Mercy House

by Adam Cesare

Welcome to Mercy House, a state-of-the-art retirement home that appears perfectly crisp, clean, and orderly . . . but nothing could be farther from the truth. In Adam Cesare’s thrilling novel, the residents will find little mercy—only a shocking eruption of unfathomable horror.
 
Harriet Laurel notices the odor at Mercy House as soon as she sets foot inside, brought there against her will by her son, Don, and his wife, Nikki. In the early stages of dementia, Harriet has grown resentful of Nikki, blaming her daughter-in-law for failing to supply grandchildren. Yet even Harriet must admit that her mind becomes clearer as soon as she crosses the threshold. If it wasn’t for that annoying smell.
 
Arnold Piper is an eighty-five-year-old ex-Marine, a proud man who has cared for himself his whole life. But no longer. Betrayed by his aging body, Arnold is learning that the trials he survived long ago in war-torn Korea pale beside the daily indignities of growing old. Little does he know that his greatest nightmares are still ahead of him.
 
Sarah Campbell is an idealistic nurse whose compassion has been stretched to the breaking point at the chronically understaffed facility that is Mercy House. But now Sarah’s list of unpleasant duties is about to take a terrifying turn. For something wicked is brewing in Mercy House. Something dark and rotten . . . and deadly.

Genres: Horror, Horror Thriller

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 9, 2015

About the author

Adam Cesare is a New Yorker who lives in Philadelphia. His books include Clown in a Cornfield, Video Night, The Summer Job, and Zero Lives Remaining. He’s an avid fan of horror cinema and runs Project: Black T-Shirt, a YouTube review show where he takes horror films and pairs them with reading suggestions.

Reviews

[Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don and his wife Nikki has decided it's time for Don's mother to go to the retirement home Mercury House. Harriet, Don's mother is feeling resentment towards Nikki, blaming her for failing to provide her with grandchildren. She is also in the early stages of dementia so a retirement home should be the best for her. They couldn't be more wrong...

Something is really wrong at Mercy House and soon Don, Nikki and the staff at the retirement home has to fight for their lives...

This isn't a book for people that can't take blood and gore. Quite early in the book, everything goes to hell and the violence (and the orgies) is quite graphic. Personally, I had no real problem with it, well the orgies was a bit nasty, old people, well old people that are “healed” and participating in wild sex games was not that fun, especially when they couldn't perform anymore and was discarded.

But the thing that bothered me with the story was that there wasn't an explanation to why all old people smelled a bad smell and then went primitive and crazy. Why just old people, and where the smell come from? Was it an experiment gone wrong/right? I can take the carnage, but I want to know why everything was happening and, in the end, it wasn't explained in any way. Other than that, the book was good well written and intense and you had no idea who would die and who would live.

I received this copy from the publisher through NetGalley and from TLC Book Tours in return for an honest review!

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

What the hell is wrong with me? I love gore. I consider myself an extreme horror reader. Mercy House did not send me into a nerve-shattering orgasmic episode of delight and I can tell you why. There were too many questions. For an OCD girl like me, I wanna know. You can't just throw something out there and expect me to not question your motivations and direction. What was the primary reason for the "Healing?" That question followed me through the halls. It overshadowed the geriatric sex. It trivialized the killings and gore, which, by the way, can be found in abundance.

Maybe my own issues stopped me from enjoying this read to the fullest.

It had all the elements of a perfect splatterpunk read so I'll give you a little blurb.

"Mercy House is a tale of survival where the weak and forgotten not only usurp their overseers and the institution that has held them captive, but violently and bloodily rip it apart, showing everyone that age ain't nothing but a number."


*I was given a copy in exchange for an honest review*

[Frank Errington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review copy

Don Laurel and his wife, Nikki, are dropping off Don's mother at Mercy House. Harriet Laurel was losing her mind as a result of Pick's disease, like Alzheimer's leading to more and more "senior moments" and eventually to a near catatonic state.

The home rolls out the red carpet for new arrivals and their families, but things quickly turn ugly during an argument over who gets steak and who has to eat fish.

Adam Cesare instantly creates an atmosphere of terror. In the hours that follow some truly horrible crimes are committed. Although we never learn what caused the changes to the residents of Mercy House, the writing itself is top notch and there are some disturbingly violent images filling the pages of this book.

My wife works in a nursing home, the best recommendation I can give is to say I won't be suggesting she add it to her reading list. I don't think think she'd go back to work and we really need the money.

