Mercy

Detective Matt Deal Thrillers, Book 1

By: Stephen Bentley

Narrated by: Chris Defazio

His daughter was taken. He’ll make them pay.

Set in the near future, Matt Deal—an ex-pat Brit married into a powerful Florida family—watches his life shatter after a nightmare unfolds. His fifteen-year-old daughter, Mercy, is left in a vegetative state following a brutal assault on a Destin beach. She was the only thing holding his fractured marriage together. Now, nothing will ever be the same.

At first, Deal trusts the police to bring the attackers to justice. But when it becomes clear the wealthy culprits might walk free, everything unravels—his gym business falters, his marriage collapses, and his ruthless father-in-law sends death threats, blaming him for the family's ruin.

With nowhere to turn, Deal is out of options—and out of patience. Should he return to post-Brexit Britain to escape the chaos, or embrace the storm and fight back?

One thing’s certain: Someone will pay.

For fans of Jack Reacher, Barry Eisler, and vigilante thriller movies like *Taken*, this pulse-pounding novel explores just how far one father will go when justice fails.

©2019 Stephen Bentley (P)2020 Stephen Bentley

A Raw Deal

Stephen Bentley wrote a futuristic crime thriller whose protagonist's name is Matt Deal. The opening pages depicted a brutal assault upon Matt's teenage daughter that left her in a permanent vegetative state. The assault, the fact that the perpetrators might be allowed to go free, Matt's wife, and his father-in-law all conspire to make Matt change his life dramatically. This story is raw, gritty, visceral, and has some descriptive sex scenes. It is suspenseful and fast paced, and I recommend it to others who like this genre. Chris Defazio's narration is great. I was given a free copy of the audiobook and I have voluntarily left this review.

Baskerville Book Reviews

Most of my review of this book is criticism. I want to say at the start, I enjoyed this book very much and I recommend it. It’s a great thriller. That being said….

I’m not fond of the use of the word faggot. While it’s a dysphemism some people still use, it was used by the protagonist which didn’t help to make him any more likable.

The second thing I really disliked about this story was the usage of the word “silencer” to refer to a suppressor. But even more than that was the misrepresentation of what they do. They don’t silence gunfire, they suppress it.

The third thing that annoys me was the cliffhanger ending. It ends right in the middle of a scene. There was no attempt to wrap it up. The summary doesn’t give you any indication that you need to read multiple books to get the full story. When you compare it to Sherlock Holmes stories, for example, they’re all standalone stories and you don’t need the full set to enjoy them. This has always annoyed me about books. The book cover, title, something should give an indication and say “part 1”.

While sites like Audible say “Detective Matt Deal Thrillers, Book 1”, that doesn’t always mean that the book is split. Look at Sherlock Holmes stories for example. They may be referred to as “Sherlock Holmes #5”, but they’re standalone.

This book is full of gratuitous violence and sex, murder, deceit and so much more. The sex scenes are a bit cringey if I’m being honest, they could really use some work. Everybody is just horny all the time. The hung protagonist doesn’t seem to encounter a woman who doesn’t want him. But it’s all good fun.

For the most part, the narrator sounds emotionless as he’s reading. Some of the story is set in the U.K. but nobody has even a hint of an accent. The only time an accent is even hinted at is when one character makes fun of another for it.

Despite all my complaints, I enjoyed this story very much. It’s fun, action-packed and, intense. It’s one of those books that reads like you’re listening to an action movie. Give it a read (or listen).

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.

Fantastic Listening

I had read Mercy a while back on my kindle and I totally enjoyed it. When I saw it available as an audiobook I snapped it up thank's to Stephen's generosity again. I have read a few to several of Stephen's books, and enjoyed them all, and this audiobook is no exception. I am not going to spill the beans with spoilers, you are just going to have to get the books yourself, I am sure you will enjoy them. I was provided this audiobook for free from Stephen and Story Origin, and this is my voluntary unbiased review.

A well-written story from a good author

Mercy: Detective Matt Deal Thrillers, Book 1, my first highly enjoyable read from author Stephen Bentley, An author I'd not heard of before getting the opportunity to read & review this book.! December seemed to be my month for new authors, January continued the trend, and now February. A well written, entertaining read, with intriguing, well-developed characters. A bit slow to start but when it took off I couldn't turn pages fast enough. Chris Defazio"s outstanding narration added greatly to a good book's enjoyment. “I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." I look forward to reading more from this author. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

Dark Thriller!

This is the first book in the Detective Matt Deal Thriller Series. This is an explosive introduction to the series. Matt Deal is a detective, enigmatic, ruthless, and determined. My heart broke for his daughter Mercy. The storyline is fast-paced, and entertaining, filled with action, intrigue, violence, murders, steamy scenes, and twists and turns. The cast of supporting characters is impressive. Excellent narration from Chris Defazio. Looking forward to listening to Mayhem, the next book in the series. #StoryOrigin

Hard core detective story

I received an offer of a review copy of the Mercy audiobook through StoryOrigin and after reading in the title it was a Detective thriller I jumped on the opportunity. This story takes off right out of the gate with some very intense action that readers who prefer “clean” thrillers may find offensive or off-putting. So for anyone reading this review if you prefer not to read thrillers with adult subject matter maybe you are better off looking elsewhere, however if it’s not an issue for you, the intense action in this story starts right off the bat and stays on the same pace throughout the story. I honestly could see this as a Jason Statham movie. The dialogue throughout the story reminded me of old school detective stories which brought back a feeling of nostalgia. The only issue I had with the audiobook was the narration – Matt Deal and several other characters are British, sadly there was no British accent in the narration – and this really would have made this audiobook more enjoyable.

Good Reason for Revenge!

Matt Deal is a father with good reason for wanting revenge, his 15-year-old daughter (Mercy) was assaulted by a group of college students. The attack left Mercy in a coma with no sign of recovery and the assailants family money and influence had allowed them to walk free without conviction. Matt and his girlfriend Wolfie are determined to serve up the missing justice. The storyline was good, but the narration was too slow for me, listening to the audiobook at 1.3x to 1.5x speed did help somewhat. Matt Deal is a British citizen but the narrator did not even attempt to provide even a hint of a British accent. I received this audiobook from the author at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I couldn't finish it just 2 much sex and swearing

as I said I just couldn't take all the sex, sex talk and swearing. I wanted to find out what happened with Matt's daughter Mercy after how the book started but I just couldn't do it. if this is what all this author's books are like I guess I won't be reading or listening to any more

A father's revenge.

A thriller to the end and beyond. Matt Deal is seeking revenge for his daughter's rape and destruction. Great plot. Great characters. Great action. Well written. Looking forward to more of these characters.
I listened to Audible version and was sometimes lost with so many different characters. But once sorted out it was very entertaining.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from Story Origin.

Interesting

Interesting read. In Mercy, Matt Deal's life is changed forever when he essentially losses his fifteen year old daughter who is brutally assaulted and left for dead on the beach, her assailants walking free. What will Matt do now that his world has fallen apart: run or seek revenge??? Find out in Mercy.