No Mercy: A Mystery
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
The body of a teenage Indian boy found on land belonging to the Gunderson ranch is just the beginning. When a second teen is killed, the crime moves even closer to home for Mercy. The Iraq veteran is no stranger to death, but these murders are deeply personal, recalling all too clearly a childhood marred by violence and tragedy. The local sheriff seems strangely apathetic, so Mercy throws herself into an investigation that is driven by a desire for justice . . . and retribution. But as she digs up the truth behind the shocking crimes, she uncovers dark and dangerous secrets involving those she loves. Now she must race to stop a killer before everything she’s fought for is destroyed forever.
Lori Armstrong
Lori Armstrong left the firearms industry in 2000. She is the author of the Julie Collins mystery series. Her novel Snow Blind was awarded the 2009 Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original by the Private Eye Writers of America. Her books have won the Willa Cather Literary Award and have been nominated for the High Plains Book Award and the Daphne du Maurier Award. Lori is a fourth-generation South Dakotan and lives with her family in Rapid City.
Related to No Mercy
Related ebooks
The Education of Will: Healing a Dog, Facing My Fears, Reclaiming My Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Greatest Ace: The Story of a Dog and a Farm Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHandsome Sex Addict on Planet 9 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Walls Have Teeth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOka Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Case of the Fiddle-Playing Fox Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTreaters: The Hellswar, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDo You Know Your Lines? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVictims: Part 2 | A Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Science Fiction Novel Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNeli: The After Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsObsidian Dreams Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRecompense: Recompense, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLay Me Down to Sleep Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Retro Virion: A Tale of Lunacy & Loss Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAvenging the Owl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Divinity Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Road Has Eyes: An RV, A Relationship and A Wild Ride Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBorn Bent Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLetters of a Dakota Divorcee Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSparks of Light Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Noctis Licentia: Poems Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Backyard Horse Tales 2: Frosty and the Nightstalker Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Small Events: A Collection of Haibun Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Feline Foible: The Magi-Cat Mystery, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeventeen Scottish Short Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCurse of the Monster Man of Horror House: Monster Man, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Place Inside the Storm Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDead Branches Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEscape of the Alpha: Escape of the Alpha, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shiny Bones Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Native American & Aboriginal Fiction For You
Five Little Indians: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Clown Brigade Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bad Cree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Outside Circle: A Graphic Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love after the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Moon of the Crusted Snow: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Buffalo Is the New Buffalo Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Blessing Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Good Indians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two Old Women, [Anniversary Edition]: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Listening Woman: A Mystery Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jonny Appleseed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This Tender Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ridgeline: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Heart Is a Chainsaw Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Better the Blood: A Hana Westerman Thriller Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Flight: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Break Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When Two Feathers Fell From The Sky Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Sun Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't Fear the Reaper Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crow Mary: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fevered Star Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sacred Ground: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Indian Killer: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Island of the Blue Dolphins: The Complete Reader's Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Musician Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Indian Horse: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pigs in Heaven: Novel, A Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for No Mercy
48 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I picked up this book, having never heard of the author before, as part of a book challenge I'm doing with friends that requires a book written by an author with the same initials as you. I was so excited when I found this book because not only did it fit my requirement it was recommended for readers of some of my other favorite authors, including CJ Box. I agree whole-heartedly with that recommendation. I also loved that the main character is such a strong female. There were so many things going on in this book that there wasn't a single wasted moment. The plot and the characters were all so well written: how have I never heard of her before? I can't wait to read the next book in the series and see where the characters go from here. I found a new series!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I have only read romances so reading a mystery without romance was new to me. I loved it! I was not even 1/2 through this book when I went on amazon and bought the recently released Mercy Kill for my kindle. I will be starting it tonight.I didn't want to like Mercy, but you can't help but feel for her and want to help her find out what's going on. No that she would want or need your help or sympathy, she'd probably kick your ass for offering. And Dawson.....sighhhh...this may not be a romance with sex scenes, but if you are a fan of caring Alpha Males...Dawson will make you want him for yourself.