Merciless

Can you keep a secret? Are you willing to lie in order to maintain that secret? Joceline Perry must do just that in order to protect her secrets in Merciless by Diana Palmer.

Joceline works as an administrative assistant at the FBI and is a single mom. Her boss is Jon Blackhawk, an FBI agent, lawyer, and handsome and wealthy young man. Jon knows that he'd be lost without Joceline's assistance and their work relationship is a strange dance in comraderie and teasing. Joceline does her best to protect Jon from his mother's matchmaking and keep him on schedule and well-informed on his cases. Things are going reasonably well for both until a bad guy is released on bail. This is unfortunate because this particular bad guy was arrested for show more participating in the murder of Jon's sister-in-law and niece a few years ago. Of course the bad guy has threated Jon's life and now Jon winds up being shot. Of course the bad guy threatens Jon's family and co-workers so Joceline and her son must be protected. And of course, nothing remains a secret forever.

Regrettably I must be a little "merciless" about Merciless. The story was somewhat formulaic and nothing that happened was really a surprise. I didn't like the wealthy boss and penniless and subservient but hardworking worker scheme and felt it was overdone (perhaps my cynicism is showing). Having said that...if you prefer a light, romantic HEA quick read then Merciless may work for you. show less

I must say this first: WOW! Where on earth have I been that I haven't read a Diana Palmer novel before?! I guess I must have been in a cave, but now I'm out and am SO happy to have read this novel. When I chose it to review, I couldn't wait to jump into it. Boy, was I glad I did, too!

Merciless is a wonderfully written novel, and Palmer's characters jump at the reader and hook them into the heart of the story with them. The reader is instantly pulled in and taken on the whirl wind of action, romance and suspense; riding along for the duration.

Merciless follows Jon Blackhawk and Joceline Perry. Jon is a 30 year old senior FBI agent and his secretary Joceline is a single mom of a 4 year old little boy with medical issues. And, she show more harbors a secret. One that could forever change lives around her. Jon is targeted by someone he had arrested...or so he thinks. When clues start arising to the truth of his enemies, will Joceline and Jon be able to solve the mystery? And confess their true feelings for each? Or will secrets, and one mean mama, keep them apart?

Each page turn brought new twists and turns, and I couldn't put the book down. I loved the western cowboy feel, the hunky FBI agent, the mysterious suspense and the romance! I highly recommend this a 5 star MUST read for every one who loves suspense, and romance, and those hunky good looking Texans! I am definitely going back to read Dangerous, Jon's brother's story! And, I look forward to being a devoted fan of Ms. Palmer's and reading all her past and future works! show less

I believe I have read every single book Ms. Palmer has ever written. I started reading them years and years ago, after a friend had loaned me one of her books. I don’t read this genre that often anymore, but I always try to check out Ms. Palmer’s books whenever I see a new one.

Merciless is about Jon Blackhawk, and his assistant, Joceline. I know of Jon from previous books, and am glad we finally see him in his own story. I like Jon; he wasn’t bad tempered like most of the hero’s in Ms. Palmer’s novels. I also liked Joceline more than I usually like Ms. Palmer’s heroines. She was strong willed and took care of herself and her son. She wasn’t a weepy, whiney heroine that we sometimes see.

The plot was pretty predictable. show more Strong hero, bad guy that tries to take down said hero, woman that falls for hero, but something keeps them apart.

I have to say, the ‘gaming’ talk irritated me. My husband is a gamer, and that’s totally not the way he talks. This is not the first book that I’ve seen this in either, it was also in Dangerous. I’m guessing that Ms. Palmer is now addicted to World of Warcraft. ;)

Overall, although this book was very predictable, it was still a quick, enjoyable read. Die hard Palmer fans will really enjoy it! show less

As you know, I have been on a romance novel kick as of late. I have read some good ones. Sadly, this is not one of them. The story centers on Jon, a Native American FBI agent, and Joceline, a feisty, sharp tongued single mom as his secretary.

I’ll cut right to the chase: here are the bad parts. Jon is boring. I completely disliked him (and that was before I found out he was a 30 year-old virgin. Don’t get me wrong, I can understand abstinence. Fact is I respect it. What I can’t understand is his how clueless he is when it comes the act of sex, especially during the losing the virginity scene. Granted, I don’t know too many virgins, especially in their late 20s so I may be off the mark but I’m pretty sure the dude does not yell show more “It’s coming! It’s coming!” It’s? Ooooooo-kay. Apparently, he hasn’t masturbated either. (Now, come on. What guy hasn’t masturbated at least once? He’s 30 fer Pete’s sake. Did he skip right over puberty and his adolescent years? I apologize, I digress.) He is completely married to his job, is bossy and has a moral compass that seems to be tuned to jackass.