Mercy House is published by Hydra, the next generation of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror from Random House. It's available now in most e-book formats, from the usual online retailers.

Recommended.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something has gone seriously rotten at Mercy House.

A geriatric fuck fest amid a Hieronymus Bosch tapestry of violence and destruction.

Nasty. Gory. Old school horror. Classic Cesare. Yep.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Harriet is in the early stages of dementia and is being taken to Mercy House, a state of the art nursing home by her son, Don, and his wife Nikki. Recently the residents of Mercy House have noticed something odd in the home as they begin to experience physical changes and Harriet also becomes affected as soon as she arrives. Residents experience a reversal of the ageing process but along with this comes a violent psychological change that has the elderly lusting for blood.

After reading some of the other reviews for this I was expecting a much more explicit read but was glad that it wasn't quite as extreme as I had anticipated. There is still plenty of gore so hardcore fans won't be disappointed but the sexual content wasn't as graphic as expected. There is plenty of action and it starts pretty much from the first few chapters and doesn't let up til the final page.

I had a couple of issues that lessened my enjoyment of the read. The first was that there was no explanation as to why the residents changed, what the funny smell was and what was it connected to. It was frustrating not to know the source of the change and gave the story no real foundation for the residents actions.

The other issue was that there were too many characters for me, I found it hard to keep everything straight especially as the pacing was very fast. There were also not nearly enough likeable characters. The main character of Nikki was well done but for some reason I couldn't quite connect to her enough to feel completely invested in her outcome. The other main character was Sarah, I found her very unlikeable even though I assumed she was supposed to be a sympathetic character. Her back story made her seem very judgmental and nit picky which I didn't like at all. The character I liked most was the physical therapist (Paolo, I think), perhaps too good to be true but the one character you really wanted to survive.

An entertaining story that is missing some vital information and characters that well drawn but hard at times to connect with. I'd still recommend this to horror fans as it's a fun read.

[Patrick Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It would've been so easy to just write this as a straight forward zombie-esque splatter fest, not that there's anything wrong with that. In the hands of someone as skilled as Cesare, it would've been downright entertaining. But with Mercy House, he goes the extra step, playing on the reader's fear of someday growing old and possibly winding up in such a facility. The book's tone is a somewhat uneven mix of horror and comedy but it's done deliberately (as far as I can tell) and it makes for an almost dizzying narrative. Just when you think the story's at its wackiest, it goes for the jugular, making the violence/depravity all the more effective. With realistic/sympathetic characters and perhaps the best use of setting I've read all year, Cesare's newest book is intelligent horror gold. I promise you'll love this one. Just don't expect it to show any mercy.

[Tony Vacation · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the elderly residents of Mercy House undergo an inexplicable mutation that renders them elongated and lust-addled cannibals, it’s safe to assume that none of our small cast of young protagonists stand much of a chance. Characters are drawn quickly but effectively, giving enough emotional engagement with these caregivers (and one couple who picked a bad day to drop-off a fading mother) as they navigate slime-drenched orgies, battle royales, and the realities of their own human nature. Cesare’s novel is a fast-paced, ultraviolent extravaganza of geriatric dread that will please lovers of gonzo action-horror comedies like Dead Alive and Re-Animator.

[Kaisersoze · Rating 2 out of 5]

No author has a hundred percent hit rate, and Mercy House is Adam Cesare's first swing and miss for me. Dealing with some kind of outbreak at an old people's home which turns the residents into super-charged, id-driven monsters, the novel follows both the efforts of a few select characters in trying to get out alive, as well as the POVs of several of the residents as they undergo their change.

Though the book builds nicely through the establishing sections, I found myself losing interest as the chaos mounted. The infection (or whatever it is) is never well-defined so I was uncertain why some people acted in one way, while others acted completely differently. The ranks of the survivors are thinned fairly quickly, leaving behind only one or two whom I liked and wanted to see live. And then this all gets thrown into a very repetitive mix of stalk and hide scenes that were never thrilling or horrifying enough (for me).

Don't worry. Cesare has more than demonstrated how fantastic an author he is, so I will definitely be back for his next book, but this is one that I will not be adding to his collection on my physical book shelf.

2 Strict Nursing Routines for Mercy House.

[Gef · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would happen if you took Bubba Ho-Tep with its old folks home backdrop, then replaced the oddball comedy with the most hair-raising, blood-curdling moments of The Evil Dead? Well, you might wind up with Mercy House.

