The Riches of Mercy

In C. E. Case's second novel, ambitious state prosecutor Natalie Ivans has a headline-making trial about to begin. To escape the pressure of the spotlight, she drives toward the Carolina shore but is left stranded, battered, and broken in a small town after a car accident. Alone in a hospital in the middle of nowhere, her only lifeline is her nurse, Meredith Jameison. Meredith is facing a trial date of her own-for murder. Falling for her patients and hoping for a way out is de rigueur for Meredith and the staff starts a betting pool for how long it will take Natalie to break her heart. Meredith sees Natalie's arrival as a sign her fortune is changing. Natalie aches to return to the city. Facing a long sentence, Meredith doesn't have much to offer. She only has her faith-in God, in herself, and in Natalie.