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A Tangled Mercy
A haunting and redemptive novel inspired by the heartbreaking true events that occurred at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, A Tangled Mercy examines the horrifying depths of human brutality and our enduring hope for forgiveness.
After the sudden death of her troubled mother, struggling Harvard grad student Kate Drayton walks out on her lecture—and her entire New England life. Haunted by unanswered questions and her own uncertain future, she flees to Charleston, South Carolina, the place where her parents met, convinced it holds the key to understanding her fractured family and saving her career in academia. Kate is determined to unearth groundbreaking information on a failed 1822 slave revolt—the subject of her mother’s own research.
Nearly two centuries earlier, Tom Russell, a gifted blacksmith and slave, grappled with a terrible arm the uprising spearheaded by members of the fiercely independent African Methodist Episcopal Church or keep his own neck out of the noose and protect the woman he loves.
Kate’s attempts to discover what drove her mother’s dangerous obsession with Charleston’s tumultuous history are derailed by a horrific massacre in the very same landmark church. In the unimaginable aftermath, Kate discovers a family she never knew existed as the city unites with a powerful message of hope and forgiveness for the world.
After the sudden death of her troubled mother, struggling Harvard grad student Kate Drayton walks out on her lecture—and her entire New England life. Haunted by unanswered questions and her own uncertain future, she flees to Charleston, South Carolina, the place where her parents met, convinced it holds the key to understanding her fractured family and saving her career in academia. Kate is determined to unearth groundbreaking information on a failed 1822 slave revolt—the subject of her mother’s own research.
Nearly two centuries earlier, Tom Russell, a gifted blacksmith and slave, grappled with a terrible arm the uprising spearheaded by members of the fiercely independent African Methodist Episcopal Church or keep his own neck out of the noose and protect the woman he loves.
Kate’s attempts to discover what drove her mother’s dangerous obsession with Charleston’s tumultuous history are derailed by a horrific massacre in the very same landmark church. In the unimaginable aftermath, Kate discovers a family she never knew existed as the city unites with a powerful message of hope and forgiveness for the world.
464 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2017
7036 people are currently reading
14538 people want to read
About the author
Joy Jordan-Lake
16 books508 followersJoy Jordan-Lake's varied--and admittedly odd--professional experience has included working as a college professor, author, journalist, waitress, director of a program for homeless families, university chaplain, horseback riding instructor, free lance photographer, and --the job title that remains her personal favorite--head sailing instructor.
Born in Washington, D.C., Joy Jordan-Lake's first vivid childhood memory was watching her mother weep in front of the television, where newscasters were just reporting the shooting of Martin Luther King, Jr. Later moving south with her family, she grew up on Signal Mountain, Tennessee, just outside Chattanooga, where she learned to observe the ways in which communities respond with courage to bigotry and violence--or fail to do so.
After earning a bachelors degree from Furman University and a masters from a theological seminary, Joy re-located to the Boston, Massachusetts, area where she earned a masters and a Ph.D. in English Literature from Tufts University, and specialized in the role of race in 19-century American fiction.
While in New England, she founded a food pantry targeting low-income and homeless families, served on the staff of a multi-ethnic church in Cambridge, worked as a free-lance journalist, and became a Baptist chaplain at Harvard. Her first book, Grit and Grace: Portraits of a Woman's Life (Harold Shaw Publishers, 1997), was a collection of stories, poems and essays which The Chicago Tribune described this way: "Written with much heart and wit, this little gem of a book touches on the ordinary and profound experiences that make up a woman's life . . . a poignant and satisfying collection . . . funny and sad, inspiring and awfully surprising."
Joy's second book, Whitewashing Uncle Tom's Cabin: Nineteenth-Century Women Novelists Respond to Stowe (Vanderbilt University Press, 2005) continued her doctoral dissertation work, exploring the inter-weavings of literature, theology, and race in American culture.
During this period, life for Joy and her husband, Todd Lake, was becoming increasingly chaotic with two careers, numerous re-locations for Todd's work, two young biological children and the adoption of a baby girl from China. Joy's nearly-manic need to ask everyone around her about how they managed--or not--to balance kids and career led to her third book, Working Families: Navigating the Demands and Delights of Marriage, Parenting and Career (WaterBrook/ Random House, 2007). Publishers Weekly called the book, "refreshing for its social conscience," and written with "sharp humor and snappy prose."
In its review of Joy's fourth book, Why Jesus Makes Me Nervous: Ten Alarming Words of Faith (Paraclete Press, 2007), Publishers Weekly again praised the author: "A professor at Belmont University and a former Baptist chaplain at Harvard University , the author mines her personal history...to illumine and interpret ideas such as...hope. Sometimes wry, occasionally stern, Jordan-Lake, with a touch of Southern gothic sensibility...has a gift for welcoming, lucid and insightful prose...."
Joy's first novel, Blue Hole Back Home, published in 2008 and inspired by actual events from her own teenage years, explores the tensions and eventual violence that erupt in a small, all-white Appalachian town when a Sri Lankan family moves in. Ultimately, Blue Hole Back Home, which bestselling author Leif Enger called "beautifully crafted," is a story not only of the devastating effects of racial hatred and cowardice, but more centrally, a celebration of courage, confrontation and healing. Used in a variety of classroom and book club settings, Blue Hole Back Home was chosen in 2009 as Baylor University's Common Book, and as the Common Book at Amarillo College in 2014.
Joy's latest novel, to be released in fall of 2017, is A Tangled Mercy. Told in alternating tales at once haunting and redemptive, A Tangled Mercy is a quintessentially American epic rooted in heartbr
Born in Washington, D.C., Joy Jordan-Lake's first vivid childhood memory was watching her mother weep in front of the television, where newscasters were just reporting the shooting of Martin Luther King, Jr. Later moving south with her family, she grew up on Signal Mountain, Tennessee, just outside Chattanooga, where she learned to observe the ways in which communities respond with courage to bigotry and violence--or fail to do so.
