Set in a safe house designed for abused women located in a row house in Brooklyn, our hero is the thoroughly modern Sister Evelyn. She doesn't wear a habit, in fact nothing about her suggests that she is a Nun. She and a few other Nuns operate the shelter that is an open secret within the neighborhood.
The cast of characters all come to the shelter under various reasons which is to be expected. What is not expected is the abuse Sister Evelyn has hidden for decades and the driving force for her empathy and dedication to her victims.
The villains are easy to pick out and as such, easy to revile. I also found myself cheering on Sister Evelyn and her more moderate operators of the safe house, Sisters Josephine and Maria. When the safe house and Sister Evelyn are threatened by both abusers past and present, all inhabitants of Mercy House pool together their incredible talents and internal fortitude to stand with one another to save that which saved them.

Good writing and characterization. Unfortunately the storyline was not my cup of tea.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

“I hope you accept as much kindness as you give, Sister. It ain’t right to be the one always dishing it out. It just ain’t right.”

In the opening chapters, a homeless woman foreshadows what lies ahead in this eloquent debut novel about a home for abused women in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. I hope readers fall in love with Sister Evelyn as I did, as she turns every nun stereotype on its head. In her desperate quest to keep Mercy House open, she must confront present day villains, along with those from her past.

Dillon expertly uses her un-apologetic, wicked humor to balance the dark, and sometimes hopeless themes in the storyline. A distorted sense of blame, both dictated and self-imposed creates tension in all the right places and the setting for the novel’s denouement was both surprising and satisfying.

Yes, this book focuses on the Catholic Church, but overarching themes sadly can be applied to many entities (Hollywood, corporate hierarchies, etc.) Evil lies in the dark corners of so many places - some considered sanctuaries unrelated to religion. I look forward to the conversation upon publication, and expect more great reads from this terrific writer.

Thank you Net Galley and William Morrow Publishing for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was original and compelling and timely for a historical fiction novel. I can't wait to delve into it further with my book club!

Well written historical fiction a story that draws you in.The church abuse a difficult topic a book that is very well written.literey fiction a book I will be recommending l#netgalley#williammorrow

The house on Chauncey Street with the angel knocker is a safe haven for abused women. Here at Mercy House, the women are nursed back to life by nuns. Sister Evelyn leads the pack, but she’s got secrets of her own. ⁣
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This book is incredibly controversial and I absolutely cannot wait for everyone to read it so we can discuss! This is going to be a fantastic book club choice because there’s SO much to pick apart. People are going to fall into two camps- they are going to love it or they are going to absolutely hate it. I’ve been ruminating on my review for days because I still don’t know how I feel about it. It is emotional, unique, and will ruffle a lot of feathers! I’m not Catholic so this did not affect me the way it likely will a Catholic, hence the reason I’m dying to discuss this! I can’t wait to hear a Catholics take on it. ⁣
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Mercy House is beautifully written. I’m astonished that this is from a debut author! Sexual abuse and physical abuse run rampant here for those of you with triggers. This dives into the Catholic sex abuse scandal in a fearless, in your face way. Sister Evelyn is strong, brave, and completely unorthodox. She will shatter any stereotype you have about nuns. I loved this fierce lady and her fellow sisters that run the house.⁣
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This book stirred up so many emotions for me. It tackles heavy topics and does not shy away from controversy. The fact that I’m still ruminating over this book a week later is testament to the strength of this novel. ⁣
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Mercy House is simultaneously empowering and devastating. The dichotomy is where the beauty lies. A must read for 2020! Thank you @harpercollins @williammorrowbooks for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.⁣

Mercy House by Alena Dillon reminded me of a darker version of Call the Midwife. Set in Mercy House, this is the story of the three nuns, and particularly Sister Evelyn, who offer shelter, assistance and hope to a motley group of young women who have suffered sexual abuse. This is not a book I would have picked up at the store, but I really enjoyed it. It was tough to read the women’s stories and Ms. Dillon did an excellent job telling them thoroughly, yet in a way that was not overly dramatic or descriptive. And Sister Evelyn’s story was heart breaking, yet similar to one many women share. This is the Catholic nun #metro story told well, and one that needs to be told.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the advanced copy. #Netgalley #harpercollins #mercyhouse

There is a house in Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York, where abused women can seek refuge. It’s run by nuns, but this trio of nuns are more likely to offer Reiki and tea than dogma and lectures. Because of their unorthodox ways, the nuns who run this house don’t tell their Mother Superior or the local priest everything. Unfortunately for these nuns, Alena Dillon’s Mercy House begins right before the hammer starts to fall. An old enemy of Sister Evelyn, the driving force behind Mercy House, has arrived to make things are all above Catholic board. It’s only a matter of time before everything gets shut down.

