Raised by a family of survivalists, FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick can take on any challenge – even the hostile reception to her homecoming. But she’s not the only one causing chaos in the rural community of Eagle’s Nest, Oregon. At first believed to be teenage pranks, a series of fires takes a deadly turn with the murder of two sheriff’s deputies. Now, along with Police Chief Truman Daly, Mercy is on the hunt for an arsonist turned killer.
Still shunned by her family and members of the community, Mercy must keep her ear close to the ground to pick up any leads. And it’s not long before she hears rumors of the area’s growing antigovernment militia movement. If the arsonist is among their ranks, Mercy is determined to smoke the culprit out. But when her investigation uncovers a shocking secret, will this hunt for a madman turn into her own trial by fire?

‘A Merciful Truth’ (2017) is the second Mercy Kilpatrick book. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first book ‘A Merciful Death’ but it was still entertaining enough for me to want to continue with the series. 

Second books in a series can be a challenge. They lack the novelty of the first book and there hasn’t yet been enough development of the core cast of characters to keep the reader engaged. 

The first book centred around Preppers being murdered. The second book centred on fires and deaths associated with an emerging militia. Just as the first book took pains to show the appeal of the Prepper view of the world, the second book offered a more-empathetic-than-usual look into why and how militias are formed. The discontent and frustrations caused by an often remote Federal government imposing changes that affect the lives and the livelihoods of local people were explained and the ‘We Are Freemen’ rhetoric was given an airing. Even so, the wannabe militia men came off more as cult members than visionary patriots.

‘A Merciful Truth‘ was more a thriller than a mystery. It was an OK thriller with some very tense moments towards the end but, for me, it had one twist too many in the plot. I also felt that Mercy got off lightly in a situation that could have been very ugly (I was glad of this. If the book had followed a darker path, I’d have been done with the series). 

I sighed when the romance (which seemed over-blown and unrealistic to me.) inevitably took centre stage. Why do the romance bits always focus so much on eye colour? Still, I was grateful that Kendra Elliot kept the romance to a simmer.

One of the things that draws me to this series is Mercy’s complicated relationship with her Prepper family. I was pleased that Mercy’s relationships with her sisters, her niece and her mother all moved forward. Her father and her brother will be tougher nuts to crack.

I’ve downloaded the third book ‘A Merciful Secret’, which has Mercy investigating ritual killings, to listen to in May.