After earning a bachelors degree from Furman University and a masters from a theological seminary, Joy re-located to the Boston, Massachusetts, area where she earned a masters and a Ph.D. in English Literature from Tufts University, and specialized in the role of race in 19-century American fiction.
While in New England, she founded a food pantry targeting low-income and homeless families, served on the staff of a multi-ethnic church in Cambridge, worked as a free-lance journalist, and became a Baptist chaplain at Harvard. Her first book, Grit and Grace: Portraits of a Woman's Life (Harold Shaw Publishers, 1997), was a collection of stories, poems and essays which The Chicago Tribune described this way: "Written with much heart and wit, this little gem of a book touches on the ordinary and profound experiences that make up a woman's life . . . a poignant and satisfying collection . . . funny and sad, inspiring and awfully surprising."
Joy's second book, Whitewashing Uncle Tom's Cabin: Nineteenth-Century Women Novelists Respond to Stowe (Vanderbilt University Press, 2005) continued her doctoral dissertation work, exploring the inter-weavings of literature, theology, and race in American culture.
During this period, life for Joy and her husband, Todd Lake, was becoming increasingly chaotic with two careers, numerous re-locations for Todd's work, two young biological children and the adoption of a baby girl from China. Joy's nearly-manic need to ask everyone around her about how they managed--or not--to balance kids and career led to her third book, Working Families: Navigating the Demands and Delights of Marriage, Parenting and Career (WaterBrook/ Random House, 2007). Publishers Weekly called the book, "refreshing for its social conscience," and written with "sharp humor and snappy prose."
In its review of Joy's fourth book, Why Jesus Makes Me Nervous: Ten Alarming Words of Faith (Paraclete Press, 2007), Publishers Weekly again praised the author: "A professor at Belmont University and a former Baptist chaplain at Harvard University , the author mines her personal history...to illumine and interpret ideas such as...hope. Sometimes wry, occasionally stern, Jordan-Lake, with a touch of Southern gothic sensibility...has a gift for welcoming, lucid and insightful prose...."
Joy's first novel, Blue Hole Back Home, published in 2008 and inspired by actual events from her own teenage years, explores the tensions and eventual violence that erupt in a small, all-white Appalachian town when a Sri Lankan family moves in. Ultimately, Blue Hole Back Home, which bestselling author Leif Enger called "beautifully crafted," is a story not only of the devastating effects of racial hatred and cowardice, but more centrally, a celebration of courage, confrontation and healing. Used in a variety of classroom and book club settings, Blue Hole Back Home was chosen in 2009 as Baylor University's Common Book, and as the Common Book at Amarillo College in 2014.
Joy's latest novel, to be released in fall of 2017, is A Tangled Mercy. Told in alternating tales at once haunting and redemptive, A Tangled Mercy is a quintessentially American epic rooted in heartbr
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,174 reviews
January 6, 2018
They say that the past is never really past, that it's tentacles often read into the present. No city is more indicative of this than Charleston. This city has a long, storied past, a beautiful city that for some was not always beautiful. A two thread story, one in the past, one in the present. The past story takes us back to the horrible issue of slavery, in particular 1822, and the Vessey slave revolt. This time in the novel focuses on a young, black man, a slave but one who is a talented blacksmith. The present story focuses on a young woman named Kate, who has come to Charleston, trying to find the threads of her family's life, in particular her mother, who loved this city but left it in disgrace.
Amazing characters in this story, Daniel, the current iron maker, Rose, an older woman, who feels she must right some of her family's past failings, and a young boy named Gabe, who will steal your heart. In alternating stories, we go back and forward, the past mingling with the present in a humbling way. The beauty of Charleston is beautifully described, a city I too love. Mother Emmanuel Church plays an important role, then and now. The mass shooting of church members by a sick, warped young man.
Ultimately the novel is about forgiveness, of a personal nature for the characters, and as a city as forgiveness and grace was shown by the church members that were left, and of course their families and friends. A city that came together, black and white, to mourn together, and showed the world that out of evil can come good. In a rare instance I liked each of these threads equally. The ending does come together a little to tidily, a little too good to be true. Yet, sometimes we can hope that things like that do happen, and here in this book it fit.
ARC from Netgalley.
Amazing characters in this story, Daniel, the current iron maker, Rose, an older woman, who feels she must right some of her family's past failings, and a young boy named Gabe, who will steal your heart. In alternating stories, we go back and forward, the past mingling with the present in a humbling way. The beauty of Charleston is beautifully described, a city I too love. Mother Emmanuel Church plays an important role, then and now. The mass shooting of church members by a sick, warped young man.
Ultimately the novel is about forgiveness, of a personal nature for the characters, and as a city as forgiveness and grace was shown by the church members that were left, and of course their families and friends. A city that came together, black and white, to mourn together, and showed the world that out of evil can come good. In a rare instance I liked each of these threads equally. The ending does come together a little to tidily, a little too good to be true. Yet, sometimes we can hope that things like that do happen, and here in this book it fit.
ARC from Netgalley.
September 6, 2017
A haunting book, A Tangled Mercy held my attention gripped in it's claws from the first page. A time slip book it contains alternating chapters taking place in the modern time of 2015 and the past time of 1822. Based on true facts of what really happened in Charleston, South Carolina. The author has done an absolutely amazing job of research and presenting facts in this book.The writing though is not stiff and boring it flows and keeps you wanting to read it. The story touched on the slave rebellion planned by Denmark Vesey in 1822 but aborted when terrified associates leaked the plan to the white men of the city. The 2015 part included the massacre of nine members of a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. When the author went to this church to interview people she was welcomed in. The two time periods have just the right amount of information that keeps you reading rapidly right to the end to see the conclusion. At times heartbreaking and heartwarming you will love this historical fiction. This is my first book I've read by Joy Jordan-Lake and I am now looking for more books by this author.
