A MERCIFUL DEATH by Kendra Elliot: Review

A Merciful Death by Kendra Elliot
Series: Mercy Kilpatrick #1
Published by Montlake Romance
Publication Date: January 17th 2017
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 352
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Goodreads
Buy Online: Amazon ♥ B&N

Disclaimer: I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely mine.

FBI special agent Mercy Kilpatrick has been waiting her whole life for disaster to strike. A prepper since childhood, Mercy grew up living off the land—and off the grid—in rural Eagle’s Nest, Oregon. Until a shocking tragedy tore her family apart and forced her to leave home. Now a predator known as the cave man is targeting the survivalists in her hometown, murdering them in their homes, stealing huge numbers of weapons, and creating federal suspicion of a possible domestic terrorism event. But the crime scene details are eerily familiar to an unsolved mystery from Mercy’s past.

Sent by the FBI to assist local law enforcement, Mercy returns to Eagle’s Nest to face the family who shunned her while maintaining the facade of a law-abiding citizen. There, she meets police chief Truman Daly, whose uncle was the cave man’s latest victim. He sees the survivalist side of her that she desperately tries to hide, but if she lets him get close enough to learn her secret, she might not survive the fallout…

 

Review

I’m glad I got to start this new series from the first book because it’s shaping up to be another great one from Ms. Elliot. The characters, the plot, the twists and turns, the suspense, all of combines to make this story a gripping page-turner and I can’t wait for the next book.

A small town in Oregon. A crime spree and the murders of two young women. Two young women with a huge secret. Fast-forward to fifteen years later and the same town is facing another spree but this time, the victims are older men and the only thing they have in common is that they were all survivalists. The new interim sheriff Truman Daly knows his department is not equipped to handle these investigations and he’s not shy about calling in the big guns, especially because his uncle was the first victim and he’ll do whatever it takes to bring his killer to justice and make his town safe again.

Enter FBI Agent Mercy Kilpatrick. Mercy is originally from that town but hasn’t been back home since she left under a shadow fifteen years ago. Her connection to the town makes her the ideal person to run the investigation, but what she finds during her investigation may unravel the careful world she has built for herself and expose her for a fraud. Has a killer been hiding in plain sight all this time? Has Mercy’s secret been the reason why he lay low for so long? Will her return put her back in his cross-hairs?

Mercy is a very complicated and interesting character in many ways. Even as an eighteen year old, she was already showing that she was an independent and forceful personality, something that was not welcome in her community of preppers where the man is ruler of his domain and a woman was expected to be seen and not heard. While she left home, she did not live the lifestyle behind and she seems to have successfully built a life for herself that incorporates the best of both worlds. She’s also very secretive and keeps a large part of who she really is shielded from everyone. Until Truman, who takes the time to dig deep and find her.

The instant attraction between Truman and Mercy (along with his stalkerish behavior) adds some levity to the story. Truman’s steady and solid disposition is a perfect foil for the swirling emotions that Mercy hides beneath her calm facade and she in turn brings a no-frills perspective to the guilt he carries from his time at his former job. Together they form a strong and dependable team, which may not be sexy but is perfect for this story, this town and the two of them. 

I am really intrigued by the survivalist mindset and being a copious consumer of news, this story bring close to home so not so far off incidents and also got me musing for a minute about my preparedness or lack thereof for the apocalypse:)

A MERCIFUL DEATH is well-written and well-researched, with multi-faceted characters and engaging suspense and I’m looking forward to more in this series.

 

 

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