This is the second in the Ellery Hathaway series. I read books 1 and 3-5 and wanted to go back and read this one that I missed.

Ellery is on leave from the Woodbury MA police department as a result of actions that occurred in Book 1. Receiving therapy and enrolled in a survivors group, she is approached by a young rape victim for assistance in finding her tormentor; the police are getting no where. She also encounters a victim of a fire that killed the victim’s son and thinks that the person arrested many years ago for the crime is not the true culprit. She feels compelled to investigate and calls upon FBI agent Reed Markham to assist. They have a history. Ellery was kidnapped by a serial killer when she was fourteen. She survived because Markham figured out who the killer was and saved her. Markham puts in job in jeopardy once again to rush to Ellery’s side.

I really like Schaffhausen’s writing and this book is no exception. Once again, I stayed up late into the night to finish it because I could not put it down. It is another well plotted addition to the the series with good character development. The reader is also given insight into the role of behavior analysis in identifying criminals.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Currently unemployed as she is now on leave from her job as a police officer, Ellery Hathaway is also under court-mandated therapy. As the the lone surviving victim of a brutal serial killer, and having faced down a copycat killer, she is still dealing with the aftermath. For years, Ellery had been able to keep her secret about who she was from her fellow police officers, but after a copycat killer came into the scene, Ellery’s identity was revealed. The copycat killer is now dead at Ellie's hand. Francis Coben, the killer Ellery survived, is still on death row.

A victim of a brutal assault, Wendy Mendoza, begs Ellery for her help. Ellery asks FBI Profiler Reed Markham for his help on Wendy’s case, which is yet unsolved. Despite his boss’s disapproval, Reed insists on helping Ellery. His boss gives him two days. Two days turn into longer and both Ellery and Reed dig deep for answers.

Meanwhile, another victim at her group was the victim of arson years before and lost her toddler son. It is questionable whether or not the right man was imprisoned for the role in the fire, so Ellery and Reed check into that as well.

The first book in this series, The Vanishing Season, introduced both Ellery and Reed. Both flawed, most notably Ellery, by the time you get to this second book, No Mercy, just about every reader will be just as drawn to Ellery as I am. In fact, I reread all five books in this series back-to-back.

Ellery's need for solitude and Reed's family dynamics play greatly into the fabric of these stories, giving these compelling reads real depth, making them utterly impossible to put down.

Many thanks to Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

A gripping thriller that explores the thin line between justice and revenge. For fans of intense crime novels with resilient protagonists, this book is a must-read.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and author Joanna Schaffhausen for the opportunity to review the advance copy of this book.

Book 2 in the Ellery Hathaway series is filled with intrigue, mystery and the pair of Ellery and Reed. I really like Ellery as she doesn't let her demon I hibit her from living her life as she wades into 2 new cold cases. Reed is also intrigued with her and I like that their storyline is continuing. This series should be read in order and can't wait for next one.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own and freely given.

"No Mercy" didn't quite meet my expectations. I enjoyed the previous work far better but the plot was okay. I thought the characters were interesting enough.

**3.5 stars**

No Mercy is the second book in the Ellery Hathaway series. In this one Ellery is recovering from the events in the first book and now living in Boston while on administrative leave she is sent to group therapy in order to get her job back. While there she meets 2 women who lead her to 2 new mysteries to untangle.

As with the first book I liked this book. Ellery does do some ridiculous stuff on her own that I just don’t think a female survivor of a serial killer and rapist would ever do such as walking into a seedy bar full of only men by herself and Reed, her FBI agent savior also does some stupid stuff that would not happen IRL. Overall though I like these 2 characters enough I will continue with the series especially because this book ends in a huge cliffhanger about Reed.

I did a combination of reading and listening to the audiobook and the narrator is excellent.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc I received in exchange for my honest review, sorry it took me a while to get to it!**

Ellery is on leave from her job as a cop after being kidnapped and ultimately killing her abuser. She is encouraged to join a therapy group for others who are victims of violent crimes. She befriends a woman who is raped and decides to try to help find her rapist. She enlists an FBI profiler who helped in her case, Reed. There are twists and turns as Ellery does her detective work, putting herself in danger. Ellery also looks into the arson of a furniture store that killed the son of another of her therapy group participants. I enjoyed the who don it part of the book and plan to pick up the other books in this series.

