I thought this book was well-worth reading, and I will be seeking out more of her books.
This is a character driven story from the point of view of three women in Moro Bay, California.
Love Mercy is a recently widowed woman still deeply grieving for her husband when her estranged granddaughter (Ret) shows up running from an unfaithful boyfriend.
Mel is an ex Las Vegas police officer and close friend of Love's with her own secret past.
The story is about how these three women work through their problems together.
Love Mercy is a recently widowed woman still deeply grieving for her husband when her estranged granddaughter (Ret) shows up running from an unfaithful boyfriend.
Mel is an ex Las Vegas police officer and close friend of Love's with her own secret past.
The story is about how these three women work through their problems together.
I loved the Saddlemaker's Wife- I have not read her series of Bennie Harper. I bought this because of loved the Saddlemaker's wife and I found this book to be just as good. It was far different from many other books I have been reading recently- it was very satisfying. I hope Ms. Fowler write more in the lines of this and the Saddlemaker's Wife. Both would make great series reads.
I've read all of the Benni Harper stories, but yet I've never quite liked the main character. I keep reading them because Fowler is a good storyteller and each book brings more richness to the characters and their relationships. I was very pleased to read Love Mercy. I enjoyed the characters in the book and the story. I hope there are more to come.
Apr 08, 2009
Lynda
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People who read Luanne Rice or Kristin Hannah.
I really enjoyed this book. I love the Benni Harper mysteries also by Earlene Fowler but this is even better. The lives of three women of different ages are all intertwined in this novel set in the same town as the Benni Harper series. The characters really came to life and I felt I really knew and cared about them. I hope this is the start of a new series.
Great book, although the ending felt weird, like she just stopped writing. It actually made me mad. I want to know what else happened. There were so many questions left unanswered. Since it was published in 2009, I'm wondering if there is going to be a second book as was originally planned. I hope so. I'd like to know what happens next!
This is the kind of story that I like, but sort of dislike at the same time. I enjoyed it because the author is capable of creating warm characters, but only gives us glimpses of who they are. And since this is my first Earlene Fowler book, I absolutely get the the feeling I’m missing out on so much background on many characters. It really feels like I can’t be satisfied reading this one because I haven’t read all her previous books featuring these characters.
Overall, I think it’s a sweet and t...more
Overall, I think it’s a sweet and t...more
Earlene Fowler of the Benni Harper mystery series is begins a new series with Love Mercy Johnson as the heroine. A series about family, heart ache love and new beginnings. I can't wait for the next book. Oh and Bennie, Gabe and Dove are here too as neighbors of Love and her family.
This was a family drama instead of the mystery that we have come to expect from Earlene Fowler. Fans of the Benni Harper mysteries will enjoy the cameos made by some of the main characters of that series. Fans of Ford Hudson will be pleasantly surprised by his role in this new novel.
I enjoy Fowler's books because of their connection with quilting. This book was a departure--a stand-alone book about new characters, although she did work her regular characters into the story in minor parts. A feel-good, easy read.
May 14, 2012
Kristen
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Kristen by:
Mom
A spin off of the Benni Harper mysteries, this new series is set about ten years later and deals mostly with other characters. There are no quilts or dead bodies, just family relationships, and more religious references.
This was a wonderful book to ready. I've read most of Earlene Fowler's books and though not part of the Benni Harper series, it included many of the same characters. Now I wish it would go on.
Yet another great book from Earlene Fowler. About love and caring, family and friends. Always a strong, practical message about God and his mercy without being "preachy". I really enjoy her books.
Jun 04, 2009
Jaci Worth
added it
I really enjoyed reading this book. Read it on Kindle. I liked the storyline and the difference between the Benni Harper books and the fact that she was still in this one although in smaller role.
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Earlene Fowler was raised in La Puente, California, by a Southern mother and a Western father. She lives in Southern California with her husband, Allen, a purple pickup truck, and many pairs of cowboy boots. She is currently working on the next Benni Harper mystery.
Series:
* Benni Harper Mysteries
* Love Mercy Johnson Mystery
More about Earlene Fowler...
Series:
* Benni Harper Mysteries
* Love Mercy Johnson Mystery
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Jun 05, 2009 05:41pm