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Saint Flaherty #2
The Mercy of Men
The anticipated second installment of the Saint Flaherty series moves from the hills of Appalachia to a city where law no longer prevails.
When Simon Flaherty’s routine of training and fighting is interrupted by a sudden eviction, he never expects his new neighbor to be the one person he thought was long gone from Scioto City: Connor Hall.
It’s been six years since they escaped from Buchell together—six years since Connor walked out of Simon’s life and never looked back. For Connor, it hasn’t been long enough. Trapped in a cycle of debt to the syndicate he works for, he’s barely making it payment to payment while juggling two jobs and university. One more burden will destroy him, and the help Simon is willing to give can’t balance the shadows of their past.
Fighting isn’t all Simon’s been doing in the years since arriving in Scioto, and the crime bosses of the city have their eyes on him. Getting involved with another syndicate’s business isn’t an option. But if Connor doesn’t find a way to pay back his debts, Simon will do anything to make sure Connor doesn’t pay the price for breaking a deal with a syndicate boss.
In a city without mercy, “anything” goes a long way.
**This is the sequel to What Boys Are Made Of, book 1 of the Saint Flaherty series. The Mercy of Men is book 2 in the same series.
When Simon Flaherty’s routine of training and fighting is interrupted by a sudden eviction, he never expects his new neighbor to be the one person he thought was long gone from Scioto City: Connor Hall.
It’s been six years since they escaped from Buchell together—six years since Connor walked out of Simon’s life and never looked back. For Connor, it hasn’t been long enough. Trapped in a cycle of debt to the syndicate he works for, he’s barely making it payment to payment while juggling two jobs and university. One more burden will destroy him, and the help Simon is willing to give can’t balance the shadows of their past.
Fighting isn’t all Simon’s been doing in the years since arriving in Scioto, and the crime bosses of the city have their eyes on him. Getting involved with another syndicate’s business isn’t an option. But if Connor doesn’t find a way to pay back his debts, Simon will do anything to make sure Connor doesn’t pay the price for breaking a deal with a syndicate boss.
In a city without mercy, “anything” goes a long way.
**This is the sequel to What Boys Are Made Of, book 1 of the Saint Flaherty series. The Mercy of Men is book 2 in the same series.
- GenresDystopiaM M Romance
360 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 30, 2016
65 people want to read
About the author
S. Hunter Nisbet
6 books67 followersS. Hunter Nisbet is an Appalachian writer of all things dark and unsettling. The most terrifying monsters aren't the ones we bar the door against, but those we let into our homes unknowing.
Check out Hunter's blog at www.shunternisbet.com for more details and a free short story, "The Foreigner's Loneliness."
Check out Hunter's blog at www.shunternisbet.com for more details and a free short story, "The Foreigner's Loneliness."
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 1, 2016
If you’ve ever finished a book and were so floored by it that all you wanted to do was start reading it again from the beginning, that is this book. If you’ve ever loved a book so much that all you wanted to do was shove it under everyone’s noses and scream “Read! It! … Pleeeease…” just so you’d have someone to talk to it about, yeah, that’s this book. If you’ve ever wanted to own a book in paperback because you want to be able to inhale its words… okay, maybe that’s a bit weird, but dammit, that’s S. Hunter Nisbet’s Saint Flaherty series for me. If What Boys Are Made Of and The Mercy of Men are any indication, this series is going to make my Top Reads of 2016 list, no question about it.
Once again told in alternating points of view, Connor Hall, Simon Flaherty and a new cast of narrators—a young college student named Cas, an ex-junkie named Fiona, and a woman, Nisha, who finds herself tangled up in a mess of her husband’s making—The Mercy of Men sets out to give readers a gritty and intimate look at the survival-of-the-fittest world the author has created, post second Civil War here in the US. This installment in the series picks up six years after the daring escape was made from the small Appalachian town of Buchell, and now Simon and his family (Erin and Ellie) have settled in Scioto, a city that’s not lost in time the way Buchell was, and still is, after the war, but is its own hell nonetheless.
It’s been six years since Simon’s seen Connor, believing he’d died from wounds sustained in their escape, but instead, we, piece by ugly piece, put together the cruel landscape Connor has navigated throughout this story—this is a man who seems bent upon driving himself to the brink of self-destruction over and over again. The Mercy of Men is just as bloody and ruthless as book one in the Saint Flaherty series, raw and honest because this world is itself harsh and unforgiving. There are syndicates in Scioto run by men who operate under their own set of codes and rules, and Connor is in deep with them, playing both sides and endangering himself in the process, while Simon attempts to exist on the fringes of this organized crime world, toeing a line of his own making and trying not to get too firmly ensnared by either side—all while capitalizing to a certain degree on his dead father’s name—but when push comes to shove, which it inevitably does, you learn to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Simon is no longer the sixteen-year-old man/child he was at the conclusion of Book One, and god, did he grow up good. “Simple Simon” is an epithet that is meant to insult but in many ways also complements who he is—he’s a black and white sort of guy whose priorities and loyalties are simple, his moral compass pointing him always in a direction that demands he take care of those he calls his own. In fact, both of these novels have a deeper moral undertone in that the storyline calls into question what is right and what is wrong and what will one do to survive, thrive if possible? It’s impossible to use our own sense of ethics to sit in judgment of these people, because our rules just don’t apply to the world in which they exist. The politics in this jungle of feral humans is as corruptible as its justice is malleable, which is a great juxtaposition to our sensibilities—sometimes you end up cheering for the most violent man’s victory.