Pub Date 01 Nov 2017
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Pub Date 01 Nov 2017
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
October 3, 2017
I've been excited about this one for a long time! The backstory of how this book came to be what it is is really incredible, and I hope Joy tells it publicly one day. The story itself is timely and engaging, and perfect for fans of historical fiction that flips back and forth in time, like you'd see in the works of Kate Morton or Susan Meissner.
October 10, 2017
The idea has so much potential- Kate returns to Charleston after her mother’s death, hoping to unlock family secrets via her research on the slave revolt of 1822. This, set against the backdrop of the 2015 real-life mass murder at the Emmanuel AME church. But the execution is so clumsy and simplistic. Everyone significant in the story, Kate just happens to bump into on the street on her first day in Charleston: obligatory love interest, check; grand dame of Charleston society, check; potential direct descendants of one of the slaves in the 1822 revolt; check; evasive family attorney who knows more than he’s willing to say, check. The scenes set in 1822 are really well-done and engaging, and the pacing of what’s revealed in each of those scenes vis a vis what’s happening in 2015 is good too. But the 2015 storyline- ugh. The inclusion of the Emmanuel AME murders ended up feeling gratuitous, and the conversations about race and slavery were very simplistic. Disappointing overall, though I did read til the end.
December 3, 2017
I am not a mystery reader, but found myself engaged with this novel from the start – likely because this is a hybrid of a story: it reads like a mystery, but also is a historical novel with a dual contemporary-commercial story running right alongside it.
I adore historical fiction, and the southern setting and time period have a special place in my heart (as a research period and locale for my own work). I enjoyed the peek into the 1800s setting and into the conflicting attitudes of women in slave-holding households. As well, the descriptions of Charleston and the Low Country are lovely, and the contemporary story has a bittersweet + heartwarming ending. The bigger issues of race are well-drawn, also.
I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s acknowledgements and her subsequent notes about this book’s genesis, its unintended metamorphosis AFTER it was completed, and the gentle way she treats events within the book that are based on past – and recent – history in the United States.
This was the perfect read for me while I was on the treadmill. If you enjoy commercial/women’s fiction and dual novels constructed with a person in the present investigating clues from the past, and the past story running concurrently, this is the book for you.
I adore historical fiction, and the southern setting and time period have a special place in my heart (as a research period and locale for my own work). I enjoyed the peek into the 1800s setting and into the conflicting attitudes of women in slave-holding households. As well, the descriptions of Charleston and the Low Country are lovely, and the contemporary story has a bittersweet + heartwarming ending. The bigger issues of race are well-drawn, also.
I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s acknowledgements and her subsequent notes about this book’s genesis, its unintended metamorphosis AFTER it was completed, and the gentle way she treats events within the book that are based on past – and recent – history in the United States.
This was the perfect read for me while I was on the treadmill. If you enjoy commercial/women’s fiction and dual novels constructed with a person in the present investigating clues from the past, and the past story running concurrently, this is the book for you.
October 10, 2017
A Tangled Mercy is a historical fiction novel set in pre-Civil War and present day Charleston, South Carolina, with the real-moment-in-time Vesey slave uprising of 1822 centering the story. The historical setting and details in this novel are fascinating, and I did find the book to be reminiscient of Kate Morton's novels, which I love. However, I couldn't overcome a pervasive sense that the author was overreaching, stretching the story if you will, and just generally trying too hard to fit everything together. The book features several racial confrontation scenes set in the present day, and at the risk of incurring some wrath here, the scenes feel like they were written by someone who's researched racial conflict but never truly experienced it. (Not that I would do any better in the telling of it; I, like the author, am a midle-aged white chick, and I have minimal personal experience in this regard). It's an ambitious book with weighty subject matter, but the execution felt too cumbersome to warrant a more highly rated review from me.
Read
July 14, 2017A Tangled Mercy is the best book I have read in a long time. The writer did a great job of holding my interest and I hated to put it down. She did a wonderful job in her research in Charleston and her writing is easy to read. I loved the way she went back and forth from 1822 to 2015 and how it all tied together. It kept me guessing all along as to the ending which was a pleasant surprise. My favorite books are historical fiction and this is one of the best.
March 22, 2020
This book made me want to visit Charleston, SC someday.
Never was a city so sweet on itself than Charleston.
It is our unfortunate characteristics that make any of us interesting. Those of us, I might add, who are interesting.
The past is never dead. It's not even past. - William Faulkner
Hard not to spend up the life we've got now railing at what we wish hadn't been.
The most important votes, dear, that one ever places are with one's feet.
Sometimes the people with the softest hearts can't quit beating themselves for any hurt they've caused somebody else. Keep things churned up like that, there's no place forgiveness can take a deep root.
Gullah - groan in the spirit
A life worth living is one of compassion. And a life of compassion will include many tears.
Never was a city so sweet on itself than Charleston.
It is our unfortunate characteristics that make any of us interesting. Those of us, I might add, who are interesting.
The past is never dead. It's not even past. - William Faulkner
Hard not to spend up the life we've got now railing at what we wish hadn't been.
The most important votes, dear, that one ever places are with one's feet.
Sometimes the people with the softest hearts can't quit beating themselves for any hurt they've caused somebody else. Keep things churned up like that, there's no place forgiveness can take a deep root.
Gullah - groan in the spirit
A life worth living is one of compassion. And a life of compassion will include many tears.
August 3, 2017
I was captivated by this story from beginning to end. The characters in this story are not perfect - they struggle with courage, conviction and self-doubt - which makes them very relatable. The tragic history of slavery that still haunts our society in the form of institutionalized racism is addressed with honesty and insight. I was impressed by the depth of research on historical as well as contemporary events woven into this story. Having visited Charleston many times, I appreciated the detailed and sensory description of familiar places included in the story. I recommend it highly.
