So, you survive a serial killer as a teen, then another as a cop and adult - but in order to do so you have to kill the second serial killer and the police force puts you on indefinite suspension and you have to relocate to go for therapy. 

Then you’re bored, and let’s face it a media sensation, and you start investigating the crimes that happened to the other people in your victim therapy group.

Oh, and let’s not forget calling on the FBI profiler who has saved your life a time or two.

And then add in some twists, turns, serial rapists, serial arsonists and a chance for the profiler to blow his shot at a promotion...  And that’s not all, I just don’t want to give away the good stuff!

Ellery and Reed are back in this second book in this series. Ellery is going to a support group after she shot her boss and ex lover she ends up helping a rape victim in her support group try to find out who attacked her and then ends up finding another mystery of another member of the support group.The author makes sure to keep you on your toes trying to figure out both mysteries. Love Ellery and Reed and love this authors writing. Great book!

This is book two in a series, however, you do not have to have read book one in order to understand book two as some background information is provided in case you hadn’t read The Vanishing Season. As good as book one was, book two doesn’t quite measure up.
Perhaps there was a rush to strike while the iron is hot to get out another book. The characters carry over from the first book, but many of the incidents seem a little contrived and I would have to suspend belief to follow the storyline. Not as good as the first book. I received a free advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I was really looking forward to my second read in this series and it did not disappoint!      Once again Ellery and Reed team up to help others she has met in a survivors therapy group.  The action and pace are compelling forces that keep you reading well past midnight.  Several of the other survivors experiences are so heartbreaking- and Ellery more than relates to their pain.  More hints and instances of romance!  Will Ellery every return to her job?  Will Reed keep his?  Will they finally get together?  Can’t wait to read the next one in this suspenseful series!  Many thanks to Joanna Schaffhausen, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read this one!

Really enjoyed the book. Never reading anything by this author before I was very impressed. The story flowed seamlessly and the drama was intense. 
I will be reading more by this author!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book. 
#netgalley
#nomercy

No Mercy is the second mystery in the Ellery Hathaway series. Ellery is suspended in the aftermath of shooting the serial killer at the end of The Vanishing Season. She has to attend therapy and her counselor has pressured her to attend a group of violent crime survivors. The people in the group pique her interest, or more accurately, the crimes pique her interest. One of them seeks her help in finding the man who broke into her house and raped her. Another is upset that a serial arsonist who murdered her son is likely to be released on parole.

She again seeks Reed’s help in profiling the rapist and together they identify what seems to be a cluster of rapes indicating a serial offender. They also advance and retreat in what seems to be a burgeoning relationship, one that is mostly retreating, not advancing.



I enjoyed No Mercy. It was compelling and I read it quickly. I thought it nice to see a shift from serial killer to serial arsonist and serial rapist. It was interesting to see them investigate because they are both smart. There were a few missteps on Ellery’s side that disappointed me. That she wouldn’t look basic stuff up on google seemed unlikely and is belied otherwise with her competence at using google. People don’t become good at searching instantly. Her recklessness seems consistent with the first book, but nonetheless, it left a few unlikely moments of personal jeopardy.

I am still enjoying the series but I do hope the characters are allowed to move past the will they/won’t they romance. Do it or don’t do it, but please no “Moonlighting” years of agony. I also want them to move out of the personal jeopardy story line. Let her have a book without personal threats and attacks. The next book in the series comes out in February. I am eager to read it.

I received an e-book of No Mercy  from the publisher.

No Mercy at St. Martin’s Press | Macmillan

Joanna Schaffhausen author site

Ellery Hathaway was just a child when Reed Burnham rescued her from a sadist's clutches  Now a police detective in a small town, on disciplinary leave for unapologetically shooting a murderer, Ellery is forced to attend a therapy group to "share your feelings." She's not there very long before she starts to feel like one of her fellow group members is an arsonist, and another living in fear of the second-story rapist who s been quietly terrorizing the town. She turns to Reed, a profiler in line for a big promotion, whose unresolved feelings about the child he saved and the woman she's become draw him to her side again.

i was given Book 1, The vanishing from NetGalley and really enjoyed it, so jumped at the chance for this one, Book 2! I must say, this one is even better. Great plot involving a serial rapist. I really like Ellery and am curious to see how her relationship to Reed plays out. I look forward to Book 3!

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and Joanna Schaffhausen for this copy!

Book 2 of the Ellery Hathaway Series is No Mercy, by Joanna Schaffhausen. Book 1 was very good, Vanishing Season and featured the two main characters: Ellery Hathaway and FBI Profiler on leave Reed Markham. Reed is Ellery's rescuer from when she was 14 years old. 

About the series: To me, it seems that these books are as much about their individual journeys to healing and recovery as they are about the mystery to solve. I love the way Ellery thinks...her mind is brilliant and she works well with Reed. 

While in group therapy of course Ellery gets embroiled in drama and crime and decides to ask for Reed's help because it gets more complicated. I love the way everything interconnects and makes sense at the end! The bit of sparkly chemistry between Ellery and Reed keep things interesting... Definitely a fun read!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Joann Schauffhausen, and St. Martin's Press for this digital advanced reader copy for me to read and enjoy. As always, my opinions are my own!

