Customer Reviews

Dying for Mercy: A Novel of Suspense

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mary Jane Clark's latest, Dying for Mercy, is her most imaginative suspense novel yet. Beginning with a gruesome suicide, the story just gallops forward as Eliza Blake, Clark's savvy heroine, begins an investigation and soon comes across an intricate puzzle left behind by the dead man - a puzzle meant to expose the perpetrators of a long-forgotten crime. Eliza is joined by her KEY News colleagues, Annabelle Murphy, B.J. D'Elia and Margo Gonzalez - dubbed the Sunrise Suspense Society - and as each puzzle piece is unearthed, a killer is hiding in the shadows to make sure that a 20-year-old mystery never comes to light. Eliza's on-again, off-again romance with Mack McBride seems to be deepening, but as the killer closes in on Eliza, Mack becomes "collateral damage." The Associated Press review says it all: "As Agatha Christie did with her classic `And Then There Were None,' Clark . . . deftly combines the clue-searching and puzzle-solving fun of mysteries with the action-packed, emotion-driven narrative thrust of thrillers." This is a fast-moving and inspired tale that takes place in New York State's Tuxedo Park, a walled-in enclave for the rich and famous - and in Clark's latest, no amount of wealth or status can keep these pampered residents safe. The killer thinks that some puzzles probably shouldn't be solved, but Mary Jane Clark fuels this page-turner with enough puzzle-solving fun - and menace - that getting to the explosive finale is a nail-biting joyride!

I have read all of Mary's books,and impatiently waited for my pre-ordered copy of Dying for Mercy. I found the book to be cryptic in many ways. I thought that the suicide was even more bizarre when I discovered his reasons for doing it. The puzzle and its pieces seemed contrived, and their discovery too coincidental. The links and relationship of the clues had to be explained because the reader could surmise nothing on his or her own. As I approached the last few chapters, I couldn't wait for the story to be over because it just didn't all come together for me. Not being familiar with the saga of Francis of Assisi also restricted my appreciation for the story.

I found this mystery to be very engrossing. The way the mystery was revealed bit by bit kept my interest going. I love a good puzzle, and the way that the mystery was laid out as a large puzzle/treasure hunt was very appealing. From the start, it was unclear even what sort of mystery we were dealing with, which made it all the more intriguing. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, and the Italy themes that were incorporated added a nice touch. Overall I really enjoyed this book.

I expected there to be more puzzle pieces in the puzzle. I also think the climax was more of a "they went to all this trouble for that reason?" than a "Wow, that was something"

I picked up Mary Jane Clark's latest at Union Square on my way home, day before yesterday, thinking I would read it this weekend. I thought I would have a quick look and could barely put it down until I finished! I've been a fan of Mary Jane Clark's work since Do You Want To Know A Secret, but in Dying for Mercy she has truly reached new heights. I loved breathing in the rarefied (and, often deadly) air of Tuxedo Park, New York and immediately engaged with her well-drawn characters, following every twist and turn (hah!) as Eliza and her Key crew race to catch the killer. Clark writes smart, what a pleasure! Great, satisfying summer read!

I have never been particularly fond of thrillers based on religious elements, so as much as I am a fan of Mary Jane Clark's, this book could never be a favourite of mine.

The mystery which TV presentator Eliza Blake and her colleagues are in for this time, is rather macabre - from eccentric millionaire Innis Wheelock's suicide by stigmata, to the puzzle he has created to be solved after his death. However, apart from the religious theme, the case/puzzle is clevery plotted and leaves the reader entertained and in the dark until the last page.

Fast-paced, as all Clark's books, "Dying for Mercy" is written very much like the puzzle of the book itself, with extremely short chapters which are furthermore divided into even smaller sections. This makes for easy reading but I do miss a bit more "meat" around the skeleton. There is little chance of losing oneself in any part of this story, before being abruptly cut off and served a new key piece in the puzzle. If there is such a thing as "a restless thriller", this must be it. No time to dwell on anything or anyone, apart from Clark's all time heroine Eliza Blake, her colleagues and her daughter Janie.

Clever idea ensuring a few hours of fast-paced - no other word for it - entertainment. But I feel the book lacks something, mainly due to the almost staccato writing style. It failed to fully occupy my attention and draw me into the story as Clark's earlier works have always managed to do.

