The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

Raziela Nolan is a woman ahead of her time.  She lives in the 1920's in New Orleans and is love with an amazing man.  She wants to be a doctor and has applied to medical schools.  She is an active feminist urging women to use birth control and leaves pamphlets in library books, all of which is against the law.  The love of her life Andrew supports her and her feminist ideals and worries for her safety.  They are the perfect couple.  Then the unthinkable happens, Razi dies.

Razi remains in this world suspended between time and space.  She becomes a ghost haunting the house of Amy and Scott, 75 years after her death.  Amy, like Razi, has also experienced a deep fulfilling love and lost it.  Amy is altered by the experience and the grief continues to affect her relationship with her husband Scott.  Razi and Amy are linked through experience and for reasons unknown to both Razi and Amy they are drawn to each other.

Razi has friends on the other side.  Some spirits travel on as soon as they die and others remain, stuck in-between worlds.  Domingue has created a believable afterlife for spirits who remain behind, straddling two worlds.  The Mercy of Thin Air is an amazing, deep novel full of love and compassion for others.  I think it is the best ghost story I have ever read.  It is not scary but full of powerful characters and it takes a deep meaningful look into the experiences of life, love and ultimately death.

Domingue has created an original and unique story that travels across generations and through time and memory.  It is a novel that highlights the senses of the body.  The sensation of smell and touch were so ripe with emotion, it was beautiful.  Their is a surprise conclusion to the book that I didn't see coming.  The Mercy of Thin Air is a vivid, powerful love story that will leave you breathless.

I think I will have to read everything Domingue writes from now on.   I am adding her to my favorite author list.