ARC Review: A Merciful Promise by Kendra Elliot

A Merciful Promise
Author: Kendra Elliot
Series: Mercy Kilpatrick (Book 6)
Publication: Montlake Romance (June 18, 2019)

Description: The Wall Street Journal bestselling series continues as Mercy Kilpatrick becomes embedded in the nightmare of a terrorist conspiracy.

The job: infiltrate a militia amassing illegal firearms in an isolated forest community. FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick is the ideal candidate. She knows Oregon. She’s near the compound. And having been raised among survivalists, Mercy understands the mind-set of fanatics. Lay low, follow rules, do nothing to sound an alarm, and relinquish all contact with the outside world. She’s ready to blend in.

As Mercy disappears into the winter hills, something just as foreboding emerges. Mercy’s fiancé, Eagle’s Nest police chief Truman Daly, is faced with a puzzling series of murders—three men dumped in random locations after execution-style shootings.

Now, for Mercy, trapped in a culture where suspicion is second nature, and betrayal is punishable to the extreme, there is no way out. No way to call for help. And as plans for a catastrophic terrorist event escalate, there may be no way to stop them. Even if Mercy dies trying.

My Thoughts: Truman and Mercy are just three months away from their Christmas wedding when Mercy is tapped for an undercover assignment to look for stolen weapons and a plot to use them in a secretive militaristic compound deep in a rural area. She has less than a day to prepare since she is filling in for an agent who suddenly contracted Shingles. She can't tell anyone where she is going or how long she'll be gone.

Meanwhile, Truman who is left at home is suddenly involved in a case of his own when random dead bodies are turning up stripped to their underwear and shot in the head.

As Truman worries about Mercy, she finds herself in a compound where she isn't sure that she can trust her partner who seems to be proceeding much too slowly for Mercy's liking. Mercy's cover is that of someone with nursing experience which immediately gets her involved with a heavily pregnant woman and some sick children. Since the attitude of the group is that medical intervention is a government plot to control people, Mercy has a fight on her hands to get help for the sick child.

When her partner disappears and Mercy fears for him, she is left alone, unable to communicate with anyone outside, and with only a sixteen-year-old girl for an ally. Her identity betrayed to the leader, Mercy is in great danger when she gets help from an unexpected source that might be enough to save her. Meanwhile, after her partner's body is discovered, Truman learns where she is and the danger she's in and is determined to find her.

This was an action packed, intense conclusion to the Mercy Kilpatrick series. It was well written and fast-paced and, best of all, it looks like a happy ending for Mercy and Truman and the family that they have built.

Favorite Quote:

Shock froze Truman midstride. "Jesus, Britta. You could have told me on the phone that it was a dead body. Or when I arrived." His breakfast threatened to reappear.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.