Helping a fellow veteran accused of murder, Van Shaw is drawn into a dangerous labyrinth involving smuggled opioids, ruthless mercenaries, and deadly family secrets that will challenge his notions of brotherhood and justice in this riveting thriller from Anthony, Macavity and Strand Critics Award-winning author Glen Erik Hamilton.When his friend Leo Pak is arrested on suspicion of murder and … murder and armed robbery, Van Shaw journeys to a remote Oregon county to help his fellow Ranger. Van had been Leo’s sergeant when they served with the 75th Regiment in Afghanistan, and back in the States, Leo had helped Van when he needed it most.
Arriving in the isolated town of Mercy River, Van learns that his troubled friend had planned to join a raucous three-day party that dominates the place for one weekend each year. Attended by hundreds of former and active Rangers, the event is more than just a reunion; it’s the central celebration of a growing support network called the Rally, founded and led by a highly decorated Special Operations general named Macomber.
But there’s more going on in Mercy River than just a bunch of Army hard cases blowing off steam. The murder victim—the owner of a local gun shop where Leo worked part time—was dealing in stolen heroin-grade opiates. Worse, the town has a dark history with a community of white supremacists, growing in strength and threatening to turn Mercy River into their private enclave.
The cops have damning evidence linking Leo to the murder, and Van knows that backwaters like Mercy River are notorious for protecting their own. His quest to clear Leo’s name will stir up old grudges and dark secrets beneath the surface of this secretive small town, pit his criminal instincts against his loyalties to his brothers in arms, and force him to question his own belief in putting justice above the letter of the law.
Glen Erik Hamilton creates crime fiction that pulsates with emotional intensity and is “as much fun to read as Lee Child’s Jack Reacher” (J. A. Jance). In Mercy River, Hamilton highlights the unique and powerful moral struggle inherent in Van Shaw’s iconoclastic character—an honorable man torn between upholding the law and breaking it to save innocent lives. Action-packed, riveting, and powerful, Mercy River is a novel that goes to the heart and soul of what it means to be a hero in a corrupt and punishing world.
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A middle of the night phone call sends Van Shaw to the small town of Mercy River, Oregon. The call had come from fellow former Army Ranger Leo Pak, and Leo has been arrested for a murder in the community. Van thinks Leo is innocent, but Leo won’t answer Van’s questions about what happened. Meanwhile, the town is the site of an event for current and former Ranger, so the population is swelling this weekend. Will that help or hurt Van’s efforts to clear his friend?
While this may sound like the set up for many of the books I normally read, it isn’t long before the plot branches off in some thrilling new directions. Those looking for a thriller will not be disappointed with the action scenes, yet the mystery is tied up perfectly. Since Van is out of town for much of this book, the series regulars are reduced to cameos, yet we still get some updates on them. The new characters are fully developed, and Van continues to be a complex main character. I appreciated how this book works in issues that vets face without slowing down the book by preaching. Like the earlier books in the series, this one does have flashbacks, but they don’t focus on any particular time in Van’s life while still helping us appreciate the events unfolding in Van’s life currently. This book has more language and violence than I typically read, but it fits for a thriller and never gets excessive. This was another compelling entry in the series. Anyone looking for a great thriller will be pleased this picked up this book.
“Mercy River” is book four in Glen Erik Hamilton’s “Van Shaw” series. New readers will easily follow along because Hamilton includes any needed background as part of the current scenario. The story is presented as a first-person narrative by Donovan Shaw, former Ranger, former husband, and always friend. Readers learn about Shaw through his actions and reactions. He is concerned, helpful, devoted, prepared, and has untraceable guns. Readers know what he thinks, where he goes, what he fears, and what he wants. His present is molded by his past. “I can’t lead a regular life. Maybe I might have once, and maybe someday the chance will come around again. But it’s not who I am now.” Then a phone call changes everything; it calls him to action.
“Leo was breathing heavily, his voice strained. There was a sound of quick movement before he spoke again. “They’re coming. I can’t make it.” … “This is the Mercy River police, who is this on the line?”
