Angel of Mercy
Toni Andrews
Mira, May 2008, $6.99
ISBN: 9780778325475
In the Balboa Peninsular of California, hypnotherapist Mercy Hollings with the help of her best friend Sukey operates a clinic that helps people overcome their problems using her special skill "presses" to make suggestions to stop smoking. Only Sukey and Mercy’s boyfriend Sam knows of her ability, but neither of them understand how much she fears this gift that comes from a dark source. Mercy errs on the side of caution when she manipulates people for what she assumes is better for them because she is frightened of going too far and obtaining amoral control while even a slight nudge could turn tragic. However her biggest phobia re her skill is losing her temper although that is rare as she can turn mentally ill.
When Mercy meets battered spouse Tiffany, she has two deep feelings; first she needs to get the woman to a shelter and second she needs to control her gut urge to hurt the abusive husband. At Haven House women’s shelter, Mercy also wants to assist these sad victims; especially getting inside her soul are Anna Green and her daughter, Grace. Grace’s preadolescent pleas to keep the children safe touches Mercy, but she finds the Green females are involved with something that not only is beyond the hypnotherapist’s press control, but sends her into a dark shadowy realm that few if any ever escape.
This latest Mercy thriller (see BEG FOR MERCY) is an exhilarating paranormal tale with a deep look at victims hiding at a shelter. Thus there are two types of villains in this strong novel; first abusive spouses and second those essences that frequent the dark places of the soul. Toni Andrews provides a gripping story as readers get inside Mercy’s head due to her first hand viewpoint.
Harriet Klausner
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