Ok, someone make this police officer stay where she is ... said no one ever! The situations Ellery's single-minded focus lands her in are so fun to read. Dark alley, creepy basement, room filled with every conceivable scum - she's in there. Joanna Schaffhausen has an easy way about her writing that make them a pleasure to immerse yourself in. ( )

After reading the fantastic THE VANISHING SEASON, I was eager to get my hands on the sequel, NO MERCY. I was not disappointed!

Police officer Ellery Hathaway is now on involuntary leave because she shot a murderer at the end of the last book. The public also knows that she once was the single living survivor of a serial killer, which makes her something of a curiosity. Ellery hates this unwanted attention, as well as being required to attend group therapy for victims of violent crimes. All of this leads to her starting to investigate both an arsonist and a serial rapist. So she turned to her friend, FBI profiler Reed Markham for help, the man who saved her all of those years ago

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Book 1: The Vanishing Season (2017)
Book 3: All the Best Lies (2020)
Book 4: Every Waking Hour (2021)

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

The first book describes how someone witnessed a kidnapping that occurred 14 years ago but remained silent. Abigail Hathaway’s life story was no longer private following her survival from abuse and captivity. Francis Michael Coben took pleasure in abducting and torturing young girls in Chicago until he was successfully put behind bars. Abigail Hathaway was the girl who was found and survived. There were books and movies made about her life and experience.

To escape the attention of her past, Abigail “Ellery” Hathaway becomes a patrol officer in the quiet town of Woodbury in MA. Her brother Daniel who was sick with leukemia died 6 months after she returned home. Her father had abandoned the family and left her feeling abandoned when she needed support the most.

She was rescued by now FBI agent, Reed Markham, who was only a newbie when he determined where the abducted girl might be. He received a lot praise and notoriety after the Abigail’s safe return.

Agent Reed is struggling with his own personal issues on a “stress leave” from the department when he contacted by Ellery Hathaway. He agrees to look at the unsolved missing persons cases she believes are connected. This presents a distraction from his pending divorce from Sarit Ranupam, who is a reporter and encouraged him to write a book about the Abby Hathaway abduction.

This second novel continues the saga of Ellery Hathaway. She is a patrol officer presently on leave after the traumatic events in book 1 where it ended with her killing the criminal responsible for series of missing persons. Reed Markham, the agent who found her years ago when she was kidnapped, went back to Quantico as FBI profiler after spending the summer assisting Ellery. She moves to Boston as she couldn’t live in Woodbury after murder.

Reed once again comes to the assistance of Ellery much to her discomfort as she once again goes rogue to solve the unsolved. Reed makes himself at home on her couch with daily wake ups from Speed Bump, her dog.

As a condition of her return to work Ellery must complete therapy and attend a group therapy at MGH for victims of violent crimes. She meets several people with whom she can’t help but feel compelled to meddle into their unsettling situations. To avoid dealing with the trauma which mandated her to therapy, she befriends Wendy, a victim of sexual assault who lives in fear as her offender was never apprehended.

If that wasn’t enough to keep Ellery occupied, she begins investigating a cold case from 1980 where a fire burned down Gallagher’s furniture store. Her attempts to investigate by herself nearly gets her killed before Agent Reed once again comes to her aide. They pair up once again to resolve mysteries which seem to burden Ellery and need for justice. ( )

So, I kinda ruined this book a little bit for myself because I had already read and finished book 3 and so some of the storylines that are ongoing in this book I already knew about and had completed in book 3. That said, I still have great affection for Reed and Ellery. Picking up where the first novel left off, Ellery finds herself on a leave of sorts after an on the job shooting leaves her under investigation. Forced into therapy, Ellery’s therapist recommends she attend group therapy. Not interested in sharing personal life stories, but desperate to get her badge back, Ellery shows up for group therapy and inadvertently walks into 2 cases that she feels compelled to investigate. Case one involves a 26 year old fire by arson in which a young boy died. While a suspect was arrested for the fire, Ellery has some unresolved questions about just how airtight the case is. Ellery is also approached by a young woman who’s life is falling apart after a vicious nighttime break in and rape leaves her unable to move on because her attacker remains free and unidentified 7 months after the incident. Forced to operate without her badge, Ellery calls on Reed to utilize his skills as a profiler to assist in providing details of the perp in the sexual assault case to the local cops. As so often becomes the case, neither case is as simple as it seems. I always enjoy the sexual tension between Reed and Ellery, and while Ellery’s tenacity sometimes leads her into trouble, she is admirable for her staunch perseverance and dedication to the cause. In what seems to be a classic style, Joanna Schaffhausen, leads us down a path fraught with mystery and danger, at the end of which, nuggets of surprise await. Always an enjoyable read, I hope there will be follow ups to book 3. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review. ( )

4.5 stars. ( )