The thriller/mystery that forms the backbone of this novel is mediocre at best. There was plenty of back-story but it reads more like the second book in a series. There was too much about what happened in the past and not enough substance to hold this storyline together. As far as I can see, this is a standalone novel. Also, there were way too many characters. Who killed who, who was related to who, etc. I like having a notebook handy when I read for jotting down passages that move me, not to create a diagram because I can’t keep the characters straight. Lastly, the dialogue is elementary. It’s as if each character is reading from a script and not saying what would come naturally.

Enough with the bad, onto the good. Among all those characters, there was one that I adored: Our anti-hero Rourke, the South African hired to protect the fair Joceline. Now that was chemistry! I loved the scenes between those two. You could feel the genuine dislike simmering on attraction Joceline felt for Rourke. And you knew how Rourke felt hands down. It came across the page in each word Ms. Palmer used. I could have read 1000 pages of him trying to convince her to take a chance on him. There was a real attraction there. Sadly Ms. Palmer missed the mark with this. They had all the making of a classic romance novel super couple. Unfortunately, their romance will exist only in my imagination.

I also enjoyed Joceline immensely. She was a fantastic dame in distress who knew how to take care of herself. She took responsibility for decisions she made in her life and did the best she could. She was a great mother to her son, a great worker for Jon, and she was quick witted, sharp and funny. I won’t begrudge her the choice she made in pining for Jon, I guess the long haired thing works for some.

I’m not exactly mad I read this novel, I just wish that as my first foray into Diana Palmer’s novels was something better than this one. If this will become a series, I will definitely read the next one, especially if it is about Rourke. As far as her other novels, I will read her again though next time some of her earlier work. Hopefully the second time will be the charm. show less

Jon Blackhawk's not ready for marriage, despite his mother's efforts to set him up with the perfect mate. The only woman who successfully catches his attention is his assistant, but Joceline Perry, young, unmarried with a small boy to take care of, is no threat to his bachelor status. Or is she?

Silly me, I bought this. Only to find another rehashed plot. Young infatuation leads to a one-night stand resulting in a baby. With childhood asthma. Circumstances don't allow for the mother to tell the father, resulting in huge misunderstandings when the star-crossed pair meet years later. Of course, he's in law enforcement. She's clever, but struggling.... Of course there's a happily ever after, but other than a bit of clever dialogue and show more different names, there's not much to distinguish this one. Borrow, don't buy. show less

It has been several years since I read anything by Diana Palmer, but after reading Merciless I am thinking I need to catch up on what she has written.
This story revolves around Jon Blackhawk and his assistant Joceline. Jon is a thirty year old FBI agent whose mother wants to help him find a wife, something he is dead set against. Joceline has been Jon's assistant for several years, and while they have a good work relationship, she is determined to keep her work life and personal life separate. She has always been known as a very conservative person, but a few years back she had a son,Markie, and has always kept her son away from the office, only sharing the fact that Markie's father was killed in war before the two could get married. show more She is keeping a secret though, one that will change several lives. When one of Jon's enemies starts making threats against not only him and his family but Joceline and Markie as well, he wants to protect them by taking them to his ranch, and while there Jon and Joceline's feelings heat up! Can they figure out who is making the threats, and what happens when people around Jon start figuring out Joceline's secret?
This story was romance, drama, and mystery rolled into one. While I liked the characters, Joceline was a struggling single mother, whose secret really was very easy to figure out, and I was a bit surprised it took the secondary characters so long to get it. I felt that the attitude that Cammie had about Joceline being a single parent was repeated way to often, and was quite outdated as well. While I did enjoy the banter between Joceline and Jon, the bit about her not making coffee was another line that was really overused.Those few complaints aside, I found myself reading this book thru in one sitting, I always love a good romance, and the mystery and suspense of not knowing what might happen next made for an interesting story. The author does a great job of wrapping the book up nicely at the end.The author also provides the first chapter of her next book titled "Wyoming Tough," due out in Nov.2011, and if the first chapter is any indication it going to be a great book, one that I can't wait to read!
Overall if your looking for an entertaining read that will hold your attention for a few hours and are a fan of romance with a happily ever after ending then you just might enjoy this one. show less

Two co-workers who find love in the midst of trouble. (And some secrets revealed in the process.)

Better than the last book by Palmer (after which I was sure I'd never read another book by her again) but still had some issues with it. I had a hard time being attracted to a hero who is constantly talking about playing games online, etc. (It was a little much IMO.) And I still felt like, as in her past books, some of the dialogue b/w the main characters was unrealistic.

So my advice would be, if you are a Palmer fan or if you are just out of books & looking for something to read, this will work. If you are looking for a book you just love/unpredictable or a new author, maybe not the book for you to start with.