I’ve been a fan of FBI Agent Atlee Pine since the first book in the series and was therefore excited to see that “Mercy” picked up where the last book finished. Finally Atlee might get some closure and find her long lost sister Mercy. We meet Mercy quite early on in the story and for two thirds of the book the two sisters are still apart with the reader wondering whether they will ever meet. There is a lot going on in this book and in my opinion it would be very useful to have read the previous novels before embarking on this one. The author does fill you in but the enjoyment is greater if you are aware of Atlee’s background as I was. The plot was very compelling and really held my attention right from the very first page. Although twins, Atlee and Mercy have not seen each other for 30 years it seems that they are similar in many ways and both possess an athletic nature and an innate sense of right and wrong. David Baldacci develops both characters very well and the reader is soon desperate for them to get together and overcome all the obstacles put in their way including a mad gangster who wants Mercy dead! My only sadness would be that this is probably the last book in the Atlee Pine series as most of the loose threads are resolved by the end of the novel. This is definitely a five star read for me and I would recommend this and the whole series to readers who enjoy action thrillers, particularly those with strong female lead characters. Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

The last in the Atlee Pine series, not to be missed. Another great series by David Baldacci. Good to read a series with strong women.

Yikes, that was pretty full on. Mercy is the 4th book in the Atlee Pine series by David Baldacci. The whole series is pretty much about Pine looking for her twin sister, Mercy, who was abducted about 30 years ago when they were both 6 years old. Atlee herself was left for dead and had a serious head injury. Now Pine and her redoubtable admin assistant, the 60 something Carol Blum, are on a sabbatical from the FBI and are following every little clue to find Mercy In this book Pine has come closer than ever before to finding her sister and she learns who her biological father is. The first part of the book focuses, for the first time, on Mercy herself. We learn how she escaped captivity, how abused she was, how she struggled in the early years of her ‘freedom’ with further abuse and addictions and how, finally, she has made a life for herself, albeit not an easy one. She is very tall and phenomenally strong and earns some of her income by cage fighting in which she is a formidable opponent. Pine has managed to track down Desiree Atkins, the wife in the couple with whom Mercy was forced to live for many years and who was her main abuser. Another step closer and the two sisters are getting closer to actually meeting. Mercy is now calling herself El (Eloise) Cain. One day she makes a serious mistake. She beats up a man who was beating up his girlfriend. After he pulled a knife and then a gun on her she has no qualms about thrashing him in self defence but she did make sure to leave him alive. Unfortunately the man later died in hospital and his brother is a very wealthy and influential man - now seriously bent on revenge. The rest of the story is about how that plays out. I was almost too scared to read on at this point as I thought it would be brutal. And I was not wrong. Baldacci certainly knows how to write suspense and action scenes. There was a lot of fighting but when I saw what the man chasing Mercy was planning for his revenge, I quailed. Yep I’m a scaredy-cat! But I also had to find out how it would end. Of course! Baldacci’s characters are often either good guys or bad guys but Mercy was, certainly because of the harsh life she’d lived, very much in the grey zone. Carol Blum is a delight as she is almost motherly but also very smart, intuitive and efficient. People underestimate her at their peril. This was very much an action book and it was fast paced throughout. If you want to catch your breath you have to stop reading. Without giving away the ending I DO think this will be the last book in the series, although I would be happy to read more about Pine and her wonderful ‘minder’, Blum. Many thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the invitation to read this ebook early. I have been looking forward to reading this since the unexpected reveal at the end of the last book. This is the last book in the Atlee Pine series where Pine hopes to finally find out what became of her sister Mercy after she was abducted 30 years before. Will Pine be successful in finding her sister? Did this book live up to my expectations? Definitely. I thought this was a very satisfying, fast paced and thrilling read, and one which grabbed my attention from the first page and held it right through to the last. The author certainly knows how to write an entertaining book, and one which is full of tension and suspense making me desperate to know what happens next. I loved all the different story threads, the action packed scenes and wondered how everything would tie in to the story. Overall, this is a well written and engaging book with an excellent plot line which raced to a conclusion with everything tied up nicely and had an ending that was very fitting for this series. I’ve really enjoyed the Atlee Pine series and am a little sad that this is the last book and I’d definitely recommend this book/series and David Baldacci as an author. Just loved this book, absolutely loved it.

FBI agent Atlee Pine continues her search for her twin sister Mercy, who was abducted when they were both children. I have really enjoyed this series and believe that this is the final book, however I wonder if there could be a further series in the future and hope that this is the case. If you have not read any of the books in this series ( only 4 books ) start at the beginning and you are guaranteed, 4 page turners to hold your attention.