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Mercy #1
Without Mercy
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson comes a pulse-pounding thriller that goes behind the doors of an exclusive academy with a terrifying secret . . .
Ever since her father was killed in a home invasion, Julia "Jules" Farentino has been plagued by nightmares. Her half-sister, Shaylee, now seventeen, has had her own difficulties, earning a lengthy rap sheet. Still, when Jules learns of her mother's decision to send Shay to Blue Rock Academy, an elite boarding school in Oregon, Jules is skeptical. A student went missing a few months earlier and there are rumors she may have died during one of the school's questionable treatments.
On impulse, Jules applies for a teaching job at the Academy. Shortly before she arrives, a student is found hanged, another near death. Hysterical, Shay believes it's murder. Staff members are wary and unwelcoming--all except Cooper Trent, who has his own suspicions, his own secrets, and was once Jules's lover.
Then another girl is found dead. Something sinister is at hand--but Jules may be too late to stop it. Behind the Academy's idyllic veneer lurks an evil force on a brutal and terrifying mission. And Jules has become the next target of a bloodthirsty killer without limits, without remorse, without mercy . . .
"A JUICY CREEP-A-THON...BUILDS TO A SURPRISING CLIFFHANGER ENDING."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A NAIL-BITING ROLLER-COASTER RIDE." -Library Journal
"THE BOOK'S ENDING WILL THROW MOST READERS FOR A LOOP."
--The Free Lance-Star
Ever since her father was killed in a home invasion, Julia "Jules" Farentino has been plagued by nightmares. Her half-sister, Shaylee, now seventeen, has had her own difficulties, earning a lengthy rap sheet. Still, when Jules learns of her mother's decision to send Shay to Blue Rock Academy, an elite boarding school in Oregon, Jules is skeptical. A student went missing a few months earlier and there are rumors she may have died during one of the school's questionable treatments.
On impulse, Jules applies for a teaching job at the Academy. Shortly before she arrives, a student is found hanged, another near death. Hysterical, Shay believes it's murder. Staff members are wary and unwelcoming--all except Cooper Trent, who has his own suspicions, his own secrets, and was once Jules's lover.
Then another girl is found dead. Something sinister is at hand--but Jules may be too late to stop it. Behind the Academy's idyllic veneer lurks an evil force on a brutal and terrifying mission. And Jules has become the next target of a bloodthirsty killer without limits, without remorse, without mercy . . .
"A JUICY CREEP-A-THON...BUILDS TO A SURPRISING CLIFFHANGER ENDING."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A NAIL-BITING ROLLER-COASTER RIDE." -Library Journal
"THE BOOK'S ENDING WILL THROW MOST READERS FOR A LOOP."
--The Free Lance-Star
464 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2010
960 people are currently reading
12263 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Jackson
271 books9,418 followersLisa Jackson is the number-one New York Times bestselling author of over ninety-five novels, including the Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya Series, the Pescoli and Alvarez Series, the Savannah series, and numerous stand alone novels. She also is the co-author of One Last Breath, Last Girl Standing, and the Colony Series, written with her sister and bestselling author Nancy Bush, as well as the collaborative novels Sinister and Ominous, written with Nancy Bush and Rosalind Noonan. There are over thirty million copies of her novels in print and her writing has been translated into twenty languages.
Before she became a nationally bestselling author, she was a mother struggling to keep food on the table by writing novels, hoping against hope that someone would pay her for them. Today, neck deep in murder, her books appear on The New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly national bestseller lists.
With dozens of bestsellers to her name, Lisa Jackson is a master of taking readers to the edge of sanity—and back—in novels that buzz with dangerous secrets and deadly passions. She continues to be fascinated by the minds and motives of both her killers and their pursuers—the personal, the professional, and the downright twisted. As she builds the puzzle of relationships, actions, clues, lies, and personal histories that haunt her protagonists, she must also confront the fear and terror faced by her victims and the harsh and enduring truth that, in the real world, terror and madness touch far too many lives and families.
Visit http://www.LisaJackson.com where you can find a Media Kit with photos and more information.
Before she became a nationally bestselling author, she was a mother struggling to keep food on the table by writing novels, hoping against hope that someone would pay her for them. Today, neck deep in murder, her books appear on The New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly national bestseller lists.
With dozens of bestsellers to her name, Lisa Jackson is a master of taking readers to the edge of sanity—and back—in novels that buzz with dangerous secrets and deadly passions. She continues to be fascinated by the minds and motives of both her killers and their pursuers—the personal, the professional, and the downright twisted. As she builds the puzzle of relationships, actions, clues, lies, and personal histories that haunt her protagonists, she must also confront the fear and terror faced by her victims and the harsh and enduring truth that, in the real world, terror and madness touch far too many lives and families.
Visit http://www.LisaJackson.com where you can find a Media Kit with photos and more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 641 reviews
May 3, 2015
I didn't like this...at all!
Shay's a troubled teen sent to a remote school, the Blue Rock Academy, under judges orders.
To me she's a spoilt brat and I just couldn't like her character.
Jules, Shay's sister, discovers that one student from the school has recently gone missing and one teacher's been "let go". On this premise she decides that there must be something wrong at school and that she must therefore rescue her poor baby sister. The repetition of the poor baby sister and the comments about the school, to her mother and any friends that would listen, made me want to scream...or choke her. I found her obnoxious and frustrating.
After only a few days at the Academy Shay manages to obtain the code to make external phone calls, sneaks into an office in the admin building and makes a furtive call to her sister, despite cameras, staff members and other boarders.
The rescue mission commences with Jules, an out of work teacher, applying for a teaching position at the school. She's hired, and when she commences her new job she encounters an old boyfriend. When she knew him he was a rodeo rider. Now he's a private investigator, working undercover as a teacher to solve the aforementioned disappearance.
At this point I gave up.
Up until the last few years I would always finish a book, no matter how bad it was. These days I think differently. Life's too short to waste my time reading something that I don't like, with characters that annoy the *#@% out of me.
Shay's a troubled teen sent to a remote school, the Blue Rock Academy, under judges orders.
To me she's a spoilt brat and I just couldn't like her character.
Jules, Shay's sister, discovers that one student from the school has recently gone missing and one teacher's been "let go". On this premise she decides that there must be something wrong at school and that she must therefore rescue her poor baby sister. The repetition of the poor baby sister and the comments about the school, to her mother and any friends that would listen, made me want to scream...or choke her. I found her obnoxious and frustrating.
