Cruel Mercy by David Mark, Book Review

In Cruel Mercy, fans of DS Aector McAvoy get to follow him to the US, more specifically New York. Few people would say that family aren’t trouble now and then, not many however are related to a Roma bare-knuckle fighter who attracts trouble for a living, that is - unless you’re Aector McAvoy.  

You might meet up with your brother-in-law to watch the big game on TV, share a beer and some jokes, and all’s good. If you are McAvoy, your brother-in-law involves you in an investigation involving more violence, gore and menace than can reasonably make it into a single lifetime, let alone a trip stateside. 

You will encounter a feud that crosses the Atlantic, missing Irishmen, the Mafia, crooked lawyers, clashing police officers, a Penitent, and Aector McAvoy from Hull, Yorkshire, a decent copper who loves his wife, and is stuck in the middle, trying to save the lives of those dear to him, rootle out killers and make sense of a crime that has ruined lives for several generations. It’s a big ask and you will be on the edge of your seat finding out if he succeeds. This is NOIR as in hard-hitting, dark and violent.  

Cruel Mercy, the sixth in the DS McAvoy Series, was first published by Hodder & Stoughton in January 2017, available in hardback, paperback, Kindle and audio.