No sign of Bruce Campbell in this taut-paced novel, but the manic pace and otherworldly manifestations do lend themselves to his brand of horror.

What you basically have in Mercy House is an out of the way seniors complex. The owners present it to folks as an idyllic place to admit elderly relatives, so they can enjoy all the wonderful amenities like fine dining, hot tubs, and frequent social events. In reality, the place is a wee bit shady, cutting corners where it can and employing a few people who fall short of "Employee of the Month." It's not a dungeon by any stretch ... at least not yet. Because, ya see, one day all hell breaks loose. Inexplicably, something happens to the residents of Mercy House, just as a prospective new resident is being given the grand tour. Carnage, to put it lightly, ensues.

In one sense, the novel feels a little familiar, at least with the jump off. An opening chapter that gives a glimpse of the terror, then the intro of the key players and just enough character development for you to give a damn whether they live or die, then pull the lever and let the madness begin. But once it does kick off with the bedlam, the familiarity is replaced with a kind of disorienting dread. This is not a mystery novel. Don't look for answers. Look for questions, and amid the bloodletting there are some touched upon questions of our autumn years, our mortality, and our unspoken frailties bubbling to the surface in unsavory ways.

Adam Cesare is really good in writing what feels like a cinematic slaughterhouse. He did it with Tribesmen, which I loved, and he's done it here. If visceral, unvarnished horror is your preferred reading experience, you've got a good one here.

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting for Adam Cesare's Mercy House may be as depressing as it gets. Harriet is reluctantly brought to the state-of-the-art retirement home called Mercy House by her son and his wife, Don and Nikki. As they tour the home, a change comes over the elderly residents. It is a change that brings violence and depravity to the facility and leaves some staff and visitors desperately trying to survive as the residents kill, rape and eat their way through the night.

Setting the action in a retirement home is a tricky endeavor and invites all type of analogizing. The fact that the author provides no clear motive for the transformation of the residents is an interesting tactic. Without an explanation, we are forced to look at the action and emotions of the characters, searching for rationalizations where that may be none. Some readers have focused on the zombie-like state of the transformed seniors but I don't see it. The elderly protagonists go from helpless victims to savage victimizers in a moment. They are violent but still alert, more so than before and stronger than before. The viciousness in which they go after the caretakers imply an almost obsessive revenge, a turning of the tables so to speak. This theme of docility turned savage is not new. There are some comparisons that can be made to other sources. The focusing on one building where the characters are trapped and reverting to a primitive state is similar to J. G. Ballard's Highrise while there is a very similar setup in Cronenberg's early horror film Shiver. But I kept thinking that I may actually be reading sort of a geriatric Lord of the Flies. Are not the very old sometimes thought of as being in a second age of innocence especially as physical and mental frailty sets in. And if that was removed suddenly along with the effects of returned strength and heightened libido and emotions, could not the result be a wave of hostility and revenge upon those who controlled them?

Yes, Mercy House brings forth a load of questions. But are they the reader's or the author's? it is a little hard to say since Cesare's incredibly violent and intense novel never really lets up enough to indulge in answers. The author writes like in a whirlwind going to one shocking scene after another. it is really quite impressive. He focuses on a few of the characters more than others in a way that gives pretty much a capsule study on modes of survival. Nikki is basically the main focus, lost in the meaning of it all but simply trying to survive. Sarah is a nurse quickly headed for burnout when the events becomes for her a sad karmic accusation. Of the elder residents, Arnold Piper, a veteran, turns the horrors into what sometimes seemed to me like a gruesome re-enactment of his war years. And finally, there is Harriett, whose violent transformation is dominated by the obsessive hatred she has for the daughter-in-law she always resented.

Yes, there is a lot to take in here. Yet Mercy House is a visceral, controversial and ultimately difficult read. Cesare's skills are so good that his descriptions bring you into the action maybe a little too intimately. Intense may be an understatement. If one can handle the extreme ride it is a very rewarding if exhausting tale. But at times I wished he slowed down and gave the reader time and clues to ponder all the madness. I don't need explanations in a novel all the time but in this one I wonder if it would have been a little more helpful to tie the themes and action together.

Yet it is still a sick but wonderful roller coaster ride. I would certainly recommend this to those who enjoy extreme horror but also to those who want to see where the young writers in the genre are heading. For me, it is nice to know that the younger writers can still find stories that make us old veteran horror readers a little queasy.

