Have No Mercy [Paperback]

Bobby Ruble (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2002

The best of us have had an occasional thought on how to even the score with an enemy. Typically, conventional wisdom overrules such erroneous thinking. Then, an individual forgives or at least moves forward, forgetting the past. Not the case with David Epstein.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Extremely entertaining. The twist ending completely surprised me. It was thoroughly thought out, totally engrossing and executed in good taste." -- Mary Jane Ruffolo, MSW

"Hats off to a new and original suspense thriller! I look forward to more exciting novels from this author." -- The Public Press

Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Amer Book Pub (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930586086
• ISBN-13: 978-1930586086
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,327,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't wait for the sequel, December 24, 2002

By 

Joan M. Lewis "georgiagirl2002" (GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Have No Mercy (Paperback)

Have No Mercy
by Bobby Ruble

Review by Joan Moore Lewis, author of southern fiction

Greed, deceit and murder are the three main ingredients in "Have No Mercy." There is more than one crime committed, however. Crimes without bodies, crimes against spouses, crimes within the law for which there are no penalties. Although it's not obvious in the beginning, all major characters seem to have an ulterior motive for most of their actions.

Ann thinks she has landed the perfect husband, one whose money and social position is exactly what she has always expected. David thinks he has the perfect wife, one who is brilliant, beautiful and loyal. Both are disappointed.

Todd needs money; Rennie needs a home and children. Theirs could be the ideal marriage, but their money and house do not make a home. They are childless, and not a single other need is fulfilled.

The way the four lives are intermingled is complicated. I could not finish the book in one night, but neither could I put it down. It's one of those "turn on the light at 3AM" books. The suspense is deafening.

Bobby Ruble, author of "Have No Mercy," retired from the Marines where he served ten years in the Criminal Investigation Division, and he is an FBI National Academy graduate. His achievements are too many to list, but it is obvious that he has the credentials to write this book.

I usually try to guess what is going to happen in a suspense novel. For those of you who think you can figure out what's going to happen before the end, you will be in for a surprise. Bobby Ruble has no mercy.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Suspense with a bit of a twist, August 23, 2002

By 

Annette Gisby "agisby" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Have No Mercy (Paperback)

David and Todd were friends, best friends, or so David thought. Quiet and studious, David came from a comfortable, loving background and had everything he ever wanted. Todd was different, he had no permanent home, in and out of foster homes from an early age, he was jealous of David and of everything that David had. Especially the money. Todd was very fond of money.

David catches Todd trying to steal from him and almost kills Todd.

Fast forward to a few years later. David has a very comfortable living as a psychiatrist, has married the beautiful Ann, not because he loves her, but because he thinks she'd be a suitable wife. He doesn't know what has become of Todd, but he cares very much. He is filled with rage over Todd's betrayal of their friendship and he wants revenge. Badly.

He gets his chance when he has a new patient, Rennie Laine, the wife of Matt Laine. But once, Matt had another name, Todd Reams...

I would class this a suspense rather than a mystery, because you know everyone's motives from the outset. The first few chapters are filling in background on the characters, which I felt went into too much detail for too much time. I would have preferred perhaps Todd and David meeting again years later, without us knowing what had happened betwen them yet, just knowing that something did.

The first few chapters seemed to be setting the scene where you were waiting for something to happen, and happen it did. Once the plot got going, it was a corkscrew of twists and turns, secrets, betrayals and murder. The pace moved faster after that and it felt as if you were being washed away by a raging current and hardly had time to take a breath.

The ending has an excellent twist and if you like suspense, you'll love this.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of Silent Screams

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Tales review, November 9, 2002

By 

"tteditor" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Have No Mercy (Paperback)

By TT reviewer Hattie Boyd

David Epstein grew up in Mt. Pride, Colorado; the only child of parents who loved and spoiled him. David was an introverted child growing up and only had one childhood friend, Todd Reams. He was a friend with Todd until he asked Todd to move into the house his parents left him when they relocated to Israel. He came home one day and Todd was stealing a necklace, the only thing David had belonging to his mother. He and Todd fought and he threw Todd out of the house. David's psychiatry practice located in his home grew and he became a multimillionaire. He had everything but a wife. He went looking for the perfect wife and he found her in Ann Roitstein. Ann was beautiful and intelligent with a job as a linguist with a government agency. Ann fell in love with David, but love was not on David's agenda. He had Ann sign a prenuptial agreement saying that if she divorced him, she would not be entitled to anything he had before he married her. When Ann discovered there would be no children, she became bored with staying at home. David decided to build them a house on property he bought in High Cliff Estates, using a design he contracted before the marriage. This would be the beginning of Ann's problems.

Rennie and Matt Lain met when Rennie visited a new coffee shop in Mt. Pride where Matt Lain was working. Rennie grew up in Mt. Pride, was the author of several children's books and was wealthy but lonely. Matt didn't think Rennie was good to look at, but since she had money and could give him his dream of his own business, Matt used his charms on her. Now they had a chain of coffeehouses across the country and a beautiful home in High Cliff Estates. Rennie became depressed and abused alcohol and cigarettes. She decided to consult a psychiatrist and chose David Epstein because he lived in the same neighborhood. Eventually Rennie began to think of David as her friend and when she found out Ann had the qualifications Matt was looking for in an assistant and was looking for a job, both Rennie and David thought Rennie should suggest Matt hire Ann.

HAVE NO MERCY is the twisted story of four people whose lives spin out of control because of the desire for revenge by one person. The four main characters, David, Ann, Rennie, and Matt are a lesson in how twisted the mind can become when you become consumed with revenge and jealousy. The only good character in this story besides the police is Rennie's friend and attorney Daniel Boone Riddle. The story is fast-paced and will keep you turning pages from beginning to end.