No Mercy by Joanna Schaffhausen

Police officer Ellery Hathaway and FBI profiler Reed Markham take on two difficult new cases in this stunning follow-up to The Vanishing Season.

No Mercy is award-winning author Joanna Schaffhausen’s heart-pounding second novel.

Police officer Ellery Hathaway is on involuntary leave from her job because she shot a murderer in cold blood and refuses to apologize for it. Forced into group therapy for victims of violent crime, Ellery immediately finds higher priorities than “getting in touch with her feelings.”

For one, she suspects a fellow group member may have helped to convict the wrong man for a deadly arson incident years ago. For another, Ellery finds herself in the desperate clutches of a woman who survived a brutal rape. He is still out there, this man with the Spider-Man-like ability to climb through bedroom windows, and his victim beseeches Ellery for help in capturing her attacker.

Ellery seeks advice from her friend, FBI profiler Reed Markham, who liberated her from a killer’s closet when she was a child. Reed remains drawn to this unpredictable woman, the one he rescued but couldn’t quite save. The trouble is, Reed is up for a potential big promotion, and his boss has just one condition for the new job—stay away from Ellery. Ellery ignores all the warnings. Instead, she starts digging around in everyone’s past but her own—a move that, at best, could put her out of work permanently, and at worst, could put her in the city morgue.

Book 2
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This second Ellery Hathaway book feels quite different from the first. The small town in book one has been replaced by a big city in book two and her mandatory group therapy feels a bit more urban 21st century than small town America.

Ellery is more settled in herself in this book. Her past is no longer secret, and her focus is on the people around her. Ellery’s relationship with Reed is just as interesting as it was in the first book and I love the shifting dynamics between the two.

It’s the plot that lets this book down. Ellery needs something to focus on, but the investigation storyline doesn’t quite work for me. The arson storyline is interesting, but it isn’t enough to support an entire novel. Ellery is drifting in this book – but the book itself drifts a little too much. I like Ellery’s reckless decisions and her arguably poor judgements, but the story doesn’t have enough structure to make up for Ellery’s identity struggles.

Ellery is a brilliantly complex crime hero – but she deserves an investigation that’s as interesting as she is.


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆
M/F Police Thriller

This is the second book in this series and while I think it would be beneficial to read book one, I don't think it's absolutely necessary.

Ellery is suspended and forced to undergo some psychological evaluation. After her traumatic past, the police department isn't necessarily ready to return her badge and gun. But when she finally attends a support group, Ellery is seen as somewhat of a celebrity by some. When she realizes that she can help some of the people who are still going through their own process, Ellery knows that she'll need help.

Reed still remembers Ellery well. He never thought she'd call for his help. But once he starts on this path, he then realizes that he cares more than he thought. Reed knows that he's walking on some thin ice when the case that he and Ellery are working on brings them dangerously close to his boss' past.

Reed and Ellery will follow a twisting, winding path that will out truths, wind them close to killers, and bring their relationship dangerously close to something neither is truly ready for.

It's an engaging story, but with so much going on, it felt somewhat jumbled. And while I liked the complex relationship between Ellery and Reed, it had a young adult feeling to it. That being said, I did enjoy the story and look forward to the next book.

Also Available in the Ellery Hathaway Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our The Vanishing Season post.

Joanna Schaffhausen wields a mean scalpel, skills developed in her years studying neuroscience. She has a doctorate in psychology, which reflects her long-standing interest in the brain—how it develops and the many ways it can go wrong. Previously, she worked for ABC News, writing for programs such as World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and 20/20. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and daughter. The Vanishing Season is her first novel.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of No Mercy (Ellery Hathaway #2) by Joanna Schaffhausen to read and review.