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Mercy House
Win a free print copy of this book!
18 days and 10:40:16
10 copies available
U.S. only
Welcome to Mercy House, a state-of-the-art retirement home that appears perfectly clean and orderly . . . but something is turning the residents into monsters. In this thrilling novel from the author of Clown in a Cornfield, you will find little mercy—only a shocking eruption of unfathomable horror.
“[Adam Cesare] has implemented a style that is highly cinematic, merciless in its execution and leaves you hanging on for dear life wondering what he'll do next.” —Horror DNA
“Mercy House is the kind of no-holds-barred thrill ride that horror junkies love to find.” —October Country
Harriet Laurel notices the odor the moment she steps inside Mercy House, brought to the retirement home against her will by her son and his wife. In the early stages of dementia, Harriet has grown to resent her daughter-in-law for not providing grandchildren. Yet as she crosses the threshold, she notices her mind begins to sharpen. Then her hate begins to grow. . . .
Arnold Piper, an eighty-five-year-old ex-Marine, has always prided himself on self-reliance. But betrayed by his own body, he’s learning that surviving war-torn Korea was easier than facing the daily indignities of old age. And his worst trials are still to come.
Sarah Campbell, an idealistic nurse, is already stretched thin at the chronically understaffed Mercy House. Now her duties are about to take a terrifying turn. Can she survive the night. . . and her patients?
“[Adam Cesare] has implemented a style that is highly cinematic, merciless in its execution and leaves you hanging on for dear life wondering what he'll do next.” —Horror DNA
“Mercy House is the kind of no-holds-barred thrill ride that horror junkies love to find.” —October Country
Harriet Laurel notices the odor the moment she steps inside Mercy House, brought to the retirement home against her will by her son and his wife. In the early stages of dementia, Harriet has grown to resent her daughter-in-law for not providing grandchildren. Yet as she crosses the threshold, she notices her mind begins to sharpen. Then her hate begins to grow. . . .
Arnold Piper, an eighty-five-year-old ex-Marine, has always prided himself on self-reliance. But betrayed by his own body, he’s learning that surviving war-torn Korea was easier than facing the daily indignities of old age. And his worst trials are still to come.
Sarah Campbell, an idealistic nurse, is already stretched thin at the chronically understaffed Mercy House. Now her duties are about to take a terrifying turn. Can she survive the night. . . and her patients?
336 pages, Paperback
First published June 9, 2015
About the author
Adam Cesare
68 books2,870 followersAdam 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 271 reviews
April 27, 2015
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!
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!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Ah, the indignities of old age - hair loss, erectile dysfunction, incontinence, and turning into a zombie-like creature bent on destruction and mayhem.
Yeah . . . the AARP never warns you about that last one.
Like they're hepped-up on gallons of Geritol, the reluctantly committed, the waiting-for-death, and the nearly dead oldsters are rising from their beds at Mercy House, and taking back the night. Turning on staff, and each other alike, they'll not be stopped until they get what they want - freedom, sex, vengeance, or all the Cialis they desire.
This one is fun, but extremely GROSS, featuring not only tons of blood-spattered action, but hordes of NAKED senior citizens Sorry, Adam, but I hope this one is NEVER made into a movie.
Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for sharing.
Yeah . . . the AARP never warns you about that last one.
Like they're hepped-up on gallons of Geritol, the reluctantly committed, the waiting-for-death, and the nearly dead oldsters are rising from their beds at Mercy House, and taking back the night. Turning on staff, and each other alike, they'll not be stopped until they get what they want - freedom, sex, vengeance, or all the Cialis they desire.
This one is fun, but extremely GROSS, featuring not only tons of blood-spattered action, but hordes of NAKED senior citizens Sorry, Adam, but I hope this one is NEVER made into a movie.
Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for sharing.
November 2, 2026
Fast-paced, cinematic, and over-the-top at every possible chance, this novel is grisly fun. The writing is consistently entertaining and vivid, doing a great job at bringing the reader into the scene. It is a very direct style, not lyrical or thick in any way, and this works in favor of the streamlined plot. The story has a lot of characters, and we are constantly shifting from one perspective to another, which adds to the frenetic pace and helps cement the emotionally chaotic landscape. The characters are all diverse and interesting as they are introduced, feeling like they have potential to be genuine, lived-in people. As the story progresses though there is not really much character growth or development. There is a little, for some of the characters, but for the most part this splatter-heavy, tongue-in-cheek survival horror transforms our characters into game pieces just being moved around for our amusement.
Does that sound like a complaint? It isn’t. The characters are given compelling enough backstories to be entertaining, which is what this story demands. It is hard to be emotionally invested in them, but that isn’t a requisite in this style of storytelling, and the fact that the characters are even given sympathetic and interesting histories is compelling. The story does seem to be stretched a bit thin in the third act, as events do keep unfolding but even as the scenarios are different it is more of the same violent symphony. What a symphony it is, though! The gore is visceral and creative consistently, balancing between being so ludicrous you have to laugh but also bright red and steaming enough that you wince. The violence isn’t mean or cynical, it is the “buckets-of-blood” approach of the best B-movies, a horror flick you find in the back racks of the video store with a VHS cover to die for.
