Cynthia A. Morgan
MISERICORDE (Mercy Series Book One)
Shadow City - Next Chapter Imprint
249 Pages
April 2020
Fantasy / Romance
It is the distant future. 2446 and the first three Horsemen of the apocalypse have arrived. Pestilence, War, Famine. Death has agreed to wait 100 years, allowing Archangel of Mercy, Tzadkiel, the chance to find one person of true compassion. If he fails, then the human race fails and Death will ride!
This is how MISERICORDE opens. Tension from the start.
What is known as the Great Cataclysm started in 2060, as the first of the riders crossed the globe. The population dwindled after each Horseman rode. Lourdes, a scullery maid, with chestnut-red hair, found herself in a somewhat lucky predicament. In her late teens, she landed the maid job in the Bastion of Resolution, in France, a castle taken over by the Eminent Protectorate faction.
Tzadkiel, taken somewhat by surprise, is captured by the officers of the Eminent Protectorate. They realize what they have, when they have him. So begins a year-long reign of torture. The goal is to find out what makes the heavenly man tick. They know he cannot die. In human form, though, they want to learn just how much pain the man can withstand!
Her nightmare begins when she can no longer stand the screams from a man being tortured night after night. His crying out in pain can be heard from the nearby tower all night long. Every night. In a desperate attempt to help the man, she finds away to work in the same tower. The new job is far more than she bargained for, however.
Tzadkiel recognizes Lourde as a kind, and compassionate young woman. Weakened by the months of brutality, he is of little use. While normally he can heal from any wound within hours, the sustained abuse has left him close to incapable of recuperating fully. Lourde has one goal. Saving Tzadkiel at any expense. She forfeits her own safety and peace of mind to ensure the Archangel is all right.
Locked in an impregnable tower (for either getting into or out of), the two must figure out a way to escape, to survive, and to triumph!
MISERICORDE is non-stop tension. Reading the book I was compelled, enthralled, and infuriated! Morgan writes clean, crisp prose. The dialogue is taut, authentic. Her description places the reader on scene for every scene as if standing in a corner witnessing each and every horror as they unfold.
This may be the first book I read by Morgan, but it will not be my last. She has hooked me on the Mercy Series and I cannot wait to dive into the other installments!
Phillip Tomasso
Author of Wizard's Rise
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