The Mercy of Men introduces a future for Simon and those who have chosen to declare their allegiance to him that promises to draw him even further into his father’s legacy. There is also a character introduced in this installment of the Saint Flaherty series that promises to be an interesting thread in the tapestry of Simon’s life. Several new characters, really, but one in particular because his reappearance was so unexpected, and now I’m anxious to see what this means for Simon, Erin and Ellie.
A word of caution, in case it isn’t clear—don’t go looking for romantic overtones in the Saint Flaherty books. This series is driven by characters who haven’t been spared by the graphic realities of this brave new world, one that’s bereft of anything that resembles romance. It’s a hardscrabble existence these people live, the future no more than the next hours and days they survive. Nisbet is a master storyteller whose narrative pace and world building are perfect and perfectly addictive. I’m as unsure of what the future holds for Saint Flaherty and his lot as they themselves are, but I’ll be there for the next installment to figure it all out with them.
Note: As an added bonus, be sure to check out All God’s Children Say (via the author’s Newsletter), a free companion short featuring Griffeth, one of the syndicate bosses introduced in this book, and a young Connor—the boy has got to be the most feral of all the humans in this world. This short story left me with some questions, gave me some things to chew on about the relationship as it exists between Connor and Simon, and it also shows what a contradiction Connor is. For someone who isn’t always keen on existing, he has an unparalleled ability to do what it takes to keep on being. Especially if Simon has anything to say about it.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach Reviews
Once again told in alternating points of view, Connor Hall, Simon Flaherty and a new cast of narrators—a young college student named Cas, an ex-junkie named Fiona, and a woman, Nisha, who finds herself tangled up in a mess of her husband’s making—The Mercy of Men sets out to give readers a gritty and intimate look at the survival-of-the-fittest world the author has created, post second Civil War here in the US. This installment in the series picks up six years after the daring escape was made from the small Appalachian town of Buchell, and now Simon and his family (Erin and Ellie) have settled in Scioto, a city that’s not lost in time the way Buchell was, and still is, after the war, but is its own hell nonetheless.
It’s been six years since Simon’s seen Connor, believing he’d died from wounds sustained in their escape, but instead, we, piece by ugly piece, put together the cruel landscape Connor has navigated throughout this story—this is a man who seems bent upon driving himself to the brink of self-destruction over and over again. The Mercy of Men is just as bloody and ruthless as book one in the Saint Flaherty series, raw and honest because this world is itself harsh and unforgiving. There are syndicates in Scioto run by men who operate under their own set of codes and rules, and Connor is in deep with them, playing both sides and endangering himself in the process, while Simon attempts to exist on the fringes of this organized crime world, toeing a line of his own making and trying not to get too firmly ensnared by either side—all while capitalizing to a certain degree on his dead father’s name—but when push comes to shove, which it inevitably does, you learn to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Simon is no longer the sixteen-year-old man/child he was at the conclusion of Book One, and god, did he grow up good. “Simple Simon” is an epithet that is meant to insult but in many ways also complements who he is—he’s a black and white sort of guy whose priorities and loyalties are simple, his moral compass pointing him always in a direction that demands he take care of those he calls his own. In fact, both of these novels have a deeper moral undertone in that the storyline calls into question what is right and what is wrong and what will one do to survive, thrive if possible? It’s impossible to use our own sense of ethics to sit in judgment of these people, because our rules just don’t apply to the world in which they exist. The politics in this jungle of feral humans is as corruptible as its justice is malleable, which is a great juxtaposition to our sensibilities—sometimes you end up cheering for the most violent man’s victory.
The Mercy of Men introduces a future for Simon and those who have chosen to declare their allegiance to him that promises to draw him even further into his father’s legacy. There is also a character introduced in this installment of the Saint Flaherty series that promises to be an interesting thread in the tapestry of Simon’s life. Several new characters, really, but one in particular because his reappearance was so unexpected, and now I’m anxious to see what this means for Simon, Erin and Ellie.
A word of caution, in case it isn’t clear—don’t go looking for romantic overtones in the Saint Flaherty books. This series is driven by characters who haven’t been spared by the graphic realities of this brave new world, one that’s bereft of anything that resembles romance. It’s a hardscrabble existence these people live, the future no more than the next hours and days they survive. Nisbet is a master storyteller whose narrative pace and world building are perfect and perfectly addictive. I’m as unsure of what the future holds for Saint Flaherty and his lot as they themselves are, but I’ll be there for the next installment to figure it all out with them.