This is the 2nd book following police officer Ellery Hathaway. I was invested in Ellery in book 1 so I of coursehad to read book 2 to see what crazy predicament she was going to get herself in to. It is fast paced thriller with a stong female lead. Always a favorite combo for me!

The second in the Ellery Hathaway series, Joanna Schaffhausen has done it again! She develops such strong, but highly flawed characters. There is chemistry, tension, emotion, and rapid page-turning. Highly recommend this series.

This is the second in the series, and picks up a few months after the last book ends.

Elledy is in required group therapy with other victims of violent crime as ordered. While there, she meets two women and becomes drawn into helping them solve their cases. Reed follows not far behind.

Enjoying this series!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Great thriller, could no put it down through all the twists and turns. Would highly recommend to fans of this genre.

RATING: 3.5 STARS
2019; Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press/Black Stone Audio
Narrator: Lauren Fortgang

I loved the first novel, The Vanishing Season, in the Ellery Hathaway series, so maybe my expectations were too high for the second novel. I just didn't connect with the story as much. The novel takes up from where the first book ended, Ellery is forced on leave to get herself sorted out. Now that everyone knows Ellery's secrets she has become a bit of a liability to the police force. She is forced to go to group counselling and instead of getting help, she suspects one of the members of something nefarious. Ellery turns to Reed Markham again, and he has to decide if he will drop things for Ellery again. I felt like this novel was more about the case than Ellery and Reed.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of No Mercy by Joanna Schaffhausen. This is the second book in this wonderful new series.

Police Officer Ellery Hathaway is on involuntary leave from the police force after shooting a murderer. To get her job back, she has to go to group therapy for victims of violent crime. While at a meeting, she soon finds herself helping two other victims in the group get closure by helping them solve the crimes committed against them.

Before reading this one, I went back to read the first book in the series, and I'm glad I did. I loved this series! Very suspenseful and the characters are complex. Of the books in the series that I've read so far, this one has probably been the most predictable, but it was still a very enjoying read. Highly recommend!

A terrific procedural with a strong female protagonist. This is book number two in a series starring police officer Ellery Hathaway. Hathaway was the victim of a horrific crime herself so she has devoted her life to helping other women in need. In No Mercy, Hathaway is on a mandated leave of absence after she was involved in a shooting, but through therapy groups, she meets not just one woman in need, but two. One is a rape victim who is not able to move forward in life because her rapist was never caught, and the other is a woman who lost her son and her family business in a fire. The arsonist in that fire is about to be released on parole.

The plotline is tight, and the characters are well developed. This is a series I will stay with.

I love this series! I was so happy to be able to step into the world of these characters again. It was gritty and just the right amount of police procedure to keep the story moving. Brilliant.

Wow! Can you say goosebumps? This was a delightful read and I was sad when I finished it. More from the author please

No Mercy did not meet my expectations. There were two arcs in play in this book, but both just seemed to be quickly resolved without the drama and excitement you would expect from a suspense novel. Much of this book fell flat for me.

Author Joanna Schaffhausen (https://www.joannaschaffhausen.com) published the novel “No Mercy: A Mystery” in 2019. Ms. Schaffhausen has published four novels, all in her "Ellery Hathaway" series. This is the second novel in that series.

I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story picks up a short time after the first novel "The Vanishing Season" ends. The primary characters remain FBI agent Reed Markham and Police officer, Ellery Hathaway.

Hathaway is suspended pending the review of her shooting at the end of the first novel. Markham is back working at the FBI and is a candidate for promotion. Hathaway gets involved with a rape victim. She meets her through the therapy group she is reluctantly attending.

Hathaway also meets a woman at the group sessions who survived a fire that took her young son. She begins digging into both cases and calls Markham for help. Markham has been warned that his work with Hathaway will endanger his career, but he goes anyway.

Hathaway knows the poking around will not endear the authorities to her return to duty. She feels like she needs to help both women. As they get deeper into their investigations, there are those that want to stop them.

I enjoyed the 7.5 hours I spent reading this 321-page mystery. I liked these two characters in the first novel. I still find them interesting in this volume. Both are a bit broken but have a tenacity for finding the truth. The cover art is OK, but I think something better could have been chosen. I've enjoyed the first two novels in the series and look forward to more. I give this novel a 4.4 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.

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