Three and a half stars.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solidly ghoulish good time. The weak ending and slight pacing issues did little to detract from my enjoyment.

[Emma Alice Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are You Afraid Of The Elderly?

Fear of old people. There's a lot packed into that concept. Young people afraid of growing old, sealing their elders away in nursing homes to die. But what if the old people are given a mysterious new lease on life? What if they mutate and fall prey to their old vices and new ones too. Like cannibalism. Like sloppy old people orgies. This book is twisted, make no mistake, but what elevates it to the next level is the characters. The elderly residents at Mercy House don't all dive wholeheartedly into their transformation into old monster mutant things. Some of them try to hold onto their humanity, or at least pieces of it. Meanwhile, the youngsters who are trapped in the olders' clutches are no saints. After all, they're the ones who have kept the oldsters captive. The nursing home devolves into a Lord of the Flies scenario, but with old people. But let's talk about the old people orgies some more. There's a good chance you're going to gag the next time you hear the word "blue." You're not ready for this.

[Pete Kahle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the past year, Adam Cesare has become one of my "must read" horror novelists. He is surfing the top of the wave of new talent that has been coming into their own recently. Anytime he publishes a new book, I immediately snatch it up.

MERCY HOUSE is another great addition to his library. Starting with the premise that an unknown force causes elderly people to regain the strength and "lust for life"" they had lost over the years (pun definitely intended).

Unfortunately, their rejuvenation continues until they revert to primal bloodthirsty savagery. The majority of the action takes place in a nursing home called Mercy House as it devolves into a festival of bloodshed..

The only issue I had with the books was the nebulous origin for the mutation... or whatever it was. Personally, I prefer to know the exact cause. Even so, that's a minor quibble. I would definitely recommend this to any fan of horror fiction.

4 out of 5 stars

[David Bernstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mercy House is a non-stop, graphic, chaotic ride of terror and mayhem. It's pure, old school, gore-filled horror about survival. It's sort of a zombie novel, but not a zombie novel, as the "residents/creatures" are more than what we think of as "zombies"--brainless flesh consuming monsters. These "things/changed people" are something new and do more than simply kill. There are orgies, sex, lots of violence and death and characters to root for. Filled with dread and that feeling of "are they going to make it" and lots of cool scenes and surprises, Mercy House is a true horror fan's must-read.

[Nev Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of Mercy House from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Hydra.

Not read much by Adam Cesare but loved his contribution in Jackpot and heard really good things about Mercy House so grabbed my chance to get a copy from NetGalley. What a journey this turned out to be!

Don and Nikki Laurel are on a road trip to Mercy House. It’s an old people’s home. They are taking Don’s mother Harriet there but she really doesn’t want to go. She thinks Nikki is to blame for her going there and hates her with a vengeance.

Sarah Campbell is a nurse in Mercy House. She does everything by the book to make sure all the residents have as much of a pleasurable stay as they can.

Arnold Piper is eighty five and an ex-marine. He served in Korea and is now seeing out his last years in Mercy House. He hasn’t been able to move much for a long time but suddenly he feels fitter. He can move more. He is getting some life back in his old bones.

Something is in the air. No one is quite sure what it is but when it starts to affect the residents in ways that no one could ever expect, it spells disaster for anyone unlucky enough to be staying in Mercy House, or even just visiting.

People are scared of clowns. People are scared of dolls. People are scared of balloons. I personally, have always had a fear of old people’s homes. I hate the feeling in them. I hate the smell in them. I’m almost sorry to say that I hate the people in them. This is due to the fact that they all seem to have given up. The homes are like the last waiting room before the resident’s just pop off upstairs or downstairs for good.

After reading Mercy House, I will never set foot in one again. I am even right now, looking at the one directly opposite my house with suspicion and fear.

Adam Cesare has written a book that is horrific in every way possible. It is wonderfully written to give you a crawling sensation up your spine with every word you read and one that stays with you long after you finish it. Let’s face it, an old peoples home wouldn’t be the place you would expect a horror book to be set. I mean what damage can old people do? You would be surprised.

Our main characters in this book stand out big and tall for varying reasons. Harriett is nuts. There is no doubt about that. Her son Don and his wife Nikki are doing the best they can for her. She doesn’t see it like that. When the “thing” happens her level of nuttiness multiplies by a million. She goes on a horrific rampage with only one mission. Get Nikki. Nikki herself has more to deal with than most in this story and her battle for survival shows a strength of character most people would not possess. Arnold Piper is cool. An ex-marine who still has what it takes to lead an army, comes to the fore in a way he thought had long left him. Sarah Campbell is a quiet, unassuming girl just out to do her job. She gets caught up in something she could never have imagined in all of her lifetime.

