The Mailman: Thriller

by Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Werner Löcher-Lawrence (Translator)

»Wenn Sie glauben, diesen Thriller wieder aus den Händen legen zu können, dann viel Glück.« Krimi-Couch

»Das Buch ist wie eine Naturgewalt.« NDR Kultur




Mercury Carter ist der Mailman. Er stellt Pakete zu, und er nimmt seine Arbeit ernst. Sendungen, die er ausliefert, werden grundsätzlich nur persönlich übergeben. Von dieser Regel gibt es keine Ausnahme. Auch dann nicht, wenn Carter am Zielort überraschend auf eine mörderische Bande stößt, die eine Frau als Geisel hält. Ein atemberaubender, wendungsreicher Thriller von radikaler Konsequenz, der mit jeder Seite an Tempo gewinnt und bis zum letzten Satz elektrisiert.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Audiobook, Crime, Action

407 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 4, 2026

About the author

ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS is the Shamus Award-nominated author of the Andy Hayes private eye series, the standalone crime novel "The End of the Road," and editor of "Columbus Noir." His short fiction has appeared in "Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine," "Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine," Mystery Magazine," the anthologies "The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2021," "Mickey Finn 21st Century Noir: Vols I and III," "Paranoia Blues: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Paul Simon," and other magazines and anthologies. Andrew's nonfiction book, "No Winners Here Tonight," is the definitive history of the death penalty in Ohio.

Reviews

[Alan (the Lone Librarian) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Transplanting The Transporter
A review of the Mysterious Press hardcover (January 28, 2025) released simultaneously with the eBook/audiobook.

"Like I said, I just happened to be delivering a package ... Right place, right time."
"But you can't say who it's from."
"Afraid not. Company rules."
"Whose company?"
"Mine."
"What's the name of it? Your company?"
"It's really just me. I'm on my own. A freelance courier, like."
"A courier."
"That's right. Like a mailman."
"A mailman delivering a package from someone you can't identify, who happens to show up at our house."

Lead character Mercury "Merc" Carter has difficulty explaining his job to different people at various times during the course of The Mailman. He could have just said he was like Jason Statham in The Transporter (2002-2008) film franchise and everyone would have got the idea immediately 😅. But that would have betrayed the source idea material for this thriller on steroids.

But in any case, Carter appears at a house hoping to make a delivery when he discovers that something is off about the situation. It turns out his package recipient is being held against her will along with her husband and in order to fulfill his obligations Carter has to rescue them.

That all snowballs into some pretty unbelievable scenarios about which it would be a spoiler to reveal anything much further. But the plot moves like a shark without hardly taking a breath and thriller and suspense fans will be entertained, especially if they are Statham fans as well. Carter doesn't fetishize about his car though.

I did feel a bit of a letdown at the end when the actual delivery was revealed as a MacGuffin. Also the reason behind the kidnap seemed rather illogical once the main plot of the lead baddie was revealed. Can't say more without spoiling, but it touched on an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert. I won't tag it with that though, but it does take it down a notch or two.

This is likely the start of a series, as the ending is a bit of a cliffhanger as well.

[Rachel the Page-Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is a look at a day in the life of Mercury Carter, a federal agent turned freelance personal courier. Carter’s father was a mailman who died in the line of service, and now Carter also delivers things. You could say he also has a special set of skills, and they are needed when he sets out to deliver a package to an attorney named Rachel Stanfield.

When he arrives at her house, he immediately realizes something is wrong. There is a group of men there who seem to be in the middle of committing a crime, but he tells them he isn’t leaving until he delivers his package. He has never missed a delivery, and he isn’t going to start today. When the men abscond with Rachel, he and Rachel’s husband Glenn follow behind. Then they get word that Glenn’s daughter Abby is missing, which throws the delivery even further off track, adding another layer to the story.

The beginning of this book started off strong, but then towards the middle, things began to get a bit convoluted with too many storylines and ancillary characters. The ending was definitely good, but it did seem to drop a couple of those story lines, and gloss over what happened to some of the characters. Otherwise, this was an entertaining action/thriller book, and I thought “Merc” Carter was an intriguing character. It’s not my favorite thriller sub-genre, but if you like crime and action thrillers, this one is for you! 3.5 stars, rounded up.

(Thank you to Mysterious Press, Andrew Welsh-Huggins and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on January 28, 2025.)

