Join author Patricia Ward for a reading and discussion of her newest Thriller. Limited copies are available at the Athenaeum to check out or keep.

Mercy was selected as one of Kirkus Reviews' Best YA Books of 2025.

Perfect for fans of Sawkill Girls, Bone Gap, and Dark and Shallow Lies, this suspenseful contemporary mystery delves into a small town’s supernatural, multigenerational curse—and the girl determined to break it.

An immersive mystery laced with supernatural dread that's perfect for fans of of Courtney Gould and Kyrie McCauley, Mercy slowly and relentlessly digs into the buried crimes of a small, insular town and provokes questions about the lies we silently allow and the duty current generations have in exposing the harms of the past.

Funded by the Friends of the Athenaeum.

For more information, contact Becky Hatfield at bhatfield@stjathenaeum.org or 802-748-8291.

This event is free, ADA accessible, and open to the public.