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The Mercy Killers: A Novel

Lisa Reardon

3.57 · Rating details · 60 ratings · 8 reviews

From a fierce new voice in American literature comes a psychological drama that combines gripping suspense and unforgettable characters in a story of murder, love, violent passion, and moral responsibility.

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Paperback, 266 pages

Published September 6th 2005 by Counterpoint (first published August 25th 2004)

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Apr 03, 2019 Carol rated it really liked it

The characters and dialogue are well created, with an an interesting theme that questions when ending a life is moral, both during civilian and wartime contexts. The immoral drafting of soldiers into the Vietnam war is also touched upon.

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Feb 02, 2011 Christie rated it really liked it

I first discovered Reardon a few years back when I read Billy Dead, a novel that continues to haunt me. The Mercy Killers has been on my tbr shelf for ages but I kept putting off reading it because its subject matter didn’t really appeal to me. Once I started it, though, I couldn’t put it down.

Lisa Reardon writes about characters who live in a world vastly different from my own. They are broken-down people whose lives are messy – filled with violence and alcohol and drugs and hopelessness.

The Me I first discovered Reardon a few years back when I read Billy Dead, a novel that continues to haunt me. The Mercy Killers has been on my tbr shelf for ages but I kept putting off reading it because its subject matter didn’t really appeal to me. Once I started it, though, I couldn’t put it down.

Lisa Reardon writes about characters who live in a world vastly different from my own. They are broken-down people whose lives are messy – filled with violence and alcohol and drugs and hopelessness.

The Mercy Killers concerns the fortunes (and misfortunes) of a group of people who hang out at Gil McGurk’s bar. When the novel opens, one of the regulars, Old Jerry, is complaining about his inability to take a bath. He wants to die. It’s his birthday.

PT is one of Old Jerry’s grandsons. He’s nineteen and developmentally delayed after suffering one too many beatings at the hands of his father. Charlie, PT’s younger brother, is a petty criminal. He hangs out with Gino whose “bottle blue eyes and falling black hair” make him attractive to Gil’s daughter, Katie. Thing is, Gino’s not interested in women.

When PT decides to grant his grandfather’s wish and smothers him with a pillow, Charlie and Gino decide to cover up the crime. This propels the novel forward; Charlie ends up in Vietnam. Gino, too.

Although these characters weren’t familiar to me – the bonds of family and friendship, the small acts of kindness in unexpected places certainly were. Charlie is fiercely protective of his older brother, the brother who had put himself in harm’s way to protect him against their violent father as children. Although Charlie is not without his flaws, he has the potential to be decent and it is this inherent goodness on which other characters (Gino in particular) hang their hopes.

Reardon’s writing is propulsive. As with Billy Dead I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I wanted one of these characters to break the cycle of violence and addiction. While there’s no question that Vietnam has a role to play in this book – and that the psychological aftermath of that horrific war adds another layer of despair to the lives of the characters – it is clear that sometimes our own choices cause just as much pain.

As I was surfing around the web looking for a picture of the book, I came across a few stories about Reardon’s personal life. In August 2009, she shot her father. She didn’t kill him, but apparently she meant to. From what I have read, it seems like there was some bad blood between them. When asked whether he knew of any reason Lisa would want to harm him he said “yes,” but wouldn’t elaborate.

Perhaps the marginalized and damaged characters Reardon writes about are cut from personal cloth. I feel badly that she’s had some trouble. I think she’s an amazing writer. ...more

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Nov 19, 2009 Lynai rated it liked it

Shelves: own-a-copy

I randomly picked this up from Booksale without any idea what the story was all about, as obviously this isn't a very popular book due to lack of reviews. What could have probably make me buy this book was because its synopsis at the back says it's a story of crime -- the kind of story I cannot pass up especially if it costs only P40. Haha. I was very surprised to find myself thoroughly enjoying the story and finished reading it in one day.

The Mercy Killers is well-written, the dialogue smart an ...more

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Nov 11, 2015 Evie rated it it was amazing

The setting is grim as are the characters and their situations. Not my kind of book, I thought, but within 20 pages or so I was enthralled by the both the gritty reality of the story and the tendrils of hope that run through it. Although terrible things happen the characters are so real you can smell their breath and the message that comes through (at least to me) is one of loyalty, love and (in some ways) redemption. A full disclosure here: I purchased this book because I have taken some writin ...more

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Aug 25, 2015 Al Sevcik rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This is an amazing book. Yes, it's about grubby, down & out characters who spend a lot of their time in McGurk's Tap Room. But it also may be one of the best books about the Vietnam War and what it did to the young men who were there. The book is beautifully written and the characters are clearly drawn. It's also a meditation on obligation and the meaning of "family". This book will be with me for a long time. ...more

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Nov 27, 2009 Elaine rated it really liked it

This is well written, but I found it quite harrowing! Good cast of characters that you bond with emotionally, so the book sucks you in and you feel for the characters. Thank goodness for the ending (the type of ending) not the end of the book. I liked the book immensely even though it was a hard read at times.

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