Mercy Street

Mercy Street is the first book in a new series by Mariah Stewart. I had never read anything by Stewart before, but will always look for her books in the future. Mercy Street begins with Mallory Russo being offered a PI job to find two missing teenagers following the murder of two of their friends in the park. Mallory is hired by Robert Magellan, a man whose own wife and baby son disappeared without a trace over a year ago. Magellan offers to cover to expenses to help out his cousin Father Kevin Burch, who's parish secretary is the grandmother of one of the missing teens. Mallory ends up working with the new detective of the Conroy police force, Charlie Wanamaker. Mallory was one of the best detectives on the force until she was forced to quit the force due to lack of backup.

Mallory and Charlie soon piece together evidence that the murders of the teens in the park are directly related to a murder that happened over 18 months ago at a local store. Stewart keeps the reader caught up with quick action and even a bit of romance thrown into the mix between Mallory and Charlie. I did figure out the results of the mysteries in the book before the end, but the book was still very good. Stewart even gives the reader a glimpse of the future books in the series with many of the secondary characters. I really hope the next book in the series will focus on Robert Magellan. His character just cries out for some closure and he seems very intriguing to me.