Roberta Writes – Book review: Merciless Mayhem (The Mayhem Series Book 8) by Sue Coletta #bookreview #readingcommunity

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What Amazon says

International Impact Award Winner

Shawnee and Mayhem continue to wreak havoc on the Killzme Corporation—the largest animal trafficking ring in the country—by killing one poacher at a time. The stakes grow increasingly higher when the nefarious group retaliates by putting a bounty on their heads.

Meanwhile, the traffickers set their sights on capturing Orca for profit and pleasure.

With a ticking clock and no place left to hide, Shawnee and Mayhem alternate between undercover surveillance and clandestine battles to save their loved ones and the Innocent Ones from Killzme’s evil plans. Skills are tested. Tenuous alliances are formed. Not everyone will make it out alive.

Set in a world of cultural wonder, environmental threats, and looming danger, this heart-stopping eco-thriller will have you glued to the page from the first sentence to the last.

My review

Merciless Mayhem is a different genre of read for me as I don’t read much in the thriller line. It is this book’s eco based plot line involving a group of characters who are determined to help save wildlife from exploitation by ruthless corporations, that attracted me. It turned out to be a good decision, and I thoroughly enjoyed the fast paced and exciting storyline that revolved around the exploitation of orcas and other sea creatures for financial gain.

The reader is introduced to Shawnee and Mr Mayhem and it is soon apparent that the pair have recently been embroiled in a nasty showdown with a corporation called Killzme which captures and sells endangered animals. Shawnee’s grandfather, Jacy Lee, goes missing, the evidence pointing towards a kidnapping, and the pair know the kidnappers are employees of Killzme, seeking revenge. Mr Mayhem comes up with a conservative plan to rescue Jacy Lee, but excludes Shawnee in an attempt to keep her safe from danger. This does not suit Shawnee, who sets off on her own with one of Mr Mayhem’s crow companions, to rescue her only surviving relative. Shawnee is captured by Killzme and, as a result, becomes involved in new Killzme animal operation. After this fast and captivating start, the story keeps going at a bottleneck pace guaranteed to keep the reader engaged.

Mr Mayhem is a mysterious character. His wife died saving Shawnee at an unspecified earlier date (I have not read the previous books), and Mr Mayhem has not recovered. He is still grieving and has embraced the friendship of Spirit Ghost, a white crow, her son, Poe, and another crow called Odin. These three birds all play supporting character rolls in the story. Mr Mayhem is devoted to saving wildlife from evil corporations like Killzme and has adopted Shawnee as his assistant. He is a ruthless man, who will stop at nothing in pursuit of his objectives. He is happy to kill for his cause.

Shawnee is young and still learning. She doesn’t have particularly good self-control and can be unpredictable and misguided in her behaviours. Devoted to her grandfather and also to wildlife, Shawnee does her best to learn from Mr Mayhem and become a good fighter for the cause. She is headstrong and comes into conflict with Mr Mayhem and his crow friend, Poe, but her heart is in the right place.

I found the information about the Cheyenne traditions, culture and spiritual beliefs very interesting, although the use of two names for each character did require some getting used to. In the beginning, I found it quite confusing.

This is a great story, but the book does contain scenes of attempted sexual assault and graphic violence which some readers may find disturbing.

Merciless Mayhem is available from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CJVW4699

Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

Published

54 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – Book review: Merciless Mayhem (The Mayhem Series Book 8) by Sue Coletta #bookreview #readingcommunity”

    2. Hi Jacqui, I’m glad you enjoyed this review. I listed to it using Alexa (Diana mentioned that she uses it). What a great suggestion its been. I can do so much more reading now will a little help from Amazon e-reader. I’m listening to The Keeping Place by Mae Clair now.

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  13. An excellent review, Robbie! I’ve loved everything I’ve read in this series so far and am totally invested in these characters and their mission. Like you, I love the Native American aspect of the stories. Thank you for sharing and congratulations to Sue!

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    1. Hi Thomas, I think you commented about the eco story line when I shared a promo post for Sue’s new book, Savage Mayhem. The eco plot is great and the information about the Native Americans fascinating (for me who knew very little other than what was included in The Last of the Mohicans).

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  17. Grrat review, Robbie 🙂 I started in middle of series and went back and caught up. I love when they save the animals.

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  18. Fantastic review, Robbie. We had Sue on the podcast last night. She’s not just a stellar writer, she’s also a wonderful human being. Congrats to Sue.

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  19. Excellent review and insights into the book, Robbie. I just finished the next one and am totally hooked on these characters. Congrats to Sue on the wonderful recommendation.

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