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Every so often I will follow an email link from NetGalley and check out what’s happening. I try to limit how many books I grab at one time…you know how that is. I found some books by Joanna Schaffhousen and grabbed a couple. I would like to thank NetGalley, Minotaur Books and Joanna Schaffhausen for the opportunity to read and share them.
Amazon ‘/ Audiobook / Goodreads
MY REVIEW
I immediately began reading No Mercy by Joanna Schaffhausen after finishing The Vanishing Season. I am loving the author and her characters and eagerly begin.
We start where we left off in The Vanishing Season. Each book can stand alone, though I highly recommend beginning at the beginning, because once Ellery got under my skin, I had to know… Each mystery, in this case two mysteries, end with my complete satisfaction and leave me wanting more. Now…let’s get to it.
Ellery Hathaway is on leave because of what happened. And that you will need to find out for yourself. Even though No Mercy is Book II, Joanna Schaffhausen will fill you in on the necessities.
Reed Markham is getting a divorce. He is an FBI profiler, so for those of you who watch Criminal Minds, you can see the complications that would entail for those left at home.
I love Joanna Schaffhausen’s ability to show me Tula, Reed’s daughter. I can see the little firecracker racing around, not happy with her pigtails daddy did because they are a bit lopsided. She’s ready for mommy to pick her up, but she’s so caught up in just being, she forgot she doesn’t have any shoes on. Joanna’s ability to show me the event had me smiling as I watched her.
Ellery had never been on a date. After her abduction at fourteen years old, I can understand why. Sure, she has sex. But she uses it like a weapon. Romance? She doesn’t believe it can ever happen for her after what Francis Coben, the serial killer did to her. Even though he is in prison, so is she. He is always with her…in her mind.
Something happens. I won’t tell you what, but Reed comes rushing to her side, leaving with just the clothes on his back. He saved her once, and he is determined to not let anything else happen to her. Little does he know, trouble seems to find her…or does she go looking for it? There is no romance between them, but, I wonder….
A note…
“You really think I’m unlucky enough to attract the attention of a third serial killer?”
Imagine yourself and everything about you splashed all over the internet. You even have a Wikipedia page, telling of the horrors inflicted on you by a serial killer. People building websites devoted to you…of HIM…the trolls, the filthy, disgusting…
Even though this is fiction, it reads like a true story. I don’t know how Ellery could even step outside her home. Especially on a dark night. I don’t know if I would every leave my house again. Could you? I would have alarms on every access point, the outside lit up as if it’s daytime and, at least, ONE BIG guard dog.
When it came time for Reed to leave, his boss giving him an ultimatum, I knew he couldn’t do it. There’s a rapist on the loose, an old arson case, and someone is messing with Ellery.
I love that he cooks for her, and stays with her. He’s a good cook and it is a definite improvement over the fast food she lives on. He refuses to leave her home alone.
Joanna’ Schaffhausen’s characters are the lowest of the low and the highest of the high. They range from the pond scum that doesn’t deserve to breath air to the knight in shining armor that all children dream about.
Ellery’s need to help others makes her a target all too often, but it leads to lots of non stop action and intense mysteries. Danger lurks around every corner and even comes knocking on her door. Joanna Schaffhausen stacks mystery on top of mystery, because one isn’t enough. LOL
Reed: “I want you to stop taking chances with your life.”
Ellery: “You forget. I’m living on borrowed time.”
OMG. Joanna Schaffhausen continues to blow me away with her in your face, can’t put down, take my breath away suspense.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of No Mercy by Joanna Schaffhausen.
GOODREADS BLURB
Police officer Ellery Hathaway and FBI profiler Reed Markham take on two difficult new cases in this stunning follow-up to The Vanishing Season.
No Mercy is award-winning author Joanna Schaffhausen’s heart-pounding second novel.
Police officer Ellery Hathaway is on involuntary leave from her job because she shot a murderer in cold blood and refuses to apologize for it. Forced into group therapy for victims of violent crime, Ellery immediately finds higher priorities than “getting in touch with her feelings.”
For one, she suspects a fellow group member may have helped to convict the wrong man for a deadly arson incident years ago. For another, Ellery finds herself in the desperate clutches of a woman who survived a brutal rape. He is still out there, this man with the Spider-Man-like ability to climb through bedroom windows, and his victim beseeches Ellery for help in capturing her attacker.
Ellery seeks advice from her friend, FBI profiler Reed Markham, who liberated her from a killer’s closet when she was a child. Reed remains drawn to this unpredictable woman, the one he rescued but couldn’t quite save. The trouble is, Reed is up for a potential big promotion, and his boss has just one condition for the new job—stay away from Ellery. Ellery ignores all the warnings. Instead, she starts digging around in everyone’s past but her own—a move that, at best, could put her out of work permanently, and at worst, could put her in the city morgue.
ABOUT JOANNA SCHAFFHAUSEN
Joanna Schaffhausen wields a mean scalpel, sharp skills she developed in her years studying neuroscience. She has a doctorate in psychology, which reflects her long-standing interest in the brain―how it develops and the many ways it can go wrong. Previously, she worked as a scientific editor in the field of drug development. Prior to that, she was an editorial producer for ABC News, writing for programs such as World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and 20/20. She lives in the Boston area with her husband, daughter, and an obstreperous basset hound.
MY JOANNA SCHAFFHAUSEN REVIEWS
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I don’t like to leave the house at the best of times but I never go out at night, alone or otherwise. If I was being gossiped about like that all the time I’d go into hibernation!!!
i feel the same way. i am a loner and quite happy keeping my own company. this made me think of a heartbreaking show i recently watched on ID TV about amanda todd.
I am a loner as well and like to get anything I need done in the early mornings. I love to be home way before dark if possible. I hardly ever go anyplace except with my mom or hubs anyhow. I didn’t use to be that way but the older I get well….. LOL Oh and I love Criminal Minds!
i love all the crime shows on tv. i do the same thing as you and it’s true. as i’ve gotten older and retired, i find i rarely go anywhere without mr wonderful. no need and i am comfortable at home
I have not tried this author, but wow this looks good! Sometimes you have to follow those emails!
she was new to me too. i’ve read the first two and i hope to get my hands on the next one
I’ve never heard heard of this author but this story sounds so freaking good!
she was new to me and i’m sure glad i gave her a try. it was soooo freaking good. 🙂
It’s always interesting what’s coming on NetGalley. 🙂
i try to limit how many i grab. i put too much pressure on myself to get the books read and reviews done. almost forget to enjoy the story. lol by limiting myself, that doesn’t happen
I too like to be home before dark. Can’t do that now as I often go to work after it’s dark already. I should try this author. Sounds like my kind of books, Sherry.
i got the books through netgalley. i don’t know if they are still available.