A Merciful Silence is the 4th book in the Mercy Kilpatrick series. Elliot’s 1st book in the series is A Merciful Death. The series follows Special Agent Kilpatrick as she bites the bullet and returns to her hometown in rural Oregon to mend old wounds and reconnect with her family. In book 4, Mercy taps into her prepper upbringing to stop a sovereign citizen ring and serial killings that resemble the unique murders that rocked her small town twenty years ago.

I’ve had the pleasure of reading the first three books in the series and found them genuinely entertaining, and book four is no different. The novel is primarily a Women Sleuths, Romantic Suspense, Crime & Mystery, and Police (FBI) Procedural centered around Special Agent Mercy Kilpatrick, the story’s main protagonist. At the same time, some romantic suspense elements carry over from the previous books in the series that are not the main focus of this novel. Instead, we follow Mercy and the Eagle’s Nest police chief, Truman Daly (Mercy’s love interest). They investigate various crimes where jurisdictions cross and include investigative work like missing persons and forensic science. The reader also gets tidbits from the mysterious antagonist’s perspective in the true whodunnit style you’d expect from a Crime & Mystery novel. As far as the story’s pace, it flowed perfectly, and I never found it lagging.

Elliot includes many aspects I love to see in a Romantic Suspense/Police Procedural. A strong, kickass female protagonist, twists and turns I don’t see coming, and a HEA for the couple that defiantly landed more in the behind closed doors type of love scenes. It has been fun watching their relationship evolve through that series, and book four keeps adding to it! It was a page-turner I couldn’t put down! Now, on to book five.

Until next time book lovers, I’ll catch you between the pages 🧡

Disclaimer: This book was a Christmas gift purchased from my amazon wish list. The author and/or publisher have no expectations of a positive review. My opinions are my own.

You can also catch my review published at Coffee House Writers.