Three and a half, mainly for clever plotting.

I was very disappointed in this book. This book didn't focus on the KEY news team but rather St. Francis of Assisi. It did not give enough background into the characters and if you had not read her earlier books you would not know of the relationship between the KEY news characters. I thought there was too much emphasis on the St. Francis story but without a lot of backstory to it. But my biggest complaint was how it rushed at the end to tie up loose ends but it seemed to leave several outstanding. Why was Mack heading back to London after been so severely hurt. What happened to the Chief of Police and his daughter. Did anything happen to her that day on the tennis court. I will continue to read her books but this was certainly not one of her best.

This is the first book I have read by Mary Jane Clark. Read it in large print that helped to read it faster. In the beginning, I needed a score card to keep track of all the characters. The story is about the rich who live within a secluded community with a guard gate to keep the common people out. They have they're perfect community of estates, golf, tennis, sailing, and rolling hills. This rich community of people do not have jobs because they live off old money. They have nothing to do but attend parties to raise money for charity and keep common people employed as servants. The book is about one family from this snobby community and their big secret involving adultery and the murder of a lover 22 years ago. The main character, a woman, a former governor of NY, had an affair with the lawn keeper of her estate, who was a hunk and didn't shoot blanks, while she ran for governor of NY. The affair resulted in a child with her lover who disappears. A successful cover up designed by her husband, he knew of her affair, finds religion 22 years later and develops a guilty conscience. Then all hell breaks loose after the husband of the former governor kills himself and leaves clues about the cover up. Twenty two years later, four people are murdered for a crime they knew nothing about because the murderer thought they did. No one blinks an eye today if politicians commit adultrey and have a child from the affair. It's an okay story but some loose ends are not tied up.

Mary Jane Clark is the unofficial successor to the "Queen of Suspense" similarly named Mary Higgins Clark. DYING FOR MERCY is Clark's latest magnus opus and arguably her best to date. Eliza Blake, her comely damsel in distress, reaches new heights and seems to grow male body parts in this puzzling, twisting tale of murder and deception. Eliza is ready to kick some butt this time around, even attending a fundraiser for The Special Olympics mere hours after nearly being killed. I loved all the references to Saint Francis of Asissi and, as a somewhat lapsed Catholic, I appreciated the refresher course in the rituals of the Catholic Church as well as the history lesson on Jesus' crucifixion. The chapters in this book are short and to the point. I found myself flying through them and having a hard time putting the book down even though it was WAY past my bedtime (I paid for it today at work...argh!) The ending of this book seemed a bit rushed, and I never did find out what happened to Susannah, the wannabee Black Tie Club member. A considerable amount of attention was paid to Susannah throughout the story but we never heard what became of her...did she gain membership in the club? Probably not important but I tend to pick up on weird and sometime insignificant nuances while reading. Overall, I found DYING FOR MERCY to be an extremely interesting and puzzling book. Highly recommended for all readers and age groups.

The interesting cover to this book (a rainbow-reflective gloss over a picture of a spiral staircase) and the blurb on the back about a house which has a puzzle built in all looked promising. However I found this book ultimately disappointing.

Eliza Blake is co-anchor of a television show and at the beginning of this story we discover her daughter was previously kidnapped although is now restored safely to her (I assume this was a previous book). Eliza is getting back to normal life which includes preparing for her new weekend home in Tuxedo Park, a moneyed estate in New York. However, when she attends a party at a newly-refurbished house in Tuxedo Park and the host commits suicide in a very strange manner, a many-years-old mystery begins to be uncovered and Eliza is in the thick of it.

This book was rather strangely written with exceedingly short chapters (many of them were two to three pages long) and with multiple points of view - it felt like we were following the story from a dozen different people. There was a large cast of characters which I found rather offputting; I would have preferred to just focus on one or two. I also felt that the behaviour of many people didn't feel authentic - the journalists seem able to find people who will tell them everything they need to know, for example. I also felt the central premise - that the party host would build a puzzle into his house so that people could solve it after his death - just a bit too far fetched. Parts of the book were OK but overall I didn't feel I got to know any of the characters particularly well and the puzzle/murder mystery didn't interest me that much.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2011