March 18, 2018
Nope nope NOPE. The subject matter...the Vesey Revolt...is compelling. But I can’t get past the portraits the author paints of Charlestonians current and in the past. The dialogue is rife with idioms in a way that detracts from the story and it draws a picture of the people that is like a caricature. It’s overblown to the point of insulting.
October 17, 2017
MY REVIEW OF "A TANGLED MERCY" by Joy Jordan-Lake
"A Tangled Mercy" by Joy Jordan-Lake combines the genres of History with Fiction, and Kudos to the author for the vivid descriptions of the charm, spirit, and architecture of Charleston, South Carolina. There are so many contrasts to Charleston in the past and in the present. The timeline of the novel is basically divided into two, weaving the story of the 1822 slave uprising and the 2015 Massacre at Charleston's at AME Church. This is a very heavy and significant read.
The characters in this novel in both past and present are complex and complicated. Somehow the contrast between good and evil, betrayal and loyalty,love and hate, freedom and oppression seem to be evident in both timelines
Kate Drayton had come to Charleston after her mother's death to seek answers her mother never gave her. In the process Kate is looking to discover herself. Kate's mother was obsessed with the 1822 slave revolt and a blacksmith named Tom Russell, a slave. Kate meets a colorful cast of characters, each adding some information for the unanswered questions she is seeking. Kate is a graduate student seeking similar information as her mother to the slave uprising.
We see in the past when Tom Russell was a gifted blacksmith, and how slavery was a part of Charleston's history. Although Charleston was a port that welcomed people of different religions , it was a tremendous port for slavery. We meet characters that are loyal and those that are betrayers. During this time period there are complicated and conflicted personalities.
Both timelines merge as secrets are discovered and history is revealed. The topic of DNA is brought up and the significance of the research of it. The author shows us that despite hatred and fear, love, hope, trust, and faith is what keeps Charleston. and the people together. In the end, Love, forgiveness, hope and faith will survive. The author also discusses the importance of family, friends, and love.
I recommend this novel for those readers that appreciate fictional characters based on historical facts. I received an Advanced Reading Copy for my honest review.
"A Tangled Mercy" by Joy Jordan-Lake combines the genres of History with Fiction, and Kudos to the author for the vivid descriptions of the charm, spirit, and architecture of Charleston, South Carolina. There are so many contrasts to Charleston in the past and in the present. The timeline of the novel is basically divided into two, weaving the story of the 1822 slave uprising and the 2015 Massacre at Charleston's at AME Church. This is a very heavy and significant read.
The characters in this novel in both past and present are complex and complicated. Somehow the contrast between good and evil, betrayal and loyalty,love and hate, freedom and oppression seem to be evident in both timelines
Kate Drayton had come to Charleston after her mother's death to seek answers her mother never gave her. In the process Kate is looking to discover herself. Kate's mother was obsessed with the 1822 slave revolt and a blacksmith named Tom Russell, a slave. Kate meets a colorful cast of characters, each adding some information for the unanswered questions she is seeking. Kate is a graduate student seeking similar information as her mother to the slave uprising.
We see in the past when Tom Russell was a gifted blacksmith, and how slavery was a part of Charleston's history. Although Charleston was a port that welcomed people of different religions , it was a tremendous port for slavery. We meet characters that are loyal and those that are betrayers. During this time period there are complicated and conflicted personalities.
Both timelines merge as secrets are discovered and history is revealed. The topic of DNA is brought up and the significance of the research of it. The author shows us that despite hatred and fear, love, hope, trust, and faith is what keeps Charleston. and the people together. In the end, Love, forgiveness, hope and faith will survive. The author also discusses the importance of family, friends, and love.
I recommend this novel for those readers that appreciate fictional characters based on historical facts. I received an Advanced Reading Copy for my honest review.
September 15, 2017
As stories by Southern women about Southern women are a staple in my literary diet, I expected to be entertained by this one. Boy, did I underestimate how it would make me feel. Most people say they could not put a good book down. I must confess that I kept putting this one down. Sometimes because I knew from history that the approaching scenes would be hard to read. But most often because I didn't want the beautiful prose to end. Every detail of every moment captured me. I wanted to enjoy the wonder of a child like Gabe, and witness the regal strength of a woman like Dinah, and traipse around in the wake of a dame like Rose. I became aware early on that each line brought me closer to the end of a story I didn't want to finish. So I allowed myself only one chapter at a time, savoring every word, every feeling. I read this book through the distress of Charlottesville and finished on the anniversary of 9/11. Reading straight through the feelings brought on by such displays of hatred, I somehow felt hopeful. As Joy told these stories of redemption and forgiveness, I felt so strongly that I needed to hear more. That we all need to hear more. More peace, more connection, more love. Well-done Joy! Everyone, go read this one!
October 20, 2017
Another fantastic historical fiction novel! This one centering on Charleston SC and the story of the Denmark Vesey slave revolt and Tom Russell of 1822. Told in alternating chapters between 1822 characters , and present day 2015 characters centering on Kate Drayton whose searching for answers to secrets from her families past connections to history in Charleston following the death of her mother. It also incorporates the history of the landmark AME Emanuel church, its connection with the slave revolt , and then the 2015 massacre in Charleston at the very same church. I was intrigued and as always touched by reading the struggles of the slaves in Deep South areas, and in awe of the strength and will that lives on despite persecution. This story was a roller coaster of emotion , heart breaking and heart warming , love, loss, hope, compassion and strength . It also weaves in the Grimke sisters , who were wealthy white Charleston residents during the revolt and became some of the bigger abolitionists in the early 1800s . If you’re a fan of historical stories; civil rights stories, or just great novels .... this is a must read ! Kudos to the author for a fantastic job of research and weaving these historical characters and stories so flawlessly to current day events!
November 2, 2017
A TANGLED MERCY by Joy Jordan-Lake interweaves the painful stories of two different time periods and two different sets of characters. A captivating tale. A place of contrasts. Pain and beauty. A city both vulnerable and resilient.
