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Mercy
Fourteen-year-old Haley is struggling to cope. She’s got a new stepmom and baby brother. Her cousin Jake is dying from a terminal illness. Her grades are slipping. And the boy she likes is dating her best friend. But all that’s nothing compared to what she uncovers when she digs deep into her family history for a school project. Now she’s got a blood-stained glove, eerie messages on the TV screen, and ghostly images on her camera. Just what—or who—has Haley unearthed? Haley must overcome her own doubts and confront a vampire in order to save herself and her family. Inspired by a true New England story, Mercy is accomplished children's author Sarah L. Thomson's first book for Islandport Press.
180 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 17, 2011
7 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Sarah L. Thomson
70 books83 followersSarah L. Thomson has written over thirty books for young readers, including poetry, prose, fiction and nonfiction. Her recent books include Cub's BIG World, which School Library Journal called “a big must-have" and Deadly Flowers: A Ninja's Tale, which Booklist called “genuinely thrilling." She lives in Portland, Maine.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 26, 2018
It was very good, it made me feel like this was happening in real life.
June 2, 2020
I previewed this for my 12 year old grandson. Thoroughly enjoyed it in spite of some teenage angst thrown in. It is based on an actual incident in New England history. Not overly gory but just enough of a chill to creep out a young almost teen. I like to stroll through old cemetaries and I will pay closer attention next time I do.
Author lives in Portland Maine. She is currently writing the Secrets of the Seven series. I read The Eureka Key (Book 1) and highly recommend it. Suspense filled and action packed.
Author lives in Portland Maine. She is currently writing the Secrets of the Seven series. I read The Eureka Key (Book 1) and highly recommend it. Suspense filled and action packed.
April 3, 2020
I remember adoring it as a child, hence the high rating. It got me into "darker" fiction, again, for a child, and I was obsessed with the incident the whole book is based off of. Though it's utterly historically inaccurate, and perhaps a bit campy, but it was incredibly entertaining.
November 30, 2017
Although there are a few boring spots in the beginning the middle and the ending were great I really liked how the book was made and I actually got scared reading the beginning and the end
May 29, 2025
I don't read that many thriller/horror books because I'm not a superstitious person myself, but this book was honestly amazing.
March 22, 2012
Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!
Fourteen-year-old Haley Brown is struggling with a lot of uncertainty in her life. Her cousin and close friend, Jake, is dying from an unknown chronic illness. Her dad and stepmother seem to be perpetually focused on her two-year-old half brother, Eddie. And her mom, who left their home in Rhode Island to live in New York City, promises Haley a Thanksgiving dinner of takeout when she comes to visit. To make matters worse, Haley has been assigned to research one of her ancestors, and decides to do her project on Mercy Brown. Mercy, who lived in the late 1800s, died of consumption at age 19. Her mother and older sister Grace died of the disease before her, and after her death, her younger brother Edwin fell ill. Determined to protect his only son, Mercy’s father, at the request of the townspeople, exhumed Mercy’s body. When it was found that her heart contained fresh blood, she was branded a vampire who was returning from beyond the grave to suck the life out of her brother. Her heart was burned, and Mercy’s name was forever slandered. As Haley learns more about Mercy’s life, strange things begin happening. Haley is plagued by the disembodied sound of a beating heart, icy cold sensations, and mysterious messages left for her to see. Could the ghost of Mercy have returned to help Haley clear her name as a vampire?
Although it is short in duration, this quiet mystery from esteemed author Sarah L. Thomson provides a different approach to the vampire craze that has swept young adult literature, one for readers who want a book with something below the surface. Based on the true story of Mercy Brown who died in 1892, teens who are fans of history, particularly that pertaining to New England, will enjoy the author’s inclusion of historical accounts in the plot of the novel. Mercy was truly exhumed, her heart was cut-out post-mortem and burned, the ashes given to her brother Edwin who was dying of consumption. Although the author does fictionalize the true “vampire” in the novel, learning about the real Mercy Brown and how people, especially women, were often vilified as the source of disease and other natural occurrences adds a great deal of depth to the story. Readers can be entertaining by Haley and her efforts to uncover the truth about Mercy and her connection to the rest of the Brown family, while being asked to think about the implications of the story beyond the scope of the mystery. Being based in part in history, Mercy would have a strong place in a middle school collection, particularly in drawing in more reluctant readers who are unsure about the historical fiction genre. Overall, a brief but strong novel that can be enjoyed by teen and adult readers alike.
