This book was a bit brutal for Mercy, not necessarily for the crimes, but more for the hits she took personally. The crimes were crazy, especially the sovereign person crap, glad that was taken care of those people put down, it was the other crime that was more horrific. Part of it was how people were killed and part of it was that children were the victims.

I was on the fence with Britta most of the book. Sure living through something like that would damage a person, but she was so leery of all people, even those that maybe could help her like Mercy. Although by the end I think Britta can now firmly put the past in the past and hopefully start living her life.

Mercy and Truman came out of this one stronger than ever, but there were doubts along the way. I hated the argument that both had about the cabin at the start, could see both sides to it. But with what happened to Truman they both realize what's important and fighting about a cabin ain't it. I like the person that helped Truman, hope he sticks around, can see how he would be a good addition to the odd little family that Truman and Mercy are building.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I have loved every one of Kendra Elliot's books, including this one. Truman and Mercy are fantastic characters that bring intrigue and adventure to each story. Dead, skeletonized bodies found in a culvert..........are they related to cases from 20 years ago that a man has already been convicted of and spent 20 years in prison for, something he says he didn't do???? Another family found dead in their home murdered in a similar fashion as the others. Who's to blame??? Then Truman goes missing......... Well folks, you'll have to read this incredible book to find out what happens! Enjoy!!!!!

Another great read in this series. I noticed that two more books are still to come. Can't wait to read more about Mercy!

This is one of the tougher books that I have read in this series because of the content, but it's also really good. You may need your tissues.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kendra Elliot can do mystery and intrigue like no other author. She leaves you guessing "Who DunIt" until the very last minute. In this book FBI Special Agent Mercy Kilpatrick is tasked with investigating the murder of a quiet family with no enemies. The crime strangely seems to be a copy cat of multiple murders that happened more than 20 years ago in this same rural town. Grady Baldwin was tried, convicted and has been serving his sentence for the murders. As the number of murder victims increase and the guilty man in jail from the long ago crimes, who could possibly be committing the same type murders? There are so many side stories, twists and turns that you can't let your guard down for a moment. I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I highly recommend reading A Merciful Silence.

This is the 4th book in the Mercy Kilpatrick this is not a stand alone novel but a series that readers will want to start at the beginning with.
Kendra Elliot creates an amazing world would Mercy tries to do what she feels is right even though the way she was raised tells her otherwise. The characters stay true to who they are from the beginning of the series which will keep readers wanting more as they series continues. Readers will struggle along with Mercy as she fights to keep herself independent but wanting to rely on the one person she has started to care for outside of her family police chief Truman Daly.
A merciful Silence is a summer must read. It keeps readers immersed in a world they might have never know existed.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher Montlake Romance for the Advance Copy of Kendra Elliot A Merciful Silence.
Must Read Series!

A Merciful Silence has FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick investigating the murder of 5 people after a rainstorm in rural Oregon has uncovered their remains. The almost identical cause of death of all these victims to 2 families murdered 20 years ago brings into doubt whether the person charged with the first murders has in fact been wrongly convicted, when these recents murders occurred he was in jail. Is he an innocent man or is this a copy cat killer?
This story although very dark at times is a cracker of a tale, their search for the truth bring Police Chief Truman Daly and Mercy into very dangerous situations with some heart pounding and extremely tense moments. But as usual with this series it has the perfect mix of mystery suspense and romance.
A wonderful read, this series just gets better and better, and the good news is that it's set to continue.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for opportunity to review this book honestly

As this fourth Mercy Kilpatrick books begins, Mercy is recovering from being shot in the thigh. She is also dealing with the anxiety she feels since her hidden cabin and many of her supplies were destroyed in a fire. As a person raised as a prepper, the loss of her place is making her uneasy. She is also having some difficulty letting her boyfriend Truman help with the decisions about the new cabin that is being built. Neither she nor Truman are used to sharing decisions but need to come to terms with it if they want their new relationship to prosper.

Both Mercy as a FBI Agent and Truman as the Chief of Police in Eagle's Bend are busy with their various cases. Mercy is called to a scene where the bones of five people have been discovered having been bludgeoned to death and had their teeth knocked out. This brings to mind a similar case from twenty years earlier where two families were found in their homes murdered the same way. The only problem is that the man convicted of those crimes has been and still is in prison.

As Mercy is looking into those old crimes and tracking down the single survivor who has returned to Eagle's Bend for the first time since the crimes were committed, Truman is dealing with the more ordinary tasks of his day from a traffic stop of a Sovereign Citizen using false ID and illegal license plates to the man who gathers bunches of traffic tickets for parking in front of a fire hydrant by his house to breaking up a bar fight between drunken brothers.

