Mercy Kill

November 8, 2010
In Armstrong's sharp second mystery to feature former army sniper Mercy Gunderson (after 2010's No Mercy), Mercy stumbles late one night on the shot and slashed body of Maj. Jason "J-Hawk" Hawley, who once saved her life in Indonesia, outside Clementine's, the bar where she's been stuck for months in a dead-end temporary job. When her boyfriend, Eagle River County (S.Dak.) sheriff Mason Dawson, doesn't do enough to investigate, Mercy goes into action. Concerned that J-Hawk's murder may have been related to his job as a front man for Titan Oil's controversial project to run a pipeline through the county, Mercy uncovers some disturbing information about her old army buddy. While the flashbacks to Mercy's military career slow the action in places, an intriguing new character, FBI agent Shay Turnbull of the Indian County Special Crimes Unit, will leave readers eager to see how their relationship plays out in the next installment.

December 15, 2010

A former sniper can't settle down to South Dakota life without stirring up trouble. The military didn't prepare Mercy Gunderson (No Mercy, 2010, etc.) for life back home.

Instead of battling Iraqis, the vet is stuck as a bartender/bouncer in her old friend John-John's local spot, Clementine's. And in spite of the fact that she's hooked up with Sheriff Mason Dawson, the man her late father hand-picked as his replacement, Mercy still can't help but get involved in investigating local crime. This time, it's the murder of her Army buddy Jason "J-Hawk" Hawley, which Dawson insists was a mugging gone wrong. Not only does Mercy have a personal connection to J-Hawk, her old friend Anna "A-Rod" Rodriguez's former lover, but she's forever indebted to him for that one crazy night where he ended up saving her life. Seems to Mercy the least she can do is repay the favor by investigating his death. But her adversaries aren't limited to J-Hawk's former employer, the unpopular Titan Oil, or locals from off the reservation. Mercy is dealing with her own demons in the form of a bottle of Jack Daniel's. Things only get more complicated when town locals encourage Mercy to run against Dawson for the sheriff's job while the poor vet is still learning the ropes of her family's farm. Her hapless sister Hope is no help, too caught up in her new baby, Joy, to offer assistance.

Another surprisingly twisted tale leads readers into a thicket of relative good and evil.

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December 1, 2010
This tough-mouth novel begins with a hymn to the beauties of the outdoors, all primrose and yarrow. Then Mercy Gunderson, belly down, adjusts her rifle and blows away prairie dogs. Bye-bye, Theodore. Well, farmers know theyre destructive, and Mercy is a South Dakota farmer. Shes also retired military, back home again. She tends bar, and one night in walks another destroyer, an oil company man. Hes also Mercys army buddysaved her life once. All these contradictions become the vehicle for the great message of crime fiction: things are not as they seem. The baddies seem more sad than bad. The sheriffs foot-dragging inspires Mercy to go after his job, but he has reasons for his inaction, and we dont learn them until nearly the end. And the gorgeous man who breaks hearts just by showing up? Hes not what you think, either. This is country-western land, beer and Beam, music by George Strait and Dwight Yoakam. Readers easy with that side of America will enjoy Mercytough, funny, and hardly a girl in a guy suit.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)