After only a few days at the Academy Shay manages to obtain the code to make external phone calls, sneaks into an office in the admin building and makes a furtive call to her sister, despite cameras, staff members and other boarders.
The rescue mission commences with Jules, an out of work teacher, applying for a teaching position at the school. She's hired, and when she commences her new job she encounters an old boyfriend. When she knew him he was a rodeo rider. Now he's a private investigator, working undercover as a teacher to solve the aforementioned disappearance.
At this point I gave up.
Up until the last few years I would always finish a book, no matter how bad it was. These days I think differently. Life's too short to waste my time reading something that I don't like, with characters that annoy the *#@% out of me.
June 8, 2010
Without Mercy is little more than a mish mash of contrivance and cliché. I’m not sure premises get much worse than two ex-lovers both posing as teachers at a ‘boot-camp’ style private school to investigate the disappearance of one of the students. Nevermind how a rodeo-rider come private-investigator successfully fakes being an experienced teacher – or how the two new-comers were completely looked past as suspects despite arriving around the same time as the disappearance (and later murders). The plot is so perfectly unoriginal you won’t care about its weaknesses.
Not content with the cliché of two ex-lovers happening to be in the same place at the same time (SPOILER ALERT they have sex) Jackson throws in these other gleaming plot pieces: ‘The Leader’ our peek-a-boo antagonist is a religious extremist who can’t resist woman, but hates them for making him so sinful (ever heard of such a villain before? I couldn’t even fit all the titles of the other novels ripped off in these parenthesises), it snows, so all the characters are trapped at the school’s location without hope of rescue, the main characters find files which incriminate The Leader, despite his diabolical plans making absolutely no sense whatsoever (he’s a bad guy right? They don’t have to make sense)
And of course the twist. In the end we find out that the real killer was someone totally unexpected, un-foreshadowed and nonsensical. But all in the name of surprise endings right?
Wrong...
Not content with the cliché of two ex-lovers happening to be in the same place at the same time (SPOILER ALERT they have sex) Jackson throws in these other gleaming plot pieces: ‘The Leader’ our peek-a-boo antagonist is a religious extremist who can’t resist woman, but hates them for making him so sinful (ever heard of such a villain before? I couldn’t even fit all the titles of the other novels ripped off in these parenthesises), it snows, so all the characters are trapped at the school’s location without hope of rescue, the main characters find files which incriminate The Leader, despite his diabolical plans making absolutely no sense whatsoever (he’s a bad guy right? They don’t have to make sense)
And of course the twist. In the end we find out that the real killer was someone totally unexpected, un-foreshadowed and nonsensical. But all in the name of surprise endings right?
Wrong...
July 24, 2010
Seventeen year old Shaylee Stillman is a hellion, and a judge has laid down the law. She must enroll in a school for troubled teens, or it's jailtime. There's something about the Blue Rock Academy that doesn't sit right with her older half sister Jules, who decides to take a teaching job there as a sort of amateur investigator, just to be sure little sis will be okay. Unbenownst to Jules, her former boyfriend Cooper, the love of her life whom she just can't forget, also works there, hired by the parents of a former student who disappeared a few months back. In no time, a murderer begins to run amok and the students start dropping like flies.
Without Mercy is the sort of book in which all the women are *itches and all the men *astards, at least according to the bad guys. After her initial shock at encountering Cooper, whom she calls "Cowboy", the inevitable happens; guess who uncovers the truth about the murders, after nearly falling victim to the sociopaths themselves. Apparently the school is run and staffed by incompetents, and the local police are no use either.
In Without Mercy, the passages meant to be suspenseful fall flat, the outcome is predictable from early on, and the book is much too long. Recommended to readers who enjoy adventurous romance novels with some steamy interludes and language.
Without Mercy is the sort of book in which all the women are *itches and all the men *astards, at least according to the bad guys. After her initial shock at encountering Cooper, whom she calls "Cowboy", the inevitable happens; guess who uncovers the truth about the murders, after nearly falling victim to the sociopaths themselves. Apparently the school is run and staffed by incompetents, and the local police are no use either.
In Without Mercy, the passages meant to be suspenseful fall flat, the outcome is predictable from early on, and the book is much too long. Recommended to readers who enjoy adventurous romance novels with some steamy interludes and language.
November 5, 2011
cheesy line: "Nona Vickers realized that she'd lost more than her virginity this night; she'd also given up her life." (p. 145). Eye roll, please.
I am trying to just enjoy this as a light, relaxing read, but these lines are killing me: "The howl of the wind, as forbidding as Satan's laugh, shrieked through the canyon before licking the icy edges of Lake Superstition..." What the hell?
Jackson describes in detail how one of the characters heats up coffee from the day before in the microwave and drinks it. Scariest part of the book so far! And what is up with people sticking their heads under the bathroom faucet for a drink of water? Bizarre.
Okay, I finished the book. This marks the end of my relationship with Lisa Jackson. I don't remember her other books being so bad. I don't know if this one was a fluke, but I'm not willing to find out. I resent all the time I put into this one.
I am trying to just enjoy this as a light, relaxing read, but these lines are killing me: "The howl of the wind, as forbidding as Satan's laugh, shrieked through the canyon before licking the icy edges of Lake Superstition..." What the hell?
Jackson describes in detail how one of the characters heats up coffee from the day before in the microwave and drinks it. Scariest part of the book so far! And what is up with people sticking their heads under the bathroom faucet for a drink of water? Bizarre.
Okay, I finished the book. This marks the end of my relationship with Lisa Jackson. I don't remember her other books being so bad. I don't know if this one was a fluke, but I'm not willing to find out. I resent all the time I put into this one.
July 26, 2022
Shaylee was sent to an elite boarding school i Oregon. Her sister Jules being a school teacher applies
for a teaching job at the same school. She tried to stay in the shadows , but bad things began to happen at the school.
Jules fears that she would become a victim.
for a teaching job at the same school. She tried to stay in the shadows , but bad things began to happen at the school.
Jules fears that she would become a victim.
June 22, 2013
Minor spoiler warning
How this book has as high of a rating as it does is beyond me. I was so disappointed at the end. It felt like I'd wasted time on a wonderful story that was going to connect everything together, but instead it was clear that Jackson wasn't even sure where she was going with the ending. She sloppily tried to throw everything together in the last thirty or so pages, and it just didn't work.
Jules was overly skeptical of a school with no real good reason. It was described that she, along with her younger sister Shay, were both overly paranoid drama queens. Jules really didn't have a reason to be so concerned for Shay, and so her paranoia was hard to connect to. I just didn't feel it.
