Road To Mercy by T. J. Brearton

I’m thrilled to share my review of Road to Mercy by T.J. Brearton. A few months ago, I reviewed Into Darkness, the first book in Brearton’s FBI special agent Shannon Ames suspense/mystery series and raved about it. (To quote myself, “Impressive. I read the book in two days, only stopping to sleep!”) So I had high expectations about the sequel. Did it live up to my expectations? Read on to find out!

My thoughts

The story opens with a quiet scene. A mother and her college-age son are driving to his college. They’ve gone shopping–enthusiastically on the mom’s part, reluctantly on the son’s–and are stopping for pancakes. It’s the stuff of an ordinary day: a mom fussing over a son, a son rolling his eyes and sulking.

Then their road trip takes a violent u-turn. Masked men abduct them from the restaurant’s parking lot. And no one even notices . . .

That’s when I knew: This is gonna be one hell of a road trip.

From there, the tension increases gradually. Along with Shannon, I didn’t know who or what or why this abduction happened. There are many different possibilities.

Sometimes I thought I knew what was happening.

Then the story took a u-turn or swerved off the road or hit the accelerator and laid rubber on the asphalt until I stood beside Shannon, staring at a map and wondering how we got here.

Brearton masterfully ratchets up the tension. It’s feels a bit slower than the pace in the first book, though Road to Mercy isn’t slow by any means. But as I did with Into Darkness, I felt like I was part of Shannon’s investigative team, racing against time to stop the inevitable. But even then, even when the end felt inevitable, I still didn’t know what was waiting at the end of the road: life . . .or death?

From that parking lot abduction to the final act, Brearton kept me guessing. And while this mystery does get solved, there’s a delicious cliffhanger in the final chapter. I guess I’ll have to wait until book 3 comes out to know what happens!

Characters

Really, they’re so . . . ordinary.

Lucy, a former federal prosecutor, acts like a typical middle-aged mom who henpecks her son and worries over extra weight on her hips. The son, Dylan, is just a rising college sophomore who had a tough freshman year. Their family–husband Bob and young Lily and Silas–are typical people, albeit in unusual situation. The police and federal agents are rather ordinary people, too. Brearton does a terrific job with characterization. And he has both women and men in positions of power within law enforcement. (Shocking, I know!)

Lily

I especially enjoyed the chapters narrated by eight-year-old Lily. Her father’s changed behavior bewilders and upsets her. She’s understandably frustrated when he doesn’t answer her questions. She misses her mommy. But she’s observant and she often knows more than she thinks she knows, though. It’s easy to feel sympathy for this child and to root for her. Her interactions with both her father and her little brother feel realistic. Brearton does a great job portraying the kids as kids.

Shannon

Shannon continues to be a sympathetic character. She’s determined, compassionate, and deeply human. She gets cranky when she’s hungry or tired and argues with her work partner, the supposedly “uncomplicated” Charlie Bufort. (Note to Shannon: do NOT underestimate your fellow characters.) She wonders if she should date a particular person or not. (Note #2: a tentative yes, which I guess means maybe.) She has a troubled relationship with her mom. I feel like I know her (as evidenced by my notes to a fictional person!)

She’s a strong woman, and I don’t just mean physical strength. She has spiritual strength, too, a moral internal compass that helps her navigate the complexities of investigative work. I absolutely love her for this. Outside of the “Christian fiction” market, I haven’t encountered too many Christian characters portrayed in a positive light. (And this book is definitely not Christian fiction.)

For Shannon, the hunt for a killer is not only about the killer, the novelty of the death, or the unraveling of a mystery. It’s about justice for the victims and their loved ones.

It’s about having compassion for the grieving and putting other people’s safety first. (Especially children!)

It’s about retaining one’s sense of right, wrong, and humanity, even while searching for the most inhumane of killers.

And it’s about remembering that this killer is human, one of us, and who could be us under different circumstances.

But the previous case in Into Darkness has left Shannon reeling. She’s struggling with PTSD. The aftershocks complicate her mental state at inconvenient times. (Though are there ever convenient times for flashbacks?) It feels realistic: small things trigger memories and her mind takes a dive into dark places. Dealing with this is a long, hard road.

Violence

I like how Brearton handles the description of the crime scenes. Rather than describe in gory detail what a murder victim looks like now, he keeps the focus on the victim as a person. This is particularly true when he deals with violence against women.

This is something that the crime/mystery genre has struggled with over the years. Often the scenes show a (typically male) detective viewing the female victim’s (often naked or mutilated) body, describing it to the reader. Too often, the result feels like a sexualized voyeurism.

But Brearton avoids that. He focuses on the dead as they were in real life: spouses, parents, friends, people who lived and breathed and hugged their children and ate pancakes. Just like us. Just like the other characters, investigators and killers alike.

Standalone but part of a series

This book works as a standalone. I didn’t find any spoilers, other than a very brief mention of one particular character; but it’s not really a spoiler. So yes, you can read Road to Mercy without having read Into Darkness. But why on earth would you want to miss out on the pulse-pounding thrills of the first book?! Seriously. Go read them both . You won’t regret it.

So I’ll repeat my earlier question: Did this book live up to my expectations? A resounding yes!

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Purchase Links

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GY7X8QQ

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08GY7X8QQ

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