This novel was originally published in 2015, though I read the re-release in 2026. There is a version of this story that the more seasoned writer Cesare has become might have written that has a little stronger hand with character, adding emotional stakes without sacrificing pacing or plot. It has great bones and is a thrill ride, but I won’t argue that there are ways it could have been a little more developed, both more intimate and more demanding of its audience. With that said, though, I had a heck of a good time reading this, and even suggesting that it has areas that could be improved doesn’t deny just how much fun it is. The writing style and approach to plot do lend this story a cinematic feel. It cuts from scene to scene with abandon, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It is bloody and squishy, and doesn’t waste its time with lengthy exposition or complicated mythology. Any story that is set in an old-age home is going to invite reflection on aging and death, as well as abandonment, compassion, community, and care. In some ways you could argue life is the ultimate survival-horror story, and Cesare’s bloody grin reminds us of that.
Does that sound like a complaint? It isn’t. The characters are given compelling enough backstories to be entertaining, which is what this story demands. It is hard to be emotionally invested in them, but that isn’t a requisite in this style of storytelling, and the fact that the characters are even given sympathetic and interesting histories is compelling. The story does seem to be stretched a bit thin in the third act, as events do keep unfolding but even as the scenarios are different it is more of the same violent symphony. What a symphony it is, though! The gore is visceral and creative consistently, balancing between being so ludicrous you have to laugh but also bright red and steaming enough that you wince. The violence isn’t mean or cynical, it is the “buckets-of-blood” approach of the best B-movies, a horror flick you find in the back racks of the video store with a VHS cover to die for.
This novel was originally published in 2015, though I read the re-release in 2026. There is a version of this story that the more seasoned writer Cesare has become might have written that has a little stronger hand with character, adding emotional stakes without sacrificing pacing or plot. It has great bones and is a thrill ride, but I won’t argue that there are ways it could have been a little more developed, both more intimate and more demanding of its audience. With that said, though, I had a heck of a good time reading this, and even suggesting that it has areas that could be improved doesn’t deny just how much fun it is. The writing style and approach to plot do lend this story a cinematic feel. It cuts from scene to scene with abandon, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It is bloody and squishy, and doesn’t waste its time with lengthy exposition or complicated mythology. Any story that is set in an old-age home is going to invite reflection on aging and death, as well as abandonment, compassion, community, and care. In some ways you could argue life is the ultimate survival-horror story, and Cesare’s bloody grin reminds us of that.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
3.5 stars
The book is straight up crazy splatterpunk and gross, but the audio was entertaining enough for me to binge through. I wish there were more explanations for some of the plot, but it kept my attention, that's for sure. I never read anything from this author, but I saw the Clown in a Cornfield movie and figured that this book would be geared to a YA audience. I was wrong—if you like Eric LaRocca's books, give this one a try!
The book is straight up crazy splatterpunk and gross, but the audio was entertaining enough for me to binge through. I wish there were more explanations for some of the plot, but it kept my attention, that's for sure. I never read anything from this author, but I saw the Clown in a Cornfield movie and figured that this book would be geared to a YA audience. I was wrong—if you like Eric LaRocca's books, give this one a try!
May 28, 2015
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*
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*
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is a re-release to be published by Del Rey tomorrow. It was originally published in 2015 by Hydra
Don and his wife Nikki have decided it's time for his mother, Harriet, to move into Mercy House. Harriet has never been easy to get along with, but the dementia has removed what little filter she used to have. The other residents in this home have begun a strange transformation just in time for Harriet's welcome dinner. It isn't long before this change overcomes her as well.
What follows is a cannibalistic, blood-soaked gore fest as the staff tries to survive the residents who have turned into rage filled killing machines who occasionally take a break from the murder and mahem to engage in geriatric orgies.
Let me warn you that this book is gross. It won't be for everyone. If you prefer your horror more scary than stomach churning, this will not be for you. This is something that would have given me pause before I accepted an invitation to read this book, had I known ahead of time.
I went along for the ride during the first half of the book, but the repetition began to get to me about the halfway point and by the end I was feeling frustrated at the lack of explanation for what was referred to as the "healing" of these previously weak and feeble residents who were suddenly increasing in strength and size. You may enjoy it more than I did. It's probably a case of it's not you; it's me. This is just not my type.
My thanks to Del Rey for the e-ARC
Don and his wife Nikki have decided it's time for his mother, Harriet, to move into Mercy House. Harriet has never been easy to get along with, but the dementia has removed what little filter she used to have. The other residents in this home have begun a strange transformation just in time for Harriet's welcome dinner. It isn't long before this change overcomes her as well.
What follows is a cannibalistic, blood-soaked gore fest as the staff tries to survive the residents who have turned into rage filled killing machines who occasionally take a break from the murder and mahem to engage in geriatric orgies.
Let me warn you that this book is gross. It won't be for everyone. If you prefer your horror more scary than stomach churning, this will not be for you. This is something that would have given me pause before I accepted an invitation to read this book, had I known ahead of time.
I went along for the ride during the first half of the book, but the repetition began to get to me about the halfway point and by the end I was feeling frustrated at the lack of explanation for what was referred to as the "healing" of these previously weak and feeble residents who were suddenly increasing in strength and size. You may enjoy it more than I did. It's probably a case of it's not you; it's me. This is just not my type.
