Kendra ElliotReviews

This is a murder mystery investigation story. I didn't realize this was part of a series until I had started the book but that didn't matter. There was enough information to put the referenced previous events in context.

FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick returns home to a family who has shunned her in order to recoup and heal. Instead she falls in love, and gets involved in solving a twenty-year old crime that is starting again. Did hey put the wrong person in prison? Or is this a copycat. And will she find him before he kills again.

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.

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.½

This is book #5 in the Columbia River Series featuring FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick and her husband police chief Truman Daly. Murder investigation of a true-crime podcaster turns into an investigation of a 20 year old cold case.
The first half of the book felt a little slow, but the pace picked up nicely in the second half. The ending was breathtaking. There were couple of good twists, and I even guessed the last one. I really liked Mercy and Truman and their little found family. There was so much love and warmth in their interactions. It's refreshing to find a thriller where the main characters are actually happy in their lives.
I've not read the previous books in this series, but the author did a great job giving all the necessary background information. I don't feel like I missed anything. This book was actually so good that I want to read the series from the beginning.
Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for a copy of this book.

A missing and murdered podcaster's death leads to reexamining the disappearance of five teenagers twenty years earlier. The podcaster's body was found in the same place as two of the missing teens. All three had had their throats slit and wrists bound before they were dumped. However, one of the two teens managed to live but was injured so severely that he couldn't recall what happened to him or his friends.

The difference with the podcaster's placement was the addition of a black taped X over his mouth.

Both Mercy and Truman are involved in the case though they came to it from different points. Truman gets involved when his soon-to-be-adopted son Ollie calls to tell him that he has discovered a woman running for help while he was snowmobiling in the wilderness. She needs to let someone know that her podcaster husband has disappeared and that the lower floor of the cabin they were renting was full of blood.

Mercy is called to the river shore when the podcaster's body was found and was told by a spectator about the crime twenty years earlier. She was called in by Noelle Marshall, a sheriff's deputy that she's worked with before.

As they investigate both the current murder and the twenty-year-old crime, they discover that the survivor is Devin Bonner and go to interview him. They learn that he suffers from face blindness which makes everyone a stranger and has made him a recluse who lives with his mother. When his mother is attacked and almost killed, Ollie befriends him and wants to stay with him to help him out until his mother recovers.

But the killing hasn't stopped and efforts to involve Devin hasn't stopped either. The podcaster's missing jeep shows up outside the Bonner home and another podcaster's body is dumped outside of the motel room where Ollie and Devin are staying.

This story was filled with tension and twists and turns. I found it totally engaging and couldn't put it down until every detail had been figured out. I liked seeing Truman, Mercy and Ollie again in this fifth book in a series. I love the relationship between them all.

Kendra Elliott is going to be one of my favorite authors. She has written a wonderful suspense and kept me guessing. Her writing style reminds me of Karen Rose, Karin Slaughter and Laura Griffin, with the added bonus of hot sex. The love scene between Lacey Campbell and Jack Harper was one of the sweetest, most sensual love scenes I have read in a long time. I look forward to reading more by Ms. Elliott who is a 5 star author!!

I received [b: Known|13132661|Also Known As (Also Known As, #1)|Robin Benway|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1354665105s/13132661.jpg|18309079] written by [a: Kendra Elliot|6150778|Kendra Elliot|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1343938011p2/6150778.jpg]. I got this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The format is an Amazon.Kindle e-book version.

[b: Known|13132661|Also Known As (Also Known As, #1)|Robin Benway|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1354665105s/13132661.jpg|18309079] is an exciting adventure that is fifth in the "Bone Secrets" series. "Known"stands alone well. The writing is good. The strong female protagonists are not perfect, but intelligent, and tough to kill.

With my snowsuit on I leaped into the story, sinking into the deep and ice crusted snow. There is mystery, peril and suspense. It is difficult to figure who the real bad guys are.

When a novel takes me away from my reality and transforms me into another place, it is like falling in love. The only reason I did not read this 348 page novel in one sitting is because sleep overcame me.

As I can picture the characters of Gianna, Violet and Chris, as well as a few of the shady antagonists. The skill of the author showed them all as three dimensional.

Now, I want to go back and learn about Chris and his horrible past. I enjoyed the play between the characters and could see this made into a movie.

Violet is a teenager who is heroic, smart and a survivor. I would recommend this to a mature Y/A reader, or adult.

Content: There is no graphic sex scenes, but a steamy love scene. There is violence.

Too twisted to make an enjoyable read.

I did finish this but it is SLOW moving....too slow for me. There is virtually no romance going on. Truman is interested in her and she responds to the interest at the end of the book. The last 20% was what I was hoping for much sooner regarding the murders. I think I'll move on from this series for now.

