Mercy by Jodi Picoult

The synopsis of the book:-

Police chief of a small Massachusetts town, Cameron McDonald makes the toughest arrest of his life when his own cousin Jamie comes to him and confesses outright that he has killed his terminally ill wife out of mercy.

Now, a heated murder trial plunges the town into upheaval, and drives a wedge into a contented marriage: Cameron, aiding the prosecution in their case against Jamie, is suddenly at odds with his devoted wife, Allie -- seduced by the idea of a man so in love with his wife that he'd grant all her wishes, even her wish to end her life. And when an inexplicable attraction leads to a shocking betrayal, Allie faces the hardest questions of the heart: when does love cross the line of moral obligation? And what does it mean to truly love another?

My Review:-

This is actually the first book that I read from the writing of Jodi Picoult. To be very honest, I expected much more from her knowing she wrote books like "My Sister's Keeper" which was heart wrenching and gripping.

This book just didn't do it for me. The characters were all over the place and god, Cameron was the worst of the lot. Maybe it was the author's intention that the main character is to be portrayed that way but this was just plain horrible. He has a wife that is loving and working very hard to make their marriage work, he complicates it by having an affair with Mia, his wife's helper at the shop who mysteriously shows up one day at his wife's shop. 

As the characters start building the story, I found that it was hard for me to accept that Jamie (the one who killed his wife, Maggie) could ever be related to Cameron. Jamie is a loving husband who couldn't bare looking at his wife suffer, so he killed her at her request. Yes, he killed her, but for me he just ended her suffering. He loved her, cherished her and absolutely adored her. To then compare him with Cameron who was totally opposite. He never appreciated his wife and cheated on her with someone she helped and he dared calling it love. 

Everything that Cameron does for his wife, Allie, is a part of him remembering Mia. He's making love to his wife but in his head, it's Mia. It is kind of disturbing to know that he appreciates Mia more that his wife, Allie. Then one day, his mom walks in him and Mia having sex, and he is the one who gets mad at his mom. One of the worst scenes to have been written. I mean, that scene could have been written better. 

As for Allie, she was focusing on finding out why Jamie killed Maggie. She was more interested in her husband's relative more than Cameron ever was. The idea of a man loving his wife unconditionally and granting all her wishes was foreign to Allie, probably something she was longing for. The only thing Cameron did for Jamie was to get him an attorney. After that he was more focused on Mia. 

This book just didn't do it for me. Jamie and Maggie's story could have been more than Cameron, Allie and Mia's. The author could have made Cameron learn from Jamie and Maggie and focused on the relationship between Allie and Cameron instead of complicating it with Mia. Heart wrenching it was not!!

I'd give this book two stars mainly because the story between Jamie and Maggie was gripping. Otherwise, this was a long and dry read... Disappointed!! Wouldn't recommend this book to anyone looking for an emotional read, this book would just end up making the reader angry.