Beg for Mercy

Waste of money

If you need something to make you sleep read this otherwise leave it alone.

Mercy Hollings has the ability to hypnotically induce people to do what she says, but she doesn't understand her power or how to control it. The mystery of her background is intriguing and so is her reaction when the bad guy doesn't respond to "the press", as she calls it. How will Mercy vanquish him to save her best friend? This fast-paced story is original and engrossing, and I find myself wanting to follow Mercy through more adventures. I look forward to the sequel.

The blurb on the back of this book made me wonder if Mercy Hollings is something like the Incredibly Hulk in that we're told that people around her are at risk when she gets angry. But no, Mercy doesn't turn into an unjolly green giant, instead she has an ability to 'press' or bend people to her will. For example, if someone annoyed her and she said "go and take a running jump" they would. Clearly this is significant in terms of her interaction with people; something said in the heat of the moment, when drunk, without thought, could cause significant harm - and has in the past done so. So Mercy is a loner, newly working as a hypnotherapist (with very good results) and with a strong personal code of ethics as to how she uses her ability. Not much, in other words, unless with the person's full consent, which is only really possible as part of her hypnotherapy practice. However Mercy's life is undergoing something of a change - she's finding herself with some friends who seem to care about her and when she cares about them too, and rescues her ditzy friend Sukey from an unsavoury man, she opens up a whole can of worms. Sometimes breaking some of her code of ethics means having to break even more to clean up the mess. The cast of characters in this book is excellent, from Mercy herself (yes, another Mercedes, like in Patricia Briggs' paranormal series) whose daily decisions about whether to use her talent, together with doubt over her own humanity and her origins, give her a vulnerable and yet powerful edge; to Sam, the love interest, a surprisingly phlegmatic man who sees enough in Mercy to overlook her secrets; and to Sukey, the friend with a frightening taste in men who grows up quickly in this book. There are many other side characters who are all interesting and add a flavour to the setting, Balboa in California, both from the Yacht Club set to the drug-running underground. My only slight reservation about this book is that the baddie was finished off rather easily after quite a lot of plotting and difficulty but this was a minor quibble and the overall quality of writing and plotting was excellent. We are privy to Mercy's thoughts about the ethics of her talent and that's what makes the book so strong - it's not just a semi-magical tale set in today's world but genuinely tries to consider how life might be for someone with an unusual skill that sets her apart from others, rather like Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series, except Mercy's friends are all human. The threads of the main plotline were tied up at the end but the relationships between some of the main characters weren't, thus this is the beginning of a new series (with "Angel of Mercy" to be released next). However it was a very enjoyable and satisfying read on its own and I will certainly be buying the next book in the series when it is published.

Advoiding the first-book-in-a-series pitfall of excessive world building, author Toni Andrews does an excellent job of creating a unique and compelling heroine, telling an interesting story and making great use of her Balboa Island setting to give the story a sense of reality. And yet from hints that were dropped, I suspect that there is a lot more about this world that has yet to be uncovered. Heroine Mercy wonders if she's human. She discovered her unusual psychic talent the hard way as a child, when she told a classmate to `shut up', he didn't speak again for years. Mercy calls her talent the `push' and because the mental suggestion is magnified by strong emotion, she's avoided relationships and cultivated rigid control and a strict moral code to keep from taking advantage of others or harming them with her powers. But if her control were perfect there would be no story and one little lapse snowballs into a very convoluted set of circumstances that change Mercy's life forever. There are several things that I really like about Mercy's character. She is not the stereotypical impulsive, sassy kick butt heroine with a tormented past that is popping up so frequency in these urban fantasies. Instead, she is capable and, in spite of her one little slip, she stops and thinks things through and doesn't go off half cocked. She also makes use of her resources, in this story she gather together quite a support system or as she calls them `minions'. She has been a loner in the past, but not out of angst-ridden self-torture but just a side product of trying to avoid misusing her powers. There are several other well developed characters in addition to Mercy. I loved Mercy's best friend Sukey. She was a great side character that starts out being so needy and so desperate for a relationship that she keeps picking a string of losers that she basically stalks until they reject her. But once Sukey expresses her desire to change this distructive behavior, and Mercy uses her `push' in a very constructive way that kicks in Sukey `s self-esteem - Sukey turns out to be a really cool dynamo, almost a force of nature. The bad guy Dominic, a charming snake, and Mercy's other minions, Tito and Hidli are also interesting. Mercy also has a love interest Sam, who is not as well developed but there is still a sense of who he is and I hope that she will continue to develop him as the series progresses, since there is a great chemistry between Sam and Mercy. I really enjoyed Beg for Mercy and am hoping that when Angel of Mercy comes out next year the series will fulfill the promise it has shown so far.

Beg For Mercy is a must read on anybody's list. Mercy is both appealing and a little scary. Sam is the strong, quiet type a woman can always count on in a pinch. And everybody should have a best friend like Sukey. She is Mercy's alter ego--the warm, trusting, and open woman Mercy wishes she could be. The rest of the Pussy Posse is a hoot. Too bad they come from the author's imagination. I wish I could meet them in person. I love Mercy and her inner conflicts, especially when the evil and manipulative Dominic shows up. I like the paranormal genre, but am sick to death of vampires, werewolves, and the run of the mill shape-shifters. Beg For Mercy is fresh and new. Can't wait to see more of Mercy in future books.

I love paranormals but I've gotten a little weary of the mysterious stranger who turns out to be a vampire/werewolf, although I love the chills that go along with the urban fantasy genre. So Beg for Mercy turned out to be a wonderful surprise. Not truly a romance (although Sam can put his deck shoes under my bunk any time!), this is the first book in a series that introduces one of the most complex and compelling anti-heroines I've ever met. Mercy's encounters with the villainous Dominic raised the hairs on my arms! The book is also full of dark humor - Andrews' voice is often sardonic - and introduces a cast of characters that I'm looking forward to meeting again. I especially loved Sukey, Mercy's irrepressible side-kick. More installments, please!