I realized halfway through that most of the book was just Jules being paranoid. “Who would do this? How is this happening? Is it this guy? Or this guy? Is this going on? Or this? Who would do such a thing? Something bad is going on, but what? What? What? What?” I mean, that was literally about a third of the book, the same paranoid suspicion over and over again.
I will say that the book was engaging. I read the whole thing in a week, which is a record for me, I'm typically a slow reader. Jackson writes the book from several different view points, and I really liked how each person had their own side of the story.
Trent was the most likable character. He had the most sense and, in my opinion, was the most realistic.
There was a character introduced early in the book referred to only as "The Leader". He had some sort of cult running with a devious plan, but no details are given through most of the book. Reading The Leader's point of view made me uncomfortable, but it was supposed to make the reader uncomfortable. The guy was sick, no question.
Students start turning up dead, and a snow storm traps everyone on the campus from leaving, despite a murderer on the loose. There was a lot of suspense and I loved trying to take the little clues given to try and decipher who was the villain.
But that’s just the thing. Jackson gave us so many clues to suspect a few different people, and then the culprit ended up being totally random! I get that she was trying to throw us off, but she over did it. The reaction should have been “Ohhh so THAT’S the bad guy! I can’t believe I didn’t see it, it was so obvious!” But instead it was more “Oh that guy? Who’s that guy again?”
And when everything starts falling into place, once we find out who this horrible, powerful leader is (even though he was random), the first thing he does was get the crap beat out of him. The powerful cult that has been built up throughout the entire book seriously gets taken out and overthrown in about three pages. I was so disappointed!
And then there is one final plot twist that was so unbelievable it actually made me groan “oh brother.” Jackson must have had deadlines fast approaching and that’s why the ending was so half-baked.
The real kicker for me wasn’t all of this however. It was right after the cult gets taken out. Without giving too much away, Jules was held hostage by one of the cult members, who ends up dead. As in his brains were shot out of his head. This guy was a teenager. An evil teenager, but a teen still the same. He was a kid! I don’t care how evil this guy was, what follows was nothing short of sociopathic.
Once the scene was secure, Trent and Jules, with a dead teenager laying literally a few feet from them, start making flirtatious banter. No. Just, no. Who in their right mind would buy that? If someone was held hostage and then witnesses a teenager get shot in the head, they’re not going to turn around and start flirting with their long lost lover literally a second later! They would be trying to remember how to breathe!
This book had so much potential, but unfortunately failed to deliver. Being the first book I have read by Jackson, not to mention all of the praise I hear her receive, I’m willing to give her other works a try. However, if this is the best she has to offer, I am far from impressed.
How this book has as high of a rating as it does is beyond me. I was so disappointed at the end. It felt like I'd wasted time on a wonderful story that was going to connect everything together, but instead it was clear that Jackson wasn't even sure where she was going with the ending. She sloppily tried to throw everything together in the last thirty or so pages, and it just didn't work.
Jules was overly skeptical of a school with no real good reason. It was described that she, along with her younger sister Shay, were both overly paranoid drama queens. Jules really didn't have a reason to be so concerned for Shay, and so her paranoia was hard to connect to. I just didn't feel it.
I realized halfway through that most of the book was just Jules being paranoid. “Who would do this? How is this happening? Is it this guy? Or this guy? Is this going on? Or this? Who would do such a thing? Something bad is going on, but what? What? What? What?” I mean, that was literally about a third of the book, the same paranoid suspicion over and over again.
I will say that the book was engaging. I read the whole thing in a week, which is a record for me, I'm typically a slow reader. Jackson writes the book from several different view points, and I really liked how each person had their own side of the story.
Trent was the most likable character. He had the most sense and, in my opinion, was the most realistic.
There was a character introduced early in the book referred to only as "The Leader". He had some sort of cult running with a devious plan, but no details are given through most of the book. Reading The Leader's point of view made me uncomfortable, but it was supposed to make the reader uncomfortable. The guy was sick, no question.
Students start turning up dead, and a snow storm traps everyone on the campus from leaving, despite a murderer on the loose. There was a lot of suspense and I loved trying to take the little clues given to try and decipher who was the villain.
But that’s just the thing. Jackson gave us so many clues to suspect a few different people, and then the culprit ended up being totally random! I get that she was trying to throw us off, but she over did it. The reaction should have been “Ohhh so THAT’S the bad guy! I can’t believe I didn’t see it, it was so obvious!” But instead it was more “Oh that guy? Who’s that guy again?”
And when everything starts falling into place, once we find out who this horrible, powerful leader is (even though he was random), the first thing he does was get the crap beat out of him. The powerful cult that has been built up throughout the entire book seriously gets taken out and overthrown in about three pages. I was so disappointed!
And then there is one final plot twist that was so unbelievable it actually made me groan “oh brother.” Jackson must have had deadlines fast approaching and that’s why the ending was so half-baked.
The real kicker for me wasn’t all of this however. It was right after the cult gets taken out. Without giving too much away, Jules was held hostage by one of the cult members, who ends up dead. As in his brains were shot out of his head. This guy was a teenager. An evil teenager, but a teen still the same. He was a kid! I don’t care how evil this guy was, what follows was nothing short of sociopathic.
Once the scene was secure, Trent and Jules, with a dead teenager laying literally a few feet from them, start making flirtatious banter. No. Just, no. Who in their right mind would buy that? If someone was held hostage and then witnesses a teenager get shot in the head, they’re not going to turn around and start flirting with their long lost lover literally a second later! They would be trying to remember how to breathe!
This book had so much potential, but unfortunately failed to deliver. Being the first book I have read by Jackson, not to mention all of the praise I hear her receive, I’m willing to give her other works a try. However, if this is the best she has to offer, I am far from impressed.
January 7, 2022
Something is wrong with your thriller when the main plot point divulged in the book's blurb - Julia Farentino working undercover as a teacher at Blue Rock Academy to rescue her sister - doesn't actually happen until nearly halfway through the book. Up until then, Jules is discussing with friends and relatives how she doesn't trust the school, or taking forever to actually fucking drive there, or having migraines and repeated dreams about the murder of her father five years earlier.
Her younger half-sister, Shay Stillman, has been sent to Blue Rock Academy because she has gone off the rails, committed serious crimes, and is generally a petulant, spoilt brat. This is due to a court order, and can't be reversed. Which doesn't actually make sense to me, unless the judge actually specified which facilty Shay got sent to, which wasn't the case. So I didn't understand why Jules, or Shay's mother, of their lawyer, couldn't simply find another facility, so long as it still met the terms of Shay's release.
