Police officer Ellery Hathaway and FBI profiler Reed Markham take on two difficult new cases in this stunning follow-up to The Vanishing Season. “A gripping and powerful read. It is what we call an edge-of-your-seat, rollercoaster of a thriller. You will not be able to put it down before you finish it.”–The Washington Book Review on The Vanishing Season No Mercy is award-winning author Joanna …
No Mercy is award-winning author Joanna Schaffhausen’s heart-pounding second novel.
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.
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No Mercy is the second book in Ellery Hathaway series and is best enjoyed after reading the first book, The Vanishing Season. In No Mercy Ellery is on involuntary leave and is forced to attend group therapy sessions in order to keep her police job. At the group therapy she meets other victims of violent crimes. With the help of an FBI agent and her only friend, Reed Markham, she starts to investigate two different crimes, an unsolved brutal rape of a young woman and 26 years-old deadly arson for which possibly a wrong man was convicted.
I enjoyed the first book immensely and No Mercy was just as good as the fist book. I liked both mysteries in this book, but for me the best part of the series is Ellery and Reed’s relationship. It’s so dynamic and so complex and at the same time so confusing both for Ellery and Reed, and for the reader too. After the horrendous trauma Ellery endured at the hands of a serial killer when she was a teenager, she is unable to let go of the past, unable to form new relationships and her life in general is just a mess. Reed is one of very few people who can understand what she went through because he was the agent who rescued her. And sixteen years later he is still there when she needs him. As a reader it was painful to watch Ellery struggle with her past, unable to open up to anyone, even Reed. I just wanted Ellery to break the prison walls she built around herself. I am looking forward forward to the next installment to see how their relationship progresses and what other investigations they will undertake together.
*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Wow – all kinds of action
This is the second great book in the Ellery Hathaway series, following THE VANISHING SEASON.
Ellery is on extended leave from the police department after shooting a vile serial killer in the first book. She’s mandated to get therapy plus her therapist decides she needs to attend group meetings for survivors of violent crimes. Her therapist wants her to actively participate in these meetings but instead Ellery involves herself in the stories of two of the other survivors.
As she looks into the crimes she ends up calling Reed Markham, the FBI agent who rescued her when she was a teenager from another demented serial killer (she seems to attract the attention of seriously warped people). Reed comes to help her and the action ramps up.
I like this series a lot and especially like the characters of Ellery and Reed – and also Ellery’s galumphing dog Speed Bump. The characters are fully developed and the stories in this book are realistic and scary.
I recommend that you read book one first and don’t miss out on this series if you like suspense, thrillers, damaged characters, or murder mysteries.
I received this book from Minotaur Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.
Another strong read written by Joanna Schaffhausen. This is book two in the series but could be read before book #1 as Joanna gives enough back story. It had been a considerable time since I read the first book, The Vanishing Season, after I received this book. We do pick up where book one left off with Ellery on “leave” from her job as a cop as she killed her someone in the last book. I don’t want to give too much away in either book.
Joanna Schaffhausen knows how to write a dark deep twisted story. She made the female character likable even though she didn’t have “cheery” disposition. We deal with dark subjects thrown in with witty banter which is a breath of fresh air. There are a lot of different mysteries that Reed and Ellery are working on but never does it seem too much. I like how everything was interwoven and how everything turned out. The relationship that is forged between Ellery and Reed is something to root for – even though it isn’t what I normally read in terms of romance. It is right in tune for Ellery’s character. You really need to read to experience this type of relationship.
How the book ended, I have high hopes for book for another book! No Mercy is on sale on January 15th! Pre-order and/or buy this book! The writing is wonderful and the suspense kept me on the edge of my seat.
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Thank you!
I did not read the first book in this series, but the author mentioned enough about what had happened in the past so I felt very comfortable not having read it. Ellery is on leave from her police department in Boston and Reed Markham is with the FBI in another state. Reed comes to Boston and together they try to solve a string of rapes and an old arson case. There was a lot of action in this book along with some twists and I really enjoyed it. It definitely is a page turner. I am looking forward to going back and reading the first book and I can’t wait until the next book in this series comes out. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this really good book in exchange for an honest review.