Sister Evelyn was always going to be a nun, due to a promise made by her father when her oldest brother’s life was in danger. Although she finds a purpose in begin a nun, a priest begins to repeatedly rape and emotionally abuse her. It’s only after Vatican II that Sister Evelyn starts to recover her sense of purpose. In the early 1980s, she launches Mercy House with two other nuns who understand that women who are subjected to all kinds of abuse need a safe place to heal and regroup. The project runs for more than two decades before the rapist priest, now a bishop, shows up to investigate. The first chapters, which establish Sister Evelyn’s character and the backstory of Mercy House, are intercut with chapters from the perspective of the women currently taking refuge in the House. These chapters are harrowing; I suspect some readers may be triggered by the details the women reveal.

Once all the pieces are in place, the plot begins to pick up. Sister Evelyn, her partners, and the women in the House plan how to save the place and its mission. Many chapters read like a bloody-minded game of cat and mouse as the women try to outwit the bishop, who is trying to outmaneuver the women. The emotional deck is heavily stacked in favor of the women. How can we not be on their side when all the men in the book are evil or too passive to challenge the status quo? This is not a subtle book. That said, I feel like bluntly telling a story like this is a particularly effective way to get readers to sit up and take notice. This book asks its readers, what could you do to help women who need it? Mercy House devotes all of its energy towards showing us the deep psychological effects of longterm abuse. It doesn’t care why men* hurt women.

Mercy House‘s ending is complicated—more complicated than I expected. Because the ending resists a happily ever after conclusion, I found that I liked this unsubtle book a lot more. To be honest, the lack of subtly about violent men is my only quibble about Mercy House. I loved the character of Sister Evelyn so much. She grows enormously over the course of the book, confronting issues that she had firmly ignored for so many years. This growth, her sense of humor, and her mixed attitude towards Catholicism meant that she completely stole the show for me.

Mercy House is an excellent choice for book groups that are willing to tackle the enormity of domestic violence and its effects. The rich female characters and the focus on these women’s experiences mean that there is a lot to talk about here.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, for review consideration.

* There are women who abuse men, but this book doesn’t address this at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and The Book Club Girls for the opportunity to review this ARC ebook!

Mercy House is a touching story about 3 nuns who run a safe house/group home for abused women that is open to new arrivals anytime, day or night. It so was heartwarming to read about how they found and helped each of the women in their care, but as a warning, some of their stories are quite disturbing and told in graphic detail. Sister Evelyn is the main character and I admired her bravery so many times throughout the book. She was forced to make hard choices that sometimes went against what she had been taught as a nun, and against the rules of the Catholic church when she felt it best served the women she was called to help. I thought the author did a good job showing how people of faith have to sometimes put religion and rules aside to truly follow Christ and care for His people. When a Bishop comes to inspect the house, the sisters have to answer for the choices they have made. I don't want to say too much but there were many controversial issues brought up that will likely make some people uncomfortable, especially Catholic readers. I think these issues would make for some really great "what would you have done in that situation" book club discussions and I will definitely be recommending this to my book club friends!

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins Publishing for giving me the chance to read and review this book. I really liked this book. It deals with a lot of the problems that the Catholic Church faces, as well as the dedication of the nuns in this story. I really liked Sister Evelyn. She was a very believable character-gruff on the outside, but soft and caring on the inside. I also liked the way the author described her body and the changes we go through as we age. This is a story of heartache, love and forgiveness-but in the end there is so much HOPE in life! Highly recommend!

What a beautiful novel of redemption and love-wrapped up in an empowering novel about the strength of women from all walks of life.

This book was intriguing. I wasn't sure what to expect and although the beginning started a little slow, I found myself wanting to know more about the nuns that run Mercy House and the residents in the house. I liked learning what brought everyone to this safe haven. However, being a Catholic, the abuse that Sister Evelyn endured really broke my heart. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for a digital arc of this title.

As someone who grew up in the Catholic Church and went to Catholic school, I knew I had to read this book once I read the description. This is just an incredible book about strength and putting so much into helping those in need; we need more people like the Sisters in this world. I'm not saying this is a bright and happy read, but the darkness of it really makes you feel.

Wonderful book! Evelyn is such a beautiful, warm, loving, flawed, imperfectly perfect character. Very rich and descriptive writing and an unusual subject.

