Philadelphia homicide detectives Jessica Balzano and Kevin Byrne investigate horrific crimes on a regular basis. The best of partners, each has a love interest. Jessica is married to a fellow detective, and they have promised never to let the dinner hour pass without making contact with each other if duty keeps them away from home. Kevin works each day with a bit of past victims stuck in his head, much like many police officers. He wonders if it's time to leave his job and settle down with the woman he loves.

A bizarre killing and then another interrupts the Christmas holiday, leaving no doubt that a serial killer is at work in Philly. The latest murders are sickening. Someone is killing women, dressing them in vintage clothing and leaving their posed bodies along the Schuylkill River in morbid reenactments of children's bedtime stories.

Jessica and Kevin spend every waking hour searching for clues to the serial killer's identity. With each murder, the killer is leading them somewhere, a place that defies parents' beliefs in the much-beloved children stories.

While Kevin deals with another case, Jessica partners with a coworker and the women wind up participants in the madman's warped storyline conclusion. When Jessica doesn't show up for dinner or call, Kevin and Jessica's husband put the last of the clues together, thanks to her notes, and head toward the murder scene. The scene they discover leaves little doubt of the madness that can consume a human being. Kevin has to decide whether he can take the shot, knowing he must and that death may still claim the hostage.

MERCILESS binds insane killings with purposeful killings in a thrilling suspense that's sure to entertain you. Montanari skillfully weaves the intrigue with nonstop action in a clever spin on beloved bedtime stories.