My thanks to Del Rey for the e-ARC
October 24, 2026
Rating: 3.25* of five
The Publisher Says: Welcome to Mercy House, a state-of-the-art retirement home that appears perfectly clean and orderly . . . but something is turning the residents into monsters. In this thrilling novel from the author of Clown in a Cornfield, you will find little mercy—only a shocking eruption of unfathomable horror.
Harriet Laurel notices the odor the moment she steps inside Mercy House, brought to the retirement home against her will by her son and his wife. In the early stages of dementia, Harriet has grown to resent her daughter-in-law for not providing grandchildren. Yet as she crosses the threshold, she notices her mind begins to sharpen. Then her hate begins to grow. . . .
Arnold Piper, an eighty-five-year-old ex-Marine, has always prided himself on self-reliance. But betrayed by his own body, he’s learning that surviving war-torn Korea was easier than facing the daily indignities of old age. And his worst trials are still to come.
Sarah Campbell, an idealistic nurse, is already stretched thin at the chronically understaffed Mercy House. Now her duties are about to take a terrifying turn. Can she survive the night. . . and her patients?
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: Seriously creepy for an old man living in assisted living to read at Halloween, but just a hair less creepy than I'd hoped. Why's evey oldster divesting themselves of clothes, inhibitions against murder, and taboos around cannibalism?
Dunno. Author Cesare never says. The body horror will put off many in my age group. It *should* bother our descendants, seeing us in this violently primal state, but whatever your gore tolerance is, it's the absence of a *reason* we all go hog-wild that ought to make you go "nah, I'm good" this #Deathtober.
Del Rey Books is only asking $4.99 for an ebook.
The Publisher Says: Welcome to Mercy House, a state-of-the-art retirement home that appears perfectly clean and orderly . . . but something is turning the residents into monsters. In this thrilling novel from the author of Clown in a Cornfield, you will find little mercy—only a shocking eruption of unfathomable horror.
Harriet Laurel notices the odor the moment she steps inside Mercy House, brought to the retirement home against her will by her son and his wife. In the early stages of dementia, Harriet has grown to resent her daughter-in-law for not providing grandchildren. Yet as she crosses the threshold, she notices her mind begins to sharpen. Then her hate begins to grow. . . .
Arnold Piper, an eighty-five-year-old ex-Marine, has always prided himself on self-reliance. But betrayed by his own body, he’s learning that surviving war-torn Korea was easier than facing the daily indignities of old age. And his worst trials are still to come.
Sarah Campbell, an idealistic nurse, is already stretched thin at the chronically understaffed Mercy House. Now her duties are about to take a terrifying turn. Can she survive the night. . . and her patients?
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: Seriously creepy for an old man living in assisted living to read at Halloween, but just a hair less creepy than I'd hoped. Why's evey oldster divesting themselves of clothes, inhibitions against murder, and taboos around cannibalism?
Dunno. Author Cesare never says. The body horror will put off many in my age group. It *should* bother our descendants, seeing us in this violently primal state, but whatever your gore tolerance is, it's the absence of a *reason* we all go hog-wild that ought to make you go "nah, I'm good" this #Deathtober.
Del Rey Books is only asking $4.99 for an ebook.
June 14, 2015
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.
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.
January 19, 2015
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.
A geriatric fuck fest amid a Hieronymus Bosch tapestry of violence and destruction.
Nasty. Gory. Old school horror. Classic Cesare. Yep.
October 3, 2026
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.
_______________
On paper this is not totally my thing, but also on paper (well, ebook) this was a fun time. Absolutely crazy, of course, but very easy to get through with short chapters and good prose. I found it easy enough to root for the protagonists as they tried to escape a living nightmare, especially Nikki who I wanted to get free so much. Most of the nursing home characters all begin to blend into one by the time I neared the end, but everything is such an absolute fever dream that I sort of expected that to happen. Unless you're scared of gore, I don't think this is a scary horror book, but the descriptions were pretty good. Could I have done without the crazily racist mother in law? Probably, but there was some catharsis there by the end.
PUBLICATION DATE: OCTOBER 20 2026
_______________
On paper this is not totally my thing, but also on paper (well, ebook) this was a fun time. Absolutely crazy, of course, but very easy to get through with short chapters and good prose. I found it easy enough to root for the protagonists as they tried to escape a living nightmare, especially Nikki who I wanted to get free so much. Most of the nursing home characters all begin to blend into one by the time I neared the end, but everything is such an absolute fever dream that I sort of expected that to happen. Unless you're scared of gore, I don't think this is a scary horror book, but the descriptions were pretty good. Could I have done without the crazily racist mother in law? Probably, but there was some catharsis there by the end.
PUBLICATION DATE: OCTOBER 20 2026
July 31, 2026
Mercy House by Adam Cesare takes the familiar setting of a retirement home and transforms it into a nightmare fueled by body horror, relentless violence, and mounting dread. What could have been a simple splatterfest is elevated by Cesare’s ability to create sympathetic characters, particularly Harriet, Arnold, and nurse Sarah, whose struggles with aging, illness, and compassion give the story surprising emotional weight.