This is an interesting book on how various women deal with what life has dealt them. I am not sure that Catholic readers will appreciate the way the church is shown but I felt that it was a well written around the decades and how society has dealt with and still deals with issues around sexuality, rape, and domestic violence. I loved how the characters were written and came alive off the page. As I feel happens in several books, the end was a little abrupt and tried to tie too many things together in too few pages.

Wow! What an unconventional, soul crashing, vivid journey!

This is an incredible story about women’s unity and solidarity for fighting against abandonment, physical and mental abuse, harm, humiliation, neglecting. I enjoy the characters of this amazing house opening to their doors to those brave women suffered more than they could stand and who are adamant to leave their painful memories and wounded pasts behind, forming great friendships with each other.

I know that too many readers are ready to judge the book because of its contentious religious and political opinions because it gives us real questioning approach and addressing to the controversies that Catholic Church faces lately (when Spotlight won the best movie Oscar, those controversies were started to get discussed at so many platforms.) This story also discusses mistreatments to the nuns and evolution of Catholic Church throughout the years. So yes, we have so many heavy stuffs on our plate to absorb. If you need a fast and softer reading, you got the wrong book. Pick another one quickly.

And of course the parts about the inhabitants of the house’s back stories are also heart wrecking and blood freezing. The sexual assault and domestic violence those women endured are told more realistic and harsher than I expected. So don’t expect to read some emotional, tear jerker sisterhood story. The women’s lives are shaking us to the cores and forcing us seeing wild and ugly face of abuse.

I didn’t question the book’s approach to the political and religious matters. I only focused on women’s stories who found themselves trapped in their lives and trying their best to gather their strength to stop to be physically and mentally harmed. They didn’t want to live like victims anymore. They wanted to build new lives for themselves.

And of course I loved sister Evelyn, tough cookie, brave, determined, witty, caring woman who is doing her best to fight against the inquisition kind of investigation conducted by Catholic Church. When assigned priest arrives to Mercy House to conduct his investigation, he startles when he meets with Evelyn. We understand that Evelyn has a history with this man which makes things more complicated and put her inappropriately hard situation. She needs to protect those women who trust her and use her own power to prevent the house’s shutting down. But she also keeps secret and she needs to protect her own self. That’s our story’s CATCH 22 part.

Overall: Writing is fast paced, captivating, intriguing.

Characters are easy to empathize with.

The controversial, compelling, brave and surprising approach is also bringing new soul and new realistic perspective makes us question our own beliefs and life views.

The ending was not powerful as I expected. I could say only “meh, okay, foreseeable!” But it still concluded appropriately because from the beginning of the book, the author gives us enough clues how she will end this story. So we’d better buy this.

I gave 3.5 stars and again rounded up to 4 because of the author’s bravery and straightforwardness.

Special thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins /William Morrow Paperback for sharing this powerful book’s ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review.

Mercy House is a haunting novel about the abuse at the hands of the Catholic Church. The Mercy House is a home lead by women and sister who want to help the abused who were just tossed away. They were flying under the radar of the Catholic Church until the Bishop gets involved. Sister Evelyn (my favorite person within this book) will not take the Bishop’s involved laying down. She will do whatever it takes to protect the women of The Mercy House

I received this ARC through Net Galley and Book Club Girls. I have mixed feelings about this book. It started off slow for me and was perhaps a tad heavy handed on the criticism of the Catholic Church and the utter villainy of the chief antagonist, a self-righteous, hypocritical bishop. However, the main character, a nun who runs a shelter for abused women, was extremely sympathetic. As the story developed, I appreciated the themes of finding strength, forgiveness, and the support that women can give to one another. Overall, I enjoyed this book in the end.

This story is very good - very intense and emotional, handling a controversial topic, and all handled well. The characters were compelling, abused, desperate, all trying their best to move forward. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Content warning: This book does deal with rape. It doesn't go into graphic detail of the rape scenes but it doesn't shy away from the topic.

Mercy House is a place for women (really, girls) to hide from their beaten, abused life and stay until they can figure out what they want to do with the rest of their life. Run by Sister Evelyn and two other sisters, they do far too liberal things in the Catholic Church's eyes in order to help the girls' recovery. Then Bishop Hawkins, a nightmare from Evelyn's past, shows up to look at their records. This causes a fight for the survival of Mercy House.

Really well written book. There were several times when I thought I knew what the book was going to be about but then it introduced another conflict or resolution. The character I cared about the most was the house itself. It seemed like a warm, safe haven.

There was one character whose dialogue would go into too much of a stereotype. Also didn't like how open the ending is.