After reading the Vanishing Season I went right in to this book. This author has a way to pull you in and not let you go. The relationship between Ellery and Reed with always be one to try to figure out, however the tension in this is out of control. I am hoping this goes into more books. 

This is not a stand alone.


**  I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review**

Ellery has reached out to Reed again and he comes running...he always does. Neither can help it...they need each other..they are good for each other...but neither will admit it. Ellery embroils Reed in another case, in fact two cases, one a rape another a fire. Another excellent stand alone book by Jo Schaffhausen. I look forward to her next book.
I received an arc of this book from Netgalley and St. Martins Press. The review and comments are my honest opinion.

This second in the series ends on a cliffhanger that is bound to throw Reid’s lie into chaos. He and Ellery once again join forces to solve two crimes. It is another page turning story that keeps you on your toes. In the end the author has structured the narrative that you will not easily identify the bad guy. These two are walking a fine line in their relationship as the more time they spend together the closer they seem to get. It leaves the reader with great anticipation for where the story will lead next.

I'd recommend starting from book 1 to get the background story for Hathaway and Markham Reed. Joanna definitely doesn't leave her readers without tension, anxiety, and relationships that flourish. She does it again with this high packed tension mystery! No Mercy is very well written and a fast paced read! I couldn’t put the book down every time I pick it up because the cases they work on are fascinating.

No Mercy is the second in series and the characters are getting more likable. You'll develop close feelings for what they have endured. Will they come out on top and solve their issues. You'll enjoy finding out.

From victim to law enforcement officer, Ellery Hathaway has been through a lot but continues to persevere with the assistance of her FBI rescuer. Another great read in the Ellery Hathaway series. Can’t wait to read the next one.

Oh this book was better than book one. Eller is still dealing with her demons but she is trying so hard to help other. I can’t wait for the next book to see what battles she is going to face. Thanks for writing such a great book Joanna!

4 stars for an entertaining mystery/thriller. This is book 2 in the series and I have previously read book 1, The Vanishing Season . I enjoyed that one also and decided to continue reading this series. Ellery Hathaway was abducted when she was 14 by a serial rapist/murderer. She was rescued by FBI agent Reed Markham. She is now required to attend group therapy sessions for people who experienced violent crime. The crime in this case happened in book 1, and I cannot explain more without a spoiler for book 1. She befriends Wendy, a victim of a rapist who wants Ellery to help find Wendy's rapist who has never been caught. Ellery is a police officer in fictional Woodbury, Mass., but she is not allowed to perform any duties until she completes mandatory counseling/group therapy.
She calls Reed for help in finding the rapist.
They do find the rapist, but there are several twists and turns in the plot. In addition, there is a developing relationship between Ellery and Reed.
Thanks to Joanna Schaffhausen and St Martin's Press for sending me this eBook through NetGalley.

There were so many good reviews for this book, I feel a little guilty for not liking it more, but I was confused from the get-go.  Finally, at 1/3 of the way through, I discovered there was another book, a pre-story to this one and skipped to it.  I really liked it!  THEN this one made a lot more sense, but I mainly finished just to learn if Carnivale was really the arsonist.

I was so thankful to have this one to jump into once I read the spine tingling thriller of the first one. Ellery will get you to the very core staying there even after you have to put it down for a minute. She has fiber and more scars than anyone but still she has a bigger heart than she shows. Oh and the slow dance I see between her and Reed turns a corner in this one. The both of them are so addictive with the things they are investigating on the flip. The group of hers is colorful and at first was a bit perturbed she even had to go to it but it is part of the story. The mysteries and such they are looking into are so riveting you too are trying to help them. As the answers slowly come to light you slowly are left with your mouth catching flies. This author is a fantastic insight on the human mind and the directions they will go.

The second-in-series was every bit as engaging as the first. The topic is, once again, violence against women - this time, focusing on rape. I usually won't pick up a story if I know that is the underlying conflict in the book. It's a storyline that I find haunting and usually one I avoid at all costs. I really enjoyed the way Schaffhausen addressed the violence against Ellery as a child in the first book though, finding it to be cautious and careful and avoiding of the type of salacious details that seem to be slapped into so many narratives dealing with sexual violence. It felt like she realized she didn't have to be gory or gruesome to make the story horrific - it already was, and readers would be able to fill in the blanks on their own. I can and I did, and this delicate touch of trauma is what led me to think I could try to read this one. I'm glad I trusted my instincts, as I found this an equally powerful narrative and a great development in Ellery's story.

I am impressed with the way Schaffhausen tackles violence against women and children. It seems every thriller has to have at least one obligatory female victim, but in these books she manages to give her victims more personhood than many do. Her characters are solidly three-dimensional, full of complexities, quirks, and the all-too-human shortcomings that plague real people - as opposed to the idealized characters too often appearing in thrillers, in which the women flail about waiting for men to save/hurt/destroy them...  None of that for Schaffhausen. Her victims are full of vinegar, in the best possible way, living with the damage that's been done to them to the best of their ability and surviving the worst the world can throw at them. In no one is this predilection for survival more evident than her protagonist, Ellery Hathaway. I really enjoy seeing how Ellery's mind works - it's a peek behind the curtain at the steely backbone that keeps someone going despite (because of?) the trauma they've had to live with, and it's fascinating. 

I'm thoroughly enjoying learning more about her past and watching her detective skills develop into her future, and can't wait to see what book three brings!