Customer Reviews

No Mercy

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Gilstrap's newest thriller "No Mercy" grabs the reader from page one, and holds tightly right to the finish. Cleverly written, with engaging twists and turns, along with a smattering of humor, this is a novel you won't want to put down. The story begins quite simply with the kidnapping of a college student. But quickly, it turns into a good guy, bad guy intrigue. You'll be on the edge of your seat, and perhaps a little queasy at times, as you follow Jonathan Grave, along with his friend and employee "Big Guy" as they work through the murk that comes from pure greed. As the story develops, one looming question is who are the good guys. Is it Grave who's job can force him to kill? Or is it, Irene Rivers, the FBI Director who wants the "incident" to disappear? Perhaps it's Gail Bonneville, the Sheriff of Samson, Indiana. When she took office, she promised to fulfill her duties without fail. Can she ignore the fact that she knows who saved the college student from his kidnappers, and who now has blood on his hands? At first, it appears that the kidnapped boy's parents, Stephenson and Julie Hughes are good guys. As the story unravels, however, not only are they responsible for something terrible, but their actions endanger their lives and many others. As in real life, it's not always easy to discern good from evil, but by this book's end, the good guys will leave an indelible mark on the reader's mind.

Gilstrap did a masterful job with "No Mercy". Not only did he weave a story with amazing character development to capture, and hold, the reader's attention, but he also provided an ending to be applauded. Too often, reader's enjoy the journey of a story only to be disappointed by a sappy, or poorly written, conclusion. Not so with Gilstrap. The ending leaves the reader wanting more suspense, more intrigue, and more Jonathan Grave.

Like Nancy Martin, I first "met" John Gilstrap on the AOL message boards and loved all of his books, especially Nathan's Run, which I recommended to so many people.

I just finished No Mercy and wish I could recommend it too. But poor editing and a story full of holes has left me scratching my head and so disappointed. I expected better of John. This was a riveting and fast-paced story, but there were so many errors and omissions that the book was spoiled for me. Twenty hours of good editing could have tightened up the book and eliminated the holes.

I know that publishing money is tight, but I bet John could find five or ten faithful readers who would read his manuscript and make suggestions.

Few authors deliver a great read ...out of the gate ...every time. John is one of the rare ones. Jonathan Graves is one of the meatiest protagonists in years. Ex-Delta Force and Gilstrap is more familiar with Delta than most since he wrote the only book the secret force has ever cooperated with, and endorsed, "Six Minutes To Freedom." NO MERCY is one of those books where the words "joy ride" and "train wreck" threaten to become interchangeable at every turn. This is one exciting read, guaranteed. Don't pick it up unless you have enough time to finish it. Congrats, Gilstrap and congrats Gilstrap fans. I'm waiting for the next Graves offering.

Wealthy private investigator Jonathan Grave takes on cases he finds interesting and using the state of the art equipment that no one else knows exists. He can afford to strive to meet his long term strategic vision of killing terrorists who he admires for their desire to die for their Cause. He hides his identity as he does not want kudos when he rescues innocent victims of predators.

His current case is a bit more personal than usual. He searches for missing investigative reporter Tibor Rothman, married to Grave's ex-wife, Ellen. At the same time Samson, Indiana Sheriff Gail Bonneville wants to bring in Grave for his role in a shootout during a hostage rescue mission of an Indiana college student that turned ugly.

Over the top of Hoosier Hill, NO MERCY is an enjoyable action-packed thriller starring stereotypical characters, villains and heroes, who turn the exciting tale into a fun Indy run. The story line is ultra fast-paced yet also loaded with non stop violence as vengeance is the name of the game. John Gilstrap provides an exhilarating accelerated thriller that lives up to its title as there is NO MERCY when it comes to revenging an alleged wrong.

Harriet Klausner

This book actually started off with what looked like a good plot, however, there were warning signs early. A kidnapping victim is being held by two total morons in a cellar. Our hero who is a veteran of an elite army unit blows the doors off of a cellar door with a deafening blast. He bursts in and immediately starts talking to the kidnappers who have no difficulty hearing him! Then, even though he is pointing his weapon at them, this highly trained operative allows both morons to draw their weapons and fire shots at him before he finally shoots them.

Early on we are given an explanation of the state of the art security system employed at our hero's home/office fortress. However, late in the book bad guys easily break in and subdue one of his aides who is caught completely unawares and of course is unable to set off an alarm or grab a weapon!

In the concluding chapter our hero jumps from a moving helicopter from a height above the treeline, suffers a severe abdominal gunshot wound, still chases down the main bad guy and is engaged in a life or death struggle all while bleeding to death as the calvary arrives and saves the day.

To sum it up, imagine the worst B rated action movie you have ever seen and then imagine something worse.

"No Mercy" is an ARC sent to me by John Gilstrap.

Jonathan Grave is the private equivalent of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team. He will find and rescue people faster and more efficiently than any government agency can...as long as the money is there.

He is very good at what he does and will kill without hesitation (if provoked).