The pacing is relentless once the horror begins, delivering one shocking set piece after another. While the novel never fully explains the source of the nightmare, the ambiguity adds to its unsettling atmosphere.
Thank you to NetGalley for the copy.
The pacing is relentless once the horror begins, delivering one shocking set piece after another. While the novel never fully explains the source of the nightmare, the ambiguity adds to its unsettling atmosphere.
Thank you to NetGalley for the copy.
July 21, 2026
Review in the September 2026 issue of Booklist and on the blog: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2026/09... (link live on 9/10/26 at 7am central)
Three Words That Describe This Book: Survivor Horror, mature protagonists, visceral bordering on gross (in a good way)
Cinematic, extremely entertaining while also being thought provoking, multiple povs, fast paced (because we know from start all of the action will take place in 24 hours), body horror, dark humor, opens with fear, pulls back to dread and then plows forward through all the dark, anxious emotions until it gets to all out terror. Well done (but I am not surprised, Cesare is a very good writer).
After his huge success with the Clown in a Cornfield series for teens, Cesare's older titles for adults are being reissued. Readers will be so excited to have these titles more easily accessible. Mercy House is particularly interesting because it came out in 2015 but it hits on a trend from 10+ years after its release-- mature characters.
This is a classic survivor horror as you would have read in the Leisure Books era-- Brian Keene feels here especially. Starts with a scene that makes it clear that things have gone very bad and there is only 1 survivor. That's the prologue. Then the action is all 1 day before.
We are at a nursing home in the PA Woods-- off the beaten path for sure. It looks very nice on the outside but it is probably midlevel in terms of care and amenities. Not a dump but not as fancy as they want it to seem to families.
This story is told in multiple points of view from a few of the residents, workers, and the wife of the man who's mom I being brought to check in that day-- Harriet-- she also has some POV.
Again, readers know things are going to go VERY badly but how is the fun of reading this book. From the start, as we meet residents and get into their POVs we know that the old people can smell this rotten sweet smell and younger people cannot. We also know from the very beginning that they are starting to heal-- one of the main characters is a resident who is a Korean War Vet and for the first time in months he can stand and walk to the bathroom unassisted. But again, this may seem like a "happy" event, but coupled with the smell and the prologue, readers are on edge from the start.
This book has sex and violence, the details of deaths are great-- cinematic and lots of body fluids. It is a very detailed look at how things go from bad to worse. I am purposely NOT giving details other than the residents are transformed into monsters-- but each in their own unique way. The non-olds have to try to escape.
The characters are well developed for how fast the story is and how short the timeline is. Reminds me of Brian Keene there too. He is one of the best at this. Readers who like him go out and read this ASAP.
There is also a tongue in cheek tone here-- not too much though, just the right amount. The dark humor is there to make readers think about how we treat people as they age and their bodies start to break down. The horror and the humor come directly from this place and make the story thought-provoking even while it is a fast-paced, cinematic, and visceral survivor horror story.
Think the Troop by Cutter but instead of kids we've got old people. The Complex by Brian Keene but there it is an Apartment Complex. Any of the old Leisure books titles. Survival horror like The Ruins by Smith or This Wretched Valley Jenny Kiefer except in an isolated nursing home. For more nursing home horror, try the slasher Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Survivor Horror, mature protagonists, visceral bordering on gross (in a good way)
Cinematic, extremely entertaining while also being thought provoking, multiple povs, fast paced (because we know from start all of the action will take place in 24 hours), body horror, dark humor, opens with fear, pulls back to dread and then plows forward through all the dark, anxious emotions until it gets to all out terror. Well done (but I am not surprised, Cesare is a very good writer).
After his huge success with the Clown in a Cornfield series for teens, Cesare's older titles for adults are being reissued. Readers will be so excited to have these titles more easily accessible. Mercy House is particularly interesting because it came out in 2015 but it hits on a trend from 10+ years after its release-- mature characters.
This is a classic survivor horror as you would have read in the Leisure Books era-- Brian Keene feels here especially. Starts with a scene that makes it clear that things have gone very bad and there is only 1 survivor. That's the prologue. Then the action is all 1 day before.
We are at a nursing home in the PA Woods-- off the beaten path for sure. It looks very nice on the outside but it is probably midlevel in terms of care and amenities. Not a dump but not as fancy as they want it to seem to families.
This story is told in multiple points of view from a few of the residents, workers, and the wife of the man who's mom I being brought to check in that day-- Harriet-- she also has some POV.
Again, readers know things are going to go VERY badly but how is the fun of reading this book. From the start, as we meet residents and get into their POVs we know that the old people can smell this rotten sweet smell and younger people cannot. We also know from the very beginning that they are starting to heal-- one of the main characters is a resident who is a Korean War Vet and for the first time in months he can stand and walk to the bathroom unassisted. But again, this may seem like a "happy" event, but coupled with the smell and the prologue, readers are on edge from the start.
This book has sex and violence, the details of deaths are great-- cinematic and lots of body fluids. It is a very detailed look at how things go from bad to worse. I am purposely NOT giving details other than the residents are transformed into monsters-- but each in their own unique way. The non-olds have to try to escape.