If that wasn't silly enough, things just get sillier. Once Jules finally makes it to the school, she discovers that one the staff members is Cooper Trent, a former rodeo cowboy turned police officer turned private investigator, who is also undercover at the school to find out what happened to a teaching assistant there who vanished without a trace. AND he's her ex-boyfriend, who she broke up with and hates for reasons that don't make a great deal of sense. (She broke up with him because her father died, and hates him because he went along with what she asked?) I think. It was very fuzzy.
Before Jules arrives at the school - because it takes half the fucking book for her to get there - a student is murdered, and her boyfriend left fightng for his life. Worse still, Shay was the last one to see the girl alive, as she was Shay's roommate. Jules is determined to get Shay out of the school, but finds she has to work with Cooper, as they both don't want to blow the other's cover. She starts to fancy him again, and fights these feelings while seeking the truth in the most inept way possible, as she has no idea what she's doing.
This was terrible on every level.
For a 424 page book with tiny, tiny font, barely anything really happened. As I said, Jules doesn't even get to the school until nearly halfway through the book. She has zero game plan in regards to finding out what she needs to know. She behaves like a nitwit throughout the entirety of the book. She carries on and on about her poor sister needing protection, though it's clear that Shay can look after herself. I don't understand the utility of following around a character who essentially has no idea what they're doing.
This goes for Cooper Trent too. He's almost a romantic suspense hero parody. Former rodeo cowboy, former law enforcement offical, and now a private investigator! It was just several levels of dumb and unlikely. And Trent didn't come across as being particularly cluey or good at his job either.
The plot doesn't hold together. It's unclear how The Leader drafted all his acolytes so easily, or exactly what their missions were. It made no sense for It's not clear at all what was motivating any of the acolytes. Even The Leader's motive was iffy and hard to follow. There's a final dumb twist that you would only get from an author who is throwing a bunch of words at the page until she reaches her required word count and can call it quits.
Overlong, with a plot that didn't hold up to scrutiny, dumb characters with dumb pasts making dumb decisions, repetition that slowed the pacing down to a crawl, this book really showed no mercy whatsoever to any reader wanting a fast, punchy romantic suspense read.
Her younger half-sister, Shay Stillman, has been sent to Blue Rock Academy because she has gone off the rails, committed serious crimes, and is generally a petulant, spoilt brat. This is due to a court order, and can't be reversed. Which doesn't actually make sense to me, unless the judge actually specified which facilty Shay got sent to, which wasn't the case. So I didn't understand why Jules, or Shay's mother, of their lawyer, couldn't simply find another facility, so long as it still met the terms of Shay's release.
If that wasn't silly enough, things just get sillier. Once Jules finally makes it to the school, she discovers that one the staff members is Cooper Trent, a former rodeo cowboy turned police officer turned private investigator, who is also undercover at the school to find out what happened to a teaching assistant there who vanished without a trace. AND he's her ex-boyfriend, who she broke up with and hates for reasons that don't make a great deal of sense. (She broke up with him because her father died, and hates him because he went along with what she asked?) I think. It was very fuzzy.
Before Jules arrives at the school - because it takes half the fucking book for her to get there - a student is murdered, and her boyfriend left fightng for his life. Worse still, Shay was the last one to see the girl alive, as she was Shay's roommate. Jules is determined to get Shay out of the school, but finds she has to work with Cooper, as they both don't want to blow the other's cover. She starts to fancy him again, and fights these feelings while seeking the truth in the most inept way possible, as she has no idea what she's doing.
This was terrible on every level.
For a 424 page book with tiny, tiny font, barely anything really happened. As I said, Jules doesn't even get to the school until nearly halfway through the book. She has zero game plan in regards to finding out what she needs to know. She behaves like a nitwit throughout the entirety of the book. She carries on and on about her poor sister needing protection, though it's clear that Shay can look after herself. I don't understand the utility of following around a character who essentially has no idea what they're doing.
This goes for Cooper Trent too. He's almost a romantic suspense hero parody. Former rodeo cowboy, former law enforcement offical, and now a private investigator! It was just several levels of dumb and unlikely. And Trent didn't come across as being particularly cluey or good at his job either.
The plot doesn't hold together. It's unclear how The Leader drafted all his acolytes so easily, or exactly what their missions were. It made no sense for It's not clear at all what was motivating any of the acolytes. Even The Leader's motive was iffy and hard to follow. There's a final dumb twist that you would only get from an author who is throwing a bunch of words at the page until she reaches her required word count and can call it quits.
Overlong, with a plot that didn't hold up to scrutiny, dumb characters with dumb pasts making dumb decisions, repetition that slowed the pacing down to a crawl, this book really showed no mercy whatsoever to any reader wanting a fast, punchy romantic suspense read.
April 9, 2011
This is the first book I've read by Lisa Jackson; after reading Without Mercy, I look forward to her other books. This story caught my attention because it takes place in the mountains of Southern Oregon and the author refers to places I'm familiar with (Rogue River, Medford, Roseburg, Portland, Siskiyou Mountains) although the location and details of the story are fictional. Shay, a rebellious teenager, is sent to Blue Rock Academy by the court and her mother, as a last resort to keeping her out of jail. The school is run by a reverend who is extremely religious and runs a strict environment. The school is located far into the mountains where cell phone connections are sparse; and where the coming blizzard cuts everyone off from the outside world. Shay's sister, Jules, does some research on the academy because she just thinks it sounds too good to be true. And she she's right. A student has gone missing and the investigation lead no where. Shay is enrolled and immediately calls Jules, frantic, "get me out of here, it's horrible". Jules, a waitress until a teaching job opens, applies for a teaching job at Blue Rock; a position that became vacant when another teacher was accused of an inappropriate affair with a student. Another reason Jules is concerned about this school. Jules is hired, encounters an old flame who is working undercover to solve mysteries at the school. Within the first week of Jules' employment, three more students are found dead. Who's behind the murders? What's the motive? Will Jules get Shay out of the school? Will the sisters' relationship survive the terrible events? Several interesting twists and turns; the last one being the most surprising!
October 18, 2018
It's been a long time since I've read a thriller. This one is a little disappointing. The bad guy was a good twist. I had someone else pegged early on and never suspected the real one. However, there is another twist that I just really didn't buy. Some of the situations were a bit cheesy and far-fetched, and some of the dialogue is not realistic. Speaking of not realistic, The romance element is predictable, again, some parts of it are not too believable but it seems to be the standard romantic element of a suspense novel.
Anyway, I didn't hate it; enjoy it for what it is and don't expect too much.