Note: As an added bonus, be sure to check out All God’s Children Say (via the author’s Newsletter), a free companion short featuring Griffeth, one of the syndicate bosses introduced in this book, and a young Connor—the boy has got to be the most feral of all the humans in this world. This short story left me with some questions, gave me some things to chew on about the relationship as it exists between Connor and Simon, and it also shows what a contradiction Connor is. For someone who isn’t always keen on existing, he has an unparalleled ability to do what it takes to keep on being. Especially if Simon has anything to say about it.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach Reviews
September 11, 2016
I can't say enough good things about this book. It was even better than the first, and I loved the first one. This series is dark and heartbreaking, but hopeful at the same time. It will keep you on the edge of your seat, praying for characters that you can't help but love, root for and want to help.
I will read anything this author publishes in the future. Great writing, great storytelling, just a fantastic reading experience.
I will read anything this author publishes in the future. Great writing, great storytelling, just a fantastic reading experience.
November 17, 2016
Phenomenally good. Raw, gritty, realistic with unforgettable characters acting against an unforgiving world.
Suspenseful and edge of your seat action, multiple point of view contribute unraveling the plot one bit at the time. Seriously great narrative and agency: highly recommended
Now I really need more: more Simon, more Connor, more Erin.
What a surprise of a series this late in the year.
Suspenseful and edge of your seat action, multiple point of view contribute unraveling the plot one bit at the time. Seriously great narrative and agency: highly recommended
Now I really need more: more Simon, more Connor, more Erin.
What a surprise of a series this late in the year.
October 11, 2016
Second verse, same as the first
This is really not much of a change from the first novel in quality.
This author's strength is in complex conspiracy plots. This story takes place 6 years after the previous book, as Simon has settled in a city. It introduces new characters other than Simon and Connor and weaves a complex conspiracy between them.
Like the previous book, character development is good but not great.
But this book seemed weaker in worldbuiding. While the parts of the world that interacted directly with the plot were fine, they didn't fit together into a cohesive whole. The city is run by gangsters who manage financial decisions in this post apocalyptic world. But otherwise the city runs normally, with universities and busses and police and courts. There's zero development of how the crime syndicates and the legitimate public services work together or whether they do at all, or why the crime bosses are in power if there is a functional criminal justice system.
They go back to their old village where they note that roads are not maintained, and there isn't much electricity or refrigeration. But a fight they participate in is televised. That doesn't even make sense - how do you maintain the infrastructure for television without electricity or roads?
So this one came out a little weaker despite an enjoyable plot. Just a note to say that I also so far haven't found the attempts at plot twists effective either - the surprise twist in this plot is far too convenient.
This is really not much of a change from the first novel in quality.
This author's strength is in complex conspiracy plots. This story takes place 6 years after the previous book, as Simon has settled in a city. It introduces new characters other than Simon and Connor and weaves a complex conspiracy between them.
Like the previous book, character development is good but not great.
But this book seemed weaker in worldbuiding. While the parts of the world that interacted directly with the plot were fine, they didn't fit together into a cohesive whole. The city is run by gangsters who manage financial decisions in this post apocalyptic world. But otherwise the city runs normally, with universities and busses and police and courts. There's zero development of how the crime syndicates and the legitimate public services work together or whether they do at all, or why the crime bosses are in power if there is a functional criminal justice system.
They go back to their old village where they note that roads are not maintained, and there isn't much electricity or refrigeration. But a fight they participate in is televised. That doesn't even make sense - how do you maintain the infrastructure for television without electricity or roads?
So this one came out a little weaker despite an enjoyable plot. Just a note to say that I also so far haven't found the attempts at plot twists effective either - the surprise twist in this plot is far too convenient.
August 2, 2016
This book picks up six years after What Boys Are Made Of, and let me tell you, if you enjoyed S. Hunter Nisbet's first, you will absolutely adore the second. I read it in two days. The days were very far apart, but still. Once I had the time to read it, I couldn't put it down. Following Simon Flaherty and his new friends in a new city was just as captivating as reading his first story. Ms. Nisbet outdid herself once again with rich prose, vivid descriptions, rounded characters, and a plot thicker than my grandma's beef stew. It was amazing, and I immediately wanted more. Which, to my infinite delight, will be soon! Phenomenal.
July 30, 2016
High Action Keeps You Guessing
I consider myself quick witted when untangling a complex plot, but I had to keep reading to catch up with the action. Walking the alleys of Scioto City means learning a new landscape, both geographically and politically, and with little space to negotiate deciding must be done quickly.
The Mercy of Men brings an interesting new set of characters in, but breaks some of the expected archetypes in doing so. It keeps you going through the final pages and makes you wonder what you missed before and what comes next in the story. Can't wait!
I consider myself quick witted when untangling a complex plot, but I had to keep reading to catch up with the action. Walking the alleys of Scioto City means learning a new landscape, both geographically and politically, and with little space to negotiate deciding must be done quickly.
The Mercy of Men brings an interesting new set of characters in, but breaks some of the expected archetypes in doing so. It keeps you going through the final pages and makes you wonder what you missed before and what comes next in the story. Can't wait!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews