Say no more

Mercy Callahan, first introduced in Rose's Say You're Sorry (2019), is attempting to heal following her kidnapping by a serial killer. No stranger to trauma following years in a brutal cult, she finally feels strong enough to confront her past and bring her abusers down. She's aided by her estranged brother, Gideon, an FBI agent, and his best friend, homicide detective Rafe Sokolov, who inspires complicated feelings in Mercy. As in her Cincinnati series, Rose attempts, with somewhat mixed results, to balance fast-paced suspense with a slow-burn romance. At more than 600 pages, the intricate plot--with an overly large cast of characters, multiple points of view, and too much time spent in the head of an unrepentant pedophile and murderer--could have used some tightening. Repeated recaps of horrors endured by Mercy and other cult members may be triggering for some, but, for those who enjoy their suspense dosed with menace and grit, this may still hold appeal.

Rose delivers a pulse-pounding mix of romance and terror in the no-holds-barred sequel to Say You're Sorry. When Mercy Reynolds was 13, her mother smuggled her out of the Northern California cult she was born into--a daring escape that cost Mercy's mother her life, and nearly Mercy's as well. Fast-forward 13 years, and Mercy has just evaded a serial killer with the help of her estranged older brother, Gideon, who escaped the cult before she did, and his handsome best friend, Det. Raphael Sokolov. The news reports on the killer alert the cult to Mercy's survival, and now Ephraim Burton, the cult leader and Mercy's childhood abuser, is coming after her. She'll need Raphael's help to stop him. Mercy and Raphael's daring mission to neutralize Ephraim and slow-simmering romance make for enthralling reading. Rose has a gift for taut plotting, making the hefty page count fly by. Mercy and Raphael leap off the page, and Ephraim is imbued with such evil that it's a relief when he gets his gory just desserts. While violence and sexual assault mark this as not for the faint of heart, readers looking for high-octane romantic suspense won't be able to resist. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Aug.)

Mercy Callahan, first introduced in Rose's Say You're Sorry (2019), is attempting to heal following her kidnapping by a serial killer. No stranger to trauma following years in a brutal cult, she finally feels strong enough to confront her past and bring her abusers down. She's aided by her estranged brother, Gideon, an FBI agent, and his best friend, homicide detective Rafe Sokolov, who inspires complicated feelings in Mercy. As in her Cincinnati series, Rose attempts, with somewhat mixed results, to balance fast-paced suspense with a slow-burn romance. At more than 600 pages, the intricate plot—with an overly large cast of characters, multiple points of view, and too much time spent in the head of an unrepentant pedophile and murderer—could have used some tightening. Repeated recaps of horrors endured by Mercy and other cult members may be triggering for some, but, for those who enjoy their suspense dosed with menace and grit, this may still hold appeal. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.

Rose delivers a pulse-pounding mix of romance and terror in the no-holds-barred sequel to Say You're Sorry. When Mercy Reynolds was 13, her mother smuggled her out of the Northern California cult she was born into—a daring escape that cost Mercy's mother her life, and nearly Mercy's as well. Fast-forward 13 years, and Mercy has just evaded a serial killer with the help of her estranged older brother, Gideon, who escaped the cult before she did, and his handsome best friend, Det. Raphael Sokolov. The news reports on the killer alert the cult to Mercy's survival, and now Ephraim Burton, the cult leader and Mercy's childhood abuser, is coming after her. She'll need Raphael's help to stop him. Mercy and Raphael's daring mission to neutralize Ephraim and slow-simmering romance make for enthralling reading. Rose has a gift for taut plotting, making the hefty page count fly by. Mercy and Raphael leap off the page, and Ephraim is imbued with such evil that it's a relief when he gets his gory just desserts. While violence and sexual assault mark this as not for the faint of heart, readers looking for high-octane romantic suspense won't be able to resist. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Aug.)