Anyway, I didn't hate it; enjoy it for what it is and don't expect too much.
July 29, 2021
4,5 Sterne
June 25, 2013
Blue Rock Academy prides itself on its beliefs, reaching out with God to help the wayward teens turn their lives around, but someone is twisting those beliefs for his own sinister purpose.
Julia "Jules" Farentino doesn't trust the school that her half-sister Shaylee has been sent to. Blue Rock Academy is well known for helping troubled teenagers, and Shaylee had the choice of the school or juvenile detention. She thought she chose the better of the two options, but Jules disagrees. A teenager recently disappeared from the school and her body still hasn't been found. Jules suspects foul play, but she can't prove it. In fact, ever since Jules found her father murdered, she has been plagued by nightmares. It makes her wonder if her suspicions are all in her head.
Jules has been looking for work lately and during her perusal of the school's website, she sees that they are looking for a teacher. She impulsively applies; the school soon contacts her, and she is hired. But on her way to the elusive school, she gets a phone call. A second student has been found dead and another one is in critical condition. Jules is desperate to get her sister released from the school, but she wants to get to the bottom of the disappearance of one student and the murder of another.
Cooper Trent used to be a good ole boy, ranching and riding in rodeos. He and Jules once had a hot and heavy relationship and were very much in love. But Jules couldn't handle the relationship and her father's death, so she broke it off. Now, Cooper is working as an undercover detective at the school to gather clues about the disappearance of a student. He is shocked when Jules takes a position there. Even though the two of them still have feelings for one another, they try to put it on the back burner until they solve the sinister evil behind the murder and disappearance of the students. However, the killer sets his sights on the lovely Jules, and they will have to work together to rid the world of an evil presence before he kills again.
Lisa Jackson is a master of suspense and WITHOUT MERCY is no exception. The pages literally fly by as you find yourself caught in her web of suspense. The plot is solid and tight, the characters real and vibrant. The thoughts in the killer’s head had me shivering with apprehension, as I turned the pages late into the night. If you love an edge-of-your-seat thriller, you will love WITHOUT MERCY!
Julia "Jules" Farentino doesn't trust the school that her half-sister Shaylee has been sent to. Blue Rock Academy is well known for helping troubled teenagers, and Shaylee had the choice of the school or juvenile detention. She thought she chose the better of the two options, but Jules disagrees. A teenager recently disappeared from the school and her body still hasn't been found. Jules suspects foul play, but she can't prove it. In fact, ever since Jules found her father murdered, she has been plagued by nightmares. It makes her wonder if her suspicions are all in her head.
Jules has been looking for work lately and during her perusal of the school's website, she sees that they are looking for a teacher. She impulsively applies; the school soon contacts her, and she is hired. But on her way to the elusive school, she gets a phone call. A second student has been found dead and another one is in critical condition. Jules is desperate to get her sister released from the school, but she wants to get to the bottom of the disappearance of one student and the murder of another.
Cooper Trent used to be a good ole boy, ranching and riding in rodeos. He and Jules once had a hot and heavy relationship and were very much in love. But Jules couldn't handle the relationship and her father's death, so she broke it off. Now, Cooper is working as an undercover detective at the school to gather clues about the disappearance of a student. He is shocked when Jules takes a position there. Even though the two of them still have feelings for one another, they try to put it on the back burner until they solve the sinister evil behind the murder and disappearance of the students. However, the killer sets his sights on the lovely Jules, and they will have to work together to rid the world of an evil presence before he kills again.
Lisa Jackson is a master of suspense and WITHOUT MERCY is no exception. The pages literally fly by as you find yourself caught in her web of suspense. The plot is solid and tight, the characters real and vibrant. The thoughts in the killer’s head had me shivering with apprehension, as I turned the pages late into the night. If you love an edge-of-your-seat thriller, you will love WITHOUT MERCY!
April 16, 2011
I know, I know, the whole premise sounds so dramatic, but that is just what comes from reading a thriller like “Without Mercy.” Is it all that it’s cracked up to be? Well, it certainly is as hair-raising as described. You’d think you stuck your finger into a socket at the end of reading this. If it isn’t the gruesome killings and fear of more killings, than there is also the characters themselves that can keep a reader tense.
As a correctional academy, the kids attending are obviously troubled in various ways (i.e. drug-abuse, violence, breaking the law). The attitudes of the students keep the atmosphere tense all on their own. At times, it’s more amusing than anything else, however there are some characters whose constant paranoia and snootiness does hit my nerve of annoyance.
How many times does Jules have to repeat herself? I don’t need to hear how she came to the school to help her sister more than once to get the point across. Honestly, she would get a lot further along with her endeavors if she stopped back-peddling. I’m surprised she doesn’t fall off that metaphorical bike of hers. She is not the only character who repeats herself, which makes the repetition that much worse.
A window into different character perspectives adds a good dimension to the story. We, the readers, get a glimpse of what goes on through select teachers, students, and even the perpetrator’s mind. Though I used to believe this kind of insight was meant to create empathy for the characters, it was impossible to sympathize for the villain. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t feel sorry for a killer playing a victim.
Still, I enjoyed the varied perspectives all the same, as well as the tension. I just didn’t need information – no matter how important it is – repeated to me more than once.
- EZRead Staffer, Amelia
As a correctional academy, the kids attending are obviously troubled in various ways (i.e. drug-abuse, violence, breaking the law). The attitudes of the students keep the atmosphere tense all on their own. At times, it’s more amusing than anything else, however there are some characters whose constant paranoia and snootiness does hit my nerve of annoyance.
How many times does Jules have to repeat herself? I don’t need to hear how she came to the school to help her sister more than once to get the point across. Honestly, she would get a lot further along with her endeavors if she stopped back-peddling. I’m surprised she doesn’t fall off that metaphorical bike of hers. She is not the only character who repeats herself, which makes the repetition that much worse.
A window into different character perspectives adds a good dimension to the story. We, the readers, get a glimpse of what goes on through select teachers, students, and even the perpetrator’s mind. Though I used to believe this kind of insight was meant to create empathy for the characters, it was impossible to sympathize for the villain. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t feel sorry for a killer playing a victim.
Still, I enjoyed the varied perspectives all the same, as well as the tension. I just didn’t need information – no matter how important it is – repeated to me more than once.