The characters are well developed for how fast the story is and how short the timeline is. Reminds me of Brian Keene there too. He is one of the best at this. Readers who like him go out and read this ASAP.
There is also a tongue in cheek tone here-- not too much though, just the right amount. The dark humor is there to make readers think about how we treat people as they age and their bodies start to break down. The horror and the humor come directly from this place and make the story thought-provoking even while it is a fast-paced, cinematic, and visceral survivor horror story.
Think the Troop by Cutter but instead of kids we've got old people. The Complex by Brian Keene but there it is an Apartment Complex. Any of the old Leisure books titles. Survival horror like The Ruins by Smith or This Wretched Valley Jenny Kiefer except in an isolated nursing home. For more nursing home horror, try the slasher Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi.
February 12, 2015
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.
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.
September 21, 2015
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.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What a ride. A retirement home that turns into a nightmare of depravity, violence and gore. It’s definitely over the top at times, but it never stops surprising the reader, that’s for sure.
Despite the blood and viscera and other bodily fluids being splattered about, the pacing itself felt a bit stagnant, so make of that what you will. The characters were quite the mix, some more intriguing than others.
I wish there was more explanation for the phenomenon that occurred, but other than that, and the escalating gratuitous violence for shock factor, it’s a pretty good horror story.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, Del Rey/ Random House Worlds/ Inklore for a copy!
Despite the blood and viscera and other bodily fluids being splattered about, the pacing itself felt a bit stagnant, so make of that what you will. The characters were quite the mix, some more intriguing than others.
I wish there was more explanation for the phenomenon that occurred, but other than that, and the escalating gratuitous violence for shock factor, it’s a pretty good horror story.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, Del Rey/ Random House Worlds/ Inklore for a copy!
August 19, 2026
⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2
You can’t win ‘em all. I’ve liked everything I’ve read from Cesare…up until now.
Mercy House is pointlessly violent, with no rhyme or reason to justify its existence. The outbreak isn’t well-formed, and certainly isn’t explained. It was gratuitous and over-the-top, which can be fun at times, but there still has to be some redeeming quality to overcompensate for an otherwise inane plot. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, and the writing alone couldn’t rescue it from itself. This won’t dissuade me from reading more of his books, but it is a good reminder that no writer has 100% hit rate.
You can’t win ‘em all. I’ve liked everything I’ve read from Cesare…up until now.
Mercy House is pointlessly violent, with no rhyme or reason to justify its existence. The outbreak isn’t well-formed, and certainly isn’t explained. It was gratuitous and over-the-top, which can be fun at times, but there still has to be some redeeming quality to overcompensate for an otherwise inane plot. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, and the writing alone couldn’t rescue it from itself. This won’t dissuade me from reading more of his books, but it is a good reminder that no writer has 100% hit rate.
March 26, 2019
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.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was a wild ride. I would have never thought a gore filled horror book set in a retirement home could be so much fun. This felt so much like a classic survival horror but it added some great story telling in the mix. I did like how we had the story unfold by different characters so you really got to experience what was happening in many different ways.
January 1, 2017
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.
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.
February 27, 2015
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.
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.
October 21, 2026
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Genre: Horror
Synopsis: Harriet Laurel notices the odor the moment she steps inside Mercy House, brought to the retirement home against her will by her son and his wife. In the early stages of dementia, Harriet has grown to resent her daughter-in-law for not providing grandchildren. Yet as she crosses the threshold, she notices her mind begins to sharpen. Then her hate begins to grow. . . .Arnold Piper, an eighty-five-year-old ex-Marine, has always prided himself on self-reliance. But betrayed by his own body, he’s learning that surviving war-torn Korea was easier than facing the daily indignities of old age. And his worst trials are still to come.Sarah Campbell, an idealistic nurse, is already stretched thin at the chronically understaffed Mercy House. Now her duties are about to take a terrifying turn. Can she survive the night. . . and her patients?
Overall:"Mercy House" is a multi-protagonist horror novel, narrated by a few of the main characters, each taking a turn narrating a chapter. This novel is excessively and almost unnecessarily gory, although I love the unexpected "villains" in this novel being octogenarian men and women living in a nursing home. The storyline was grisly and unexpected, but I wanted more of the "how" of it all, not just the after effect. Why did it happen? Where did it come from? What happens now? The story left out the details I really wanted, but it flowed well and definitely checked all the boxes in the horror genre.
Genre: Horror
Synopsis: Harriet Laurel notices the odor the moment she steps inside Mercy House, brought to the retirement home against her will by her son and his wife. In the early stages of dementia, Harriet has grown to resent her daughter-in-law for not providing grandchildren. Yet as she crosses the threshold, she notices her mind begins to sharpen. Then her hate begins to grow. . . .Arnold Piper, an eighty-five-year-old ex-Marine, has always prided himself on self-reliance. But betrayed by his own body, he’s learning that surviving war-torn Korea was easier than facing the daily indignities of old age. And his worst trials are still to come.Sarah Campbell, an idealistic nurse, is already stretched thin at the chronically understaffed Mercy House. Now her duties are about to take a terrifying turn. Can she survive the night. . . and her patients?