As Mercy struggles to identify the family represented by the bones and wondering why no one has reported them missing, a second family is found in their home killed the same way. Meanwhile, a reporter who has been harassing Mercy turns his eyes to the survivor and opens her up to attacks on social media.

Mercy's and Truman's cases overlap and the tension really builds when Truman goes missing. Mercy realizes how much she has let Truman into her life. After being rejected by her family fifteen years earlier and only now becoming reconciled with them, Mercy isn't good at opening herself up to others. Meanwhile, Truman is in a very dangerous situation.

This was another excellent entry into the Mercy Kilpatrick series. Fans of the series won't want to miss this one.

I absolutely love this series. I will continue to read every book in this series as long as this author keeps this series going. Not one book in the series will disappoint you. You get so involved in the characters and truly like them that you feel like you want to keep reading about them. Truman , Rose, Owen, Kaylee and of course Mercy all such likable characters. I started this book thinking where is this story going finding bones of family members .didn't the right man get put in jail so why are these bones unearthed and who killed these families. So many questions but you will have to read to find out . If you want to read a great series start this one today! This book is everything I love in a suspenseful read!

I suspect I sound like a broken record every time I review a Kendra Elliot novel, waxing poetic about the awesomeness of her Mercy Kilpatrick series… but they’re really just that good! A MERCIFUL SILENCE marks the fourth entry in the series and is the most Mercy-focused of the lot, with the heinous crimes characteristic of Ms. Elliot’s work acting almost as backdrop to keep this in the RS realm. In A MERCIFUL SILENCE, we get to see beyond the veil of Mercy’s badass FBI agent and self-sufficient prepper persona to the vulnerable woman afraid to fully trust her love for Truman. No spoilers, but A MERCIFUL SILENCE puts Mercy through the emotional wringer, and the experience drives a lot of personal growth. And Truman… he’s seriously one of my all-time favourite literary heroes, with his steady presence and his conviction in his love for Mercy. The two of them are ridiculously adorable without being saccharine, and the developments in A MERCIFUL SILENCE had me rooting for them all the way and already impatiently awaiting January 2019’s A MERCIFUL FATE. The delightful secondary characters and cameos by two characters from Ms. Elliot’s Bone Secrets series are cherries on top of an already-fabulous read.

**ARC from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Kendra Elliot gets better with each book. This latest Mercy Kilpatrick offering kept me engaged from beginning to end. Just when I think I know what is happening with her and her boyfriend Truman Daly an unforeseen item or action is introduced in a way that is neither forced nor formulaic. The survivalist skills Mercy has acquired as well as passed on come into play, albeit subtlely and accompanied by a new player who will most likely show up in the new Merciful tale, A Merciful Fate. I can’t wait.

This was an exciting, well-written mystery/suspense novel. I'm not sure I would classify it as romance, but it was a great read nonetheless. The characters are strong, and the storyline is well crafted and complex. At one point I thought the story shift meant that the mystery would carry over to the next book, but it comes full circle and has a satisfying ending. Kendra Elliot didn't disappoint and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

A MERICIFUL SILENCE...Mercy.Klipatrick # 4
Mercy had seen death before, but with Olivia it ripped open her heart. A ten year old child, Morrigan, is left, where is someone for her, a number, anything. A cabin, hard to locate, yet, had a deadly collection. They say that Olivia was a witch, daughter had stronger power, even, where is she at. Mercy is asked about the same manner of death as important judge died last night. The connection is a plot that is twisted and tense to the end. The stakes are high, aspirations and dreams, as her cabin burned. Realizing she had people who cared, Truman and the girls were important to her. Great plot, that won’t disappoint readers, can be read separate, but, continues as a series. Given ARC by Net Galley and Montlake Publishers for my voluntary review and my honest opinion..

Someone is murdering families in the same manner as a case 20 years ago. A man is in prison for those murders but he has always claimed his innocence. Did they get the wrong man years ago or is this a copycat.

This book is part of a series, I recommend them all, but this book could stand alone. There is a great cast of characters most we have seen in previous books but there are a few new ones. I hope to see a couple of them play a part in future books. There are plenty of twists to this story that kept me guessing where the author was going to take the reader. This book has something for everybody, mystery, suspense, and romance. It is a great addition to the series and I eagerly await the next book. Thank you to the author and net galley for an advanced readers copy.

I have been following the Mercy Kilpatrick books since book one, and each one has been a winner. This book, number 4 in the series, does not disappoint!

Mercy Kilpatrick was raised in the mountains of rural Oregon. Estranged from her family at 19, she plots a course as an FBI agent. Now back home in Eagle's nest, she is forging new bonds with her family and forging a new relationship with local Police Chief Truman Daly.

