Genre:
Thriller/Supernatural
Description:
“An
unexpected visitor from Mark's past brings him unwanted attention
from the authorities. Unable to decide who is friend and who is foe,
Mark becomes a fugitive from the law, but with thousands of lives at
stake, he is forced to put aside his fear of capture, and instead,
seek help from his pursuers.”
Author:
A mother of
three and a respiratory therapist, M.P. McDonald has been an avid
reader her entire life. As the fifth of eight children, hiding in the
corner with a book was her only way to get a moment of peace. She has
two other books available, No Good Deed and March into Hell, which
are books one and two in the Mark Taylor series. This is the third.
For more,
visit McDonald’s blog.
Appraisal:
While
visiting Afghanistan, Mark Taylor purchased a camera that had magical
qualities. When developing the film from this old-fashioned camera,
additional pictures would appear, depicting a negative event that
would happen in the near future. Taylor would then dream about the
events in these pictures and, if he acted fast enough, be able to
prevent them. The series happens in the early part of this century,
when film cameras were still in common use.
The
reaction of some readers to the second book in the series, March into
Hell, was interesting and, in my opinion, missed the point. Through
both books, Mark is consistent. He’s the good guy and, with the
assistance of his magic camera, fights evil. That the primary evil
Mark was fighting was a religious cult triggered some knee jerk
reactions, not recognizing that Mark was still fighting evil.
Deeds of
Mercy is a return to Mark’s roots, in that many of the ways March
into Hell was different from No Good Deed do not apply to this latest
installment. As with No Good Deed, this book is operating in the
political, rather than the religious realm. Who is friend and who is
foe is no longer clear. Deeds of Mercy also answers one of the big
questions some readers had about what happened to one of the
secondary characters from No Good Deed, and brings that story thread
to a satisfactory resolution.
If you’re
a thriller fan, especially political thrillers, and haven’t read No
Good Deed, you need to. For those who have read the series and felt
March into Hell didn’t live up to your expectations, Deeds of Mercy
almost surely will.
FYI:
Although
experiences from the prior books in the series are mentioned, a
reader could probably read this as a standalone. However, I would
advise reading the first book, No Good Deed, prior.
Added for
Reprise Review: Deeds of Mercy
was the winner in the Thriller/Suspense category for 2013
Readers' Choice Awards at BigAl’s Books and Pals
and is the third book in M.P. McDonald’s The
Mark Taylor Series. The
original review ran March 15, 2012.
Format/Typo
Issues:
This review
is based on a pre-release, Beta version of the book, and I’m unable
to comment in this area.
Rating:
***** 5 Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate
word count: 85-90,000 words
No comments:
Post a Comment