Overall:"Mercy House" is a multi-protagonist horror novel, narrated by a few of the main characters, each taking a turn narrating a chapter. This novel is excessively and almost unnecessarily gory, although I love the unexpected "villains" in this novel being octogenarian men and women living in a nursing home. The storyline was grisly and unexpected, but I wanted more of the "how" of it all, not just the after effect. Why did it happen? Where did it come from? What happens now? The story left out the details I really wanted, but it flowed well and definitely checked all the boxes in the horror genre.
October 16, 2026
Thank you to Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore & NetGalley for sending me an ARC of Mercy House in exchange for an honest review.
The was a chaotic, fast paced gore-fest, that did not take its foot off the accelerator once it got going!
Mercy House is a perfectly normal, state of the art retirement home, thank you very much. The staff are dedicated and kind, the eye watering fees are definitely NOT mis-appropriated..nothing to see here.
Suddenly, the residents are finding themselves sharper, more agile, and absolutely ravenous. They’re turning into monsters, and nobody under retirement age is safe.
I really wanted to like this, as I had great fun with Cesare’s Clown in a Cornfield. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me.
Most of the characters were extremely unlikable, and hard to root for. A lot of what happens in this book feels mean spirited for shock value, rather than with an intent to actually say something. Lots of sexual assault, misogyny and racism, which all felt like cheap tactics to make already unlikable characters even more hatable! And all directed at the female characters, of course 🙄
I think there is a good story somewhere in here, the concept of some mass outbreak of SOMETHING turning a bunch of OAPs into ruthless killing machines is fun!
Cesare is great at setting a hectic, frenetic scene and creating a whirlwind of chaos. The story moved along so quickly that it wasn’t a struggle to read, but I actually think some moments could have been slowed down and the story would have been better for it. Some things just need a moment to percolate.
I also would have liked a whisper of a clue into what actually kicked the events of this book off in the first place! I don’t need everything spelled out for me, but some breadcrumbs at least would have been appreciated.
The was a chaotic, fast paced gore-fest, that did not take its foot off the accelerator once it got going!
Mercy House is a perfectly normal, state of the art retirement home, thank you very much. The staff are dedicated and kind, the eye watering fees are definitely NOT mis-appropriated..nothing to see here.
Suddenly, the residents are finding themselves sharper, more agile, and absolutely ravenous. They’re turning into monsters, and nobody under retirement age is safe.
I really wanted to like this, as I had great fun with Cesare’s Clown in a Cornfield. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me.
Most of the characters were extremely unlikable, and hard to root for. A lot of what happens in this book feels mean spirited for shock value, rather than with an intent to actually say something. Lots of sexual assault, misogyny and racism, which all felt like cheap tactics to make already unlikable characters even more hatable! And all directed at the female characters, of course 🙄
I think there is a good story somewhere in here, the concept of some mass outbreak of SOMETHING turning a bunch of OAPs into ruthless killing machines is fun!
Cesare is great at setting a hectic, frenetic scene and creating a whirlwind of chaos. The story moved along so quickly that it wasn’t a struggle to read, but I actually think some moments could have been slowed down and the story would have been better for it. Some things just need a moment to percolate.
I also would have liked a whisper of a clue into what actually kicked the events of this book off in the first place! I don’t need everything spelled out for me, but some breadcrumbs at least would have been appreciated.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This one was a miss for me.
While I usually enjoy books with multiple POVs, this one had far too many characters and backstories to keep track of. I found myself struggling with this which made it hard to stay invested in the story.
The pacing also dragged, and I felt like it was never going to end.
The premise is definitely interesting an outbreak sweeps through a retirement home, affecting only the elderly and turning them into incredibly strong, violent killers while the staff desperately tries to survive and escape. It had a lot of potential, but unfortunately the execution just didn’t work for me.
Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
Publication Date: Oct 20, 2026
While I usually enjoy books with multiple POVs, this one had far too many characters and backstories to keep track of. I found myself struggling with this which made it hard to stay invested in the story.
The pacing also dragged, and I felt like it was never going to end.
The premise is definitely interesting an outbreak sweeps through a retirement home, affecting only the elderly and turning them into incredibly strong, violent killers while the staff desperately tries to survive and escape. It had a lot of potential, but unfortunately the execution just didn’t work for me.
Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
Publication Date: Oct 20, 2026
May 17, 2015
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.
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.
October 15, 2026
Harriet walks into Mercy House furious that her son Don and daughter-in-law Nikki are dumping her in a retirement home, smells something rotten that apparently none of the younger people can smell, and then realizes her dementia is getting better. Her mind is clearer. Her body feels better. Other residents are suddenly getting stronger too. And because nothing miraculous has ever happened in a horror novel without an absolutely deranged invoice arriving later, the residents immediately start becoming violent, sexually aggressive, cannibalistic nightmare people. I cannot stress enough how quickly visiting hours become irrelevant.
