Mercy

David Lindsey is not one of the best known, top-tier mystery/thriller writers, but he is one of the more talented, and [Mercy] is strong proof.

A serial killer is targeting the women of Houston’s upper-middle class. At first glance, the victims are low-risk; they are professionals and mothers living in the best and safest neighborhoods. But these victims have an explosive secret, one that has put them squarely in the sights of a sexual-sadist. Houston Police Department’s Detective Connie Palma must discover the victims’ secret to have any hope of identifying the killer, but the victims aren’t cooperating. Palma turns to the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit for help in profiling the killer.

I happened onto Lindsey several years show more ago, picking up [Color of Night] on a whim, and was surprised to find him a solid cut above the typical thriller and mystery writers. Lindsey’s writing carries a literary air with colorful descriptiveness and deep characterizations.

[Mercy] is graphic, in the descriptions of the sex, the crimes, and the crime scenes. While the detail adds to the realism of the story, it may also put off quite a few readers, so be warned. Also, Lindsey has not published much in the last few years, and most of his novels predate the turn of the century. So, a good deal of the police procedure is outdated and readers will have to forget any knowledge gained from C.S.I. Unfortunately, even with the old technology, the one major failing of the story is in Lindsey’s failure to follow through on the bite mark evidence possibilities in wrapping up the story – the novel ends with doubt about the killer facing justice for a lack of evidence, even though there are a ton of bite marks that would have been matched to the killer with technology available at the time. The mistake, though, is not one that most folks outside of law enforcement would notice.

Bottom Line: A literary thriller but a graphic one.

4 ½ bones!!!!! show less

A long time reader of my booklist finally sent me a note last weekend. Bill MacDonald recommended three books to me. His note even included a paragraph about why I should read them. Here's what he said about Mercy: "This is set in sweltering Houston where a female police officer is investigating a series of murders. All the victims were upper class ladies who had paid for S&M services. I could not put this down. I've recommended this novel to two female friends and they both enjoyed it." I'll match his recommendation and raise him one Read This One! This is possibly the best book I've read in a long, long time. It is intricate and fascinating and gruesome and amazing. It is also long which is great. I love to be in the middle of a great show more book and know I've still got hours and hours of great reading ahead. I picked up a couple of Lindsey's other books and can't wait to get to them! show less

A bit tedious at times (I don't need to know every street the main character travelled, nor do I need a description of every house or what her partner was wearing) this book definitely had some cringe worthy moments. Incest, S&M, revenge.. Not for the faint of heart.

terrific story, terrific protagonist, poor editing and incorrect use of names of body parts, which was distracting

Taut thriller with a great protagonist.

I really enjoyed this book when I first read it 13 years ago when I got it from Doubleday Book Club. I look forward to rereading it this year.

Een vrouwelijke politiefunctionaris in Houston wordt geconfronteerd met enkele sadomasochistische moorden op vrouwen.