A Merciful Death

Three stars - which is not a bad rating.

This is the first book I have read by this author and I look forward to the second book, at least, in this series. I am reminded of the Kate Burkholder series by Linda Castillo. A former community member, shunned by her family, who returns as a law enforcement officer - in that case, the local police chief. In this series, Mercy returns to her hometown after a long absence as an FBI agent.

Such secrets! They find a way to come back to haunt. I especially liked the chief of police in this book. I want to know more about him. And then there’s Mercy. I came to like her by the end of the book but it took some work. There are multiple murders to be solved and Mercy links them to events 15 years ago.

I enjoyed the audiobook.

The constant use of the characters thoughts is so distracting that it took me over a month to finish this book. Completing this book became more of a task than a desire. It was a decent plot but the writting was awful and uncharacteristic of Kendra Elliott. kendra elliot is a better writer than this. the storyline was slow and as if she was writing to fulfill the publishers demands without telling the story. Oh Kendra im still a fan but i will never read another book of yours written in this format. Stick with what works for you. i like picking up a book and knowing its yours without reading the cover. this is not you!

The idea for the story was interesting but nit well executed. Characters were flat. Kind of a waste of time.

I enjoyed this very much. Well written and narrated. The storyline kept me interested and thinking. I particularly liked the tension between the main characters, but was not acted upon. The thoughts were present, but were more of an innocent attraction than all out lust. I also liked the suggestion of real life vulnerabilities the main characters displayed....just a very good all around book...thumbs up!

But there are better books/authors in this genre. Could have benefited from some editing and shortening

This predictable mystery was engaging at times, and dragged at other times. I never really believed the main character, Mercy. She left home at age 18, and never had any contact with her family after that. She ended out with the FBI. More interesting than the murder mystery she was investigating was what happened with her and her rural survivalist family. And there is a big secret she is hiding. And then there is a romantic interest with the local sheriff. I almost quit this two-thirds of the way through. I'm glad I stayed with it, because the last third is the best. It devolves somewhat into a chick lit thriller, but that was when the novel was the most fun. I think this is more a woman's novel than a man's, yet I (a guy) liked it enough to finish.

I'd never read anything by Kendra Elliott and now I'm hooked! This story was great! Well written and riveting, with a great suspenseful storyline, this book kept me enthralled from beginning to end. The narrator, Teri Schnaubelt, was perfect! I loved the changes in her voice for the different characters. She was spot -on! I can't wait to read (listen to) the next book in the series!!

After listening to this book, I was totally hooked on this series!
I love the main character. Flawed, often funny but always intense Mercy Kilpatrick is amazing. Her dogged pursuit of justice will leave you breathless. It did me. I highly recommend this book for fans of mystery and female sleuths.

FBI Agent Merci Kilpatrick is back in her small hometown in Central Oregon, an area that’s known for its ‘preppers’ communities. Someone is murdering the old preppers and taking their arsenal of guns. When Mercy discovers a connection between 15yo murders, will her secret be discovered? The secret that forced her to leave her family 15yrs ago? There is some underlying chemistry between Mercy and police chief Truman Daley. Looking forward to the next book to see if the relationship continues.

I liked that the story brought almost everything to a resolution but with enough undone for a next one. The story line was interesting and the delivery was easy to listen to.