Ok so apparently this was Larkin's first novel. I'll admit I am impressed.
It continues to amaze me how we inflict harm on each other. The human race is at times questionable.

It keeps you guessing. I found myself hooked on the crime/thriller aspect of the book.
Not much to say on the romance in the book but honestly I didn't really miss it. The book was good as a thriller in my opinion.

Overall I enjoyed it. Just one question why haven't I read more of this author? Don't worry I'm of to search for more.

Enjoy

An honest review thanks to NetGalley. This was a tough one to rate. I went through periods of not understanding what was happening and hating the plot and then I would get massively involved and not wanting the book to end. This plot was so different that I did end up loving it and wanting more. The paranormal aspect made the whole thing come together, in the end I really did like this book.

Overall I found this book to be frustrating and disappointing. Based on the reviews I've seen, I'm in the minority - maybe I was grumpy when I read it or maybe I read a completely different book. I've struggled with writing up a review as my thoughts on it are just as jumbled as the book itself. There's just too much going on in the book; but, not a lot of cohesiveness or follow through on what would seem like major events. I got whiplash from spending most of my time snarling "wtf "and shaking my head.

I'm having a hard time classifying it. Mercy, a FBI agent who is left to her own resources to save the child, the profiler and ultimately the world, is smack dab in the middle of a narrative that is chock full of action/adventure, mystery, suspense, romance, humour and immortal entities responsible for order and chaos. Larkin jammed so much into the book and I think if there were less plot points/swerves and more focus on a few, this would have been a more solid read.

The paranormal aspect comes in through gifts that certain characters possess - Piper, the former FBI Profiler and current damsel in distress, is a photo psychic which means she is able to communicate with the ghost of someone by looking at their picture. As well there is an overarching paranormal aspect that hinges on a rather complex idea (if you start thinking it through) that throughout history there have been two chosen siblings responsible for the good and bad events that happen in the world - you can't have good without bad or bad without good and the author uses the Ying Yang as a way of marking those who are or will be engaged in this ancient cycle. Shadow - the personification of chaos - has gone all in on the idea that evil knows best and is manipulating events like the bombing of the Golden Gate Bridge and releasing a deadly biological agent that will kill off pretty much all of humanity. Why, I'm not sure. I was so stuck on the ridiculous name that I couldn't take him seriously as he wandered through his warehouse of doom, fondling the helmets and boots of dead coal miners and train conductors who died in mass tragedies (tragedies he created). Lucent , his twin, is the embodiment of order/good, but his work seems to be on a smaller scale, saving one orphan at a time, and just doing his best - and he's unaware that his brother has gone batshit crazy. Shadow and Lucent's reign is coming to an end and they are preparing to transfer their responsibilities to the next set of twins - Raze and Mercy. Ugh - parents who name their children Shadow or Raze must know that they are dooming them to an eternity of chaos/evil or at least a childhood of getting the snot kicked out of them in the schoolyard.

The book starts off with a supposed terrorist bombing of the Golden Gate bridge, then its an investigation of a child murder, then a child kidnap, then a cat and mouse game between Mercy and Shadow where he gives instructions and pulls the strings and she dashes around trying to save the child, save the psychic, oops forgot about the kid so go back to save the kid and ultimately save the world. In the meantime, she and Piper meet, exchange banter and fall into bed with no actual relationship or rationale. I think the romance was supposed to demonstrated by the exchange of some seemingly inappropriate humourous banter (inappropriate in the context of what's going on not in the banter itself), ogling of body parts and a convenient stop in a motel room. Things are introduced as major plot points and then fall off the page - someone blows up the Golden Gate Bridge and there's no further discussion/seeming impact, a child is murdered in her home and the next day the parents are adopting a cute orphan that is dropped off on their doorstep, Mercy's colleague is murdered ... they happen and then they disappear off the page. I'm all for suspending my disbelief and just going along for a wild ride or crazy ass action/adventure - but I found it too jarring and disjointed as Mercy runs from one crisis to the next.

There was one thing I did enjoy - the sections of the book that were told from the POV of young Emily (the kidnapped child who teams up with the touched-by-an-angel golden retriever, Bobby). That kid should have been allowed to grow up and be the heroine of the book. She was a bright, kick-ass kid. What she did and why she did it was consistent and actually made sense. Liked the kid, liked the dog.

DNF as it was not entirely what I was expecting, more my error than the writer/publisher and I'm sure fans of the genre would enjoy it!

I found this book to be highly entertaining. One of the best debut novels I’ve read. My only complaint was that it was too short. When’s the next one coming?!

This is the debut book for Ms. Larkin. It is a paranormal thriller with a side of romance.

Mercy Parker is an FBI Special Agent. She is good at her job and thrives on overcoming the bad guys. In previous cases, using a gun and her detective skills was all she needed to solve cases…until this case!

