Kendra Elliot

This is the first book by the author I've read and won't be the last. There are plenty of things for readers to ponder, many from a long time ago, others very fresh. The connection between them starts with the abduction and subsequent killing of a podcaster who specializes in true crime. He came to this remote part of Oregon, intent upon solving the murder of one teen, the almost murder of another, and the disappearance of three others, all occurring on a camping trip twenty years before.
If that wasn't enough for the law enforcement protagonists in the story, someone is intent upon destroying electrical substations by shooting their most vulnerable components with high powered rifles, threatening not only electricity, but communications in this remote area.
The way everything unfolds is done deftly, keeping the suspense level up there all the way to the end. If I have a quibble, it's that the event that set everything in motion twenty years ago doesn't strike me as severe enough to create what followed. That's a very minor issue as the book kept me engaged from page one to the end.… (altro)

When FBI Special Agent Mercy Kilpatrick is assigned a murder case that will take her back to her hometown of Eagle's Nest, Oregon, she knows she will have to face the family that has shunned her for 15 years. The town of preppers and survivalists is the site of three recent murders in which a large number of weapons have been stolen. On her arrival, she meets the local police chief, Truman Daly. Truman's journey to Eagle's Nest began with the death of his partner that he believes he might have been able to prevent. Both find themselves embroiled in a case which may raise the issues from Mercy's past that caused her to leave town and an attraction that could prove inconvenient.

A Merciful Death is a good beginning to the Mercy Kilpatrick series, introducing many characters and the town of Eagle's Nest. It also introduces the world of preppers, with lots of interesting information and an intriguing mystery. However, the writing doesn't evoke much emotion, and it is difficult to connect with the characters or their romance. There are also parts of the narrative that are very slow and even the parts of the novel that are meant to be suspenseful don't really offer that much suspense. Overall, A Merciful Death succeeds as the introduction to a new series but that is where interest ends.… (altro)