Rating: 4/5 Stars
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Mercy’s Chase is the second in the Salem’s Cipher series and this one starts a little bit after Salem’s Cipher. Once again, I was getting some serious DaVinci Code vibes with this whole cipher cracking going ons; not to mention I just really love Salem and Bel. This time we are in the UK / Ireland territory – mainly focusing on Stonehenge – which I loved because Stonehenge was the cipher to be broken and lets be honest – I would love for this to be real. There are a lot of elements to the cipher that Salem needs to crack once again and I loved all of the paths that Salem took – especially the part with Rosalind Franklin.
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Just like Salem’s Cipher this book is fast paced with tons of twists strategically placed to keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Once again, I am going to call book two – a fun read from start to finish. Mercy’s Chase is also told in multiple points of view, giving you insight to all of the characters. The major twist at the end, I feel like I should have seen coming, but blindsided the hell out of me and I was left so shocked. Such a great read.
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There is so much action throughout the entire series that you wont be bored at all. All of the information that Jess Lourey uses is informative and is super interesting. 10/10 recommend the series. Honestly, I would love for another installment to this series. Also, I would love to see this one become a TV series or a movie – this is right up my alley for things I would watch.
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Mercy’s Chase is being rereleased on 3/26 along with the first in the series – Salem’s Cipher. Be sure to check out both of these books – they are really amazing!! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Jess Lourey and Thomas and Mercer for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

WOW! After reading Salem's Cipher, and enjoying every bit of the thrilling story, I was excited to see that there was a second book with the same main characters.

I loved reading a book with such a strong female as Salem, who is doing her best to outrun a group of men just as determined to kill her.
5 Stars

JESS. I can’t get enough of this author. She recently came to my book store in Bemidji and is a top notch author and person. 10/10 book!

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer, Jess Lourey and NetGalley for these copies of "Salems' Cipher" and "Mercy's Chase."

I was so fortunate to be able to read them back-to-back, as many of the same characters (but I won't say which ones...no spoilers!) appear in both books.

Salem Wiley is a brilliant cryptanalyst (code breaker) who gets pulled into a secret buried for hundreds of years.

Then in "Mercy's Chase," she's forced to solve a secret that is older than she could imagine.

Both books were such fun with non-stop action and clues leading to more clues in some of the world's historic landmarks.

I was blown away by Jess Lourey's imagination and creativity as she linked small details about each of these famous places to create realistic puzzles.

Trust me, you're going to want a search engine handy so you can see photos as you read!

The new cover is beautiful and eyecatching! The book was such a fast paced ride! This is one of my favorite series.

Thanks to NetGalley, Jess Lourey and publisher. Jess Lourey has done it again with this sequel. It’s so addictive and fast-paced. Another that o couldn’t put down. 4stars

Love that the covers on these books will match up! They fit the vibe of the book so much better. Jess Lourey has done it again. An addictive and fast-paced thriller that is 'un-put-down-able'.

I love the writing of Jess Lourey. This was a bit different than her typical book - it was more of a mystery than a thriller. She still delivers a bit of the odd "something-isn't-right-here" feeling that occur in all her books, and I really did enjoy it.

Wow -- what a ride! I read this book in one sitting, I couldn't put it down.

It's the second in the series and I definitely felt lost in regards to the two secret organizations and their history. And, not going to lie, I felt dumb a lot of the time (quantum computers, Fibonacci numbers etc) but it was a gripping read nonetheless.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas & Mercer through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you,Thomas & Mercer!

ps -- excellent book cover!

Mercy's Chase by J. Lourey, published by Thomas & Mercer is the second book in the Salem's Cipher Mystery Series.
A fantastic, unputdownable next adventure for Salem, an outstanding read, 4,5 stars.
Blurb:
When agoraphobic genius Salem Wiley lands her dream job as an FBI cryptanalyst, she vows never to return to the underworld, where ancient secrets encrypted by hunted women have the power to rewrite history. Her resolve disappears when sweet Mercy Mayfair, the child she is pledged to protect, is kidnapped. As the clock ticks, Salem must face the truth that there is only one way to free Mercy: crack the unbreakable code of Stonehenge.

Having just read Lourey's book Salem's cipher I was excited to continue on reading about Salem and Bel. I would recommend reading Salem's cipher first in order to find out a lot of the background on the characters and what happened before this book. Salem' has now taken a job in London decoding and Bel is back in Minnesota with Salem's mom and the young girl Mercy they rescued in the first book.
There are two on going plots in this book: one of the attempted asassination on the first woman president, and the other plot about the kidnapping of Mercy but these two different events are tied together in ways you will discover. Salem is racing around the clock trying to solve a clues involving Stonehedge to save Mercy while Lucan of the FBI (introduced in the first book) is trying to save the presidents life.
Salem is unsure of who she can trust-LUcan, her new partner Charlie, her boss etc. This book was a bit longer than the first a had a lot of detail which can slow it down but I still found it interesting. Salem's character is growing too as she becomes stronger and more independent. There are a lot of twists and turns as we are aware of some of the dangerous characters from the first book but are unaware of the "Gremilkin" the master mind criminal . Lots of suspense and a satisfying ending to the book.

I wasn't very impressed with the first book of this series, but I decided to give the second book a shot. Unfortunately, it wasn't much better. The writing still didn't flow well and there were just too many characters for me to successfully keep track. I love Lourey's truth-based thrillers and look forward to all new books to come in the future.

Thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for granting me digital access in exchange for my honest review!

It was entertaining. Reminded me a bit of the DaVinci Code with the clues and treasure hunt. I didn’t realize when I started it that it was the second book in the series but I think the author puts enough background info in this book, without it feeling like an info dump, to make this a good stand alone. The big bad guy reveal wasn’t much of a surprise but this book was a good break between more intense reads.

The second book in the Salem's Cipher series turned out to be better than the first one for me. Not just because we are getting to know the characters in more depth, but also because most of the action in the second book is centred around the UK and Ireland - more familiar territory to me - and also involves cracking a code based on Stonehenge which, like millions of other people, I have actually visited.

After the first book, where Salem was able to retrieve treasure and locate her kidnapped mother, this second book Seas the abduction of 7-year-old Mercy by The Order, which is the European equivalent of The Hermitage Foundation. Since Salem is agoraphobic and suffers from PTSD, it is only her affection for Mercy that drives her into the kind directions she must take, after initially having thought that she could not settle down and focus on her FBI codebreaker/code-developer job.

Mercy's character is a welcome addition to this storyline, and Bel take something of a backseat. We get to know Salem much better, and although the cipher and code elements are not that appealing in terms of my own personal interests, they are nevertheless well-done.

I read this because I read Salem's Cipher, but this one was somehow deeper in the weeds. I really enjoy Jess Lourey just maybe not this series.