In MERCILESS, Mercy Gunderson's life seems to be changing
for the better. Although she lost her bid for sheriff, Mercy
has gained a new boyfriend; the current Eagle River County
sheriff Mason Dawson. They have settled down together in
domestic bliss at her family ranch, and the former Black Ops
sniper has joined the FBI. Mercy has just come home from
training at Quantico; and is assigned to the Rapid City,
South Dakota bureau under the watchful eye of her trainer,
Special Agent Shay Turnbull.
Mercy and the FBI are called to the Sioux reservation after
the grisly murder of the young Arlette Shooting Star.
Although tribal leader Latimer Elk Thunder and the tribal
police don't want the FBI on the reservation, the murdered
girl is his niece, so he grudgingly accepts their assistance
in investigating the heinous crime. As Mercy begins to
delve deeper into the murder, she begins uncovering some
unsavory connections, both in the town and on the
reservation. Suspects start turning up, some with ties to
Mercy. The investigation has not only put her at odds with
tribal politics; but also with Mason in his capacity as
sheriff, and with several close associates.
After Mercy makes a correlation to the murder with several
past suspicious deaths on the reservation, she spends time
in the Tribal archives digging up old tribal police records
to back up her theories. Personal animosity against Mercy
works its way into the investigation, and lies and long held
secrets stymie her efforts to resolve the crime. After the
third killing in a matter of weeks, Mercy concludes that
these grisly murders are the work of a serial killer; tied
to the many unsolved crimes she has been uncovering in the
archives. A personal event puts a wrinkle into Mercy and
Mason's home life when Mason's eleven year old son is sent
to live with them by his mother, just as the investigation
is heating up. As Mercy delves deeper into the crimes,
asking more probing questions and discovering more secrets;
she finds that the murders have gotten personal for her, as
she has drawn the attention of the killer to herself and her
family.
MERCILESS is a very good, interesting addition to the Mercy
Gunderson series. Although the story starts a bit slow,
the action quickly picks up, leading to an exciting climax
in which Mercy brings her specialized military training into
play. Local issues and tribal politics add murky layers and
twists to the plotline. Mercy makes a few interesting
choices along the way; dubious choices that may have a
future impact on her personal life, and with her status as a
newbie FBI agent as well.
Mercy Gunderson is thrown into her first FBI murder case,
working with the tribal police on the Eagle River
Reservation, where the victim is the teenaged niece of the
recently elected tribal president. When another gruesome
killing occurs during the early stages of the
investigation, Mercy and fellow FBI agent Shay Turnbull are
at odds about whether the crimes are connected.
Mercy can’t discuss her reservations about the baffling
cases with her live-in boyfriend, Eagle River County
Sheriff Mason Dawson, due to job confidentiality, and the
couple’s home on the ranch descends into chaos when
Dawson’s eleven-year-old-son Lex is sent to live with them.
While hidden political agendas and old family vendettas
turn ugly, masking motives and causing a rift among the
tribal police, the tribal council, and the FBI, Mercy
realizes that the deranged killer is still at large—and is
playing a dangerous game with his sights set on Mercy as
his next victim.
Torn between her duty to the FBI and her duties to those
she loves, Mercy must unleash the cold, dark, merciless
killer inside her and become the predator, rather than the
prey.
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