Title: Mercy
Author: Jan Coffey
Genre: paranormal romance
Published: 2013
Pages: 55
Format read: ebook
Rating: B+
Mercy is a quick read, but spookily satisfying nonetheless.
Julia Klein lost her husband two years ago. Their young daughter Amy hasn’t spoken a word since, having suffered understandable psychological trauma after being trapped in the car as her father died. Julia had been working on her nursing degree when the tragedy struck and she had to quit school to work as a nurse’s aide. Her life has been a struggle ever since, with a low paying job and weekly therapists and psychologists for her daughter to pay for, not to mention all the other expenses of raising a child. Recently, though, things had started to get better–she met someone, and even knowing her complicated life, it looked like he just might stick.
And then the week from you-know-where hit. Amy was suspended from school for violent behavior. Garrett’s transfer to Atlanta was becoming a reality, and her clinic job was suddenly in danger. Desperate for an escape, she decides to take Amy away for a weekend to a colonial-era inn on the Massachusetts coast. She hopes that when she returns to Boston, she’ll be able to see a way out of the mess her life has become.
Even though Julia had told him he didn’t need to be there, Garrett Ochoa knew his girlfriend was facing a tough battle and could use his support. He pulls a few strings and manages to get himself a reservation at the same inn that Julia and Amy are staying at, right in the room next door. Almost right away, though, he feels as if something doesn’t want him there.
It turns out the inn is haunted with not just one, but two ghosts–one, the relatively friendly and benign spirit of Mercy Turner, appears to have been Amy’s age when she died. The other ghost, though, apparently that of Mercy’s mother, is far from amicable. As the two spirits begin to interact with our three protagonists, Garrett, a network producer, begins to investigate their history. What he finds chills him–Mercy’s mother committed a horrible act decades ago, and it looks like at least two guests since then have recreated it. Julia and Amy appear to be next on the ghost’s list–can they possibly prevent such a horrible fate? Or is it already too late?
This story was a perfect read for a dark and chilly autumn night. It was a real page turner, and was just suspenseful enough to raise my blood pressure a tad without keeping me up later that night. The relationship between Garret, Julia, and Amy was very sweet, as were the touches of romance. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more from this author. B+ rating.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]