This is the first time I’ve read any work by Larkin and if this is a sample of the stories she can tell it won’t be my last. FBI Agent Mercy Parker has her work cut out for her when someone blows up the Golden Gate Bridge. This is the work of one man who has decided to destroy and kill as many as possible. He’s been doing just that for many years. Knowing this case is different then anything she has run into she asks for the help of psychic ex-profiler Piper Vasey. Together they must recover a kidnapped girl, a dog and a journal that will tell them what’s coming next and perhaps help them put a stop to it all. Oh yeah, they find themselves falling in love with each other while working on saving the human race. Full of action and humor this is a really great read. Very enjoyable read.

I couldn't put this down, as I kept guessing what was going to happen next (and was wrong more than once!). The twists just kept coming!

Loved it. Mercy has everything I look for in a thriller. Fast paced,oodles of tension, bodies piling up with threats of more carnage if our heroes don’t come up with solutions quick, wonderful well developed characters and enough humour and witty dialogue to offset the macabre killer.

The focus is on Mercy Parker and she is far from perfect but her heart is in the right place. Piper comes into the story later than expected but she makes a good addition to the team with her “gifts”. I’m rarely a fan of paranormal anything but in a story that descends into dystopia and chaos the good guys having a few hidden talents comes in handy. A bit of magic also helps offset some of the more far-fetched scenarios.

Impressive debut novel and an author to watch. Well done.

ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.

I am so terribly sorry but I cannot finish this book. I feel terrible about it but this book is gruesome in regards to the murdering of children. It is too dark for me and if I finish it, I will review it and that would not be fair to Bold Strokes or this writer because of a difference in personal experience and taste.

Mercy by Michelle Larkin takes on the battle between good and evil with a twist. This story had a great cast of characters and keeps you wanting to know more. The pacing was spot on and I enjoyed every moment. The bad guy was really bad and although the good guys had flaws they gave you hope. A terrific read.

A lot of action...a little romance...

I am looking forward to finding more books by this author. It was well written with suspense, drama, a touch of romance and great characters.

After reading a few disturbing chapters I realized this isn’t the type of book I like with or without lesbians. Paranormal and violent not my thing. Congrats to the author on a debut novel. Maybe I’ll finish it one day.

An impressive debut novel, Mercy is difficult to pinpoint which genre it would fall under. The author managed to create something unique that I haven’t read before which is new for me. Mercy has a destiny where humankind will depend on her, but first she must save it before she barely begins. FBI agents, Mercy and Piper, are thrown together to stop the spread of a killer virus destined to end the world. Their delightfully snarky romance is artfully balanced with the suspense of saving the world, with some added surprise plot twists involving the supernatural. I felt like hiding under a blanket with the fear and anticipation of their potential failure and its implications if they did fail. I wouldn’t recommend this book to someone with a heart condition in lieu of the indredible suspense. Along the way they pick up additional characters to help them in their quest that you will grow to care for deeply as they did. It was difficult to say goodbye to Mercy and Piper. Because of that, it would have been nice to enjoy a longer epilogue that focused some extra time on the happiness of their love affair since the majority of the book encompasses the suspense of saving the world. Truly a unique reading experience, I look forward to more of what this author can offer.

This book is getting 4 stars because of its entertainment value. It has some issues that would normally bring the rating a little bit lower, but I was so entertained I’m forgiving it. I have had such poor luck of average or below average books lately that this was exactly the book I needed at the right time. It also appears to be a debut which makes it more impressive.

The best way to describe this book would be action-thriller with some paranormal elements and a little romance. The main character is an FBI agent so you have a bit of a police procedural in there, but not much. This book is on the darker and grittier side at times. There is a lot of death and destruction. The book is really about the balance between light and dark, death and healing, and that bad things have to happen so good can eventually overcome. The book had an interesting premise that I think Larkin handled really well.

Most of the writing was good. I didn’t think once that this was a debut. What I really loved about the book was all the action. This is a book I could not put down. It was almost non-stop action and it entertained the hell out of me. Most of the story had a little countdown clock in the corner (figuratively) so it enhanced the thriller part of the book. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I had to stop reading, sit back and relax, because I was getting too tensed up. This is the kind of pace I hope for when I pick up an action-thriller.

The book did have a few issues. For one I was disappointed in the romance. I loved the two mains and thought they made a great couple, but it was too insta love for my tastes. While I was rooting for them as a couple, there wasn’t the chemistry there that I hoped for. This book should be read for the action, not the romance. Think of the romance as a little bonus.