"No Mercy" opens with Jonathan at the scene of a kidnapping. He has planted listening devices, knows where the person (Thomas Hughes) is being held, and is keeping an eye on the two no-aacounts holding Thomas. Unfortunately, one of the kidnappers is becoming increasingly erratic and has decided to kill Thomas rather than wait for the third member to show up at the house.

Jonathan has to act now.

With military precision Jonathan blows out the door to the basement and takes down the kidnappers. As he is taking Thomas to the helicopter (flown by Brian Van de Muelebroeke, "Boxers") the third kidnapper shows up and chooses stupidly to shoot it out with Jonathan.

Jonathan disappears without a trace (so he thinks).

The shooting deaths of three people in Samson, Indiana leaves new Sheriff Gail Bonneville in a quandry. Her deputy, Jesse, understands from the beginning that this was a rescue and not a cold blooded murder, but, Sheriff Bonneville wants justice and will stop at nothing to find the person who did this. With an FBI Hostage Rescue background, Sheriff Bonneville has the ability to find details that others might miss.

Back home, Jonathans ex-wife (Ellen) asks him to find her new husband (Tibor) who has gone missing. Although Jonathan hates Tibor, he does his best to find him.

What he finds shocks him on several levels.

The kidnapping and Tibor's disappearance are related, it was no accident that Jonathan got in involved in Thomas's rescue, and something was stolen by terrorists (from Carlyle Industries) that has worldwide implications, both politically and militarily.

With Sheriff Bonneville (and others) hot on his heels and multiple torture murders of anyone that appear to be involved in the theft and kidnapping (including people very close to Jonathan); Jonathan, Boxers, computer whiz Venice, and Priest Dom have their hands full trying to find, confront, and hopefully defeat the Green Brigade terrorists.

The battle at the end of the book is fast moving, and extremely brutal. Hold on to your seats!

"No Mercy" is the first book I have read by John Gilstrap and will not be the last. Excellent characters, realistic action, and great pacing make this book a must to pick up and read.

By TracyReaderDad

Bad guys have kidnapped the son of Stephenson Hughes, a man whose company has created a synthetic smallpox virus called GVX. Dad hires Jonathan Grave, a man with Jack Reacher's abilities and Bruce Wayne's techie goodies. A guy who out Lone Ranger's the Lone Ranger, only unlike Jack, Bruce and the famous masked man, Mr. Grave's services are for sale. Still, he's on the side of the good guys.

The kidnappers, terrorists, were after more than ransom, they'd wanted to get their hands on that GVX, but unfortunately Grave takes them out. Grave goes outside the law to accomplish his objectives, almost seems to have a distain for the law.

Police Chief Gail Bonneville, who is ex-FBI, goes by the book and she wants to arrest the killer of the kidnappers, but Grave knows how to cover his tracks, however Bonneville is good at finding tracks where others might not and she is hot on his trail, even as he is on the trail of his ex-wife's missing husband.

Fast-paced with lots of tension and good characters -- most notably Grave himself and his crew (he has some very able sidekicks), Chief Gail and her deputy Jesse -- and with a plot right out of a James Bond movie, replete with more high tech goodies than any book outta have, this is a book made for stay up all night reading. One caveat though, there is lots and I mean lots of violence in this story. If that doesn't turn you off, you'll love this book.

What's not to like? An action-packed thriller introducing Jonathan Graves, hostage rescuer, who works on the edge of the law, and sometime a bit over...but no matter, Graves is definitely someone you want on your side, and someone you can't get enough of. No Mercy begins with the successful rescue of a kidnapped college student that ultimately draws Graves, along with an eclectic alliance of assorted characters, in a final thrilling shoot-`em-up showdown. It's this summer's Must Read!

I started reading John Gilstrap's latest book NO MERCY. Half way thru the book, I stopped and went to my computer. I emailed John and told him how much I liked this book and was not even thru reading it. I liked the pace of the book and the characters. I noticed that his description of where the main character was, Jonathan Grave, I felt that I was in the room with him or out in the woods. I recommend this book to anyone that likes fast action books. I had to go to work and could not wait to return home to finish this book. Now talk about a good summer read, this is your book.
M. Soulard

I stumbled onto John Gilstrap's "No Mercy" after having finished Lee Child's most recent Reacher book. The two authors have a very different writing style. Child's is short and to the point. Gilstrap's is more elaborate and colorful. That said, both are talented writers, and their stories will keep you up at night trying to finsh them.

"No Mercy" starts with Jonathan Grave onsite at a kidnapper's hideout, where things start to go terribly wrong. The entire stage for the story is essentially set up within the first twenty pages. The plot is simple enough, involving illegal biochemical weapons, but Gilstrap does an excellent job of keeping the story moving. His descriptions of claymores, tactics, and firearms brought back memories of my time in the Airborne Infantry. Lots of action and gun play. Dialogue can be a bit over the top, but it seems to fit the character. My only caution is that there are some descriptions of graphic violence and torture, so if that sort of thing bothers you, steer clear of this one. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and am looking forward to reading the sequel.

Well done! Five Stars.

Written by Arthur Bradley, author of "Process of Elmination" and "Handbook to Pratical Disaster Preparedness for the Family."