Thursday, November 6, 2025
The author of this review initially called the novel THE MERMAIDS OF LLANO COUNTY in error. It’s actually called THE LLANO COUNTY MERMAID CLUB. The correction has been made below.
Every now and then, a novel arrives that doesn’t simply tell a story—it tugs you by the heart, sits you down, and whispers truths you forgot you needed to hear. THE LLANO COUNTY MERMAID CLUB by Kathleen M. Rodgers, published by University of New Mexico Press in October 2025, is exactly that kind of book.
Rhappy the Rhapsicley Cat and I both give this novel—and Halloween, naturally—a bright blue feather.
For an even deeper dive, you can watch my full Story Hour conversation with Kathleen here: https://youtu.be/8HqXoTnwUIU?si=0q7hH5UUEouqawjm
“All is not magic in dusty Sandhill, N.M., as five girls yearn for the ocean, search for freedom, and come of age counting on each other through lean budgets, small town prejudice, and the angst of adolescence in their Mermaid Club. Until one day, the truth is fully revealed, leaving a fracture so deep and wide that it can only be traversed with forgiveness. But how can our protagonist Marigold forgive her best friend and father who betrayed her? A storm brews, which can only be put to rest with the wisdom and perspective of age and the love that bridges the gulf of loss.
Books and the public librarian, like a fairy godmother, lend a salve to these wounds, especially those of Marigold’s mom, Letty, who writes letters to famous authors–the then-living, like Eudora Welty, who would have savored every word, and the dead, like Kate Chopin–to commiserate and unburden herself, to work things out in her own mind. Letty’s words blend with the words of Welty, Chopin, and later, with Peyton Place’s Grace Metalious to leave a legacy showing her resilient courage. Her presence lives on, as does the novel’s recently deceased, through the power of words they left behind. They lead Marigold to some surprising discoveries, about a tragedy, about death, but most of all, how to keep living.Kathleen takes her readers along for the ride, with oases dotting the arid landscape like bread crumbs. Visits to an abandoned church with a melodious note and the void of New Mexico’s eyeball-like Blue Hole serve as clues. To figure it all out, protagonist Marigold has to break some Mermaid Club rules, and obey others she broke, as she creates a new life for herself. If the reader follows the watery trail left by mermaids, witches, and wise women, as well the meaningful words scrolled in notes and typed in letters, they’ll piece the puzzle together in rhythm with Marigold.
I loved what this novel, told from two eras (youth and advanced middle age), says about perspective and and how we can come to see events and people differently in time. The author’s sense of metaphor is perfection, her plot intriguing, her pacing spot on. I love her voice most of all–its wit, its grace, its wisdom, its curlicue plot twists always pull me in. I was honored and delighted to be one of the first to read these pages and to offer my endorsement. They spoke to my soul in a way you can only feel, not put into words. The scenes between Marigold and Daddy are so amazingly like ones from my past.”
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