Mercy House is essentially a battle for survival, told from many different perspectives, both good and evil. It’s like a zombie book but there are no zombies. All characters are alive. Some of the residents more alive than they have been for years. I don’t want to give anything away of the plot but there is no escape. Some people are in total control and some people have no control. Some people are running for their lives and some want to end those lives. The frustrating thing for me was you have no idea why. Some call it “the healing” but I would have liked to have known more about what it actually was. This in no way takes away from the story though.

Trying to describe how horrific this is without giving away the story is nearly impossible. It is superb, edge of your seat stuff with blood, guts and gore a plenty. You can smell the fear. You can taste it. You can feel it.

Ever see House of 1000 Corpses? One of the greatest horror films ever made in my opinion. Rob Zombie absolutely killed me with that film. It was perfect.

Mr Zombie needs to get his hands on Mercy House and give it the same treatment. It has the same feel about it only times the horror by ten.

To summarise: Horror in an old people’s home. Palpable, tangible horror. It will grab you by the squidgies and not just squeeze them but rip them off and thrown them away. Super, perfectly paced writing with characters that fit like a glove and characters you just cannot fail to love and equally hate. You will jump, you will cringe, and you will even laugh. Do not read whilst eating and make sure you have someone close by to give you a hug when you’re finished with it.


General rating:

★★★★★ Can't give it any less.

Horror rating:

★★★★★ You want horror? Buy this.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 2.5 but rounded up.

If you're a fan of the awesome, Jack Ketchum, Wrath James White, Joe McKinney or Brian Keen, you may like this one, but only if you're not bothered about plot or getting answers.

The opening chapter of Mercy House by Adam Cesare introduces the main characters and is written stylishly well and gives enough character development to care and want to know what happens to them. Nikki and her husband Don are taking her mother-law, Harriet to reside at Mercy House an old people's residential home. Mercy House is a creepy gothic building from the outside but that's nothing compared to what's to come from the inside. Things go according to plan, albeit with some antagonism from Harriet towards Nikki as their relationship has a few snags so to speak but then all hell breaks loose when the crazy 'old folk' start causing mayhem.

Chaos enshrues as things take a downward spiral as the rejuvenated, extremely virile and now much stronger 'oldies' take over the home and conduct their rampage with a huge amount of overaged sex, elderly orgies, extreme sadistic violence, culminating in death for everyone else not in their older years.

The OAP's have an insatiable appetite for violence, sex, violent sex, rape, torture, killing in the most gory manner and displaying the corpses in the most grotesque scenarios, and cannibalism ... that's pretty much it !

Over the years I've read a fair amount of this style of horror from the likes of Joe McKinney, Jack Ketchum, Wrath James White, and Brian Keen all of whom I enjoyed very much. They're certainly different from the mainstream. I hoped I would feel the same about Adam Cesare, but I didn't, not with Mercy House anyway. Maybe I've overdosed, maybe I've just moved on, but there is very little plot to speak of, and no explanation is even hinted at as to what may have caused the complete rejuvenation and the psychotic behaviour of the 'old fogeys' so I think that may have contributed to my complacency towards Mercy House. It was just 'gore' for 'gore's sake' and I quickly became bored and wanted it to end.

Don't just take my word for it though. See what others have to say about Adam Cesare's Mercy House on Amazon and GoodReads and in the TLC Book Tour.

Enter the GIVEAWAY for a chance to win $25 e-gift card and a copy of Mercy House and judge for yourself at my blog SJ2B House of Books and see what other readers thought in the TLC Book Tour.

Disclaimer: A complimentary digital copy of Mercy House was provided by Hydra via NetGalley in exchange for an honest unbiased review

[Zakk Madness · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5/5

Mercy House, my second Adam Cesare ride, is a vicious and entertaining read. It's brutal, in the best of ways. You get a very nice almost intimate set up to the location and characters and a great introduction to our main characters as Don & Nikki transport Harriet, Don's mother and Mercy House's newest resident to her new home. Right before all hell breaks loose.

