Book Review ~ Dangerous Mercy by Kathy Herman

Book 2 in the Secrets of Roux River Bayou finds Adele Woodmoore moving to Les Barbes to be closer to Zoe and Pierce Broussard and their now 2 year old daughter Grace. Adele is like the mother/grandmother figure in Zoe's life and because of Adele's grace and forgiveness towards her, Zoe is able to move on in her life and see her hopes coming to fruition. Adele is a people person and when she needs help around her home, the 86 year old doesn't hesitate to hire a couple of handy men from a halfway house for the homeless in town thinking to show some mercy and give them the break in life that they are looking for. Murray comes recommended as the hardest worker in the house and Noah is already working as a grounds keeper for friends of Zoe's at their bed and breakfast so Adele is quite comfortable in her decision. But when some shocking murders start to happen in the town Pierce is very concerned that maybe Adele is being naive in not being more cautious about befriending these men. Adele is adamant that these men are good men and just need someone to show them mercy and grace and give them a break. But when Noah becomes a person of interest in one of murders and her house keeper quits because of Adele's insistence of continuiing to allow the men into her home, Adele starts to question her wisdom.

 Again I enjoyed Kathy Herman's mystery as in this installment to the series she delved into the subject of showing God's mercy and grace to those whom most of society would turn their back on. In trying to obey God, Adele put herself at what most of those close to her considered great risk. She and the Langleys, the young couple with the bed and breakfast, had to ask themselves how well they knew Noah and where their trust with him lay. Where was the line on being cautious and using wisdom and knowing in your gut that what others are saying cannot be true. How far does one go with showing mercy when everyone is telling you to do otherwise? What do you do when you question your own wisdom? All these questions were woven into the mystery of some prominent citizens being murdered. With a lot of the town suffering from some big layoffs and home foreclosures that had occured in the past years, the connection with the murdered bank executive, sugar factory CEO, and computer company president was easy to connect but how does the murder of the mother of 2 and the homeless man tie in? The pressure is on Police chief Jude and his staff to find the pieces to the puzzle. The mystery held my attention until it was finally revealed. I found I had guessed who it was but that didn't bother me so much because it was how it all tied together that gripped my attention. I really like how the author kept the story going even after the reveal of the mystery and finished up the loose ends of the characters.

 There was one minor detail that drove me nuts in the story. And seeing it doesn't reveal anything, I'll mention it. It was the fact that the murders were constantly being hashed over, questioned and discussed in the presence of the two year old child. Even by the parent. It was a pet peeve in the story for me, and I kept wanting to shout at them to cut it out. But anyway, it didn't detract from the story itself. It was a good mystery with some moral questions to chew on.

Book 1 "False Pretenses" is reviewed here.