Soon to be a TV series by Warner Brothers Television and Ellen Degeneres’s A Very Good Production.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 … 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…
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Gave an extra star for the ending, as it was action-packed and suspenseful. The rest of the book (before the 80% mark) was a lot of backstory and angst. Mercy didn’t draw me in as a character, probably because she was so distant from her family that she felt distant overall; unreachable. Truman was a stud, and I was honestly more interested in his storyline. I cared more about what happened to other people not for Mercy’s sake, but for their own. It’s a good mystery that I would recommend.
I love finding crime/thriller/romance that doesn’t have the main characters jumping into bed together. I love Mercy she is a great woman and can’t wait to continue her story.
The past never really stays in the past. This book kicks off a new series about Mercy Kilpatrick who ran from home 15 years ago and is now back as an FBI agent investing murders of men who are preppers.
Mercy is not your typical heroine, at least not one this author has written before. She grew up with a family and community that believes a catastrophic disaster or emergency is likely to occur in the future and makes active preparations for it, typically by stockpiling food, ammunition, and other supplies. After a traumatic event befalls her and her sister and her father refusal to support her she left her family behind without a second glance. When she left Eagle’s Nest, Oregon she thought she would be able to put both the event and her survivalist upbringing behind her. She certainly tried. Going to college and then joining the FBI. But when the prepper murders bring her back to town and it starts to look like the may have some similar characteristics of cold murder cases – Mercy’s past threatens to come back and jeopardize her career and life.
Mercy is a flawed heroine but one I enjoyed reading. At the start of the book she never thought she could go home again but by the end she embraces that the survivalist lifestyle is part of who she is along with the tough FBI agent she has become. We are also introduced to her love interest Truman Daly who is the police chief of Eagle’s Nest. A great start to a new series that I look forward to reading many more books about Mercy.
Very good read, I had read some of the later books in the series but not the first one. It was very well written, and I would recommend the series to those that enjoy suspense/thrillers.
A great beginning to a new series.
This is my first book by Kendra Elliot but won’t be my last! I enjoyed the character development, the storyline about “preppers”, which I knew nothing about, the suspense and the romantic element. It was a great combination and I liked Mercy Kilpatrick and Truman Daly so I’m going to keep going with this series.
A Merciful Death Book 1 of Mercy Kilpatrick by Kendra Elliot
WOW~ What an awesome way to start the new series! I loved it so much! I can’t wait for more books in the series. It kept me intrigued from the cover of the book to the very end!! IT is soo darn good! Very well developed. Love the characters.
The story is set in Eagle’s Nest, Oregon. Mercy Kilpatrick, a special agent in the FBI, her partner Eddie, is there in Eagle’s Nest because someone murdered three preppers.
3.5 stars
This was a good book, but the story did not suck me in and so I would give only 3.5 stars. However, I will give the second book a try and see if I will get me closer to the characters and there story.
I could not put this book down!! I read many books and can usually guess the ending, but this one had me guessing until the end.
This book tells a story, a little FBI, a little local police and a little prepper. I found a story easy to read and the characters interesting to follow. I believe I’m actually on book four now.
I enjoyed it. Kept my interest, well written and delivered on Who dun it. It did not move as fast as I like but still enjoyable
I would recommend all of Kendra Elliott books they are all a great read. you can not put them down
I LOVE Kendra Elliot!!!
I believe everyone should enough the journey, so I will not go into great detail, but I will say Kendra did not disappoint!!!
The characters (Mercy and Truman) and secondary characters were believable, the plot was great, there is murder and mayhem, and plenty of twists and turns, but if you are looking for hot sex than this book is not for you.
I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
If this is your first Kendra book I hope you get hooked and read the bone secrets series as it is sooooo good!!!
I loved the Callahan/McClan series and now this series, I could not put them down!
All of this authors books are A+
Before I really delve into this review, I need to tell you that I’m in the minority with my feelings on this book. Almost 1800 people have read this book as of right this moment and it’s rated at almost 4.5 stars. So my one star rating is … not common.
After I finished this, I was a little surprised to find out that this was a romantic suspense. I mean, I must have known that at some point because I picked this book and romantic suspense is my favorite genre. But I completely forgot and this book didn’t remind me with how it was written. I didn’t get romance … at all … I mean there were parts … but this wasn’t the kind of romantic suspense that I’m used to, maybe.
Or I guess it could be the fact that this book couldn’t keep my attention. That’s not a good thing. I shouldn’t look forward to putting the book down. And I did. A lot. Now this book wasn’t badly written, it just read very dry to me. The conversations were extremely stiff and almost robotic. The further I got into the book, it wasn’t just the conversations that I found dry. It became everything. And once that hit … it was all downhill from there.
I didn’t enjoy even one portion of this book. I didn’t like Mercy or Truman and I couldn’t have cared less what happened to them in the past or what was going to happen to them or if they were going to get together or what happened with the case that they were working on. This was just not a good fit for me this time.
* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *
Kendra Elliott is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. I have enjoyed every book I have read by her. This one was fast paced, some what scary and very realistic. I like the main characters and their development.
A Merciful Death is about “preppers” in Eagles Nest, Oregon, who until now I have only heard of and know nothing about. Mercy is an FBI agent that is sent to help with the investigation of two murders that happened in the small community where she was raised. Mercy left 15 years ago and has never been back until now. She is estranged from her family and her family is right in the middle of the investigation.
There is past history that has been covered up and the murders seem similiar to ones that happened before Mercy left home. Who is killing the preppers and why? Are they only killing them for the guns that each victim had? And, why are the mirrors broken like at the murders 15 years ago.
It’s a good read. I found it interesting and surprising. I guess I didn’t realize that there were people who lived their entire lives waiting for “the end of the world as we know it”. Hard for me to understand the mind set behind this. I enjoyed the story, but haven’t decided if I want to get the next book in the series.
This was an excellent read that also provided much information on preppers that I hadn’t been aware of. I love books that teach me something as well as entertain me. I was provided a free copy of this book for a fair and honest review.
Having enjoyed the author’s Bone Secrets series previously, I was eager to get my hands on this book! Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
Mercy herself was a difficult character to relate to. Much of what we learn about her is given in very stingy details, even when she is talking to estranged family members. We don’t see much of her softer side, and she keeps a lot of secrets, which aids in the not knowing much about her situation.
Truman was a bit more open of a character. We know his motivations for actions, the tragedies in his past, and learn some of his aspirations for the future. We can also see his admiration for Mercy grow over the course of the book.
Unfortunately, it is the plot that gave me the major hang ups. The story felt drug out, and there wasn’t much in the way of actual investigations, just conversations and “interviews”. The romantic aspect was practically non-existent, and mostly one sided. The villain reveal was well done, as what few clues were given in the book did not give it away and I was guessing until the end.
However, it was the prepper aspect of this story that intrigued me. It was a bit of a look into that lifestyle and seemed well thought out and researched. It gave me more insight into a game I had been playing on my tablet!
Overall, the book was good, but I’m not sure I could recommend it as Romantic Suspense. Murder Mystery would definitely qualify, but I preferred the author’s other series to this one. I am interested to see where things go, so I’ll be on the look out for the sequel.