The Mercy Seat

A masterful, searing story of injustice, love and prejudice set in a small Louisiana town in 1943, by 'one of the finest writers of her generation. On the eve of his execution for allegedly raping a white girl, eighteen-year-old Willie Jones sits in a jail cell awaiting his end. Across the state, a truck driven by a convict carries the executioner's electric chair closer. On a nearby highway, Willie's father struggles to reach town in time with a gravestone for his son. In his office the prosecuting attorney examines his conscience, while at home his wife protests Willie's innocence. As the minutes tick by, an intricately layered portrait of a community riven by racism and violent hatred emerges, yet one that harbours decency and compassion too. Moving from voice to voice, Elizabeth Winthrop elegantly brings to stark light the story of a town, its people and its abuses in this brutally incisive, tender - and timely - novel. Winthrop's engrossing story unfolds through strong memorable characters. A remarkable work with a stunning unexpected conclusion, not to be missed....