A hauntingly beautiful story of dual-timelines— a moving Southern tale: 1822 dark family secrets of slavery, and present-day Charleston, SC. From the Denmark Vesey slave revolt, and those who courageously fought for freedom.
The strong and courageous characters who stood out to take a stand against slavery to the more recent tragic shooting at Emanuel AME in Charleston —of rage, injustice, discrimination, and violence.
“A time for every season, you know —a time to mourn and a time to dance. Only here in the Low Country, we sometimes do both at the same time.”
Kate Drayton’s mother has passed and as a struggling Harvard grad student in New England, she decides to return to Charleston, SC — the place where her parents met. There are unanswered questions plus she needs to salvage her career in academia using her mom’s research.
Kate’s attempts to discover what drove her mother’s dangerous obsession with Charleston’s tumultuous history are derailed by a horrific massacre in the very same landmark church. In the unimaginable aftermath, Kate discovers a family she never knew existed as the city unites after horror and outrage.
A well-researched meticulous blending of fact and fiction, the author eloquently outlines why this story is so important to her. Her passion shines through each word on the page. It is critical to be tuned into how the “past bleeds through the present at every corner.”
As the author reiterates, it is her hope that this story of tragedy, brutality, beauty, and courage across two hundred years might be a least a small part of a conversation to have between our races.
Where not talking is also dangerous. “Make some noise” on behalf of those whose voices aren’t being heard. Promote respectful conversations.
I appreciate the author’s specific notes how she loved American history and the South. I can envision her packing up her eight-month daughter and her adventurous husband and driving to Charleston where she fell in love with the city. There was a story to be told. And back again later with three children and a husband to finish her work.
Engrossing! It is important to show the historical characters have changed the course of American history and why their message still matters today, particularly in a cultural moment in which people of common goodwill but different racial, ethnic and political backgrounds and perspectives are trying to be heard, and understood while attempting to move forward together.
Astounding, the author began this journey some twenty years ago; however, rings true today in our complex world of understanding people, their roots, their past, and their hearts.
As a reader, I find these components of fact and fiction make for a powerful and insightful read. The reason I myself find historical fiction so fascinating, you have a foundation of real people, vivid places, and experiences rich in history and character.
The skill of the author is to be able to put themselves in the minds and hearts of their characters —portray which could have happened or their most intimate thoughts. Feel what they are feeling.
Joy-Jordan Lake and her words will empower you. You cannot read this tale and not be moved in some way. A story of hope, forgiveness, and redemption. (have you read her bio)? Highly impressive.
If you have grown up or spent time in the Low Country, you may know of its historical architecture, beauty, and charm today.
However, as depicted in the novel, beneath the façade, there has been a turbulent history. Darkness and ugliness in contrast to the beauty. Even today in our world and cultural climate of today, we see the pain of racial injustice and a world of violence. We cannot read any news feed without devastation.
As the author mentions her intent is not only to tell a story worth reading (which she does masterfully); but equally and more importantly to honor the memory of those in the nineteenth and twenty-first-century Charleston who have set an example of courage, conviction, and a spirit of love far stronger than hate. They need a voice.
From outrage, pain, and horror to love, unity, forgiveness, and strength. A poignant and inspiring story of how people come together, even in their darkest hours. Crossing lines of race, income, social class, and religion. Seeking justice.
I loved the author’s reference to a foundation from a portion of the proceeds of the novel to go towards serving the families of victims, administered by Mother Emanuel.
Beyond the harrowing depths of human brutality and betrayal, their lives redemption, freedom, and forgiveness.
A highly recommended choice for book clubs and further discussions (Reading Group Questions Included).
For fans of well-researched historical and Southern fiction and readers who enjoy Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain, Charles Martin, Karen White, Lisa Wingate and Susan Meissner. (all favorites of mine).
My first book by the author, and look forward to reading more (and her backlist of those I missed) from this talented and gifted writer! My Top Books of 2017 and my featured Top 20 Books for Nov.
JDCMustReadBooks
A hauntingly beautiful story of dual-timelines— a moving Southern tale: 1822 dark family secrets of slavery, and present-day Charleston, SC. From the Denmark Vesey slave revolt, and those who courageously fought for freedom.
The strong and courageous characters who stood out to take a stand against slavery to the more recent tragic shooting at Emanuel AME in Charleston —of rage, injustice, discrimination, and violence.
“A time for every season, you know —a time to mourn and a time to dance. Only here in the Low Country, we sometimes do both at the same time.”
Kate Drayton’s mother has passed and as a struggling Harvard grad student in New England, she decides to return to Charleston, SC — the place where her parents met. There are unanswered questions plus she needs to salvage her career in academia using her mom’s research.
Kate’s attempts to discover what drove her mother’s dangerous obsession with Charleston’s tumultuous history are derailed by a horrific massacre in the very same landmark church. In the unimaginable aftermath, Kate discovers a family she never knew existed as the city unites after horror and outrage.
A well-researched meticulous blending of fact and fiction, the author eloquently outlines why this story is so important to her. Her passion shines through each word on the page. It is critical to be tuned into how the “past bleeds through the present at every corner.”
As the author reiterates, it is her hope that this story of tragedy, brutality, beauty, and courage across two hundred years might be a least a small part of a conversation to have between our races.
Where not talking is also dangerous. “Make some noise” on behalf of those whose voices aren’t being heard. Promote respectful conversations.
I appreciate the author’s specific notes how she loved American history and the South. I can envision her packing up her eight-month daughter and her adventurous husband and driving to Charleston where she fell in love with the city. There was a story to be told. And back again later with three children and a husband to finish her work.
Engrossing! It is important to show the historical characters have changed the course of American history and why their message still matters today, particularly in a cultural moment in which people of common goodwill but different racial, ethnic and political backgrounds and perspectives are trying to be heard, and understood while attempting to move forward together.
