No Mercy
John Burley
No Mercy is a harrowing tale of suspense, brutal murder and the dark secrets that lie beneath the surface of a placid, tight-knit town.Perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay this is a page-turning thriller.The peaceful town of Wintersville is a place safe from the crime and congestion of city life, where neighbours feel like family. It’s the perfect place to live.But when a teenager is discovered brutally murdered in the woods, it becomes clear that a psychopath is roaming the streets. Dr Ben Stevenson, the town’s medical examiner, and father of two young boys, becomes entangled in the hunt for the murderer, determined to keep his family safe.But as Ben uncovers the dark secrets of his seemingly quiet community, he confronts a truth that will haunt him forever and puts those he loves in serious danger.
JOHN BURLEY
No Mercy
Copyright (#ulink_c6af5522-7c76-5f9c-86d2-2a11874a168f)
AVON
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First Published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2014
Copyright © John Burley 2014
John Burley asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Source ISBN: 9780007559480
Ebook Edition © 2014 ISBN: 9780007559497
Version: 2015-06-23
Dedication (#ulink_0ef1cc08-918b-55ea-9e3b-5aee59d53f64)
For LGandMNGB
There is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there.
—Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho
What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.
—Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil
Contents
Cover (#ub4cea08c-10e5-599f-b756-d921d1560364)
Title Page (#u856f0177-59de-51d3-9dd1-588200acd758)
Copyright (#u737e4b22-51e9-5d72-b618-fd710f9c74e4)
Dedication (#u32110830-0751-5eb3-a7d5-41d0fc231e7e)
Epigraph (#u2ac4b42c-010f-595b-ad02-c21591f1aa24)
Part one: The Young Man in the Black T-Shirt (#u15027224-78d3-53fc-b335-db324c2839a2)
Chapter 1 (#u92aea82f-9afe-5096-a6e5-77a063af868c)
Chapter 2 (#ueb9b3cce-8a47-5d5e-b4b4-f1e011068aac)
Chapter 3 (#u8aabed50-9c9d-509d-9479-86b9eddb104d)
Chapter 4 (#uaaa430f1-735e-56c9-872e-653e0cb7fca0)
Chapter 5 (#ucc8f9011-5837-5628-b648-ae474ffc3c48)
Chapter 6 (#u5f1682e8-1036-528b-bc73-c2ad881b19aa)
Chapter 7 (#ud9046f8c-c027-57dc-82e7-4606871a4d25)
Part two: To Witness the Dead (#uc61622b5-0b4d-5fd0-afb4-cf674975c11b)
Chapter 8 (#u7f4a2b38-acab-5f76-8c79-6ac25ca78d4e)
Chapter 9 (#u5dfaf713-c854-545a-811c-74b8104e1d0f)
Chapter 10 (#u5150c482-eb70-5b06-b33f-302f253fcd01)
Chapter 11 (#u34d8c15e-2380-53b2-b202-f65cd1371135)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Part three: The Girl (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)