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new-to-me author. Carter has an interesting history leading to his current occupation, he's a private delivery man.

l see this book as a Jack Reacher lite, as if Reacher was the size of say Tom Cruise. Carter doesn't have the military background, but nothing gets in the way of him completing his delivery, whatever it may be. Recommend highly.

[Katharine Ott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Mailman" - written by Andrew Welsh-Huggins and published in 2025 by Mysterious Press, Penzler Publishers. I really enjoy the Orphan X and Gray Man series and this one had a similar vibe. The mailman here, a former postal inspector but now independent, is Mercury "Merc" Carter who inserts himself into a dicey situation while attempting to make a delivery. He has all sorts of the skills needed for this job, and the action never stops with some dedicated bad guys and the likewise dedicated Merc. It was fun!

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and it’s the start of a new series, and an excellent first installment, (I’ll definitely be waiting for book two to come out).
The ‘Mailman’ is Mercury Cater and he is delivering a package to Rachel Stanfield. When he arrives at her house to make his delivery he stumbles upon a home invasion in progress. The book really takes off and is filled with nonstop excitement, and through it all I found myself wondering what was really going on, yes you do get bits and pieces throughout, but not completely until the ending. I did really enjoy the book and was very satisfied with the ending, and what an amazing man Mercury is.

[Abibliofob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw a lot of folks reading and raving about The Mailman on the web. Then I thought I might try this new character from Andrew Welsh-Huggins. Mercury Carter delivers, not only pacels and goods but a great adventure of a different kind from most lone hero stories out there. I found it both funny and exciting and will try the next story when it arrives. I recommend that you try it as well.

[Margie Bunting · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy an occasional good thriller, one with characters to root for, and The Mailman by Andrew Welsh-Huggins definitely fits that definition. Mercury (Merc) Carter used to be a federal agent investigating and resolving mail fraud, and he has major skills from those days. Later, he left the agency to become a "freelance courier," in tribute to his father, a USPS mail carrier who met an untimely and unfortunate death.

Merc's self-imposed credo is to deliver whatever has been entrusted to him, in any way he can. And it seems he has met his biggest challenge when, in the process of making a delivery, he happens onto the home invasion and kidnapping of Rachel, a prominent defense attorney. With her injured husband in tow, Merc sets out to find Rachel and make the delivery, which involves encountering and dealing with a plethora of dangerous men with their own agendas and, ultimately, a much bigger objective. Along the way, there is another kidnapping, a lot of violence, and a look into the life of a very capable, clever, and creative man.

I was immediately engaged by the amazing Merc, and the supporting characters are equally well drawn and complex. The only one I find a little unbelievable is Rachel's 16-year-old stepdaughter, Abby, although she is fun to read about as well. Many of the scenes, and the plot itself, involve almost unbearable suspense, which keeps ratcheting upward throughout the book.

I understand that there have been a number of short stories about Merc, and the end of this book seems to promise more from him. I hope so.

My review is based on a complimentary, pre-release copy of this book.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🌟
I received a copy of this novel in a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for my honest review.

This is not my typical type of novel, but I was very intrigued by the premise and was thrilled to win a copy! Mercury Carter is a delivery man. The story of how he became such is as much a part of the story as anything else, and I appreciated the background into his character. Regardless, he is a delivery man who delivers anything, people included, and takes his job extremely serious. I suspect he may possibly be on the spectrum with how serious he seems about making his deliveries. What else is he? Ex-FBI. So he knows some things to keep himself protected.
Upon his most recent job, he stumbles into a bit of a situation that prohibits him from delivering to the recipient. In order to make the delivery, he has to take care of a little business first.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and some of the twists it took. I especially enjoyed that a lot of it took place in Chicago, Indianapolis, and central Illinois, which is always fun when you recognize the places in a story. Things got a little confusing for me at times, primarily in the last 2/3 of the novel because there were a lot of players, and not being used to books like this, following all the action took a bit of effort. I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys fast-paced, crime related type novels.

[Steven Ott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fun thriller - it kept getting more and more complicated. Once Merc Carter, our hero, thought he was there, he only opened more problems on his task of delivering his "package." It was a lot of fun; this is one of those books you should keep a journal of everyone.

[Ray Palen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Welsh-Huggins may have created the most unsuspecting super-agent of all time in the guise of Mercury ‘Merc’ Carter a.k.a. The Mailman. He possesses all of the fighting ability of a Jack Reacher combined with the ability to use various technology to destroy any adversary that gets in his way.

In THE MAILMAN, the mission for Merc is not simply to save a husband and wife that were victimized by a home invasion/torture attack. He has far simpler goals to meet. In this case, it is merely to deliver a package to attorney Rachel Stanfield who was the person kidnapped by the home invaders while her husband Glenn was left behind to tag along with Merc.

There is no time to breathe nor place to hide during THE MAILMAN as the home invasion of the team of bad guys happens on the very first page and then continues to accelerate into wildly unpredictable places. The group of villains, led by the man simply called Finn, initially seem to be wanting a deposition that Rachel had been a part of. This expands into needing information from her about a woman named Stella Wolford and an item mysteriously entitled 22/7. The truth behind each of these is left unknown for most of the novel but the revelations are well worth the wait.

There is another character threatened with danger and that is Rachel and Glenn’s daughter Abby who is away at college. Merc and Glenn head out to get to her before Finn and company find her, even though Finn still has Rachel along for the ride with him. Abby initially has no clue what is going on and wants to know why her father and some mail courier showed up at her school. She gets up to speed quickly and becomes a valuable ally to Merc in his mission to find Rachel and make his delivery to her.

Merc, our freelance mailman, stays one step ahead of Finn and those he works for by taking them down one at a time. There are some great chase scenes and plenty of action-packed violence to keep the narrative humming along. I had no doubt that Merc would succeed in his mission but still had no clue what was in the package he was so determined to deliver.

The villains are into a lot of shady dealings that include lottery scams, but it is only once the reveal about 22/7 is uncovered that the true danger behind their plot is realized --- and it is a doozey! THE MAILMAN provides zero opportunity to catch your breath from start to finish and the character of Merc is still one of the most confounding yet satisfying that I have read in thriller fiction. I would love to see him again in a future novel.

Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this thriller immediately caught my attention: What action transpires when a delivery man stops at nothing to get a package under his charge safely delivered? The action-packed story follows Mercury Carter, a former federal agent now working as a freelance delivery man. While on a delivery to attorney Rachel Stanfield, Mercury discovers Rachel and her husband, Glenn, being questioned and seemingly tortured by Finn and three other nefarious men searching for Stella Wolford. Because Merc refuses to abandon his delivery, he becomes entangled in the home invasion and Rachel’s kidnapping, forcing he and Glenn to then race against time to save Abby, the couple's daughter, who is away at college, before criminal Finn locates her. I found the audiobook narration wasn't enjoyable for me, so I picked up a physical copy. Despite typically enjoying thrillers and finding the premise very promising, I just couldn't connect with this story. The characters were difficult to root for, and the violent plot seemed to lose its way as the book continued. It was a bit disappointing for me personally, but I acknowledge that many others have loved it, and I'm sure it will resonate with different readers. 2.5/5

[Codi-Ann Rahman · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot going on in this book.

For starters, Mercury “Merc” worked for USPIS and then, he didn’t. There’s a lot of stuff going on around that. His father did it too and he suddenly died and you get the sense that it was fishy and he is investigating it without actually investigating it?

The author tried putting too many leads to a series in this one singular book. They set themselves up for success to try and hook readers, but the back and forth and unanswered questions left me annoyed than on a cliffhanger.

The family he dealt with when delivering his package was so annoying also. It dealt with a lot of triggering subjects from anger problems, daughter who has bad grades, a step-mom who had miscarriages and is finally pregnant again, nazi/white supremacists, Muslim bullying, a Mosque with a bomb, death, strangulation, etc.

The author goes through hoops to make this Courier seem like somewhat of an unbelievable Tom Cruise character. He just always seems to be at the right place at the right time but he only has one “inside man” who is his uncle. He knows things he shouldn’t and you never see how he knows.

It’s just too screenplay for me to enjoy as a novel. For that reason, this is a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me.

[Amy Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty terrific thriller about a man, Mercury Carter, who freelances as a mailman...in one of his deliveries, he happens upon a couple being taken hostage by criminals for reasons that become clearer as the story goes on. Breakneck pace with this book, loads of characters so you need to pay close attention to connect all the dots. Hoping its the first in a series as I very much liked Mercury Carter.

[NomadicReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good action/suspense novel. The author wastes no time jumping into the madness that continues until the very end. With surprising twists and unveiled secrets, the reader is taken on a fast-paced thrill ride to deliver a package because Carter doesn't miss a delivery. I enjoyed all of the characters, but I really liked the eccentric Mercury Carter, who has one mission and one mission only, to deliver the package to the person on the invoice no matter what it takes. I am looking forward to the second in the series!

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A private mail deliverer gets involved in games of deceit and death when a customer is abducted by mercenaries.

Sort of reminded me of Stewart Stirling's detectives from the 1950's: insanely dedicated store detectives and fire marshals. I like the novelty of a mail cop for sure.

The novel loses its way a bit around 3/4 of the way in, but finds it after a few pages.

A good debut.

[Benj Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took this out of the library because it sounded shticky as hell. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it! The mystery and character’s backstory’s were great even if the ending felt a little massaged to work. Sure there were loose ends but there was also a delivery man kicking ass with a clipboard.

[Dan Banana · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastically enjoyable delivery action, there is extra postage on the package
Mercury Carter is a great character with character
the postman always rings twice...or more if needed
action throughout
guns, good and bad, some bleeding and overall a good time

[Jeff P · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good chase mystery, start to finish. It's probably more of a four and a half stars while some minor things kept it from being a five for me. Your opinions may vary. One thing that I did like was that the hero, Mercury "Merc" Carter, tends to disable the bad guys first rather than take them out.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thriller for sure, and Merc….

[TJ Wilson]

Very fun!

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A huge fan of the author and this one did not disappoint. Hopefully this will be a series.

[Alex Wiepking · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, kind of typical male power fantasy where nothing bad happens, but I'd be interested in a sequel nonetheless.

[Spencer Milligan · Rating 3 out of 5]

lots of action, sometimes so much I had trouble following along

[Karen Roettger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was fast paced & riveting. A quick read. I enjoyed getting to know Mercury because I know the author is planning a series using him as his main character. It is a bit hard to believe that Mercury was so gifted in all of the methods he used to overthrow the bad guys. (Superman ish). I look forward to reading about his next exploits (and this genre is not my favorite). Maybe it helps that I know the author.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as I hoped it would be. I wanted to like the characters but it did not just get there for me. Oh well!!

[Silke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Der Autor hat mit Mercury Carter eine Mischung aus Jason Statham in Transporter und Bruce Willis in Stirb langsam erschaffen.

Was mir im Film aus Hollywood gefällt, hat mich als Buch genervt. Übertrieben bis zum geht nicht mehr, war diese Geschichte leider gar nicht meins. Die Handlung ist abstrus. Die Rückblenden in Carters Vergangenheit sollen seine Überlegenheit wegen einer Kopfverletzung erklären, was das Ganze allerdings noch unglaubwürdiger werden lässt.

Das Ende ist offen und lässt Raum für weitere Teile, die ich definitiv nicht lesen werde.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A private mailman with special skills gets involved in a case of kidnapping, conspiracy and murder when he tries to deliver a package to attorney Rachel Stanfield. Mercury Carter has never missed a delivery, and he will not stop until he safely delivers his package. This had a bit of an eye-rolling premise, but it was still a good thriller with some suspenseful and action-packed scenes. I think I may have enjoyed it more if I read the book instead of listened to it because the narrator for the audio book was over-dramatic and the intonation of his voice was often hard to hear.

[Cindy Fazzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mercury Carter, the titular mailman, is an unlikely and unconventional hero anyone can root for. He has never missed a delivery. He will do anything to ensure that he hands a package to its intended recipient. The bad guys holding Rachel, a lawyer, and her husband, hostage don't know that. When Carter arrives, the baddies try to get rid of him to their own detriment. They kidnap Rachel and the chase begins.

I really enjoyed this rip-roaring ride of a book! My first time reading a book by Andrew Welsh-Huggins. It won't be the last!