Astounding, the author began this journey some twenty years ago; however, rings true today in our complex world of understanding people, their roots, their past, and their hearts.
As a reader, I find these components of fact and fiction make for a powerful and insightful read. The reason I myself find historical fiction so fascinating, you have a foundation of real people, vivid places, and experiences rich in history and character.
The skill of the author is to be able to put themselves in the minds and hearts of their characters —portray which could have happened or their most intimate thoughts. Feel what they are feeling.
Joy-Jordan Lake and her words will empower you. You cannot read this tale and not be moved in some way. A story of hope, forgiveness, and redemption. (have you read her bio)? Highly impressive.
If you have grown up or spent time in the Low Country, you may know of its historical architecture, beauty, and charm today.
However, as depicted in the novel, beneath the façade, there has been a turbulent history. Darkness and ugliness in contrast to the beauty. Even today in our world and cultural climate of today, we see the pain of racial injustice and a world of violence. We cannot read any news feed without devastation.
As the author mentions her intent is not only to tell a story worth reading (which she does masterfully); but equally and more importantly to honor the memory of those in the nineteenth and twenty-first-century Charleston who have set an example of courage, conviction, and a spirit of love far stronger than hate. They need a voice.
From outrage, pain, and horror to love, unity, forgiveness, and strength. A poignant and inspiring story of how people come together, even in their darkest hours. Crossing lines of race, income, social class, and religion. Seeking justice.
I loved the author’s reference to a foundation from a portion of the proceeds of the novel to go towards serving the families of victims, administered by Mother Emanuel.
Beyond the harrowing depths of human brutality and betrayal, their lives redemption, freedom, and forgiveness.
A highly recommended choice for book clubs and further discussions (Reading Group Questions Included).
For fans of well-researched historical and Southern fiction and readers who enjoy Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain, Charles Martin, Karen White, Lisa Wingate and Susan Meissner. (all favorites of mine).
My first book by the author, and look forward to reading more (and her backlist of those I missed) from this talented and gifted writer! My Top Books of 2017 and my featured Top 20 Books for Nov.
JDCMustReadBooks
June 20, 2017
These characters are so well-drawn that weeks after finishing the book I am still catching myself wondering how Kate, Gabe, Rose and the others are getting along. Jordan-Lake's quiet descriptions -- eyes the color of a gray glint of a blade; like a whispered apology; the (beautiful) sky was such a liar -- are so real and subtle you are placed in the moment without even realizing it. Clues are hidden throughout like Easter eggs -- an old leather gun case, heron earrings, seashells, a silver hairbrush -- that gave me a Nancy Drew feeling as if I was solving a mystery.
However, the book is deeper than that, too. For instance, the heartbreaking scene of a mother and child being auctioned off to separate plantations did me in. The gripping intertwining racism and privilege of today are connected through two time periods, with readers left to draw our own conclusions. The use of real historical figures, both in the 1822 and 2015 narratives, is very effective and because the Vesey slave revolt upon which it is based was real, educational. I had not heard of it before -- why? The book is set in Charleston where the revolt happened in real life, so it was inevitable that the author also included the horrifying shootings in that city in 2015. The delicate and careful treatment of the shootings turns into a beautiful tribute to the actual victims, an unexpected salve to the reader that these people who reached out so selflessly to their killer are honored in this way. (This event is not a main part of the book but adds to the depth of the story.) Of course the book is fiction, but these true elements within it give an extra layer of realness, as good fiction always does. The connection of the two tragic events is inevitable -- but seeing the vastly different reactions of the people of the same city nearly 200 years apart is gratifying and hopeful.
The book left me with an appreciation for the positive change, small steps of reconciliation, which have occurred in our society, even in these times that sometimes feel backwards and so uncertain. It is also such a well-written exciting journey and easy read -- I could not wait to see what happened next and to figure out who was, or was not, connected to each other. I only put the book down when forced -- for the most pressing of daily chores -- and was sorry when the story ended.
However, the book is deeper than that, too. For instance, the heartbreaking scene of a mother and child being auctioned off to separate plantations did me in. The gripping intertwining racism and privilege of today are connected through two time periods, with readers left to draw our own conclusions. The use of real historical figures, both in the 1822 and 2015 narratives, is very effective and because the Vesey slave revolt upon which it is based was real, educational. I had not heard of it before -- why? The book is set in Charleston where the revolt happened in real life, so it was inevitable that the author also included the horrifying shootings in that city in 2015. The delicate and careful treatment of the shootings turns into a beautiful tribute to the actual victims, an unexpected salve to the reader that these people who reached out so selflessly to their killer are honored in this way. (This event is not a main part of the book but adds to the depth of the story.) Of course the book is fiction, but these true elements within it give an extra layer of realness, as good fiction always does. The connection of the two tragic events is inevitable -- but seeing the vastly different reactions of the people of the same city nearly 200 years apart is gratifying and hopeful.
The book left me with an appreciation for the positive change, small steps of reconciliation, which have occurred in our society, even in these times that sometimes feel backwards and so uncertain. It is also such a well-written exciting journey and easy read -- I could not wait to see what happened next and to figure out who was, or was not, connected to each other. I only put the book down when forced -- for the most pressing of daily chores -- and was sorry when the story ended.
October 29, 2017
"A Tangled Mercy" sounds good. Actual historical events almost 200 years apart. How will the characters be connected? I did learn a little about a slave revolt in Charleston, South Carolina in 1822. But I never did experience a page turning frenzy trying to find out what happens next. The characters didn't seem to come alive and I basically knew where the story was heading. So, I just slogged through it. All the details were tied together nicely at the end, but getting there wasn't very satisfying.
April 17, 2018
I have to to toss in the towel on page 75. I started reading this book over a week ago and that fact that I still haven't reached 100 pages says a lot. There is nothing compelling me to take my Kindle out of my bag and when I finally did this morning, I felt myself skimming over things, which doesn't bode well with 400 or so pages left to go.
