''Mercy'' (1996) is a popular novel by

Jodi Picoult Jodi Lynn Picoult () is an American writer. Picoult has published 28 novels, accompanying short stories, and has also written several issues of Wonder Woman. Approximately 40 million copies of her books are in print worldwide, translated into 34 ...

. The book is about the police chief of a small Massachusetts town, Cameron McDonald, whose cousin Jamie confesses to him that he has assisted the suicide of his terminally ill wife. Cameron arrests Jamie and proceeds to testify for the prosecution over the objections of his wife, Allie. Cameron is also the

chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...

of the McDonald clan, who form a significant part of the town and its culture. ''Mercy'' was named one of the top seven novels of 1996 by ''Glamour'' magazine, and included in selection for the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club.

See also