- EZRead Staffer, Amelia
January 21, 2017
This is my first book of Lisa Jackson, who is known as a mystery/suspense writer. As a fan of thriller, I like how this story ended -- twisted ending, that is. I never did expect it that way.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Synopsis
This story is about how Shaylee Stillman, Jules' rebellious younger half sister, is sent to a correctional school for troubled teenagers. Jules does not agree with her mother's decision of sending Shay away to Blue Rock Academy, as the school has recently had a missing student case and an alleged romantic relationship between a teacher and a student, in which the teacher was let go. Jules, who was very suspicious of the school, applied for a teaching job there in order to investigate the two cases and show that the school is not right for Shay. Surprisingly, she found her ex-lover, Trent Cooper, who was also teaching at the school. In a short period of time while Jules was at the school, more mysteries and murders started to surface. (I will not disclose the ending, though).
Likes
-- twisted ending!
Dislikes
- I don't think the sexual scenes and fantasies/imaginations are that necessary to the story.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Synopsis
This story is about how Shaylee Stillman, Jules' rebellious younger half sister, is sent to a correctional school for troubled teenagers. Jules does not agree with her mother's decision of sending Shay away to Blue Rock Academy, as the school has recently had a missing student case and an alleged romantic relationship between a teacher and a student, in which the teacher was let go. Jules, who was very suspicious of the school, applied for a teaching job there in order to investigate the two cases and show that the school is not right for Shay. Surprisingly, she found her ex-lover, Trent Cooper, who was also teaching at the school. In a short period of time while Jules was at the school, more mysteries and murders started to surface. (I will not disclose the ending, though).
Likes
-- twisted ending!
Dislikes
- I don't think the sexual scenes and fantasies/imaginations are that necessary to the story.
June 10, 2018
I had forgotten how much I like this author. While her images tend to run a little to the gory side, she always tells an interesting story with extra twists and turns. This book was no exception. Lots of suspects, a little romance, and a psycho killer on the loose at an isolated boarding school for troubled teens.
Great read!
Great read!
May 19, 2022
When her troubled sister Shaylee is sent to an elite boarding school in Oregon called the Blue Rock Academy, a place where one girl disappeared and a teacher was let go due an alleged physical relationship, Jules is ready to rescue her baby sister. She gets a teaching position at the school to keep an eye on Shay and discovers that something evil lurks in the halls of this prestigious institution. Only to find out "the one that got away" is also employed as a Coach. Once some of the evil characters are discovered, I was shocked to see that there were still many chapters left. This created somewhat a fake finish to this story and then I was really thrown for a loop. I was not expecting such a twist. I simply love when an author takes you for a ride and an unexpected ride is the best.
April 25, 2011
So when I reviewed this book halfway through, I gave it a 1. The only thing – and I mean the ONLY thing – that made me up the rating to a 2 is that Shaylee ended up in the psych ward. I disliked the girl from the beginning – she was selfish and superior and manipulative and I really wanted to see her come to her senses and get her life on track. The alternative – that she was the murderer – never occurred to me, but I like it just as well. However, the surprising twist was not enough to make up for Jules’ ridiculousness.
Now that I’ve read the whole thing, I now see that Jules’ naiveté and lack of common sense was necessary for Shaylee’s secrets to be kept (I blame the fact that I didn’t realize that Shaylee was the killer on having seen the majority of the story through Jules’ less-than-observant eyes). If Jules was more cynical and a little sharper, she might have seen that her sister wasn’t quite right and there would have been no book. I think I would have preferred that there was no book. Jules was annoying and childish in her desire to play Nancy Drew. Her theories were driven by extreme and illogical paranoia. Trent shouldn’t have encouraged her and she should have listened to him on the occasions when he told her to back down. It’s like she just couldn’t help being a fool, and I dislike that such a dupe could be the heroine. I do want to say that I understand people who have a hard time seeing family members in a bad light – it’s reality that we’re often most blind to the faults of those we love. My problem with the book is not that Jules had a hard time seeing her sister’s faults, it’s that Jackson would use her to solve this mystery. Why not make the story more about Trent? Then he, a qualified investigator, could have solved the mystery and Jackson could have had a logical and more plausible story. Instead she chose the person most unqualified to get involved and unofficially lead the investigation. I just think Jackson’s choice of chief narrator was a poor one
Now that I’ve read the whole thing, I now see that Jules’ naiveté and lack of common sense was necessary for Shaylee’s secrets to be kept (I blame the fact that I didn’t realize that Shaylee was the killer on having seen the majority of the story through Jules’ less-than-observant eyes). If Jules was more cynical and a little sharper, she might have seen that her sister wasn’t quite right and there would have been no book. I think I would have preferred that there was no book. Jules was annoying and childish in her desire to play Nancy Drew. Her theories were driven by extreme and illogical paranoia. Trent shouldn’t have encouraged her and she should have listened to him on the occasions when he told her to back down. It’s like she just couldn’t help being a fool, and I dislike that such a dupe could be the heroine. I do want to say that I understand people who have a hard time seeing family members in a bad light – it’s reality that we’re often most blind to the faults of those we love. My problem with the book is not that Jules had a hard time seeing her sister’s faults, it’s that Jackson would use her to solve this mystery. Why not make the story more about Trent? Then he, a qualified investigator, could have solved the mystery and Jackson could have had a logical and more plausible story. Instead she chose the person most unqualified to get involved and unofficially lead the investigation. I just think Jackson’s choice of chief narrator was a poor one
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 5, 2018
“Zonder mededogen” - Lisa Jackson (Mercy #1)
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
TOPBOEK!
In het begin wat moeilijk om erin te komen (de eerste 50 pagina’s ongeveer). Uiteindelijk: onmogelijk om te stoppen met lezen!
En dat einde!! 😱
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
TOPBOEK!
In het begin wat moeilijk om erin te komen (de eerste 50 pagina’s ongeveer). Uiteindelijk: onmogelijk om te stoppen met lezen!
En dat einde!! 😱
March 4, 2015
About two thirds of the way through it finally dawned on me what was bugging me about this book: Take out the oddly placed sex scene and the occasional PG-13 content, and this book was basically every episode of Scooby Doo. I half expected the who-dunnit to be revealed at the end with the villain exclaiming "It would've worked too if it wasn't for those meddling kids!"
An exaggeration? Yeah, but not much. "Something creepy at the isolated private school" and which of the weirdo people is the guy who was actually wearing fake bigfoot feet making false tracks in the snow to scare the visitors from the place? (Okay, I made up everything from 'bigfoot feet' on to make a point, but honestly that's what a lot of this book felt like to me.)
Without Mercy reviews well, and that fact is not lost on me, but I don't get it.
