Starred review from June 22, 2020
Rose delivers a pulse-pounding mix of romance and terror in the no-holds-barred sequel to Say You’re Sorry. When Mercy Reynolds was 13, her mother smuggled her out of the Northern California cult she was born into—a daring escape that cost Mercy’s mother her life, and nearly Mercy’s as well. Fast-forward 13 years, and Mercy has just evaded a serial killer with the help of her estranged older brother, Gideon, who escaped the cult before she did, and his handsome best friend, Det. Raphael Sokolov. The news reports on the killer alert the cult to Mercy’s survival, and now Ephraim Burton, the cult leader and Mercy’s childhood abuser, is coming after her. She’ll need Raphael’s help to stop him. Mercy and Raphael’s daring mission to neutralize Ephraim and slow-simmering romance make for enthralling reading. Rose has a gift for taut plotting, making the hefty page count fly by. Mercy and Raphael leap off the page, and Ephraim is imbued with such evil that it’s a relief when he gets his gory just desserts. While violence and sexual assault mark this as not for the faint of heart, readers looking for high-octane romantic suspense won’t be able to resist. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House.