THE MERCY OF THIN AIR

Author: Ronlyn Domingue ISBN: 0743278801 9/2005 HC 6/2006 PB FICTION/PARANORMAL Publisher: SIMON & SCHUSTER/ATRIA
Time Period: Present Day/1920's

In 1920s New Orleans, Raziela Nolan's magnificent love affair is interrupted by her untimely and tragic death. Immediately after, she chooses to stay between -- a realm that exists after life and before whatever lies beyond it. From this remarkable vantage point, Razi narrates the story of her lost love as well as of the relationship of Amy and Scott, a young couple whose house she haunts seventy years later. It is their own troubled story that finally compels Razi to slowly unravel the mystery of what happened to her first and only passion, Andrew, and to confront a long-hidden secret.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Of the many aspects I look at that makes a book stand out as a true keeper for me, there's one in particular that will set it apart from all the rest—I know that the story will stay in my head long after I've finished reading it. I know that in a year or two, or three, I can pick up that same book again, look at the cover and remember all of its characters and storyline in detail as if I've just read it the day before. THE MERCY OF THIN AIR passes that requirement with flying colors, and I've no doubt that in the future, this haunting love story will re-emerge each time I happen to glance at its cover.

I couldn't give you any better synopses for this book than the one above, offered by the publisher. Raziela is a unique and fascinating individual, both during her short lifetime in the '20's and her in between stage after death. The afterlife she occupies buzzes with other eccentric and sympathetic spirits who, for whatever reason, find they've left something unfinished or undone and are unwilling to move on. Ms. Domingue gives plausible explanations for everything that occurs in this spirit world they occupy, from image manifestation, to grasping and manipulating objects, even outlining the rules of things which are forbidden for them to do. I felt sympathetic to them all.

THE MERCY OF THIN AIR is poignant, haunting and bittersweet, filled with what if's, if only's and some truly heartrending moments, as characters both past and present, in the flesh and in spirit, deal with love found, love lost, and how to let go. The ending is emotionally charged, and yet, in a somewhat odd sort of way, strangely satisfying, although I didn't want to let Razi go.

Exceptionally written in both style and content by debut author Ronlyn Domingue, THE MERCY OF THIN AIR will surely appeal to a wide range of fans, be they of fiction, romance, or the paranormal variety. I highly recommend it.

(While this book is presently out in Hardcover, it will be released in Paperback in September 2006.)

Nancy Davis