As a big fan of history, I was really looking forward to this novel because it is based on a true story, something I had never really experienced in paranormal young adult literature. I was not disappointed! Although the novel is short, the author does an excellent job of creating the appropriate atmosphere for Haley’s encountering the ghost of Mercy Brown. I also felt that the liberties the author took in fictionalizing Mercy’s story into a ghostly mystery were really well done. I would highly recommend this novel to history buffs, both teen and adult.
Fourteen-year-old Haley Brown is struggling with a lot of uncertainty in her life. Her cousin and close friend, Jake, is dying from an unknown chronic illness. Her dad and stepmother seem to be perpetually focused on her two-year-old half brother, Eddie. And her mom, who left their home in Rhode Island to live in New York City, promises Haley a Thanksgiving dinner of takeout when she comes to visit. To make matters worse, Haley has been assigned to research one of her ancestors, and decides to do her project on Mercy Brown. Mercy, who lived in the late 1800s, died of consumption at age 19. Her mother and older sister Grace died of the disease before her, and after her death, her younger brother Edwin fell ill. Determined to protect his only son, Mercy’s father, at the request of the townspeople, exhumed Mercy’s body. When it was found that her heart contained fresh blood, she was branded a vampire who was returning from beyond the grave to suck the life out of her brother. Her heart was burned, and Mercy’s name was forever slandered. As Haley learns more about Mercy’s life, strange things begin happening. Haley is plagued by the disembodied sound of a beating heart, icy cold sensations, and mysterious messages left for her to see. Could the ghost of Mercy have returned to help Haley clear her name as a vampire?
Although it is short in duration, this quiet mystery from esteemed author Sarah L. Thomson provides a different approach to the vampire craze that has swept young adult literature, one for readers who want a book with something below the surface. Based on the true story of Mercy Brown who died in 1892, teens who are fans of history, particularly that pertaining to New England, will enjoy the author’s inclusion of historical accounts in the plot of the novel. Mercy was truly exhumed, her heart was cut-out post-mortem and burned, the ashes given to her brother Edwin who was dying of consumption. Although the author does fictionalize the true “vampire” in the novel, learning about the real Mercy Brown and how people, especially women, were often vilified as the source of disease and other natural occurrences adds a great deal of depth to the story. Readers can be entertaining by Haley and her efforts to uncover the truth about Mercy and her connection to the rest of the Brown family, while being asked to think about the implications of the story beyond the scope of the mystery. Being based in part in history, Mercy would have a strong place in a middle school collection, particularly in drawing in more reluctant readers who are unsure about the historical fiction genre. Overall, a brief but strong novel that can be enjoyed by teen and adult readers alike.
As a big fan of history, I was really looking forward to this novel because it is based on a true story, something I had never really experienced in paranormal young adult literature. I was not disappointed! Although the novel is short, the author does an excellent job of creating the appropriate atmosphere for Haley’s encountering the ghost of Mercy Brown. I also felt that the liberties the author took in fictionalizing Mercy’s story into a ghostly mystery were really well done. I would highly recommend this novel to history buffs, both teen and adult.
November 25, 2011
Meh. Another week, another vampire book. This one is slightly different from others as it focuses on American vampire lore. Haley is working on a family history project for school, researching her "famous" ancestor Mercy Brown, who died of tuberculosis when she was nineteen. Mercy became famous after her death, though, when TB was raging in her younger brother. In a desperate attempt to cure him, Mercy's body was exhumed, her heart removed and burned, and the ashes mixed with wine and fed to the brother as medicine. He died anyway, and because there was liquid blood in Mercy's heart when she was exhumed, Mercy went down in history as a vampire. The burning of the heart wasn't an unheard of practice then, so that thread is interesting. This book wasn't the greatest, but I appreciated the fact that it was based at least in some part on history (and an author's note helps separate fact from fiction). This book is also more creepy than outright scary (more R.L. Stine than Stephen King, with a flavor similar to Mary Downing Hahn) and has a grand total of no sex, no swearing, no weird vampire-human crossbreeds, no romance, no sparkling, and one cigarette consumed onstage.