A complex cast of secretive citizens and visiting soldiers drives the plot. Each player is fully developed and intricate, with varied feelings, plans, and fears. Readers also get to know people through Hamilton’s precise descriptions.
“Her long blond hair was pulled back and held with a carved wooden comb. She wore a wine-colored coat, buttoned up against the autumn chill, Luce’s eyes could be the shade of rain clouds at times, but tonight, under the pale light of the streetlamps, they were the blue sky above the storm.”
Hamilton sets the stage with scenic images. “The town of Mercy River lay in a haphazard jumble in the crease between two colliding hill ranges, as if its buildings and houses had been scattered across the land like big handfuls of dice, most of them tumbling to rest on the floor of the valley, with a few dozen strays left on the slopes above.”
The plot is fast moving, intense, and at times violent. There is much more going on than just a Ranger Rendezvous, and some players are not who they seem to be at first glance. An unseen enemy lurks in the dark, and local law enforcement does not want any help from an outsider, especially not from Shaw who has never really been much of a “people” person.
There is some offbeat humor amid the chaos.
“That’s Daryll’s deer rifle,” Fain said as I set the leather carrying case on the table. “Where did you get that?” “From his room”…“A good choice if you’re defending covered wagons.”
“Mercy River” is a tale of drama, destruction, and death. The pace is fast; the action is unexpected, and the tension is relentless. I was given a review copy of “Mercy River” by Glen Erik Hamilton, William Morrow, and Harper Collins. In the end, it is a saga of loyalty and justice, and hard to put down.
Yet another Glen Erik Hamilton thriller. I can’t say enough good thinks about the story. A very rural town in the Pacific Northwest is hosting an Army Ranger week-long reunion. With white militias, corrupt local officials, country law enforcement, and a thriving illegal business, what could go wrong. Well for one, an Army Ranger friend of the hero is accused of a murder he didn’t commit. Van will help his friend by any means, legal or not, if he needs to. What could go wrong? The characters are well developed and believable. The story twists and turns and seems to make sense in several places: then another twist. I couldn’t put the book down. Great to the last page. Five stars to Hamilton and Mercy river. He is one of my favorite authors. Jeff Bailey, author of Not On MY Watch.
Welcome to Mercy River, Oregon where you’ll “feel a growing energy in the town like kids before summer vacation. Or maybe animals before an earthquake.” Author Glen Erik Hamilton shares a gripping mystery thriller where friendship is tested, and dangers surround criminal actions that threaten a person’s belief in whether justice can ever emerge. This is the fourth novel in the award-winning Van Shaw mystery series that started with the first book winning the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Strand Magazine Critics awards.
Now Van’s friend and fellow veteran Leo is accused of murder and jailed in the secretive, small town of Mercy River in Oregon. The victim was the front man for a team of private military contractors hired to recover stolen opiates. The accused is doing little to help his own defense, and is eerily silent on much of what happened that night. The bonds of brotherhood and friendship are sorely tested as Van works to uncover what actually happened and tries to show his friend’s innocence. This drama unfolds over the background of a raucous U.S. Army Rangers weekend reunion and town-wide party of a growing veteran support network. Devoted celebrants rally around this network’s founder and highly decorated special operations general.
The memorable characters are skillfully created. Van Shaw is an Army Ranger veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and within his tough exterior he hides a loyal heart and a haunted spirit. He’s motivated by an ethical code formed through his own extraordinary experiences. A loner, he struggles with the complicated emotions of a life of what could have been, with his ex-girlfriend Luce. She also turns up in Mercy River, in the name of friendship. Now Van must focus his energies to try and survive a chilling fight against this deadly adversary who is lurking in plain sight.
This award-winning, best-selling author knows a lot about the Pacific Northwest. He grew up aboard a sailboat in the Seattle area, and spent much time sailing the islands in the area. He now lives in Burbank, Calif. with his family, but left his heart in Seattle and visits frequently.
To hear more from the author, listen on YouTube where Wendy Kendall & Carl Lee Co-Host A Novel Talk with Glen Erik Hamilton.
There were funny scenes in the book. If you loved the television series Leverage, then you will love this novel.