November 9, 2017
DNF I tried for a week, but couldn’t get into it.
June 30, 2017
This is a wonderful book that kept me engrossed right from the beginning. I had to find out what happened to Kate Drayton and what her mother hadn't told her about her past life in Charleston, South Carolina.
I love the city of Charleston. It is a city with a wonderful, rich history, a history that unfortunately included slavery. I know the basic history of that terrible era but like many of you I was never aware of the Denmark Vesey Revolt of 1822 which took place in Charleston. I am always so surprised when I find out about these stories that have not been told in our classroom history books. Important stories. Stories that make us grieve for the people who tried to make a better life for themselves and others. Stories that desperately need to be told today so we learn form our past mistakes. They are difficult to read or hear but we need to hear all of them. Joy then adds stories of today's horrific events that make us wonder if we will ever learn. Such sad stories but they still somehow give us hope for our future because of the people in these stories who, because of the way they lived, their strength, hope, faith, and forgiveness, make us want to be better people.
Joy does a beautiful job of blending today, and the past, with people, events, and places we want to know more about. People you care about. She keeps you wanting to know more and wanting to find out what happens. She gives you a history lesson and some much needed life lessons all wrapped up in a riveting and beautiful story of a complicated family and city. It's past and the present.
Joy loves her descriptions and adjectives which occassionaly made me go back to reread some of the passages but I will blame myself for that and instead say that it is a beautifully written book I would gladly read again.
I love the city of Charleston. It is a city with a wonderful, rich history, a history that unfortunately included slavery. I know the basic history of that terrible era but like many of you I was never aware of the Denmark Vesey Revolt of 1822 which took place in Charleston. I am always so surprised when I find out about these stories that have not been told in our classroom history books. Important stories. Stories that make us grieve for the people who tried to make a better life for themselves and others. Stories that desperately need to be told today so we learn form our past mistakes. They are difficult to read or hear but we need to hear all of them. Joy then adds stories of today's horrific events that make us wonder if we will ever learn. Such sad stories but they still somehow give us hope for our future because of the people in these stories who, because of the way they lived, their strength, hope, faith, and forgiveness, make us want to be better people.
Joy does a beautiful job of blending today, and the past, with people, events, and places we want to know more about. People you care about. She keeps you wanting to know more and wanting to find out what happens. She gives you a history lesson and some much needed life lessons all wrapped up in a riveting and beautiful story of a complicated family and city. It's past and the present.
Joy loves her descriptions and adjectives which occassionaly made me go back to reread some of the passages but I will blame myself for that and instead say that it is a beautifully written book I would gladly read again.
November 8, 2017
Normally I really love books like this; books that 1) have two narratives jumping back and forth in time, 2) have a family secret that is being investigated and 2) takes place in the South. But this was just ok for me. For one thing, it felt way too long. In reading the background for how the novel came to be, the author wrote the book and then when the Charleston church shooting happened, she went back and added it in. I get why she did that, but it made the story just *too much* for me. Secondly, the historical narrative was much more compelling but the modern storyline was much longer so those portions felt like they dragged, especially when I was just annoyed at how completely inept the main character was. For a historian, she hardly ever actually found out anything for herself. She either magically stumbled upon information or conveniently met people who brought her the very missing pieces she didn't even know she was looking for. It was all just too much unbelievable coincidence.
July 28, 2025
3.5. I have mixed feelings. On one hand this was interesting & I always appreciate the chance to learn more about Charleston’s history (especially in a book I picked up in a used bookstore in Greenfield, MA). I appreciated that in its attempt to display the diversity of Charleston, there were a number of Jews. But I sort of think it tried to tell too many stories & nothing ended up getting as much time as it should have (and the book was already quite long). I also think it romanticized Charleston a bit, not because it didn’t address many of the dark parts of its history (that was sort of the whole point), but because it forgets that Charleston is just a city where people live. There is beauty and pain everywhere, not just in Charleston. That said, maybe you have to be romantic sometimes?
“In this single summer, Charleston had become a city forever stripped of what it thought it had been”
“It struck Kate again with almost physical force: the infernal beauty of this place steeped through with pain. When she’d first arrived back, she’d thought of Charleston as a city in amber, trapped in a two hundred year old form. But it was alive, with a vibrantly beating heart — both vulnerable and resilient”
“In this single summer, Charleston had become a city forever stripped of what it thought it had been”
“It struck Kate again with almost physical force: the infernal beauty of this place steeped through with pain. When she’d first arrived back, she’d thought of Charleston as a city in amber, trapped in a two hundred year old form. But it was alive, with a vibrantly beating heart — both vulnerable and resilient”
October 4, 2017
A Tangled Mercy by Joy Jordan Lake is a fascinating story that engulfs you from beginning to end. The Story is set in Charleston almost 200 years apart going back to 1822 and forward to 2015. It’s so well written each Chapter leaves you wanting more as your go between the two eras seeing small flickers of connections that bring you from brutality of slavery and darkness into the light of freedom and hope for us all. This is applicable today that HOPE can start the conversations between us and our differences we struggle with as a community, country and the world. Please read and share with your book clubs to start the dialogue. Thanks for the free review copy for a honest review.
September 15, 2017
A must-read novel for today. Weaving the story of a slave uprising in 1822 Charleston with one set during the 2015 massacre at Charleston’s AME Church, A Tangled Mercy reminds us of yesterday’s atrocities and today’s ongoing racial travesties. Throughout the novel, author Joy Jordan-Lake offers readers compelling characters, evocative writing, and an engrossing and appalling look at time past and time present. This important story will help readers appreciate the ongoing struggles facing America based on the tragic and continuing impact of slavery. Highly recommended.
January 1, 2018
This book started slowly for me, and I was tempted to quit after some 60 pages. But, since so many Goodreads readers rated this book with five stars, I decided to refocus and continue reading. I was happily rewarded with an intriguing interwoven story that got better and better. Lots of history, an interesting story, good characters, and well worth the read.
