• A Merciful Death

  • Mercy Kilpatrick, Book 1
  • By: Kendra Elliot
  • Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
  • Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (5,733 ratings)

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A Merciful Death  By  cover art

A Merciful Death

By: Kendra Elliot
Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
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Publisher's summary

FBI special agent Mercy Kilpatrick has been waiting her whole life for disaster to strike. A prepper since childhood, Mercy grew up living off the land — and off the grid — in rural Eagle’s Nest, Oregon. Until a shocking tragedy tore her family apart and forced her to leave home. Now a predator known as the cave man is targeting the survivalists in her hometown, murdering them in their homes, stealing huge numbers of weapons, and creating federal suspicion of a possible domestic terrorism event. But the crime scene details are eerily familiar to an unsolved mystery from Mercy’s past.

Sent by the FBI to assist local law enforcement, Mercy returns to Eagle’s Nest to face the family who shunned her while maintaining the facade of a law-abiding citizen. There, she meets police chief Truman Daly, whose uncle was the cave man’s latest victim. He sees the survivalist side of her that she desperately tries to hide, but if she lets him get close enough to learn her secret, she might not survive the fallout....

©2017 Kendra Elliot. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

What listeners say about A Merciful Death

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,185
  • 4 Stars
    1,823
  • 3 Stars
    581
  • 2 Stars
    95
  • 1 Stars
    49
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    3,173
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  • 2 Stars
    58
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    1,534
  • 3 Stars
    559
  • 2 Stars
    95
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    46

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

This was not a well written book.

The idea for the story was interesting but nit well executed. Characters were flat. Kind of a waste of time.

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58 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

i dont think this was written by kendra elliot

The constant use of the characters thoughts is so distracting that it took me over a month to finish this book. Completing this book became more of a task than a desire. It was a decent plot but the writting was awful and uncharacteristic of Kendra Elliott. kendra elliot is a better writer than this. the storyline was slow and as if she was writing to fulfill the publishers demands without telling the story. Oh Kendra im still a fan but i will never read another book of yours written in this format. Stick with what works for you. i like picking up a book and knowing its yours without reading the cover. this is not you!

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57 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Ok

But there are better books/authors in this genre. Could have benefited from some editing and shortening

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38 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

This is just MY opinion..

This book is hard to review because it was a good story but I really, really didn’t like it.

I hate to hear or read stories about “preppers.” As far as I’m concerned they are all a little nutty. Our world, as we know it, is not going to end. I can’t understand hoarding everything imaginable to prepare for such a thing. So, it was hard for me to like the heroine, Mercy an FBI agent, since she was a “closet” prepper. The story was based on 4 old preppers who were recently murdered and their hoard of guns stolen and all their mirrors broken, and 2 murders that happened 15 years before, and the people in this small town who were preppers, and who were a few of Mercy’s family members that she hadn’t seen in 15 years, since her father ejected her from their lives. I have read about 10 of Kendra Elliot’s books and I’ve liked them all, but this one, not so much, since I was tempted to stop several times. I really have a hard time with books that the author gives the men the attitude that the “little woman,” belongs at home cooking and cleaning, and canning everything she can for the time they will be living in the dark ages again. Overall, I was glad when this book ended.

AND I had no idea who the murderer was until Rose said his name.

I did like Truman, our hero. He was so kind to the townspeople. And I liked Eddie, Mercy’s partner, and Toby, Kaylie, Levi and Lucas. Rose was so sweet, Pearl was nice, Owen was a jerk, Mercy’s father was a weirdo redneck and her mother was totally without a thought of her own.

As usual there was nothing remotely sexual about the story. A kiss or two is all you ever get from KE’s books. And the F-bomb was used 27 times.

As to the narration: Teri Schnaubelt did a great job with all the voices. The only thing I would suggest is that when you're in a crawl space, with a killer holding a hostage just above you, you don't shout to your partner, you whisper. When whispering is called for and the narrator doesn't whisper it makes that part of the book just stupid. Just sayin'

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

I really enjoyed this book. The secret that was kept, how the relationships developed and the struggle to keep the secret. I'm a fan of Kendra Elliot books so I look forward to more of this town of preppers.
If I had one complaint it would be this:
**SPOILER ALERT, don't read further!!


The way Mercy put all the blame on Levy. She claimed he was protecting hisself (which he was, his daughter) but so was she. From the moment she came to town she had doubts but refused to come clean. Even after she and Truman spoke to Levy and she told what Levy knew, she had a chance and still lied. What Levy did was awful and If I were Rose I would never forgive him but they all agreed to keep the secret. Maybe if she told the chief what happened they would have been looking for the partner all along. She never acknowledged her own culpability and now Truman is a part of the lie.
Also, the only thing her brother asked she didn't do. She only had to add support for one year for a self sufficient person but she had to think about it?

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another Good Book!

Every time I listen to a Kendra Elliot book, I know what to expect. Suspense, a little love story, and great narration. Im looking forward to the next book in the series!

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Strong start to a new series

A Merciful Death is the first novel in the Mercy Kilpatrick suspense/mystery series. Kilpatrick is an FBI agent who left he eastern Oregon home 15 years ago and has not contacted her family since. She is now sent to her home town by the FBI to work on a murder case. A Merciful Death has a sophisticated and complex plot as well as empathetic characters. I enjoyed the book very much. Narration by Teri Schnaubelt is outstanding. I recommend this novel.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I look forward to more in this series

Three stars - which is not a bad rating.

This is the first book I have read by this author and I look forward to the second book, at least, in this series. I am reminded of the Kate Burkholder series by Linda Castillo. A former community member, shunned by her family, who returns as a law enforcement officer - in that case, the local police chief. In this series, Mercy returns to her hometown after a long absence as an FBI agent.

Such secrets! They find a way to come back to haunt. I especially liked the chief of police in this book. I want to know more about him. And then there’s Mercy. I came to like her by the end of the book but it took some work. There are multiple murders to be solved and Mercy links them to events 15 years ago.

I enjoyed the audiobook.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

predictable mystery

This predictable mystery was engaging at times, and dragged at other times. I never really believed the main character, Mercy. She left home at age 18, and never had any contact with her family after that. She ended out with the FBI. More interesting than the murder mystery she was investigating was what happened with her and her rural survivalist family. And there is a big secret she is hiding. And then there is a romantic interest with the local sheriff. I almost quit this two-thirds of the way through. I'm glad I stayed with it, because the last third is the best. It devolves somewhat into a chick lit thriller, but that was when the novel was the most fun. I think this is more a woman's novel than a man's, yet I (a guy) liked it enough to finish.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

I loved the story line and listened to it in my car! Great listening! I love mysteries!

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8 people found this helpful