Piper Veasy had been a psychic profiler for the FBI but quit after her husband was killed. She prefers to live life as a recluse with only having her dog as company. As a psychic, she has had a hard time fitting in with society. Her particular skills are her abilities to get a reading from a picture and to communicate with the dead.

Mercy and Piper are thrown together to find a little girl. Using her excellent wit, Mercy can break down Piper’s emotional walls. Readers will find Mercy’s humor to be great fun. Ms. Larkin did a nice job in character development.

Initially, I had trouble getting into this book. After a few chapters, I was drawn to Mercy’s character and decided to continue reading. The plot was interesting. Once I began to understand the paranormal side of the plot, I got wrapped up in the thriller part of the book. I would not be surprised if Ms. Larkin writes a sequel to Mercy.

As a debut novel, I feel this was good and rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

I was given this ARC in return for a fair and honest review.

Some parts are exceedingly painful and disgusting to read, but they're a necessary evil (figuratively and literally), an integral part of the story. This is, after all, a classic good vs evil yarn. In this case, featuring pure unadulterated evil. Hence the revolting, stomach-churning scenes.

The story is best appreciated without knowing much about it in advance. This would probably qualify as an urban fantasy, if we're to label it. I loved the world building and the way the mystery unfolded. The suspense was top notch. Despite the fantasy aspects, the story and character actions were believable, even the 'photo psychic' stuff. The premise is unique and overall, the story is hopeful and stirring. Also loved how deeply it dealt with the characters' emotions and their struggles to accept their respective fates.

5 stars and a slot on my all time favorite reads list.

Originally posted at The Lesbian Bookworm.
When I saw Mercy by Michelle Larkin listed on NetGalley I was intrigued. I love thrillers. But I was a little shocked when I found out it wasn’t the traditional thriller that I was expecting.

As I mentioned before I thought that Mercy was going to be a traditional thriller, but I was wrong it was more of a supernatural thriller. I don’t think the blurb does a good job of explaining that. I mean I was expecting psychic but not all of the other extraordinary abilities. Once I got over that shock the book really sucked me in.
I liked how action packed and fast paced the book was. It really kept me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed all of the characters and how they banded together. Two of my favorites are Emily and Bobby. Emily was one tough little kid. I also loved how much she cared about animals. When she pulled the little skunk from her backpack my heart melted. I also loved Bobby the giant golden retriever. As everyone knows I love dogs and Bobby was the perfect addition to this book. The way he protected Emily was great. They had a very special bond.

I thought the romance aspect of the book was okay. It was kind of a love at first sight type of deal, but it worked well with the theme of the book. I never really felt passion from Mercy and Piper. Their relationship was kind of teasing each other. I never really felt any heat from their actions. But this aspect didn’t take anything away from the story in my opinion.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an action-packed read. This book defiantly kept me on the edge of my seat.

You can purchase a copy of Mercy by clicking here.

This debut from Michelle Larkin is amazing! Not only is it well-written, but it also kept me on the edge of my seat till the end. It's a paranormal mystery about biomedical threats. The beginning is rather gruesome but I became so involved in the plot and the characters, which are all full developed works of art. I can't wait for her next installment.

Thankyou to Netgalley and the publisher for being able to read this novel.
Mercy by Michelle Larkin is a good novel that mixes genres. The story itself was well thought out and gets you in. Will definitely be reading more from this author.

Mercy was an awesome story. It’s about an FBI agent Mercy Parker who finds herself in a difficult situation of investigating a murder and kidnapping. She is a twin and her brother Raze is the other twin. During the investigation they find themselves as part of a wider plot that may kill half the world population.
On this journey with them is Piper, who is a former FBI profiler. Mercy and Piper end up in a race to save everyone. They also find that they are very attracted to each other.
Mercy,and Raze find that they were meant to take over as a yin/ yang or evil/good team to help humanity as their destiny.

I loved this story. The pace was great and I found myself cheering on Mercy and Piper, as well as everyone else, well maybe not Shadow.
This is Larkin’s debut book and it is great. I look forward to reading more from her.

Mercy by Michelle Larkin is one heck of a debut novel. I picked it up and couldn’t put it down. There is a lot to unpack with this novel. It’s part crime/thriller, part paranormal, and part romance. I thought Larkin did a great job intertwining all of these elements into an engaging novel with a tight plot, unique characters and witty dialogue.

Special Agent Mercy Parker is more than just an FBI Agent. She and her twin brother are the next in the line of succession to become the world’s paranormal Yin and Yang of justice and order. Mercy meets Ex-FBI Profiler Piper Vasey and together they have to save the world from a pandemic unleashed by the current figure of darkness, Shadow. Rather than retire with grace, he has decided to kill the human race instead. Along the way, Mercy and Piper pick up a psychic ten year old who can talk to animals and a dog who is more than a dog.

