Bad Day For Mercy, A: A Crime Novel (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
Sophie Littlefield's books are my 'bad books', as she writes a bit on the dark side. Stella, the protagonist, is a free-lance enforcer of sorts, for hire (very reasonable rates) to abused women, whom the law has failed. Stella's part-time romance with the local deputy sheriff adds a comic aspect to the stories. This book gave stronger hints as to just what Stella does to convince the men she works on to behave better, which almost turned me off from the book. If Littlefield gets any more graphic, I'll have to say good-bye to Stella, much as I hate to. I like her no-nonsense approach, her acerbic wit, and her concerns over the lacks of her middle-aged body. These books are funny. I fell in love with _A Bad Day for Sorry_. Stella Hardesty is a great protagonist. How can you not love a woman in her fifties who has emerged from 30 years of abuse to become an advocate for other abused women? How can you not love a woman that handles abusers with handcuffs, needle-nose pliers, and such??With a _Bad Day for Mercy_, the standards fell. Maybe all mysteries are formulaic, but this one was obviously so. Not enough heart in this one. My chief problems are that a sort of God-son is kidnapped, and Stella does not immediately call the police, etc. Often in a mystery, you don't do the obvious thing, but this time, it seemed beyond my ability to suspend belief. A greater hue and cry, even in Stella's on search for him, would have seemed appropriate. The other thing is that during his kidnap, Todd is given an injection before his release. What was odd was that there was no concern or query about this.Stella's ongoing romance with the Sheriff, Goat Jones is completely on the backburner. He only shows up by phone. BJ Broderson, on the other hand, is present and available. I think the author may be going a bit dry in this vein. Maybe it's time for a new book or series with new characters.
What do You think about Bad Day For Mercy, A: A Crime Novel (2014)?
Family is family, even if they drive you bat-crap crazy...
—Yakciv