Harriet was already a LOT before supernatural rejuvenation entered the chat. She resents Nikki, blames her for the lack of grandchildren, and has absolutely no intention of making this transition pleasant for anybody. Meanwhile Arnold is eighty-five, an ex-Marine who survived Korea, and has been quietly enduring the humiliations of his body no longer doing what he tells it to do. Watching these people suddenly get their strength back should feel wonderful. For approximately four seconds, it kind of does. Then you realize Mercy House has essentially removed every physical limitation from a building full of people carrying decades of anger, resentment, loneliness, desire, and grievances, and nobody thought to install a panic room.
Then there’s Sarah, a nurse already working in a chronically understaffed facility before her patients decide to become superhuman murder goblins. This woman starts the day needing additional staff and ends it needing the National Guard. Paulo, the physical therapist, is also running around trying to survive while the residents organize themselves, hunt the younger people, and generally make a very strong case for never scheduling a family tour around dinnertime. Don and Nikki picked possibly the worst day in human history to move Mom into assisted living.
And the residents are not mindless zombies, which somehow makes everything worse. They’re thinking. They’re organizing. They start breaking into groups and following their own newly liberated impulses. Their bodies have betrayed them for years and now those bodies suddenly work again, except whatever came back online apparently deleted the part labeled RESTRAINT. There is eating. There is fighting. There is sex. There are combinations of those activities that I did not request and will not be discussing over appetizers. Mercy House goes from clean retirement facility to a Bosch painting with medical alert bracelets at a speed that honestly deserves recognition.
The thing that kept getting me, though, was how genuinely awful aging already felt before anyone started eating anybody. Arnold losing his independence hurt. Harriet's deteriorating mind is terrifying even when Harriet herself is being hateful. Sarah is exhausted from trying to care for too many people with too little help. There’s this ugly little truth sitting underneath all the blood about what happens when your body becomes something other people have to manage for you. Then these residents get everything back, strength, mobility, appetite, desire, and what should be a gift turns them into the worst possible versions of themselves. That is bleak as hell.
My problem was that eventually I became the detective nobody had hired. WHAT IS THE SMELL? Why can only the elderly smell it? Why are they healing? Why are they changing differently? Why Mercy House? Is something airborne? Is this supernatural? Is somebody responsible? Hello? I have several questions and everyone is currently too busy committing atrocities in the recreation room to answer them. I don't need a PowerPoint explaining the molecular structure of Grandma Hulk Syndrome, but throw me a CRUMB.
Because after a while the bloodbath becomes the whole evening. Someone runs. Someone gets caught. Something disgusting happens. Another person runs. The residents do something even more disgusting. At first I was flying through it because I needed to know who was getting out of this building. Eventually I realized the book wasn't particularly interested in explaining why the building had turned into geriatric Thunderdome, and unfortunately I am nosy. If you introduce a mysterious rotten smell that turns senior citizens into rejuvenated cannibal maniacs, I am going to ask follow-up questions. That's simply who I am.
The ending basically looked me directly in the eyes and said, “You wanted answers? That's adorable.” I went back mentally through the smell, the transformations, the way the residents changed, the whole nightmare, convinced I must have dropped an explanation somewhere between one of the murders and an elderly orgy. Nope. Mercy House simply happened to these people, and now it has happened to me. There is something wonderfully nasty about refusing to explain the nightmare, but I was still standing there afterward like Sarah at the end of the world's worst shift, wondering who exactly I needed to speak to about this.
Still, I cannot pretend I wasn't entertained. Mercy House gets 3 stars from me because watching a retirement home full of newly rejuvenated senior citizens turn into intelligent, horny, cannibalistic murder monsters is an experience I will unfortunately retain longer than several important passwords. I just wanted the mystery behind all that carnage to give me something to chew on too. Preferably something metaphorical, because this book has completely ruined the other kind.
Whodunity Award: For Making “What Is That Smell?” the Least Concerning Question Anyone Asked at Mercy House
Thank you to Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore, and NetGalley for the ARC, and for confirming that if my future retirement home ever smells mysteriously rotten and Gladys from Room 214 suddenly doesn't need her walker anymore, I am not asking questions. I am leaving through the nearest window.
Harriet was already a LOT before supernatural rejuvenation entered the chat. She resents Nikki, blames her for the lack of grandchildren, and has absolutely no intention of making this transition pleasant for anybody. Meanwhile Arnold is eighty-five, an ex-Marine who survived Korea, and has been quietly enduring the humiliations of his body no longer doing what he tells it to do. Watching these people suddenly get their strength back should feel wonderful. For approximately four seconds, it kind of does. Then you realize Mercy House has essentially removed every physical limitation from a building full of people carrying decades of anger, resentment, loneliness, desire, and grievances, and nobody thought to install a panic room.
Then there’s Sarah, a nurse already working in a chronically understaffed facility before her patients decide to become superhuman murder goblins. This woman starts the day needing additional staff and ends it needing the National Guard. Paulo, the physical therapist, is also running around trying to survive while the residents organize themselves, hunt the younger people, and generally make a very strong case for never scheduling a family tour around dinnertime. Don and Nikki picked possibly the worst day in human history to move Mom into assisted living.