March 7, 2012
An interesting tale in the realm of the vampire mythos as it brings forward the New England vampire rather than the European variety that we are all so familiar with.
Sarah Thomson brings forward with a few twists the story of Mercy Brown of Rhode Island who died in 1892 and was considered due fear and superstition to be considered a vampire and the last of her kind on these shores. The story is told through the actions and eyes of a modern day descendant of Mercy named Haley Brown.
It is with Haley that we learned the story of Mercy and how her actions may be affecting the family of Browns up to modern day. The tale itself is fast paced and interesting with history and action and if there was a slight to this small novel it is with Haley, a petulant and dislikable little girl at best.
Her selfishness seeps througout the book and I felt at times that it may not be the worst thing if the vampire got her after all.
Sarah Thomson brings forward with a few twists the story of Mercy Brown of Rhode Island who died in 1892 and was considered due fear and superstition to be considered a vampire and the last of her kind on these shores. The story is told through the actions and eyes of a modern day descendant of Mercy named Haley Brown.
It is with Haley that we learned the story of Mercy and how her actions may be affecting the family of Browns up to modern day. The tale itself is fast paced and interesting with history and action and if there was a slight to this small novel it is with Haley, a petulant and dislikable little girl at best.
Her selfishness seeps througout the book and I felt at times that it may not be the worst thing if the vampire got her after all.
December 14, 2015
Sarah L. Thomson presents an engrossing tale, one that is sure to engage young adolescents who are prone to be enthralled with the vampire rage. Weaving nineteenth century hysteria for the suspected cause of consumption (tuberculosis) with contemporary captivation of traditional "vampires", Thomson writes an entertaining mystery. Fourteen-year-old Haley is Thomson's protagonist and is dealing with a number of issues in her life. Her father has remarried; her cousin is terminally ill; school work is suffering. A genealogy project for her history class further complicates her life as her investigation is hijacked by the ghost of one of her ancestors. Haley deals with a variety of clues in trying to determine whether the motives of this specter are for good or evil.
November 22, 2013
This was a very creepy and modern book. A girl has to do a project about something interesting in her family(dead or alive) and finds out an old legend about her great great grandmother; Mercy. A vampire was sucking the life out of her family even when they though she was dead. The girl unlocks secrets to the truth with the help of a long lost, and unseen friend. The chapters go between Mercy and the main character. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a fast paste quick read, and a little bit of spook and mystery. The one thing I did not like was that there weren't enough chapters with Mercy's "point of view".
May 2, 2018
In a time of surplus "paranormal romance" novels, it was refreshing to read a vampire novel in which the vampire was actually frightening. The plot was well thought out and the combination of a fictional story with true facts made the novel that much better. While not the next classic novel, Mercy was very enjoyable and I look forward to reading it again.
September 10, 2012
this was a good book. It was based on a true story of the last accused Vampire in New England. It did go a little in the way of a typical vampire story but all in all, you got the history of the true story.
October 15, 2012
This book was really good. A bit scary. I would love a sequel. The pacing was good. The first five chapters were so boring, but when it started actually getting into the book it all became an awesome amazing book that I'd read over and over and over again!
Currently reading
October 15, 2011Shhh...I'm reading Mercy.
November 8, 2011
The fast pace, likable main character and creep factor will make this a winner with kids. Suggest to future Stephen King fans.
September 21, 2013
At first I liked it but then quickly realized it wasn't going anywhere. Don't bother reading.
February 18, 2012
Love that MERCY is based on a true story. Thomson creates the right mix of blending old with new and fear with fondness (for the characters). Character development strength of this book.
May 11, 2012
Maine Student Book Award Nominee 2012-2013
June 12, 2012
i liked the premise of the story and the writing in general, but i kept seeing places in the story that could have been filled in with more backstory.
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August 30, 2012Loved it!!!
October 8, 2014
I thought this was a really good book. A great mix of history and mystery. It hooks you in, I couldn't stop reading.
January 25, 2016
An interesting new take on vampirism. I enjoyed the combination of historical fiction and thrilling chills. Part ghost story, part vampire tale, part realistic fiction...all good.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews