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Dangerous Mercy
Kathy Herman

Book Summary: Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. --Matthew 5:7 When eighty-five-year-old Adele Woodmore moves to Les Barbes to be near the Broussards--and her namesake, their daughter--she wants nothing more than a comfortable, quiet life. Employing men from Father Vince's halfway house for the homeless to do odd jobs and landscaping, she delights in the casual conversation she has with them, the fledgling friendships, and the idea that she is helping them get back on their feet. A series of murders in Les Barbes has cast a pall over the town and, in fact, one of Adele's handymen becomes a person of interest to the police. But Adele cares for these young men, she "knows" them, and continues to show them kindness in spite of her friends' concern. And then one day a murderer walks through Adele's defenses, sits down at her kitchen table ... and they begin to talk ...

Review: There are many good qualities in this book. They mystery was ongoing and not surprising overall with the resolution. I enjoyed reading about all the previous characters. That made so much of it worthwhile. I did find it slower to get into. Once it took off it was a quick read and I wanted to know how it was going to be resolved and that Adele was going to be OK. I thought the wrestling match Adele had with herself and others about forming relationships with the men from Haven House. That was a great part of the book and something very real when you are doing ministry. The only thing that was sad and true about ministry is that doing ministry alone is unfortunate because many times the people of God forget that we are to be partners in ministry privately and corporately. Overall it was a good read and was very realistic. The ending was remarkable and worth the wait.
I would like to thank Net Galley and David C. Cook for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and I was never asked to write a favorable review by anyone.
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