Kill Without Mercy

November 2, 2015
Prolific Ivy (Burned by Darkness) introduces an intimidatingly hot set of protagonists for her new contemporary romantic thriller series. The five men of Houston’s Ares Security are as much a brotherhood as a tightly functioning team, after their shared experiences in a Taliban prison. The opener throws Ares covert ops specialist Rafe Vargas, visiting Iowa to deal with his late grandfather’s house, into the arms of terrified accountant Annie White, the daughter of the serial killer known as the Newtown Slayer. It’s been 15 years since the murders, and Annie’s father is long dead, but the nightmarish visions she had as a child have returned, and she fears they may be linked to another killer. Ivy manages to make Rafe’s fierce protectiveness appealing without undermining Annie’s competence. The sex scenes feel a little mundane, but their pacing works to blend the erotic zing back into Annie and Rafe’s high-energy pursuit of the new serial killer. The Ares team’s dynamic includes support and accountability among the members, allowing the reader to indulge in the men’s aggressive sexuality without feeling like they might put women at risk. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency.

December 15, 2015
In the first of a Ivy's Ares Security series about five soldiers who met, survived, and bonded in a Taliban prison, Rafe Vargas returns to his small hometown to clean out his dead grandfather's house. He meets Annie White, the daughter of a dead serial killer, who has also returned because of disturbing visions, despite the hostility and discomfort she engenders in the locals, in particular the sheriff. When several women disappear, it becomes clear that either a copycat killer is on the loose or her father was innocent. Rafe and his buddies band together to help protect Annie while they try to figure out what is going on. While neither as exciting nor as sexy as Maya Banks' KGI series, this is in the same vein of fiction about ex-military, private-security groups and will appeal to the same audience. Hopefully the pace will pick up in subsequent stories in the series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)