There also were a few scenes I found unbelievable. And I’m not talking about any of the paranormal parts; they were all fine with me. It was other things that didn’t really make much sense. It’s the kind of book you should just suspend disbelief a bit and enjoy the ride.

Lastly I just want to mention I thought this book has a good cast of characters. There was a kid in this book who I absolutely adored. She was one of the better kid characters in a lesfic book I’ve read in a while. The way this book ended it could be the end, or it could be a series. I’m hoping it’s a series as I would love to visit these characters again.

As much as this book made my night, and thoroughly entertained me, I don’t think this will be for everyone. Because it is dark at times and deals with a lot of death, it might bother some people. But if you are an action-thriller fan, I recommend this. I will absolutely read what Larkin writes next.

Who hasn't thought, after a disaster caused by the human race itself, what is the reason for so much evil? And would not it be great to know that everything has a positive side, even the worst atrocity?

So this book tells us a story in which so much responsibility falls on two people, apparently normal, with strange powers that complement each other, causing one of them to be the cause of the evil so that the other can cause the consequent good.

I do not want to discover much in relation to the story itself, in addition to these two figures, who at the moment of the story are in a kind of transfer of powers, there are secondary characters who also have their role in the development of the story.

Leaving aside the subject of the book, I think it was a very interesting reading and peculiar somehow. It has hooked me from the beginning and leaving it has been a difficult task, always wanting to know what would come next.

Certainly the end is not defining but it is satisfactory, as far as possible. I think that if you decide to read this book you will not be disappointed.

<i>An ARC was sent to me from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley for an honest review </i>

I am actually not sure where to start with this review. I found the book to be fairly dark in particular when describing the gruesome ways in which people we killed or harmed. There was a bit more of a magical aspect to the story that I wasn't expecting. The crime/thriller aspect of the book was good and found myself hooked not knowing what would happen next.

The romance for me was pretty weak. It was superficial where little time was spent with the two growing their feelings, it was basically instant love. It just wasn't very believable for me.

The ending for me was weird and didn't really answer the questions I had at the end of the book. Maybe some things went over my head.

What a different kind of read. The read was different because it was unusual with much detail, numerous characters, creepy bad guy, and futuristic yet present day. It took me a while to "get" engaged with the story. I hung in there because the read was so unusual and I did not want to miss anything. I enjoyed the humor and the witty dialogue. The young girl and the dog were wonderful main/supporting characters. Mercy Parker and Piper Vasey did not really click for me. There was too much distance between them and resulted in a disconnection.

Mercy Parker is the lead agent in the FBI’s Unsolved Child Homicide Unit and is called early one morning to the scene of a crime where a child has been murdered. This is just the tip of the iceberg in the death and destruction caused by the mysterious Shadow. Piper Vasey is a psychic who lost her husband three years previously and has lived a reclusive existence since. Time is running out and Mercy has to find Piper to stop the annihilation that Shadow has planned.

I found this novel very difficult to read because I avoid, as much as possible, books or movies where children are endangered, harmed or killed. I also avoid books where animals are maliciously harmed. ‘Mercy’ has the harming of both which is compounded by good writing and vivid descriptions so the images get burnt into my brain. By about halfway through the characters were sharing a joke to lighten the mood but I was still panicked about the 10-year-old girl kidnapped by a madman and I realised I couldn’t continue.

I stopped reading and returned to finish after several days (for no other reason than to ensure the child lived). I read the second half without immersing myself into the book, which never makes for a good read, but it did give closure.

I think that with different subject matter I would enjoy the wit, humour and banter between the characters. The premise was interesting but felt as though too much was squished into too short a book. Without the children and animals I might have enjoyed it. 2.5 stars rounded up.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Frickin hell I’ve never read a book like it, it’s a bit weird and silly in places but it’s got a good amount of action, I wouldn’t know what genre to put this under because there was so many different things going on, seemed almost too busy but easy to follow when you get into it, kept me up way past my bedtime, now for the romance part, well I didn’t much care for it, it seemed too full on too quickly, the main characters were really great and their banter was funny but I didn’t feel any chemistry vibes from them, also it’s a shame the sex scene was very quick with hardly detailed, all that said I really did enjoy it and I’d definitely read a second book if there is to be one...