When the bottom drops out, events escalate quickly, with plenty of bloodshed. You get plenty of dark and visceral encounters between the effected (infected?) and the regular folk, and if gore is your thing this is going to ring your bell. The welcoming dinner had me amped up and all shades of excited.

I also really dug how the elderly residents, after the initial revert to primal savages, began to branch off into their different factions, social classes. This made for a neat dynamic and further depth from the senior character set. I was expecting, devolution, violence, go! And I got that, then I got the buzzaro William Golding "Lord of the Flies" segregation of factions, each trying to control their place in the home while trying to eviscerate the younger, unchanged staff and family members.

I had a blast with all of the cast here. With my favorite overall character arc was that of Harriet, starting with her looming abandonment and shifting to her thirst for revenge. She was a three dimensional character the hit all across the emotional spectrum.

And experiencing the ferocious story play out is simply a guilty pleasure. It's a ride that I would gladly take again in the future.

The only drawback that I can see is that If you need closure, an explanation of the how's and why's these events are occurring, how far spread the effects branch out, you may be disappointed. It didn't bother me at all. While there are nuanced clues, there is no big reveal as to the exact cause of the epidemic. Which makes sense. You are living this sudden event along with the characters, in their time and in one location, and we only know what they know. And that is how to kill, how to survive, or how to fall apart. Which will you be?

*Note: I received and read a review copy. These are my honest feelings.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another of those authors that I am reading for the first time. One major peeve about this book is that it seems to have more pages than are needed for the narrative, though this is of course only my opinion. You get to know some characters better than others and I feel that the ones you get so much information on are the wrong ones. I wanted more about the couple who show up on such a crazy day as they walk into. I was also not really sure about where this was taking place, it seemed to be both isolated and not isolated, never sure of which. Much of the action occurs in the first ten chapters with the remaining being filler with spots of activity.

There is never any explanation as to what happens to the residents or why. That seems like an important omission to me, monster, environmental or alien. I found only one error and that is the mistake in the name of the doctor on a couple of occasions.

Mercy House is a state-of-the-art retirement home which appears perfect on the surface. The truth however is far from this ideal picture shown to prospective residents and their families. These people get to see the lively residents who reside on the first and second floors but not those who cannot speak for themselves. Don and Nikki Laurel are on their way to drop Don's mother, Harriet, off at Mercy House something she highly resents. When they arrive things seem great but as they make their tour and settle in to enjoy dinner, changes are brewing among those in attendance.

This was not very scary in and of itself. If you are afraid of old people or afraid of what they might do if given the chance then this could be terrifying. This did make me want to try some other work by this author and to see what he has to offer. Do recommend.

[Carl Alves · Rating 4 out of 5]

The old folks are on the loose at Mercy House and they’re angry, menacing, and have transformed physically in a way where they are no longer frail and weak. It’s never quite explained in the novel, which is something that is missing for my satisfaction, but the geezers at an old age home all at once transform. They are no longer constrained by the physical challenges of old age, but beyond the physical transformation is a mental one. The old folks go on a rampage, massacring the staff at Mercy House. Caught in the crossfire is Nikki Laurel, who is there to admit her extremely unpleasant mother-in-law, Harriet, to Mercy House. Nikki must rally the other survivors to try to make it out of Mercy House alive.

This is a very different kind of horror novel by Adam Cesare. You tend not to get a lot of elderly characters in horror novels, and certainly not elderly antagonists. These characters have become quite monstrous in this novel, but at the same time there is a certain level of underdog to the characters. After all, it wasn’t too long before they were suffering in various ways—some physical, some emotional. Of the old folks, Arnold Piper, an ex-Marine, is probably the one that has the most humanity to him and doesn’t become quite as depraved as the others. The novel is well written and compelling. I like that it’s not your typical horror story. It’s gritty and intense and delivers at many different levels. This is a novel to put on your to-read list for all horror fans.

Carl Alves – author of Conjesero

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adam Cesare's love of classic horror films is evident in the cinematic opening of Mercy House: the police find a young woman covered in blood rambling incoherently about a massacre. Most of the book is the story of the previous day and what led up to the opening scene.

Mercy House is not a "zombie" book, but would certainly fall in the category of survival horror. The notion of elderly nursing home residents, one of the most invisible and ignored segments of the population, becoming deadly is intriguing. Each character has an in depth backstory and traits that make them distinct and interesting. As the story unfolds Cesare, through his characters, explores how far each is willing to go to make it through the night. I also appreciated the unexplained nature of the phenomenon. Sure, one could throw in half a page of pseudo-science to "explain" the cause, but in the end who cares? Get to the good stuff, I say.