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I can see why the author has won several awards. Her writing, characters, and pacing are superb.After being injured in her tour of duty in Iraq, Mercy Gunderson returns home to her ranch in South Dakota. Her mother died years ago, her father recently passed away, her sister has problems with responsibility, and she hasn't spent any time with her nephew in years. Given her family life and the fact that the body of a dead Indian teenager has just been found on her land, Mercy's life is not without its share of problems.As more dead teenagers continue to be found on her land, Mercy, the soldier, decides to do her own type of investigation.Mercy is a strong personality--hotheaded, straightforward, and a woman who doesn't pull any punches.Loved Mercy...loved the book. Finished it in one day.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The book may be titled No Mercy, but there is a Mercy in this book and it is our heroine Mercy Gunderson. Mercy is on medical leave form the Army, home at the family ranch in South Dakota to attend the funeral of her father. She is a woman with some secrets, among them that she is on a medical leave and what her injuries are and how she acquired those injuries. Because Mercy is in a job in the Army that does not officially exist. She is one of a small group of female snipers, trained to be able to infiltrate places, disguised as an Iraqi or Afghan woman, that a man could not easily get into.She is returning home from a very dangerous place, where her nightmares of death are all too real. But things are not all that peaceful at the ranch and neighboring Lakota reservation. The body of one young Indian boy has been found on Gunderson land and when a second person turns up dead and it seems Mercy herself may be a target, it is time for her to use some of those skills the Army has taught her over the last 20 years to save the very way of life of those around her.According to a brief bio of Ms. Armstrong on her website, she is a fourth generation South Dakotan and also was formally employed in the firearm industry, two facts which may help to explain why so much of this book rings so true. In her acknowledgments, Armstrong also thanks "the soldier/sharpshooter who gave me the lowdown on army life in wartime." and that too felt very real and was quite affecting. Her descriptions of the ranch, the surrounding landscape and the reservation are hard and real and dusty, not some pretty fantasy of life out west. And some of the people, including Mercy herself are pretty hard too, and far from perfect. Now...the book is not perfect. The solution to the mystery was not a great shock and Mercy lost some point for breaking my "I Hate Characters That Do Dumb Stuff" guidelines. A suggestion...if people seem to be out to do you harm, it might be wise to stay sober. And carry a gun. Sober and armed. Really.But I will forgive her for this breach of my guidelines because overall she, and several of the supporting characters, are interesting and real and ones I will be happy to meet again in future books in the series. A great setting, some good characters and a fairly good mystery make this a book I would recommend.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mercy is on medical leave from the Army and back home in South Dakota dealing with things after the death of her father. She has been an Army sniper doing missions in Iraq and Afghanistan but an injury has damaged her vision in her right eye. Now she has to deal with issues at home. Her younger sister is secretly dating a newcomer to town and is pregnant. Her teenage nephew is having conflicts with his mother and with the local Indian gang he wants to join but who isn't letting him in because he's not Indian enough. Local and not so local land developers are pressuring Mercy to sell.When a young Indian boy is found dead on her land, Mercy is encouraged by the boy's mother to investigate. The mother doesn't feel that the new sheriff who was handpicked by Mercy's father is doing enough. When Mercy's nephew is also murdered, Mercy becomes determined to find out who caused his death despite the local sheriff telling her to back off.Mercy is an interesting character with lots of anger issues who does a lot of hard drinking to deal with them. Despite being gone most of the last twenty years, Mercy has a network of friends in the area to help her investigate. She also has lots of guilt. She missed her father's funeral but isn't able to share that she was hurt and in the hospital at the time. She has a difficult relationship with the ranch foreman who was her boyfriend before she miscarried his baby and left home to join the Army. Her relationship with her sister is also difficult. They both had awful childhoods with Mercy seeing her mother kicked to death by a horse and her sister accidentally shooting a childhood friend. There is an awful lot of trauma going around. This was a fascinating story well set in its place - the beautiful but desolate land in western South Dakota. Mercy was also a fascinating and complex character.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mercy Gunderson, a female Army sniper and Iraq veteran, has returned home to her father's South Dakota ranch. Her father, the local sheriff, recently died and she's the executor of his estate. Soon after her arrival, the body of a young Native American boy is found on the ranch. When the young boy's mother doesn't think the new sheriff is doing enough to track down the killer and asks Mercy for help, she refuses to get involved. When the next murder hits closer to home, Mercy decides to join the investigation against the wishes of the new sheriff.
The author's description of the desolate landscape of South Dakota and the portrayal of reservation poverty was realistically done. The plot moves along and there are several very painful scenes which which made it a grittier style that I originally thought when I started. Many of the elements of the story were predictable and it was easy to guess who the killer was. It was still an action packed story with a compelling new character. I'm interested in the character of Mercy, a female sniper, and her bouts with PTSD. I might get the next in the series to see what's in store for her as she starts her new life as a civilian in South Dakota. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lori Armstrong may just be the best mystery writer that you don't know about yet. She's got one series already (The Julie Collins series) and has been nominated for several awards, but so far she's flown below the popularity radar. No longer, at least if I can help it. No Mercy is the first book in the series featuring former Army sniper Mercy Gunderson who is one tough-n-tough woman who nevertheless fiercely loves her family. She is on medical leave back at their South Dakota ranch trying to keep things together after the body of a local teen is found on her land--and others begin to show up as well. Armstrong worked in the weapons industry for several years before becoming a full time writer, and is a 4th generation South Dakotan herself, so she's made Mercy very nuanced and believable. She's the kind of woman you want in your corner, and I guarantee after reading this first book, you'll be eagerly waiting for the next to spend more time with her. The author's love of the ranch lands of the west comes through crystal clear as well with her ability to vividly set a scene. You do NOT want to miss this book!