Emma (SCR)'s Review of Cry for Mercy (Detective Eleanor Raven)

by Karen Long

Eleanor closed her eyes tightly against the image in front of her. Another innocent life taken, another family left grieving.

Detective Inspector Eleanor Raven arrives at the derelict power station briefed on the murder scene inside. A beautiful young woman has been found, her body posed and a cherry-red lipstick painted across her mouth. But when she catches sight of the engagement ring crusted with blood on her delicate finger, Eleanor pushes back on the grief it provokes. Lydia Greystein had so much to live for. The only way Eleanor can help now is to find the killer responsible, and she and her team immediately set to work.

And when another woman is found, bound in the same ritualistic stance and wearing the same bright red lipstick, Eleanor’s case becomes more twisted and urgent than ever. But struggling to unpick the killer’s motivations, the team is at a loss until Eleanor finds a link between the victims and a cold case, an unsolved death with a connection to her own personal life. To follow the clues now risks bringing her secrets into the open.

But as Eleanor begins to understand the killer, he starts to understand her too.

Eleanor must solve this case before more women are taken. Could the secrets she keeps from those closest to her be the final clue in this case… or will they ultimately cost Eleanor her life?

A fast-paced, tense and completely gripping mystery thriller that will keep you hooked until the final page. Karen Long will be the newest favourite crime author for fans of Lisa Regan, Angela Marsons and Robert Dugoni.

Cry for Mercy was previously published as The Safe Word.

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. WOW! What an opening to a book. The first chapter immediately grips you.

Our main character is Eleanor Raven. Eleanor is very clever, she is straight-talking and doesn't take any sh*t. Eleanor is who she is and no one is going to change that! I liked that about her. She is sure of who she is and what she wants. I feel there is a back story behind Eleanor and I can't wait to learn more about her in the coming books.

Eleanor has a new partner, Laurence Whitefoot. Now she's not particularly happy about this. Her previous partner was her mentor and this new one is a bit of a rookie and quite frankly she doesn't have time for rookies. They have quite a rocky relationship in this book and aren't quite at the I've got your back stage. I like Laurence and I can't wait to see more of him.

One character I felt sorry for was poor Monster. That dog just needs a bit of TLC and some training. I really hope that Laurence puts him through the K9 training. I think he would make an excellent police dog.

The case was very interesting and very disturbing. There were quite a few twists in the story which kept you on the edge of your seat. The pace was good. I never felt like the book was lagging. I was so invested I just whizzed through most of it.

I love the cover for this book and it’s one of the reasons I wanted to read it but once you have read the book it becomes even more terrifying!

I really enjoyed my time with Detective Eleanor and I can’t wait to read the second book in the series.

Thank you to Bookouture for my copy of this book via Netgalley and for letting me take part in this tour.

Reading updates

12 November, 2020: Started reading

12 November, 2020: on page 0 out of 298 0%

16 November, 2020: Finished reading

17 November, 2020: Reviewed