Police officer Ellery Hathaway is on involuntary leave from her job because she shot a murderer in cold blood and refuses to apologize for it. Forced into group therapy for victims of violent crime, Ellery immediately finds higher priorities than “getting in touch with her feelings.”
For one, she suspects a fellow group member may have helped to convict the wrong man for a deadly arson incident years ago. For another, Ellery finds herself in the desperate clutches of a woman who survived a brutal rape. He is still out there, this man with the Spider-Man-like ability to climb through bedroom windows, and his victim beseeches Ellery for help in capturing her attacker.
Ellery seeks advice from her friend, FBI profiler Reed Markham, who liberated her from a killer’s closet when she was a child. Reed remains drawn to this unpredictable woman, the one he rescued but couldn’t quite save. The trouble is, Reed is up for a potential big promotion, and his boss has just one condition for the new job—stay away from Ellery. Ellery ignores all the warnings. Instead, she starts digging around in everyone’s past but her own—a move that, at best, could put her out of work permanently, and at worst, could put her in the city morgue.
I was a HUGE fan of The Vanishing Season and it’s damaged, determined young main protagonist Ellery – the one who lived.
So I was very pleased to enter her world once more and No Mercy is an atmospheric, beautifully done page turner of a novel which I read in short order, the addictive quality of it demanded nothing less.
Ellery is on leave and may not have a job to return to- part of her penance for the events of The Vanishing Season is to attend group therapy for those who have suffered violent loss. In true Ellery style however, she starts to see the fault lines and immerses herself into yet more dangerous events. Cue the return of the one person she trusts, profiler Reed Markham, so sets the scene…
I love the writing, it is immersive and descriptively wonderful. You get a real sense of character and place and in Reed and Ellory a complex, emotionally charged dynamic duo.
The mystery element is cleverly woven but takes a back seat to the multi layered players in the game. The developing relationship between Reed and Ellery is extraordinarily compelling and those whose lives they become involved with are all intriguingly engaging.
Overall an absolutely brilliant read once more and my feeling is there’s a lot more to come. Let’s hope so because as soon as I turned that last page I wanted the next book. Always an excellent indicator for me of a new series to adore.
Highly Recommended.
You can purchase No Mercy (Titan) Here.
Happy Reading.
