While Ellery Hathaway is not currently on the police force (a questionable shooting has her sidelined, hopefully only temporarily), she still wants to know all the answers. So when a fellow crime victim in her group therapy session asks Ellery for help, she can’t help herself.
As a teenager, Ellery was kidnapped and held in a closet by a notorious and brutal serial killer. She was the only one of his victims who lived, saved by FBI profiler Reed Markham. Now, although it’s been many years since she was rescued, and her killer is on Death Row, she is still haunted by the psychopaths and creeps who get off on her pain. And she’s still haunted by her scars.
So when her new friend asks Ellery for help finding the man who raped her, Ellery can’t say no. But since she’s off the force, she needs an insider’s help, so she turns once again to her friend FBI agent Markham. This new investigation will test her skill as an investigator and she’ll once again risk her life for the truth, but she’ll also be forced to deal with the prison that crime victims find themselves in at the hands of others.
While it’s not easy to read a book where the main character is imprisoned by her memories and her fears, it’s encouraging to see author Joanna Shaffhausen tackle the difficult topic head-on, with honesty and grace. I can’t want to read the next installment, to see where Ellery goes next.
No Mercy is the follow-up to last year’s The Vanishing Season, a story of a young police woman who thought she saw a dangerous pattern of people disappearing, and her investigation almost ended her career and her life. Do you need to read The Vanishing Season to enjoy No Mercy? Absolutely not. It’s a great stand-alone and can be read as such. But will you want to spend more time with these amazing characters? Absolutely, so read them both anyway.
I highly recommend No Mercy. It’s a great mystery, a great thriller, and a fantastic story with smart, interesting characters you want to spend time with.
Galleys for No Mercy were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.