In a follow up to The Vanishing Season, Police officer Ellery Hathaway is now on leave from her job for reasons I will not mention here since it would reveal spoilers for the first book. In group therapy, she is finding lots wrong with her fellow therapy goers and once again calls on her friend, FBI profiler Reed Markham, with whom she shares a dangerous history to help her solve a crime or two. While I loved the first in this series, I feel like this one was rushed a bit. It's not quite as well-plotted and this one stretches belief a bit too much but overall I still like these characters and will read more in this series if written. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

No Mercy is the tragic story of a woman that was kidnapped and tortured as a young girl.
Written with strong emotions, finesse about the abuse of more women, yet it will blow you way.

Ellery has been forced to undergo counseling. Her doctor has her attend a group session with other victims of violent crimes. Instead of focusing on her own therapy, Ellery gets involved with another victim who asks her to find her rapist. She also gets pulled into an old crime that she doesn't think caught the right person. Ellery asks Reed to help once again. While working on these cases their personal relationship takes a few turns. The book has a lot of stuff going on but it comes to a good conclusion. There are interesting twists in the plot so it keeps you guessing. I received a copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I enjoy Joanna Schaffhausen’s series with Ellery Hathaway, the books are suspenseful and well-written with plots that are intriguing and keep you guessing. I’ve read all three of her books in this series and think they are good, solid reads.

I recommend her books if you like a captivating, fast-paced story with likable characters.

SYNOPSIS:

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.

I am looking forward to the next book in the series! Will you be reading it too?

Order the book here!

This is the second book in the Ellery Hathaway series and liked it better than the first. I really enjoyed The Vanishing Season and loved Ellery and I enjoyed No Mercy the tension in the story had me at the edge of my seat. There is now a romantic twist and and a dog as a friend. Love how the characters are developing looking forward to another.

Great follow up of the first book "The Vanishing Season"
Having liked the first book I enjoyed this book even more.
You get to know and understand both Ellery Hathaway and Reed Markham a bit better. The characters are well developed with their good sides and their flaws. Ellery wanting to help a rape victim lands her in even more trouble then she already is. This is a fast paced thriller but I feel if you haven't yet you need to read "The Vanishing Season" first in order to fully appreciate this book.

No Mercy was better than The Vanishing Season. In this book Ellery gets herself involved in the lives of two members of the victim support group she is being forced to attend after killing William Willett (Brady Archer), the Coben copycat serial killer. Wendy is a rape victim who (understandably) is struggling significantly after the rape and whose case is growing cold, as there was little forensic evidence and no good leads. Myra was badly burned and lost her two-year-old son in a fire at the family furniture shop over twenty-five-years ago. The arsonist is up for parole and his niece, who is a lawyer, believes he was wrongfully convicted and is trying to secure his release. Ellery, with too much time on her hands and a need to save everyone, starts investigating both Wendy's rape and the furniture store fire, and she ropes Reed into assisting her. Her investigations unsettle numerous people and place her at substantial risk. The two central mysteries -- who is the rapist and who actually set the furniture store fire -- are well crafted. The furniture store fire plot involves quite a few surprises that leave the reader guessing up until almost the end of the book. The book also contains further character development for both Ellery and Reed, with Ellery forced to confront aspects of her personality, how her past trauma has shaped her, and what she wants for her future self. The book ends with a cliffhanger involving Reed, suggesting that the third book in the series might focus more on his past.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley.

“You kill one guy, one time, and suddenly everybody thinks you need therapy.”

So thinks Ellery Hathaway as she heads to Mass General Hospital for her first Survivors of Violent Crime meeting. She isn't a fan of therapy, or groups, but she doesn't have a choice—not if she wants her job as a cop back after shooting a murderer. As a teenager, Ellery managed to escape from a serial killer with the help of FBI profiler Reed Markham. But she hasn't escaped the memories of what Francis Coben did to her and she can't shut herself off from the suffering of the other group members. She also can't seem to stop being a cop, even if she is on mandatory leave. So instead of getting in touch with her feelings, she finds herself contacting Reed in hopes that he'll help her investigate a rape and an arson case she learns about during her first session. Despite his better judgment, he agrees to get on a plane and spend a night on Ellery's fur-laden couch.

No Mercy is a gripping psychological mystery that is the second book in Joanna Schaffhausen's Ellery Hathaway series. Like The Vanishing Season, this novel has plenty of twists that kept me guessing and can be read as a standalone. But No Mercy's real draw is Schaffhausen's ability to create complicated, likeable characters with stubborn insecurities and scars. While the first book in the series was faster-paced, No Mercy focuses to a greater degree on the developing relationship between Ellery and Reed. I am by no means a sentimental person (sadly!), but I found myself almost more curious about what would happen between them than about the solutions to the crimes. Ellery listens to The Violent Femmes while scarfing down Big Macs. Reed, on the other hand, is a gourmet cook who likes Bach. Yet there is a strong connection between them that only keeps getting stronger. They also approach their work in nearly opposite ways. Ellery is more impulsive and emotionally connected to the crimes, while Reed tends to be cooler, more analytical—most of the time.... And then there's Speed Bump, Ellery's Bassett Hound, who is just as cute as he was in the in the first book.

I also loved the setting in this novel. As a lifelong New Englander, I can say Schaffhausen's descriptions of Boston are spot on, from the accents to the architecture to the Dunkin Donuts coffee everyone's always drinking. The only thing I haven't made up my mind about is the plot. It's markedly looser than the the story in The Vanishing Season, which makes the story seem less compelling—but the lack of urgency is a trade off because the story seems more original, more real. I especially liked the ending of this one, both in terms of the solutions to the two crimes and the cliff-hanger ending. The third novel in the series, All the Best Lies, is due out in February and I've already started reading the ARC.

