Review: Kill Without Mercy

Title: Kill Without Mercy
Author: Alexandra Ivy
December 29, 2015, Zebra Books
Genre: Military, Romantic Suspense

From the hellhole of a Taliban prison to sweet freedom, five brave military heroes have made it home—and they’re ready to take on the civilian missions no one else can. Individually they’re intimidating. Together they’re invincible. They’re the men of ARES Security.

Rafe Vargas is only in Newton, Iowa, to clear out his late grandfather’s small house. As the covert ops specialist for ARES Security, he's eager to get back to his new life in Texas. But when he crosses paths with Annie White, a haunted beauty with skeletons in her closet, he can't just walk away—not when she’s clearly in danger…

There’s a mysterious serial killer on the loose with a link to Annie’s dark past. And the closer he gets, the deeper Rafe’s instinct to protect kicks in. But even with his considerable skill, Annie’s courage, and his ARES buddies behind him, the slaying won’t stop. Now it’s only a matter of time before Annie’s next—unless they can unravel a history of deadly lies that won’t be buried. 

Amazon eBook

4 hearts

Alexandra Ivy is a one click author for me.  I happily scooped up her newest series without much thought.  This is the first book in the ARES Security series.  Fans of romantic suspense will devour this one!  I am pretty much a fraidy cat, so it took me a bit to get through this.  Not because it was poorly written—the opposite actually.  So well written that I was caught up in the tense feelings coming out of the story!

This book follows ARES founder Rafe Vargas as he deals with cleaning out his grandfather’s house in Iowa.  What he doesn’t expect to find is the beautiful and intriguing Annie White, her sordid past and a new potential danger to her life.  We meet all the members of the ARES team.  All former military.  All with emotional scars.  Each having specialty skills to make for a well-rounded team.  I liked how the bond between these men helped them to focus and rally around Rafe and Annie. 

I am not a mystery reader, so I admit to not being very good at picking up on clues dropped into a story.  That said, I did get caught up in how this one was going to play out.  Add in a bit of a paranormal twist and I was right in there trying to solve the mystery with the whole ARES team.  I like a book where the reader ends up cheering for the good guys to make it there in time and the bad guys get what’s coming to them. 

There is romance in this novel along with all the action.  Annie has had years of mental health issues.  She has some trust issues when it comes to relationships.  She is not looking for anything but answers to the tormenting visions she has.  Rafe is immediately attracted to her and once her learns her story, he knows he needs to protect her.  The sparks light up between them and make for some steamy loving between the two.  Rafe has his work cut out for him to gain her trust but for once in his life, he is willing to put in the effort.  I look forward to catching up with these two as the series progresses. 

Overall, great start to a series.  I like the paranormal twist this one had and hope each new book will have that unique flair.  The other team members will be getting their own HEA’s hopefully.  All very strong stubborn men.  It will be fun to watch them fall! 

*ARC received from Netgalley for an honest review. 

Alexandra Ivy graduated from Truman University with a degree in theatre before deciding she preferred to bring her characters to life on paper rather than stage. She started her career writing traditional regencies before moving into the world of paranormal with her USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times bestselling series The Guardians of Eternity. Now she writes a wide variety of genres that include paranormal, erotica, and romantic suspense.

 Website http://alexandraivy.com/
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