Pretty good!

I don't understand how this book was rated so high. Ugh was how I felt after reading it. Two examples below but most of the story went this way.

Mercy, the lead character, acted more like a batty housewife than an FBI agent with 6 years of experience, who faced up to her father, left her home at 18 and paid her way through college. She kept her secret for 15 years but blabbed all of it after knowing a guy for a week.

Truman, the town Sheriff, spent all of his time chasing the first woman that comes to town, ignores the law and choses the wrong path, though Mercy and her siblings actions 15 years earlier led to his uncle's death.

Lastly, the author seemed to do zero research on preppers, though it was a central theme through out the book.

This is the first book in the Columbia River series, first off Zander Wells, he was the reason I chose this book to read, as my son’s name is Zander and it is an unusual spelling.
At the very beginning, I was reeled in and I could not put the book down.
A murder case from twenty years ago where someone was charged was done and dusted, until now when it happens again, the same kind of MO, does lightning strike twice?
Apart from the murders and the investigation, there was more to the book, there was romance and a lot of other stuff including diversity in a small town.
Now this book left me guessing and kept me wanting to read more. It was written well and I liked both Zander and Ava’s characters.
I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series.

FBI agent and a sheriff solve fires and deaths

I quite enjoyed this one and will certainly be continuing the series. One thing I love to find in fiction is a strong sense of place and an introduction to a new culture. The preppers of Oregon are certainly a new culture for me!

Hidden was an enjoyable read - although a bit too long and convoluted to rate higher. I liked Jack and Lacey well enough and the crime was interesting if not anything new to the genre. I liked Lacey's profession as a forensic odontologist - it was interesting and I would've liked to see more of it being used. It kind of fades into the background as the romantic suspense aspects take over. The romance was alright, pretty straightforward practically instalove. I'm not sure I care about any of the other characters enough to read the rest of the series, but never say never. Overall 3 stars, maybe 3.5.

A pretty good start to this series. I enjoy the aspect of the FBI agent in a romance with the small town police chief. I can't wait to see where this relationship goes.

A nice continuation to the world created in the first book. We see more of Mercy and her reintegration back into her old life and progress in the relationship with Truman. I still like those two as a couple and can't wait to see more love and adventures.

This series is moving along nicely. The relationship between Mercy and Truman is sweet and refreshing. He loves her so much and she's really starting to get to the point where she realizes it's okay to love him too. I really enjoy these characters and the world being built around him.

The case in this book was also interesting. The accusations of withcraft put an unexpected spin on things. It was also interesting how parts of the case tied to both Mercy and Truman's past. I like how we're seeing their lives become intertwined more and more.

This is actually a pretty good series. I like the characters. I like the world they've built. I enjoy watching the FBI agent fall for the small town police chief and the both of them work together to solve crimes in their area. Mercy and Truman make a good team and I like the progress in their relationship especially since she's decided to no longer hold back. The murders in this book were kind of gruesome and terrible.

I think out of the whole series, this one has been my favorite. It was a good crime/mystery to solve and I'm loving Mercy and Truman more and more.

This one eventually came together and got really good. It was a good ending to the series and I admit to having some tears. I'm going to miss Mercy and Truman.

As always her books are amazing. Loved it

Mercy is not the only one causing chaos in the rural community of Eagle’s Nest, Oregon. At first believed to be teenage pranks, a series of fires takes a deadly turn with the murder of two sheriff’s deputies. Now, along with Police Chief Truman Daly, Mercy is on the hunt for an arsonist turned killer.

Still shunned by her family and members of the community, Mercy must keep her ear close to the ground to pick up any leads. And it’s not long before she hears rumors of the area’s growing antigovernment militia movement. If the arsonist is among their ranks, Mercy is determined to smoke the culprit out. But when her investigation uncovers a shocking secret, will this hunt for a madman turn into her own trial by fire?

This 2nd book of the Mercy Series was AMAZING. A Merciful Truth.... A story I didn't see coming.

Excited to start the third book of this Amazing Series

Happy Reading Guys

FREE for Kindle Unlimtied
1.99 to buy

FBI special agent Mercy Kilpatrick has been waiting her whole life for disaster to strike. A prepper since childhood, Mercy grew up living off the land and off the grid in rural Eagle's Nest, Oregon. When she goes back home to work a case where a Cave Man is killing the local survivalist also known as Peppers.

While working along side the local deputy Truman they start to form a bond.
(I LOVE)

This book is full of twist & turns you won't see coming.

I have recommend this book to my friends because it's so well written, the plot is amazing & I just can't wait to finish the Mercy Series

Happy Reading Guys
Hope y'all enjoy this books as much as I did.
Also it's FREE on Kindle Unlimited