Cry Mercy: A Mercy Street Novel (Mercy Street Novels) [Mass Market Paperback]

Mariah Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2009 | Series: Mercy Street Novels

After Ann Nolan, a California beat cop, adopts the daughter of a notorious drug dealer, the ruthless father vows to take back his only child. In response, Ann flees across the country, changes her name, and starts a new life as an investigator for the Mercy Street Foundation, the billionaire-endowed organization dedicated to finding missing persons. As Emme Caldwell, she takes the lead on the Foundation's first case: Nineteen-year-old Belinda Hudson disappeared from her sorority house leaving behind only one cryptic clue. Retracing the vanished student's steps leads Emme to Heaven's Gate, a fertility clinic, and the mysterious Donor 1735.

Belinda's legal guardian, Nick Perone, is determined to shadow Emme's every move as she searches for his niece. But the closer Emme gets to Donor 1735 and the chilling truth, the more apparent it becomes that she's escaped one dangerous man only to run head-on into another-one who's far more determined and every bit as deadly.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A fantastic new series . . . The author's finely drawn characters, and her rapid-pace, intelligent stories, keep the suspense flowing and the pages turning.”—Fresh Fiction

About the Author

Mariah Stewart is the award-winning author of the Last series: Last Look, Last Words, and Last Breath; the Truth series: Cold Truth, Hard Truth, Dark Truth, and Final Truth; and the Dead series: Dead Even, Dead Wrong, Dead Certain, and Dead End; as well as Forgotten, Until Dark, and The President's Daughter. She is the recipient of the Golden Leaf Award and the Award of Excellence presented by the Colorado Romance Writers, and has been a finalist for the Holt Medallion. Her books have been nominated for several awards from Romantic Times magazine, including Best Contemporary Romance and Best Contemporary Novel. Stewart is a native of Hightstown, New Jersey, and lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and their two daughters.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345506138
• ISBN-13: 978-0345506139
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 1.2 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #319,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mariah Stewart is the bestselling author of ten novels and three novellas. A RITA finalist for romantic suspense, she is the recipient of the Award of Excellence for contemporary romance, a RIO (Reviewers International) Award honoring excellence in women's fiction, a Reviewers Choice Award from Romantic Times magazine, and a two-time recipient of the Golden Leaf Award for contemporary romance. A native of Hightstown, New Jersey, she lives amidst the rolling hills of Chester County, PA, with her husband, one geriatric gold retriever and one rambunctious mixed breed rescue dog. She's currently neglecting her garden and working on her next book. In past lives, she's been a teacher and an insurance executive, but firmly believes she's found the perfect job: sitting in her sunny office in old sweats and J. Crew flip flops, making up stories and the characters who live in them, and getting paid for it. Could life be sweeter?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Series, May 29, 2009

By 

A Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cry Mercy: A Mercy Street Novel (Mercy Street Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

I absolutely love this series, although I didn't think this book was as good as the first one.

Too many things didn't sit right with me, the most being that Mallory was so suspicious of Emme/Ann right from the start, but she hired her anyway, mainly because the other characters didn't seem to take her concerns seriously. It just wasn't plausible that someone like Robert Magellan would turn the hiring and administration of this new foundation over to someone and then brush them off when they expressed legitimate concerns about a potential hire, especially because there were hundreds of other resumes sitting on her desk. And it was even less plausible that Emme/Ann would lie and deceive, show up at an interview with her daughter, still get the job and then think nothing of getting involved with the person who hired them. One would expect her to have a bit more professionalism and to tread much more lightly considering the thin line she was walking to begin with.

The character of Nick also didn't sit well with me because it seemed like he was more interested in getting into Emme/Ann's pants than in finding his niece, which made it a bit hard to really care about the case. Add that to the fact that it became apparent early who the culprit was, and this book just wasn't as good as "Mercy Street."

However, I do look forward to more books in this series, especially now that Susanna's work is done and there's a whole new in-house mystery to work with.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mercy Street Foundation has officially opened its door., April 30, 2009

By 

Detra Fitch "Always hunting good books." (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cry Mercy: A Mercy Street Novel (Mercy Street Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

California cop Ann Nolan learns that her adopted daughter, Chloe, is being searched for by her biological father. Anthony Navarro is a big time drug lord and has a large reward out for Chloe. Fearing her daughter will be kidnapped, Ann changes her name to Emme Caldwell and flees across the country to begin a new life as an investigator for the Mercy Street Foundation (MSF) in Conroy, Pennsylvania. Emme's first case is to find nineteen-year-old Belinda "Belle" Hudson who disappeared from her sorority house. Debra Newhouse, can only tell Emme that Belle had not taken her computer with her but it vanished shortly afterward.

Nick Perone restores classic automobiles. He is grateful when MSF accepts locating his niece as their first official case. Belle had been communicating on a forum board with her donor-siblings. These are other people born by the same sperm donor from a fertility clinic. Belle had been trying to learn who her biological father is, Donor 1735. Emme and Nick's search for Belle will lead them to a serial killer that may very well be as dangerous as Navarro.

***** The Mercy Street Foundation has officially opened its doors and this new series has officially begun. There is more than one secondary plot running in the background. They will spill over into future novels. The main focus in this installment is Emme and Chloe getting settled with the foundation and solving the first case. It is obvious the author did a lot of research for this story. I am amazed at how much I learned about fertility clinics and donor-siblings. An exciting story that successfully solidifies a strong foundation for the series. (No pun or tongue twister intended.) *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mariah does it again!!, July 2, 2009

By 

R. Rivera "Book mom" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cry Mercy: A Mercy Street Novel (Mercy Street Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book had you from page one! I could not put it down and am waiting on the second book that I ordered the SAME day and it is NOT here yet!