Mercy Street (Mercy Street Foundation) by Mariah Stewart
| Mercy Street (Mercy Street Foundation) by Mariah Stewart | |
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| Category: Crime | |
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Reviewer: Trish Simpson-Davis
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| Summary: American author Mariah Stewart sets out her stall of characters for a romantic thriller series. Ex-cop Mallory Rosso turns private investigator when two teenagers disappear. Within a formulaic mould, I enjoyed the neat writing and voted this novel good entertainment. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 368 | Date: March 2009 |
| Publisher: Piatkus | |
| ISBN: 978-0749940584 | |
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This book runs on well-oiled wheels. Written by a woman, I think it will appeal to women more than men. If you like the romantic thriller formula, you'll like this new-to-the-UK novel from American writer, Mariah Stewart. So what's the formula? There is romantic interest throughout and a half page of rampant sex; the gunfire is pretty much contained to a couple of pages. The characters are nice people; it's obvious when a villain appears and who fancies who. While the plot is suspenseful enough to be a page-turner, it's easy to disentangle, which makes for an undemanding and accessible read. I enjoyed my afternoon with Mariah Stewart, though I doubt I'll remember the plot for long.
Mercy Street isn't the heroine, by the way: it's the name of a charitable foundation providing investigative help to locate missing persons, providing a unifying thread for this new series. The first book explains the foundation's origins. Super-rich Robert Magellan hires ex-cop Mallory Rosso to find two missing teenagers. Reminded of his own past and nudged by his priest cousin, he ends by deciding to set up the foundation. No, none of these provide love interest in the story. Robert and his ultra smooth PA Suze are clearly destined to do their thing some time in the future, judging by the ends left dangling through the story.
Mallory has been hounded out of the local force despite her flair as a detective, attractive appearance and sad early life. You'd imagine the latter would win her a bit of sympathy from her colleagues, but no, it's a dog eat dog world in Conroy. Fortunately her old boss looks on with fatherly interest as she clicks with her replacement Charlie Wanamaker, so she and Charlie can pair up to find the disappearing teenagers with clear consciences. I liked Mallory and Charlie, despite her appalling diet and his goody-goody persona. The back cover tells me that the next two books feature other detectives, but I hope this pair won't be left behind.
Thanks to Piatkus Books for sending us 'Mercy Street'.
If this book appeals to you then we think that you might also enjoy Cold Hearted by Beverly Barton, although we think Mercy Street is the better book. You could also try Lethal Legacy by Linda Fairstein.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Mercy Street (Mercy Street Foundation) by Mariah Stewart at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Mercy Street (Mercy Street Foundation) by Mariah Stewart at Amazon.com.
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