The book is told in the third person from various characters’ point of view. I thought Larkin did a great job with this. Whether I was “with” Mercy, Piper, Shadow, etc. I never felt confused as each character had a distinct voice. The plot is really driven by Mercy and Shadow and they are wonderfully crafted.

The plot is artfully paced. I never once felt like skimming through bits. If anything, I felt like the book had hold of me and it was taking me on a ride that I wasn’t about to get off. There were some nice twists in the plot that I didn’t expect and a lovely ending that left me feeling very satisfied. If anything, I felt like the romance part of the book was unnecessary. I’m glad it was there, but I didn’t need it to keep my interest. The only criticism is minor. While all hell was breaking loose, Mercy and Piper were able to engage in the wittiest flirting and that just seemed like a tall order. Overall, I loved the book and I would love it if this was the beginning of a series.

It should be noted that the book includes child abduction and murder so that may not be for everyone.

I was given an ARC of this book by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

To be honest, the only reason I finished this book is to remove it from the NetGalley shelf. It was either that or mark it inactive. I don't leave books unread, so this was it.
The biggest problem I had with this is, all throughout the book I kept waiting for something different to happen. The thing is, I had a feeling this wasn't anything new for me. Well, not every single thing was old or seen, but still. As soon as all the players were introduced, I knew what will happen to each and every one of them.

To be fair, this debut might not be bad for the right audience or mood. It just missed its mark with me. I can't exactly mark it 'didn't like it', either. I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would after that interesting beginning and the villain.

ARC received from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley

This was a little bit different from the usual lesfic fare and I was glad of that. It mixes genres and does it very well. Mercy is an FBI agent and needs help with a complex case. It's suggested by an old mentor that she contact Piper, a woman who was previously in the FBI but left after the death of her husband. Piper is a psychic and Mercy is a sceptic but she sure changes her mind about the paranormal.

The story gathers a strange crew together and they fight an evil beyond imagining. The warehouse will sure creep you out. But this isn't gratuitous or particularly nasty, it is just well written, well paced and definitely worth a read.

I am hoping it is the start of a series as I want to read more by Ms Larkin.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

This is more of a 2.5 and I was originally going to round it up but after writing this review I think I'm changing it to 2 stars. I think part of it is that i was expecting the book to be ...lighter I guess? I'm not much for mystery-thriller most of the time but I thought hey cute bi/lesbian FBI agents that could be fun, and decided to give it a chance anyway. Unfortunately the romance was pretty underdeveloped and instalove-y for the most part so that just left the serial killer part of the story, which I was less than impressed with.

Basically the premise of the book is that every 150 years there are a set of twins born who will try to help guide the world to being a better place, but one of them has to create 'evil' events that will eventually LEAD to something good, while the other one helps the good stuff along the way. Like, to use an actual example from the book, a little girl gets murdered but then the couple adopts another little girl from Africa and also vows to get all the other kids in her orphanage adopted and they would have otherwise been dead of starvation within a year. And in this book the 'evil' twin goes off the rails so they have to stop him from destroying the world instead.

To be quite frank I think that's all a load bullcrap, but I'm sure other people will find it be more interesting or intriguing than I did. Also trigger warnings for child death, animal death, attempted rape, and probably a host of other things I forgot about. This definitely just wasn't for me, although it was pretty good for a debut author so I will give it that.

Mercy was unique, I can at least say that. I struggled with the mixing of multiple genres; crime, romance, fantasy. I enjoyed the characters, but I wasn't a huge fan of the plot. Also, there were a lot of chapters that were from the perspective of a child, and that was difficult for me to stay present with.

A bit of a supernatural thriller with a bit of a romance thrown in. An interesting tale but the ending felt lacking to me.

This book was much more supernatural than I was expecting from the summary. That's not a good or bad thing, there are just a lot more "out of this world" characters than a psychic ex-profiler. Two guys are 150 years old...

Also, there should be a little warning for people that this book contains children dying and being kidnapped. I'm a bit sensitive to those kinds of storylines, so a little warning that a seven year old girl was going to die right off the bat would be nice.

The writing itself is pretty good, and great if you consider this the first book she's had published. I did find the characters in the beginning hard to keep track of. That tends to happen when the POV switches from so many characters, i.e. more than four different ones.

I think the author will keep getting better though, since the talent is there, but this one was a little unfocused. Overall it was an ok read for me.

It was a interesting book that showed promise . It unfortunately was kinda confusing. I hope the author works on her writing before she writes a sequel

Mercy is a FBI agent working unsolved crimes against kids. She is drawn into a new case through crimes against friends and their family and needs to find retired psychic FBI profiler Piper. Soon she discovers that not only a serial killer, but something more sinister and paranormal is at work and she needs the support of family and friends to fight it.
The book is a thriller with a paranormal element and a bit of romance in between. Usually, this combination wouldn't work for me, but I loved reading it. The characters were fun to read, especially the scenes between Mercy and Piper.