Conroy, Pennsylvania – Present Day

Robert Magellan’s wife and son are missing -- here one day and gone the next. Unable to find any clues to their disappearance, the police seem to be concentrating on building a case against Robert. He is distraught and suicidal, not knowing what happened to his wife and child.

Father Kevin often seeks help from his wealthy cousin, Robert. Four teenagers, one the grandson of the priest's housekeeper, Mary, were in a neighborhood park two weeks ago, and the next morning two of the children were found dead, shot in the head. The police think the other two teens are the killers -- money is missing, as are Ryan, Mary’s grandson, and his friend, Courtney. Kevin asks Robert to hire a private investigator, and although Robert has little faith in private investigators, he agrees to finance the project.

When Susanna Jones, Robert’s personal assistant, checks around for a good private investigator, Mallory Russo, an ex-police officer is recommended by the police chief, even though she quit the force under a cloud. Although Mallory is currently writing a true crime book, the case of the missing children interests her, and she accepts the job. The first observation she makes after meeting Susanna and Robert is that Susanna is in love with Robert, but he is totally oblivious to the fact. After interviewing Father Kevin’s housekeeper, Mallory goes to the park and tries to visualize what happened. She sees a man and recognizes him for the police detective that he is.

Charlie Wanamaker grew up in Conroy, but has been working in Philadelphia and has decided to come home and help his mother and sister. He is taking Mallory’s old job in the police department and will be investigating the deaths of the two boys. Charlie and Mallory decide to join forces on the investigation. They find that they genuinely like each other, and an attraction grows between them as they hunt for the missing teenagers and piece together what happened.

With Mariah Stewart’s usual excellent story telling, MERCY STREET gets off to a quick start and will immediately hook readers. Mallory is a wonderful character good at deducing what has happened at a crime scene, and with Charlie as her counterpart, they are a formidable pair of detectives. They are both extremely likeable. All the secondary characters play their parts to perfection with very good pacing and dialogue. Police Officer Frank Toricelli continually hassles Mallory, and readers will look forward to his getting his comeuppance. Robert is intriguing, and because his issues have not been resolved in MERCY STREET, hopefully we will read his continuing story in one of the upcoming novels in this new series.

Although the tale of the missing children is concluded in MERCY STREET, at the end of the story everything is set up for the next book. Readers will not want to miss the first in this exciting new series -- it is a page turner and a very satisfying romantic suspense. Mariah Stewart is an awesome author able to hold the attention of the most jaded reader. There is no doubt that you will enjoy reading MERCY STREET and will be impatiently waiting for the next book.

Marilyn Heyman