good mystery — stigmata — clues

A very suspicious death and a sprawling mansion with secrets and puzzles built into the very architecture are among the elements that make Dying for Mercy an unputdownable mystery. The third riveting thriller from New York Times bestselling Mary Jane Clark to feature Eliza Blake and her KEY News television colleagues

Short chapters and multiple point of views make for an interesting compliment to this novel which seems to mix suspense fiction with aspects of both mystery and thriller genres. The story is fast-paced as the author quickly moves you from one head into another. Yet, the puzzle you are trying to get all of the pieces to is very complex. The pages of “Dying for Mercy” are layered with not only slightly obscure, yet auspicious clues, but also a wealth of suspicious characters.
One particular, anonymous point of view----always written in italics—who seems to have everything to lose, lends a deeply enigmatic element as well as a spooky touch. Also, Innes Wheelock, the man whose death the puzzle of this novel evolves around, is an elaborately baffling character. He is an enigma in the best sense of the word. The mix of a life of excess and prestige weaves with his religious ideals and goals of justice. With his death, he begins a puzzle for those connected to him in a mind of forcing repentance.
Mary Jane Clark has a way of making you question everyone. With her omniscient point of view, all that is purposefully left unsaid along with the little hints the reader does get, makes her excel in her craft. I was even questioning the good guys!
Her setting of Tuxedo Park is a wonderful, complimentary backdrop—extravagant—lending wealth, beauty, excess and the illusion of safety. It is rare an author comes up with a setting that so matches the characters, the setting becomes a character in its own right.
Thinking back over the story, for a murder mystery, her characters were well-crafted, circling their personalities around the character Innes and his suicide. The story was really about motivations right to the very end. You find yourself questioning not only what motivated the initial suicide and following murders, but, what keeps you reading, is the goal of finding out what is being covered up. ( )

Eliza Blake, a TV morning show host, attends a party where Ennis, the host of the party, commits suicide by stigmata. After several days, Eliza realizes that Ennis left a puzzle especially for her to solve. Someone quickly steps in to murder anyone close to the story to prevent the secret from coming to light and with many possible players, it could be anyone.

I should begin by saying that I did not realize that this was the third in a series, and after I began, I realized that I was missing several important pieces forming the Eliza Blake character and her life. The suicide by stigmata was personally disgusting, and I had trouble with the premise of a man who lives his entire life protecting a lie, then commits suicide to reveal it. It is a highly suspenseful novel, with many twists and turns. The reader keeps guessing up until the end. ( )

Dying for Mercy by Mary Jane Clark is the third in her series of Eliza Blake mystery novels. As co-host of TV show Key to America, Blake attends a party at a historic estate, and soon finds herself searching for clues to an apparent suicide.

I enjoyed this fast-paced mystery, and will certainly look into the earlier novels. While it is a bit short on character development, Dying for Mercy fulfills its promise as a suspense novel. The short chapters kept the novel's pace moving quickly.

Following the kidnapping of her daughter, Janie, Eliza Blake decides to rent a house in prestigious Tuxedo Park, New York. She’s invited to a party and before the night ends, the host commits suicide by stigmata. As Eliza and her colleagues, AKA the Sunshine Suspense Society, begin to investigate, they realize he left clues behind that will piece together a cover-up that happened years ago. Can Eliza and her friends find the killer’s identity before they become the next victims? ( )