Customer Reviews

Blue Mercy

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Blue Mercy is a great combination of good writing, good crime research, and imaginative storytelling. Unlike some of my favourite crime authors, whose latest books have become bogged down in esoteric investigative procedureres (or worse yet, the ones who make mistakes in their research that distract you from the story), Haus strikes a readable balance in Blue Mercy.

Kay, the main character, is slowly revealed as a female cop who goes beyond the usual stereotypes. She likes to dress up in girlie clothes, and loses herself in classical music, but can kick (...) when she needs to. The secondary characters are multi-dimensional. No single character comes off as all bad or all good and that's what keeps the reader guessing right up until the final chapter. The plot twists are made more believable because of the great characterization.

The only negative? Reading the teaser for the next book in the series and finding out it hasn't yet been released! I want to read more about Hollywood, Kay's hot new partner.

Once in a while a book comes along that is a sure-fire keeper, a book that you don't dare loan out because you know you'll want it back for future reads, a book that you wish you could experience again for the very first time. Ms. Haus's Blue Mercy is just one of those books. And Kay Delaney is definitely a character to embrace, to remember, and to look forward to in future instalments of the series.

It won't be long before Haus is compared to some of the finest: Sandford, Connolly, Deaver, Crais, and Kellerman. This is top-notch police procedural / psychological-thriller writing. Haus is clearly at the cutting edge of research into her genre, forensics, procedures, as well as the psychpathology of a killer's mind. Graphic and gorey only where it needs to be, Haus draws you into the dark underbelly of Baltimore and the obsession of a psychopath and won't let you go until the heart-stopping conclusion.

Dark, gritty, riveting, nail-biting...with characters you can care about, damaged and real, sensitive yet tough as nails. An absolute keeper!

I loved this book! Blue Mercy grabs you from the first page and holds you on the edge of your chair until the very end. I gasped out loud while reading it and was literally shaking when I finished. Haus is a master of her craft. Her pacing is impeccable. Her characters ring true -- three-dimensional, flawed human beings like all of us. Kay Delaney is spunky, intelligent and brave. I can't wait to meet her again!

Blue Mercy was a great read - gripping from beginning to end. Kay Delaney is exactly the kind of "kick butt" heroine I admire, and Haus' writing is exactly the kind of writing that will keep me coming back for more. The writing is taut and intelligent, and the story clips along at the speed of light! I couldn't put it down.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Gritty, exciting, and well researched, with just the right amount of detail. Kay Delaney and Illona Haus will be two names to remember.

Good thing I don't listen to all reviews on this site! I picked up Blue Mercy after reading the endorsements and reviews, and in spite of the one negative review here, and I have to say, I am SO happy I choose to ignore that one!

Although the book might start off a LITTLE slow for some tastes -- par for the course when a new series and new characters are getting off the ground -- the writing, the character-development, the slow unraveling of the past and present cases is enthralling in this first novel of the Kay Delaney series.

The forensic detail, the fine-tuned research, the depth of character and complex plotting, and the rapidly brewing suspense guarantees I'm going to be a die-hard Kay Delaney fan. I can't WAIT for the next book!!!

I can't remember the last time I read a book with such a rivetting, edge-of-my-seat finale...gruesome, psychological, beyond-satisfying, and definitely one that will stick with me for a long, LONG time. I haven't been this entertained with a thriller since Silence of the Lambs or Robert Crais's Demolition Angel.

If you're a fan of gritty realism in your cop stories, you will love Blue Mercy by Illona Haus. This debut novel is stunning in its depth and the sense of being there it invokes. Illona drove along with the Baltimore PD during several night patrols and the details show in this taut, exciting story about Detective Kay Delaney who has to find the truth behind her partner's death and the death of a witness who was supposed to help them convict his killer. The truth is much more than she ever imagined and it will take her to a very dark place before the end. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. And I hope it's the first in a long series. Kay Delaney is a hero worth investing in. A novel that is not to be missed.

Fourteen months ago, Homicide Detective Kay Delaney and her partner Spence knocked on the door of Bernard Eales' home to question him in the deaths of three prostitutes. When he opened the door, he is high on meth and beats Kay so badly he puts her in the hospital and gets her gun and kills Spence. There is evidence in his home that place all three women there but he tells the police that he doesn't remember killing them because he has blackouts.

He is in a state prison awaiting trial and Kay has finally returned to duty when she catches a call about a woman dying in a fire. This woman is the witness Kay found and befriended who saw Bernard dump one of the dead prostitutes. On her chest is the same carvings as the other three victims. Everyone but Kay thinks it's a copycat killing but when two more deaths occur in the same manner as all the previous murders, Kay convinces her new partner Finn that either Bernie had an accomplice or another man killed the prostitute. When Bernie learns about this, he confesses to the first three killings making Kay wonder who he is trying to protect.

Think Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, Christine McGuire and Leslie Glass and readers will have some idea just how good BLUE MERCY really is. There is plenty of action in this novel but embedded in the storyline is the heroine's recovery after a brutal physical and emotional trauma. There are many suspects that Kay and Finn figure could be the perpetrator but they have absolutely no evidence linking anyone to the killings. Readers will want to read more Kay police procedurals in future books.

Harriet Klausner

It won't be long before Illona Haus's new releases are hardcover IMO. I often shy away from books that are first released in paperback because, let's face it, they're released in paperback first for a reason, and that reason is usually that the writing, the story, the characters, just aren't quite up to the standards of a new hardcover release in the genre. In this case, the publisher simply judged wrong and lucked up when they signed this author to a paperback deal.

My reviews, BTW, are a bit different than many, and I fully realize that. I don't talk about story specifics. You can see that information in the book description, so why chance issuing info that could spoil the read for others? Instead, I concentrate on quality. I was fortunate enough to read an early version of BLUE MERCY. I was VERY impressed then and remain so. This is a heart-hammering, utterly authentic thriller that will hook you early and hold on til the end.

In Illona Haus' debut novel Blue Mercy, she pits her protagonist, Kay Delaney, against serial killer Bernard Eales, who had gunned down her partner and savagely beat her the year before. Although Eales is awaiting trial and all the evidence points to his guilt, a shadow is thrown over the case when a new murder spawns some serious questions.

Paired with her ex-lover Finn, Kay investigates the murder of their star witness against Eales, and is shocked to find similarities between Eales' past victims and the fresh case. Could they have made a mistake? Could Bernard Eales possibly be innocent? Or is there a darker explanation? These are the questions you'll find yourself asking while reading Haus' breakneck-paced plot.

As a fellow Canadian author, I must bow to Illona Haus' firm grasp of forensics, pathology and crime scene investigation, as well as her expertly carved character development and pacing. Kay Delaney comes across as feisty, smart but jaded, while her partner Finn has enough uncertainty to keep him real, and not just another hotshot cop character.

What I liked most about Blue Mercy was that there were enough twists and turns to keep me satisfied and questioning my own predictions. For an avid mystery reader and a mystery writer, this is hard to come by. Too many plots are predictable and tame compared to Haus' Blue Mercy. She has added a potpourri of fascinating characters to a steaming cauldron of murder, resulting in a book that is appetizing and fresh.

Kudos, Illona! Fantastic, frenetic fun! Can't wait to read the next one.

~ Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Author of Divine Intervention