October 5, 2017
I couldn't even make it through 2 chapters.... too much description about nothing for me.
July 19, 2025
As the main character Kate seeks answers to the secrets of her mother's past, she simultaneously continues her mother's research into the failed 1822 Denmark Vesey slave revolt that happened in Charleston. I always appreciate works of fiction that I can learn from. I had never heard of this slave revolt. Jordan-Lake masterfully weaves together current events (including the 2015 church shooting at Charleston's Emmanuel AME) with the historic events of 1822.
July 10, 2018
What an extraordinary novel. I smiled and cried right along with Kate throughout the entire story and the climax really does just leave one speechless.
November 18, 2018
Set in a modern as well as in a historic timeline, A Tangled Mercy is a captivating, heart-warming and sometimes shocking read. Kate is searching for information about some truths behind her mother's rather obscure life and research. She makes a few life changing discoveries about her family, finds out several unknown facts about Charleston history and meets the love of her life.
This gripping novel once again makes the reader aware of the atrocities committed against 19th century slaves, as well as of the hatred that still lurks in the hearts of some. Although the subject matter of the novel is very serious, often heart breaking and shocking, the whole book has a positive, almost gay feel to it.
The characters are realistic and truly crawl into one's heart. Kate, being the scatter brain she is, truly stands out in the book as the main character. Although the nineteenth century characters are also well portrayed, the modern characters definitely take the lead in this novel.
For a book that will touch your heart and provide you with a couple of moments of shock and horror, I recommend A Tangled Mercy as a must-read. (Ellen Fritz)
This gripping novel once again makes the reader aware of the atrocities committed against 19th century slaves, as well as of the hatred that still lurks in the hearts of some. Although the subject matter of the novel is very serious, often heart breaking and shocking, the whole book has a positive, almost gay feel to it.
The characters are realistic and truly crawl into one's heart. Kate, being the scatter brain she is, truly stands out in the book as the main character. Although the nineteenth century characters are also well portrayed, the modern characters definitely take the lead in this novel.
For a book that will touch your heart and provide you with a couple of moments of shock and horror, I recommend A Tangled Mercy as a must-read. (Ellen Fritz)
August 20, 2017
Jordan-Lake's new novel is a gripping story of relationships, loyalty, betrayal, terror and triumph of spirit set in Charleston, South Carolina. The characters are two groups of Charlestonians. One set of characters are those involved in and touched by the slave rebellion planned by Denmark Vesey in 1822 but aborted when terrified associates leaked the plan to the white men of the city. The other group of characters lived in the Charleston of 2015, when the city was rocked by the massacre of nine members of a Bible study by a white nationalist attempting, by his own account, to start a race war.
These two groups of characters are connected by a web of relationships and puzzling questions that keep the reader intrigued and involved as the stories unfold.
This unfolding is accomplished by chapters that alternate between 1822 and 2015, moving both stories along toward their heartbreaking and heart-lifting conclusions, both revolving around Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the mother church of the AME denomination.
Jordan-Lake is a master of her craft. The plots and sub-plots are intricate, but not at all confusing and the "aha" moments come at just the right times in the reader's experience. There is not a cardboard character in the whole novel; the Harvard graduate student is admirable and neurotic; the child who is necessary to bridge the gap between adults inclined to mistrust each other is not merely a gregarious imp, but a math genius who deals with his anxiety by solving his Rubik's cube; the elegant elderly Southern lady dislikes mint juleps and is more interested in truth than propriety.
And thank the muses, we are not subjected to worn-out language (I will burn the next book containing the phrase "pre-dawn darkness"). Instead one comes upon this:
"Daniel laughed. Not much more than a chipped piece of a chuckle, really, like it rumbled up from somewhere deep down inside and rusted to stiff but somehow still lurched its way up and out."
And this:
"A breeze off the marsh jostled a line of palmettos and set them to rattling fronds like flimsy wood sabers . . . The sun would soon be chinning up over the edge of the marsh, and the temperature with it."
Sue Monk Kidd's The Invention of Wings brought nineteenth-century Charleston to the attention of many readers for the first time. Joy Jordan-Lake's A Tangled Mercy far surpasses Kidd's novel in research, craft, suspense and emotional involvement.
READ THIS BOOK!
These two groups of characters are connected by a web of relationships and puzzling questions that keep the reader intrigued and involved as the stories unfold.
This unfolding is accomplished by chapters that alternate between 1822 and 2015, moving both stories along toward their heartbreaking and heart-lifting conclusions, both revolving around Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the mother church of the AME denomination.
Jordan-Lake is a master of her craft. The plots and sub-plots are intricate, but not at all confusing and the "aha" moments come at just the right times in the reader's experience. There is not a cardboard character in the whole novel; the Harvard graduate student is admirable and neurotic; the child who is necessary to bridge the gap between adults inclined to mistrust each other is not merely a gregarious imp, but a math genius who deals with his anxiety by solving his Rubik's cube; the elegant elderly Southern lady dislikes mint juleps and is more interested in truth than propriety.
And thank the muses, we are not subjected to worn-out language (I will burn the next book containing the phrase "pre-dawn darkness"). Instead one comes upon this:
"Daniel laughed. Not much more than a chipped piece of a chuckle, really, like it rumbled up from somewhere deep down inside and rusted to stiff but somehow still lurched its way up and out."
And this:
"A breeze off the marsh jostled a line of palmettos and set them to rattling fronds like flimsy wood sabers . . . The sun would soon be chinning up over the edge of the marsh, and the temperature with it."
Sue Monk Kidd's The Invention of Wings brought nineteenth-century Charleston to the attention of many readers for the first time. Joy Jordan-Lake's A Tangled Mercy far surpasses Kidd's novel in research, craft, suspense and emotional involvement.
READ THIS BOOK!
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