Mother of Mercy by Lee Charles will make your skin crawl, make you leave on a few lights in the darkness, and leave you wanting him to make this a series. For thriller and mystery fans, this book will leave you guessing until the very end.
Jaded police officers Carl Kercheval and Sam O ‘Malley play off each other like a favorite pair of worn gloves. Although this is a thriller with a serial killer, the interplay between characters gives readers the occasional smile. Even secondary characters, have depth and dimension, and you’ll find yourself rolling your eyes, and banging her head on the table right along with them.
Catholic priest Father Newman, is asked to join the police task force as he is not only a Catholic priest, but also a psychologist. His heart however, has some dark places, and his emotions are bubbling just below the surface, lending much more tension to the book.
The serial killer at the center of Mother of Mercy didn’t just happen, he was made. Readers are taken along his path until he snaps by “diary” style entries from the killer, giving readers a gruesome insight into his shadowed mind. There are lots of dropped ‘clues’, but this serial killer is smart, and he hides in plain sight. He kills, tortures and abuses out of a skewed sense of love and redemption. He completely believes what he is doing is the work of the Blessed Virgin. Although he absolutely hates what he does, but knows he is victims only way to forgiveness and redemption. He is saving their souls from damnation.
There is abundant religious symbolism mixed into the book. You won’t find the historic or in-depth analysis here like you would in a Dan Brown book, what you will find is reality. These cops have find out fast what the symbols mean or it will cost more young women their lives.
Set in Wilmington, Delaware, the story is rich with place, and detailed in character. You can call it a thriller, or a mystery, I just call it a darn good read.
