Merciless (45 page)

Much of this book deals with Mercy’s struggle to find balance, especially between
her work obligations and her family. As a full-time writer who is also a wife and
mother, do you identify with this struggle?

I think everyone identifies with the need to find balance. My deadlines have been
pretty brutal the last few years and my family has been patient with my lack of balance.
Luckily my kids are mostly grown and the one who is still at home is very busy and
self-sufficient. But I remember when the kids were Lex’s age and how much juggling
school and activities and family time were part of our everyday life, as well as trying
to find personal adult time, because that’s usually one of the first things to go.
Both Mercy and Dawson are aware that Lex living with them can change their personal
dynamic and they’re willing to adjust their lives, but not give up part of who they
are to each other.

You also write a bestselling erotic romance series under the pseudonym Lorelei James.
What are the major differences for you in writing your cowboy romances versus the
Mercy Gunderson mystery series? Do you see a lot of overlap between mystery and romance?

Both mystery and romance have to have a plot, conflict, character growth, and a satisfying
ending. So in that respect the story lines are similar. At this point in time, I write
mystery in the first person, and it’s challenging to write a hundred-thousand-word
book from one character’s point of view. I write romance in the third person, usually
around a hundred thousand words also, but in multiple points of view, so the story
gets told from various angles, which isn’t necessarily easier, just different. In
the mysteries the plot is about the character’s relationship to violence. In the romances
the plot is about the character’s relationship to sex. I find it fascinating that
mystery readers don’t have a problem with explicit violence, but throw in explicit
sex . . . and they run for the hills. I like the challenge of writing both the best
aspect of humanity—love, sex and finding happily ever after—and the worst aspect—dealing
with violence, hatred, and what makes a person act on those murderous impulses.

We won’t ask you to pick favorites, but if you could bring one of your characters
from this series to life to spend a day with, who would it be, and what would you
do?

I’d pick Mercy and make her take me out shooting. I need help in learning how to ease
back slowly on that trigger, every time, with every type of gun. Plus, I think she’d
be fun to drink with afterward.

Where do you see Mercy’s story going next?

Good question. I leave her a little unsettled at the end of
Merciless
, wondering if she’ll continue with the FBI or if she’ll find another challenge. I
can say I’m kicking ideas around, but the truth is Mercy hasn’t told me what she wants
to do yet.

1. As Mercy begins to unravel the secrets of tribal members of the Eagle River Reservation,
she uncovers stories from the past that have been concealed to protect reputations
and family legacies. Contact family members or friends and compose an oral history
of a meaningful, controversial, or confusing event in your past. What surprising explanations
are offered by others that shed light on your relationships? Share your findings with
your book club.

2. At Mercy and Dawson’s party to welcome Dawson’s young son, Lex, relations and acquaintances
from different parts of their professional and personal lives intersect, some uncomfortably.
At what venues and events do the people who comprise your daily life—family, colleagues,
childhood friends, neighbors, estranged companions—overlap? You may want to compare
experiences with book club members of reunions or gatherings that were notable in
terms of bringing out the best and worst in your circle of relationships.

3. Mercy and Dawson seem both competitive and admiring about their respective talents
and abilities. When they hunt for antelope, for example, each acknowledges the other’s
unique strengths. Can you think of a person or people in your life that you admire
for his or her special gifts? How do their abilities balance against your own? Explore
this dynamic with members of your book group. Whom do they admire and how does this
impact the way they interact with one another?

4. Learn about the author, Lori Armstrong, by visiting her online at:
http://www.loriarmstrong.com
,
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lori-Armstrong/420276695091
, or on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/LoriGArmstrong
.

Touchstone

A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are
products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by Lori Armstrong–LJLA, LLC

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof
in any form whatsoever. For information address Touchstone Subsidiary Rights Department,
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Touchstone trade paperback edition January 2013

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.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Armstrong, Lori

Merciless: a mystery/Lori Armstrong.—1st Touchstone trade paperback ed.

    p. cm.

1. Women private investigators—fiction. I. Title.

PS3601.R576M45   2013

813'.6—dc23

2012014752

ISBN 978-1-4516-2536-3

ISBN 978-1-4516-2541-7 (ebook)