[Carole Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

He takes his delivery job VERY seriously

Rachel Stanfeld and her husband Glenn are preparing dinner in their Indiana kitchen one night, another almost-fight brewing in a marriage that has of late been strained. The cause of this particular argument is what to do about Abby - his daughter, her stepdaughter - whose grades have plummeted at the elite private school she's attending. Glenn thinks its a phase, Rachel thinks its a symptom of something more serious....and that Abby isn't the only one unhappy about something she's not sharing. Then four masked men walk in and the couples' problems increase exponentially. Rachel recognizes one of the men as someone who has been pestering her to give him a copy of a witness deposition she took recently. It was a fairly ordinary deposition in a case of alleged wrongful termination....nothing remotely dangerous, but as a lawyer Rachel can't release proprietary information to an unrelated party. Finn, the leader of the four man group, is not going to take no for an answer on the matter and has some additional questions for Rachel to answer that she swears she knows nothing about. He is on the verge of torturing Glenn when the doorbell rings. Persistently. At the door is an man who says he is a freelance courier there to make a delivery to Rachel, one that he has to deliver to her personally. Maybe her husband. Definitely not Finn. Mercury ("call me Merc") Carter doesn't look like a threat, he's slight of build and of average height, but is pleasantly causing Finn major problems. And he will be causing Finn many more in the hours ahead, because there is more to Merc than meets the eye, just as there is more to what's going on with Glenn, with Rachel, with Abby and now with Finn and his crew.
In the movie "Die Hard" the character of John McClane describes himself as, "Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. The monkey in the wrench. The pain in the ass." That is exactly what Merc proves to be for Finn, his crew, and his bosses. Who he is, how he has the many skills he turns out to have, and why he is working as a one-man courier operation come out a bit at a time in this tale of people caught up in a bad situation in which they have little involvement and possess none of the information that the bad guys are after (or do they?). The reader doesn't know until the end whether Merc's arrival at Rachel's door is a happy little coincidence or if he knows more about what is going on then it appears. Like Lee Child's Jack Reacher, James Byrne's Dez Limerick and Mark Greaney's Grey Man, Merc should have no chance going up against the gang he is taking on as he pursues his noble goal of delivering the package he has been tasked with getting to Rachel (what is it? Another mystery.). But good things, and apparently dangerous things, can come in "shrimpy" packages. The suspense builds, no one is exactly what they seem, and everyone has at least one secret up their sleeve in this twisty thriller (4.5 stars, rounded up to 5) featuring an unlikely hero and other characters who are fleshed out as the story progresses. Readers of the authors I mentioned above should definitely check out The Mailman....and I suspect that this won't be his last delivery. Many thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers/Mysterious Press for sharing an early copy of the book with me in exchange for my honest review.

[Bookreporter.com Mystery & Thriller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Welsh-Huggins may have created the most unsuspecting super-agent of all time. Mercury "Merc" Carter, aka the Mailman, possesses all of the fighting prowess of Jack Reacher combined with the ability to use various technology to destroy any adversary who gets in his way.

In THE MAILMAN, Merc's original mission is not to save a married couple who are being subjected to a home invasion and torture session. He has a far simpler assignment, which is to deliver a package to attorney Rachel Stanfield. But Rachel has been kidnapped, while her husband, Glenn, is left behind to tag along with Merc.

There is no time to breathe or place to hide during THE MAILMAN as this attack happens on the first page and continues to accelerate into wildly unpredictable places. The criminals, led by Finn, initially seem to want a deposition that Rachel had been a part of. This expands into needing information from her about a woman named Stella Wolford and an item mysteriously called 22/7. The truth behind all of this is left unknown for most of the book, but the revelations are well worth the wait.

There is another character whose safety is threatened: Rachel and Glenn’s daughter, Abby, who is away at college. Merc and Glenn try to get to her before Finn and his goons find her, even though Finn still has Rachel along for the ride with him. Abby initially has no clue what is going on and wants to know why her father and a courier has shown up at her school. She gets up to speed quickly and becomes a valuable ally to Merc in his mission to find Rachel and make his delivery to her.

Our freelance mailman stays one step ahead of Finn and those he works for by taking them down one at a time. There are some great chase scenes and plenty of action-packed violence to keep the narrative humming along. I had no doubt that Merc would succeed in his mission, but I still had no clue what was in the package that he was so determined to deliver.

The villains are into a lot of shady dealings that include lottery scams, but once all is revealed about 22/7, the true danger behind their plot is realized. And it’s a doozy! THE MAILMAN provides zero opportunity to catch your breath from start to finish, and Mercury Carter is one of the most confounding yet satisfying characters I have read in any thriller. As this is the start of a series, I look forward to his return.

Reviewed by Ray Palen