No Mercy/ Joanna Schauffhausen/ 305 pgs

This is the second book in the Ellery Hathaway series. At fourteen, Ellery was the only girl to survive being kidnapped by a serial killer. Reed Markham was the young FBI agent who found her. The serial killer is in prison, but Ellery, now in her twenties, is imprisoned as well, never able to escape her past or the events of book one. In this installment she is in a victim/survivor group, trying to get back on the police force by doing what they want. She definitely has a long way to go to heal but in the beginning, she's not interested in that. She's more interested in solving the rape of one group member and the killing of another's toddler son in an act of arson. The most fascinating thing about this book is watching Ellery try to navigate the normal world that she feels she can never be a part of and that includes her friendship with Reed. I was relieved that Ellery did not really suffer further trauma in this book (although she sets herself up for an assault). The psychological exploration is intriguing and I am looking forward to the next book.