So much of it just didn't make sense. I got tired of hearing how "something wasn't right but she couldn't quite put her finger on it". There were too many characters underdeveloped. The dialog was odd. The descriptions seemed forced and over the top. The device of the characters talking to themselves (in italics) got annoying. (And how long are these cartoon episodes, anyway, and hey isn't that the voice of Casey Kasem?)
Seriously, though. On a positive note, the ending wasn't bad and at least made me not regret sticking it out to the end. So if you've started it, finish it, but if you haven't started it, I'd look elsewhere. Besides, you don't want to cross those meddling kids.
An exaggeration? Yeah, but not much. "Something creepy at the isolated private school" and which of the weirdo people is the guy who was actually wearing fake bigfoot feet making false tracks in the snow to scare the visitors from the place? (Okay, I made up everything from 'bigfoot feet' on to make a point, but honestly that's what a lot of this book felt like to me.)
Without Mercy reviews well, and that fact is not lost on me, but I don't get it.
So much of it just didn't make sense. I got tired of hearing how "something wasn't right but she couldn't quite put her finger on it". There were too many characters underdeveloped. The dialog was odd. The descriptions seemed forced and over the top. The device of the characters talking to themselves (in italics) got annoying. (And how long are these cartoon episodes, anyway, and hey isn't that the voice of Casey Kasem?)
Seriously, though. On a positive note, the ending wasn't bad and at least made me not regret sticking it out to the end. So if you've started it, finish it, but if you haven't started it, I'd look elsewhere. Besides, you don't want to cross those meddling kids.
July 8, 2013
I gave this book a 3.
It started out captivating me but I got a little bored part way through. There were characters that didn't develop as well as I had wanted and therefore I couldn't connect as much as I wanted to with the book.
I did like the ending , I was surprised by it for a few reasons. I really thought Lynch was going to be the evil man at the end and am still trying to piece together how it was the pilot.
I understand the Cora Sue and the Pilot connection but I was left disappointed in that as well.
Again I felt as thought I was left hanging by some of the characters in the book not being developed farther.
I thought that Shay as the fathers killer was a little expected. It was my first thought when I started reading the book , however, I lost her farther through as my main suspect. I did lean towards trent at one point. Now that would have been an evil twist.
I was hoping for more from this book. It was a nice read but it wouldn't be one of my Top Choices to recommend to a friend.
I like the cliffhanger at the end though. I would still read the next one, if there were to be on.
It started out captivating me but I got a little bored part way through. There were characters that didn't develop as well as I had wanted and therefore I couldn't connect as much as I wanted to with the book.
I did like the ending , I was surprised by it for a few reasons. I really thought Lynch was going to be the evil man at the end and am still trying to piece together how it was the pilot.
I understand the Cora Sue and the Pilot connection but I was left disappointed in that as well.
Again I felt as thought I was left hanging by some of the characters in the book not being developed farther.
I thought that Shay as the fathers killer was a little expected. It was my first thought when I started reading the book , however, I lost her farther through as my main suspect. I did lean towards trent at one point. Now that would have been an evil twist.
I was hoping for more from this book. It was a nice read but it wouldn't be one of my Top Choices to recommend to a friend.
I like the cliffhanger at the end though. I would still read the next one, if there were to be on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2010
I thought this was just okay. It’s hard to like Shaylee, who is really a little brat at the beginning, and therefore it’s a little difficult to understand why Jules would go to the lengths she does, and why she’s so quick to suspect the school of wrongdoing. One missing student doesn’t really seem to be enough. Not to mention how quickly she gets hired as a teacher at such a specialty school, with a seemingly minimal background check and no experience with troubled kids. Not to mention the cowboy cop/P.I. who is suddenly qualified as well. There’s a little bit of heat between Jules and Cooper, but nothing special. And you’re just supposed to take for granted that they’ve never gotten over each other.
I’ve seen other reviews that refer to the story as a "mish mash", and they’re pretty spot on. The problems at the school end up being so out there that they’re unbelievable. And frankly, the surprise ending wasn’t much of a surprise.
I’ve seen other reviews that refer to the story as a "mish mash", and they’re pretty spot on. The problems at the school end up being so out there that they’re unbelievable. And frankly, the surprise ending wasn’t much of a surprise.
February 27, 2013
This was my first book by Lisa Jackson. It started out pretty good and then it just sort of fizzled a bit in the middle. I felt it was waaaaaay too long, over 500 pages of redundancy. So it was okay. The whole ending was a bit disappointing and the mystery just wasn't that great. The person they revealed as the "Leader" at the end just left me with a "meh" feeling and the reasoning behind all the mayhem was just so so. The ending left me feeling like...What the what! That's it?! I didn't feel like it was wrapped up very well. The romance between Julia and the cowboy dude (I already forgot his name) was blah and unbelievable. The whole thing with Julia pushing him away and then getting mad that he stayed away for 5 years is just ridiculous. I don't like these silly little romance games. So, all in all it was just okay for me. I might give another book of Jackson's a go after I've forgotten about this book.
July 25, 2012
I could NOT finish this book, and I very, very rarely give up on a book but this one irritated me from the very beginning. I couldn't take anymore of Jules' "poor baby sister Shay". I was yelling at the book... its #!@#!! court ordered to go to the damn school... I guess juvy would have been a better choice?!?! Jules was not a character I could like or respect and that just did it in. Cooper wasn't much better. I struggled to even make it close to halfway. This is one of only 2 books I have ever not finished and I plan to give the other one another chance, this one I've already archived. I was equally mad that I'd paid $10 for it on ebook. I have read Jackson's Montana and New Orleans series and those are so much better which made this doubly disappointing. I'd give negative stars if I could.
February 2, 2016
I thought this was pretty good! Not the outcome I expected..so that was good! Advice? Pay close attention to the characters in the first part of the book, no matter how insignificant they seem, they will matter later!
July 19, 2011
This book was OK..it really didn't pop but it did keep me entertained. I would probably give this author another try.
January 4, 2021
I know going into this it was a trashy airport paperback, but it solidified why I don't typically read trashy airport paperbacks. The premise sounded like something right up my alley: Shay, a spoiled yet troubled teenager is sent away to a boarding school for problem kids by a court order. After the mysterious disappearance of another student, her older sister Julia thinks something sinister is going on, and poses as a teacher at the school to try to get to the bottom of things.
At this point, things begin to get more and more improbable, and eventually the book goes from horrifying to laughable. When Julia arrives at the school, her ex-boyfriend, a former rodeo cowboy, just so happens to be at the same school, also posing as a teacher to try to get to the bottom of things! How a rodeo cowboy turned into a PI is beyond me, but hey, whatever works! His name is Cooper Trent, but Julia refers to him solely as "Trent" or "Cowboy" throughout the novel, which really grinded my gears.