Mercy House is a fun pulp novel full of gore and mayhem, but there are deeper layers dealing with how we as a society treat the elderly. I enjoyed this from beginning to end and will be checking out Mr. Cesare's other work. 5 stars!

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nikki and Don take Don's hateful mother Harriet (she has Pick's disease, similar to Alzheimers) to her new home at Mercy House. It seems to be a fairly nice place and Nikki and Don spend the day there, helping Harriet settle (Harriet despises Nikki and blames her for the move to the home). However, with no warning the residents of Mercy House make a sudden change and suddenly Mercy House becomes a prison.

I know that lots of people like plenty of gore, but I'm not a huge fan unless it's actually germane to the story. Here nothing is explained and the reader just gets scene after scene of....yuck. The ending was depressing and rather annoying. I really wanted to like this more than I did, but I can't really recommend unless you know you are going to like this sort of thing.

[Mommacat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mercy House. A place none of us wants to end up in, but pretty nice from the description. Don & Nikki are bringing Don's mother to live. They'll spend the day to check it out. And that's the premise.

For some reason the seniors are given sudden strength and stamina. Food fights break out and various other fighting begins. The true horror begins when you get the image of octogenarian sex in your mind. This could be you in (x) number of years! Please! I'd prefer not to imagine that. But, basically, the novel was pretty much one note. Sex, gore, gore, sex. For that reason, for me, it was just OK and I gave it three stars.

I was given an e-arc of this book by the publisher in exchange for my review.

[Deborah Mitton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this book is not for the faint of heart! I had to stop a few times just to breathe. Every page is a detailed description of gore and grossness (is that a word?). As a lover of horror this novel was at times a little over the top, damn it - I'll tell it as it is - it was really over the top. That said, as an old gal I really appreciated the old folks taking over the nursing home and giving hell to all the young'uns.

I seriously loved the sweet little old Mother-in-Law ... you rocked girl friend. (Insert evil laugh here.)

[Donna Modafferi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

unexplained violence in an old age home. Could care less about the characters. A real disappointment. Cause for violence unidentified. Felt like I was reading a very bad war story. Skimmed the whole book

[Horror DNA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mercy House is the savage story of an unexplained phenomenon that transforms an elderly home into a nightmarish battleground that could have easily been a chaotic mess of death and Depends™. In the hands of the author, Adam Cesare, however, we are given characters we can relate to or at least understand. It would be difficult not to sympathize with Nikki, trying to live her life with her husband Don, removed from the burden of an increasingly more hateful mother-in-law, or even Mercy resident Arnold Piper, the Korean War veteran, finding his surroundings becoming a darker replay of the horrors he has already endured. Whomever you choose, there is someone to hold onto and hold on you must. Once the change of the older residents takes place, the novel breathlessly rockets ahead and Mr. Cesare places you in an increasingly claustrophobic environment where each step can trigger an attack.

You can read Jonathan's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Sreypich Van · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was a miss for me. I actually found the first half interesting and the rest I pretty much just skimmed through and gloss over.
I kept hoping that there was some sort of an explanation as to why those old people are turning savage. It is next to impossible for those old people to have such superhuman strength which was ironic for them to end up in a nursing home in the first place. Maybe there was a biological warfare, a gene mutation, supernatural forces... we dont know.
As for the characters, I dont really care for them much besides Paulo, the nurse.
The writing was okay although I found some of the stuff boring especially in Arnold's arc.
The ending fell flat for me and left me quite disappointing.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.
After The First One You Expect, and Clown in a Cornfield, I was prepared to go all in on Adam Cesare but now will proceed with caution. Horror authors have a lot of choices to make along the way to a finished work. Mercy House takes a straight splatter/gore route and blows past the character development that would make me care. Sure, it's creative to set it in a retirement home - and that carries it for a bit - but when you've read one (or a dozen) splatter book you've basically read them all.

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting premise about how the world might end. I got disinterested about 3/4 of the way in but the ending made up for that. Gory and frightening I would recommend this novel to fans of apocalyptic horror stories.

[Brett Mitchell Kent]

DNF at 30%.

I adore Adam Cesare and this was the last holdout of his work that I haven’t read. I can’t pinpoint why it didn’t work for me, but I found myself really disliking the characters and caring very little what happened.

[Andy Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, was ok, but I've read better.