And the residents are not mindless zombies, which somehow makes everything worse. They’re thinking. They’re organizing. They start breaking into groups and following their own newly liberated impulses. Their bodies have betrayed them for years and now those bodies suddenly work again, except whatever came back online apparently deleted the part labeled RESTRAINT. There is eating. There is fighting. There is sex. There are combinations of those activities that I did not request and will not be discussing over appetizers. Mercy House goes from clean retirement facility to a Bosch painting with medical alert bracelets at a speed that honestly deserves recognition.
The thing that kept getting me, though, was how genuinely awful aging already felt before anyone started eating anybody. Arnold losing his independence hurt. Harriet's deteriorating mind is terrifying even when Harriet herself is being hateful. Sarah is exhausted from trying to care for too many people with too little help. There’s this ugly little truth sitting underneath all the blood about what happens when your body becomes something other people have to manage for you. Then these residents get everything back, strength, mobility, appetite, desire, and what should be a gift turns them into the worst possible versions of themselves. That is bleak as hell.
My problem was that eventually I became the detective nobody had hired. WHAT IS THE SMELL? Why can only the elderly smell it? Why are they healing? Why are they changing differently? Why Mercy House? Is something airborne? Is this supernatural? Is somebody responsible? Hello? I have several questions and everyone is currently too busy committing atrocities in the recreation room to answer them. I don't need a PowerPoint explaining the molecular structure of Grandma Hulk Syndrome, but throw me a CRUMB.
Because after a while the bloodbath becomes the whole evening. Someone runs. Someone gets caught. Something disgusting happens. Another person runs. The residents do something even more disgusting. At first I was flying through it because I needed to know who was getting out of this building. Eventually I realized the book wasn't particularly interested in explaining why the building had turned into geriatric Thunderdome, and unfortunately I am nosy. If you introduce a mysterious rotten smell that turns senior citizens into rejuvenated cannibal maniacs, I am going to ask follow-up questions. That's simply who I am.
The ending basically looked me directly in the eyes and said, “You wanted answers? That's adorable.” I went back mentally through the smell, the transformations, the way the residents changed, the whole nightmare, convinced I must have dropped an explanation somewhere between one of the murders and an elderly orgy. Nope. Mercy House simply happened to these people, and now it has happened to me. There is something wonderfully nasty about refusing to explain the nightmare, but I was still standing there afterward like Sarah at the end of the world's worst shift, wondering who exactly I needed to speak to about this.
Still, I cannot pretend I wasn't entertained. Mercy House gets 3 stars from me because watching a retirement home full of newly rejuvenated senior citizens turn into intelligent, horny, cannibalistic murder monsters is an experience I will unfortunately retain longer than several important passwords. I just wanted the mystery behind all that carnage to give me something to chew on too. Preferably something metaphorical, because this book has completely ruined the other kind.
Whodunity Award: For Making “What Is That Smell?” the Least Concerning Question Anyone Asked at Mercy House
Thank you to Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore, and NetGalley for the ARC, and for confirming that if my future retirement home ever smells mysteriously rotten and Gladys from Room 214 suddenly doesn't need her walker anymore, I am not asking questions. I am leaving through the nearest window.
June 30, 2025
This was a solidly ghoulish good time. The weak ending and slight pacing issues did little to detract from my enjoyment.
October 26, 2026
Horrified. That's the only word I can come up with for this book. And I don't mean in a fun, spooky, Halloween kind of way. I mean the kind of horrified where you're sitting there wondering what in the world you just read.
Adam Cesare definitely took horror to a whole new level with this one. He took a setting that should feel safe and turned it into something absolutely nightmare-inducing. There were moments that made me want to look away, moments that had me cringing, and moments where I just sat there thinking, WHAT did I just read?!
This has definitely gotten under my skin and is making me question why I willingly put myself through it. There were things I honestly wish I could unread. And yet, here I am, talking about it because WOW. This one is going to stick with me for a while.
Adam Cesare definitely took horror to a whole new level with this one. He took a setting that should feel safe and turned it into something absolutely nightmare-inducing. There were moments that made me want to look away, moments that had me cringing, and moments where I just sat there thinking, WHAT did I just read?!
This has definitely gotten under my skin and is making me question why I willingly put myself through it. There were things I honestly wish I could unread. And yet, here I am, talking about it because WOW. This one is going to stick with me for a while.
September 11, 2026
So...this is a reissue. And it's interesting to see how much the author has grown since writing this one. The author has matured, while still keeping a sort of tongue-in-cheek quality to their work.
This one...isn't it. I understand that the author has a fan base and reissuing their work makes money-sense, but this is gore for gore's sake with very little story. Our characters read as caricatures with very little heart and no soul. They never, ever feel like actual people.
It's sex and violence, but let's pretend it's edgy because it's the olds instead of younger characters.
I'm okay with extreme horror, but generally not okay with horror seeking a plot.
Will continue to read the author's newer work!
This one...isn't it. I understand that the author has a fan base and reissuing their work makes money-sense, but this is gore for gore's sake with very little story. Our characters read as caricatures with very little heart and no soul. They never, ever feel like actual people.
It's sex and violence, but let's pretend it's edgy because it's the olds instead of younger characters.
I'm okay with extreme horror, but generally not okay with horror seeking a plot.
Will continue to read the author's newer work!
October 21, 2015
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.
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.
February 17, 2015
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
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
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