We get glimpses into the mind of the killer, also known as "The Leader", a religious fanatic who hates women because of how sexually attracted he is to them. There are several probable suspects that The Leader could be (I was really hoping it would be Cooper Trent to give it a bit of excitement, but alas). When the true identity is revealed, it is a character so minor who was only introduced a few times, it didn't pack a punch at all. It was a character I had honestly forgotten about and had to go back and re-read to figure out who it was. We never really find out why the Leader is doing what he is doing, or why he decided to get a group of TAs to go on a murderous rampage with him. I guess if there is shock value it doesn't have to make sense?
If this isn't enough, at the end of the book, another twist is thrown in that seemed to be more about shock value than about anything else. In order for a twist to be a good one, it needs to not only be something the reader didn't see coming, it also needs to be alluded to and make sense. None of the twists in this one fit the bill. Maybe the next time I am in an airport, I will pick up a trashy romance instead of a trashy thriller, because this simply didn't cut it for me.
At this point, things begin to get more and more improbable, and eventually the book goes from horrifying to laughable. When Julia arrives at the school, her ex-boyfriend, a former rodeo cowboy, just so happens to be at the same school, also posing as a teacher to try to get to the bottom of things! How a rodeo cowboy turned into a PI is beyond me, but hey, whatever works! His name is Cooper Trent, but Julia refers to him solely as "Trent" or "Cowboy" throughout the novel, which really grinded my gears.
We get glimpses into the mind of the killer, also known as "The Leader", a religious fanatic who hates women because of how sexually attracted he is to them. There are several probable suspects that The Leader could be (I was really hoping it would be Cooper Trent to give it a bit of excitement, but alas). When the true identity is revealed, it is a character so minor who was only introduced a few times, it didn't pack a punch at all. It was a character I had honestly forgotten about and had to go back and re-read to figure out who it was. We never really find out why the Leader is doing what he is doing, or why he decided to get a group of TAs to go on a murderous rampage with him. I guess if there is shock value it doesn't have to make sense?
If this isn't enough, at the end of the book, another twist is thrown in that seemed to be more about shock value than about anything else. In order for a twist to be a good one, it needs to not only be something the reader didn't see coming, it also needs to be alluded to and make sense. None of the twists in this one fit the bill. Maybe the next time I am in an airport, I will pick up a trashy romance instead of a trashy thriller, because this simply didn't cut it for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2018
Incorrigible troublemaker Shaylee Stillman finds herself, by court order, at Blue Rock Academy, an elite boarding school for troubled teens. Knowing that things are not as they should be at the school, her half-sister, Jules, finagles a teaching position at the Academy to keep an eye on her little sister. After all, hasn’t a student gone missing without a trace? When students start turning up dead, will Jules be able to find a way to save Shaylee? Or are they both doomed?
The characters in this creepy tale are well-defined, but naïve Jules lacks common sense, acts childishly, and paranoia rules her thinking . . . all of which are likely to frustrate readers. Telling the story from several different points of view helps pull the reader into the story; the plot twists and turns with several unexpected reveals helping to build suspense. Although there are some unexpected reveals, there’s also a lot of repetition that causes the story to languish instead of moving forward. While the tension builds as the story unfolds, some reveals are likely to stun readers; some may find the ending implausible.
The characters in this creepy tale are well-defined, but naïve Jules lacks common sense, acts childishly, and paranoia rules her thinking . . . all of which are likely to frustrate readers. Telling the story from several different points of view helps pull the reader into the story; the plot twists and turns with several unexpected reveals helping to build suspense. Although there are some unexpected reveals, there’s also a lot of repetition that causes the story to languish instead of moving forward. While the tension builds as the story unfolds, some reveals are likely to stun readers; some may find the ending implausible.
February 20, 2020
When younger sister Shaylee is sent to the Blue Rock Academy under judges orders, older sister Julia Farentino begins to investigate. Blue Rock sounds like the answer to every parent’s dream; an idyllic setting, counselors, someone to help their lost children. Julia learns something more….
There are rumors of missing students and unorthodox treatment of students who do not tow the line. There is only one way Julia can make sure her sister is safe; she must find a way inside. As luck would have it, Julia is a teacher and there is an open position at Blue Rock.
Julia arrives just as a blizzard strike, only to learn that a female student was murdered and a male student clings to life at a local hospital. Julia finds herself hiding from militant students while trying to discover the truth; but what will happens when she is forced to confront the true evil at the campus?
Gut roiling drama.
There are rumors of missing students and unorthodox treatment of students who do not tow the line. There is only one way Julia can make sure her sister is safe; she must find a way inside. As luck would have it, Julia is a teacher and there is an open position at Blue Rock.
Julia arrives just as a blizzard strike, only to learn that a female student was murdered and a male student clings to life at a local hospital. Julia finds herself hiding from militant students while trying to discover the truth; but what will happens when she is forced to confront the true evil at the campus?
Gut roiling drama.
June 10, 2024
More accurately- 2.5.
Definitely was an interesting concept. However… there were SO many characters to keep track of that the initial twist wasn’t even that surprising or shocking— I had to double-check who the culprits even WERE lol.
Final twist was pretty good, but honestly made no sense with the multiple-POV style of the book (iykyk). If I were a more dedicated reader, I might be inclined to go back and look for the clues, but I simply cannot handle even skimming this book again. Definitely a trashy thriller, and a page-turner, just not a particularly special one.
Definitely was an interesting concept. However… there were SO many characters to keep track of that the initial twist wasn’t even that surprising or shocking— I had to double-check who the culprits even WERE lol.
Final twist was pretty good, but honestly made no sense with the multiple-POV style of the book (iykyk). If I were a more dedicated reader, I might be inclined to go back and look for the clues, but I simply cannot handle even skimming this book again. Definitely a trashy thriller, and a page-turner, just not a particularly special one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2022
Wow! 440 pages of a thriller where the action and surprises never stop coming at you! Lisa Jackson's Without Mercy is one of those books that will keep you up far too late, and make you wonder if YOU'RE the one who might be losing any sense of sanity. This book is so well written and planned...the ending being a complete surprise. Please, my fellow readers, if you haven't gotten to this one yet, get ready for the ride of your life!
February 4, 2022
Wow! What a great, twisty-turning thriller. I enjoyed this book from start to finish. Anyone who enjoys a good whodunit with great writing, interesting characters and an original storyline is in for a treat with this book.
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