During a torrential rainstorm, Chief Daly is called to the site of a mudslide. As he watches, the rain washed away the mud and debris to reveal bones...human bones. How did they get into the culvert under the road? FBI Agent Kilpatrick is called in to consult on the case. Unfortunately, the case too closely resembles another set of cases from 20 years in the past. How do these cases tie together? Together Mercy and Truman will have to figure out if the right person went to prison all those years ago, or if a killer is still stalking families in the Oregon countryside.

Once again, Kendra Elliot has woven a suspenseful tale with some truly likeable characters. I can empathize with Mercy and her need for preparation and order, her desire to forge a strong relationship with Truman, and her need to be strong in her own right. I can't wait for book 5!!

The intriguing FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick is still a half bubble off plumb in Kendra Elliot’s A Merciful Silence . She can’t seem to shake all of her prepper upbringing which controls part of her life. Mercy is still with Eagle Nest Police Chief Truman Daly; but she hasn’t learned to completely trust her love for him; while Truman’s love for Mercy is all-encompassing.
Elliot is writing much more hardcore suspense in this story. There is a strong love story, but it is the symphony in the background to some tough stuff. Don’t mistake this book for any sort of fluff. A Merciful Silence is the story of two well run police investigations that could keep you up late at night to finish.
Neither the prepper life nor Mercy’s prepper family figure much in A Merciful Silence. Instead of preppers, the frightening sovereign citizens are featured after Truman arrests one of their members in a traffic stop. Let the craziness begin.
There is also the distressing discovery of the remains of five bodies in a culvert that are copy-cat murders, alike in all details to the murders of two families from 20 years ago; murders where the killer has been in jail for years. So, wrongly incarcerated man or a finely trained copycat?
Mercy’s family is not completely absent; there is more of a rapprochement during a town tragedy. Mercy’s sister Rose is present as the book’s Christ-figure bringing hope and serenity after her great suffering.
Elliot introduces two characters, a survivor of the first set of murders and a hermit in the woods who are such counterpoints to the sovereign citizens and to killer of the families. They are a needed reminder to the good in the world.
Mercy grows the most in A Merciful Silence, she is realizing all of the preparation in the world can not act as a shield to what the world throws at her. Truman finds his strength through his deep love for Mercy.
Elliot’s books are always well written with a deep compassion for those who view the world a mite differently. This does not include the sovereign citizens. In this book she is spot on in her portrayal of the sovereign citizens, a group characterized by the FBI as a dangerous domestic terrorist group. She shows them no mercy in her disgust and disdain.
Yes, this is book four in the Mercy Kilpatrick books, yes, you should read the others, but no, you shouldn’t pass this one up in case you get it first.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A Merciful Silence – Kendra Elliot
This is the fourth book in the Mercy Kilpatrick series and it is just as good as the previous three. This book follows Mercy and her boyfriend, Eagle’s Nest police chief Truman Daly as they try to figure out who the bones belong to that were discovered after a large rainstorm. The injuries that they had were very similar to a series of murders from years ago that Mercy remembers from childhood, although the murderer is behind bars. The question becomes, did they put the wrong person away or how are the killings still happening?

I have read all of Kendra’s books and love them all. I love her writing style, and have really come to enjoy this series. There are mentions of past characters that show up in this book and so it’s fun to see her weaving other storylines from past books into this one. She also reveals in the credits that she isn’t done with the series so there will be more books to the series!


** I received a free copy of the book to read for an unbiased review from Netgalley**

I’m not entirely sure how to review this series. Honestly, I’m supposed to be reviewing Book #4 A Merciful Silence, but while I’m sure you could pick up book four without having read the first three I think the series is better if taken as a whole.

Mercy Kilpatrick grew up within a community of preppers. These are the people who are preparing for TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it). They have a lot of guns, they know how to grow and can food, they are survivors. Some of them are paranoid and honestly unhinged others are just self reliant folks who are good to have around in a pinch.

Then as a teenager she was forced to leave. Her family shunned her and she found herself having to make her own way in the world. Now after many years away she is an FBI Agent and has returned to the town she ran away from.

This series is Romantic Suspense at its best. Honestly I often struggle with the genre, I find the level of violence troubling, but while this series does have that –– there is murder and violence –– the underlying story is strong and the characters make it worth the effort.

So highly recommended with the one caveat that there are occasional graphic depictions of violence. Even with that I’m rating the series 5 stars.

I really enjoy this series and Mercy as a characters. If you haven't read the previous you might miss understanding a few things here and there, but this can be read as a standalone for the mystery itself.

A Merciful Silence is the fourth exciting book in the Mercy Kilpatrick series written by author Kendra Elliot. Each story gets better and better. Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for the advance copy.