Much thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is book number 2 for Ellery. On this book she is ordered into group therapy in order her job back. This leads Ellery right into another case.
Again Ellery must confront the past to save the present.
A really good book and I can’t want for the next part of this story

Ellery has to attend counseling if she wants her job back. But instead of benefiting from the group sessions she listens to 2 of the other members and their stories. She has a need to make their lives better. She calls Reed and the two of them get pulled into the search for justice. We meet interesting characters with interesting side stories. This was a good thriller with a good ending. And that last DNA bit was a surprise for Reed. Hope the next book explains! A good read.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Police Officer Ellery Hathaway, forced into group therapy in order to end [hopefully] her involuntary leave for a shooting, finds that it’s much easier to get involved with the traumas surrounding others in the group than to discuss her own feelings. Although she finds it difficult to share any part of herself, she listens to their stories and she soon finds herself involved in tracking down a rapist and wondering if the wrong person went to prison for a fire in which a toddler perished. When she reaches out to FBI Agent Reed Markham for help, will they be able to find the answers?

Ellery, Reed, and Speed Bump return in this, the second story in the series. As the story unfolds, readers find strong characters and intriguing situations. Sometimes, however, they will find themselves frustrated by Ellery’s “too stupid to live” actions when they know perfectly well that, despite those good intentions, she should know better.

However, Ellery’s antics keep the tension mounting and the story, like its predecessor, is part mystery, part character study. Adding to the tension, the relationship between Ellery and Reed keeps the pages turning in this suspenseful quick-read tale.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#NoMercy #NetGalley

Book #2 in the Ellery Hathaway series is equally as good as the first. An exciting thriller, full of suspense and intrigue. Highly recommended. I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

O.M.G. TENSION PERSONIFIED.

Besides the two subplots of two unsolved crimes, there is the tense, numb, rage filled life of Ellery. And she can only count on her dog, Bump and Reese.

Then there is Reece - divorced, missing his child and still feeling responsible for Ellery's horrific past. A sense of responsibility that may cost his job. And is it only responsibility he feels for Ellery?

The question asked most often throughout the action - what is prison, does it resolve anything?

I could not put this book down.

Forced to take an involuntary leave for killing a monster, Ellery must go into group therapy for victims of violent crimes. She finds herself being asked to help a rape victim by capturing the brutal animal. She turns, once again, to the one man she believes can help her, FBI agent, Reed Markham. The problem? Both of them could lose their jobs or their lives.

NO MERCY by Joanna Schaffhausen is just as gritty and dark, just as twisted as her first book, yet she has brilliantly given enough background that readers can take the plunge into this thriller without missing a beat.

Talk about edgy! This one is raw and jagged, as we follow Ellery fighting for justice for the victim and to put an end to another monster’s reign of terror.

Wonderfully flawed characters, dark twists, this emotionally charged tale is razor sharp reading that will have you cringing at how some humans can be so evil, while others have an overflow of a sense of duty at any cost!

I received a complimentary copy from Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press. My honest review is voluntary.

This is the first series I’ve read from the author and its amazing! Keeps you at the edge of your seat.

I absolutely love this series. Love the characters and the suspense. Please let them be together! I will recommend this to my mystery readers!

Twisted and gripping. This one grabs you at the beginning and doesn't let go! Suspended from the job, Ellery manages to become embroiled in two investigations. Reed can't say no to her and soon he is along for the ride. We see more development of Ellery in this one. Including her tendency to place herself in danger. We also see the beginnings of something more brewing between the two. The rape case ends a bit anticlimactic. However, the arson case is full of action and surprise. I never saw that coming. And I just have to say, that ending! Wow!

I really enjoyed this book. I did not even read the first one, but jumped into this one. I loved the main character and her determination. She was a troubled cop who wanted to right all the wrongs. The survivor of a serial killer, hunting another one now... it was a thriller. I had to finish it.

Ellie Hathaway was the lucky one. Saved by Reed Markham, an FBI profiler, she is the only victim to survive being taken by a psychotic serial killer. But life for Ellie isn't about how fortunate she was, but rather a daily struggle to overcome the nightmares and scars of her ordeal. She is currently on leave from her job as a police officer and attending department mandated therapy sessions.
Ellie quickly finds her attention drawn to two cold cases. One, a woman who was raped, and one, a young boy who died in a fire. While Ellie is supposed to be focusing on herself, she is a firm believer in victim justice and it isn't long before she reaches out to Reed for help in solving these cases.
The story was fast-paced and plenty was going on between the two cases and the dynamic between Ellie and Reed to keep you flipping pages. Ellie may have once been a victim, but she is a strong and resourceful character now. One who makes some questionable decisions, but in her mind, for all the right reasons. This was the second book in this series, and I would highly recommend reading the first book, The Vanishing Season before diving into No Mercy.

I received a DRC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.

I really enjoyed The Vanishing Season and loved Ellery and I enjoyed No Mercy but it wasn't as creepy or as suspenseful for me but the tension in the story had me at the edge of my seat.

Joanna Schaffhausen does a good job developing our strong and interesting yet flawed character here with Ellery. I loved the dynamics even more here between Ellery and Reed. I can't believe I am going to say this but the romantic tension between them had me turning those pages as fast as I could to see more of that dynamics. They grow closer here in this one and become a little reckless in their own investigation that created even more tension and I couldn't help but cheer them on.

That ending has me wanting more and I am looking forward to reading All The Best Lies