CRY STREET A Mercy Street Foundation Novel #2 May 2009 ISBN-10: 0345506138 ISBN-13: 978-0345506139

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Abandoned shortly after her birth, Ann Nolan knows what it’s like to grow up unwanted, without a real home or a loving parent. Now a California beat cop, she’s adopted the daughter of a notorious drug dealer and has become a loving single parent to Chloe. When the ruthless father makes it clear he’ll stop at nothing to take back his only child, Ann flees across the country, changes her name, and starts a new life — as an investigator for the Mercy Street Foundation, the billionaire-endowed organization dedicated to finding missing persons. As Emme Caldwell, she takes the lead on the Foundation’s first case. Nineteen-year-old Belinda Hudson disappeared from her sorority house leaving behind one cryptic clue on her calendar for the day she went missing. Retracing the vanished student’s steps leads Emme to Heaven’s Gate, a fertility clinic, and the mysterious Donor 1735.

As Belinda’s legal guardian, Nick Perone is determined to shadow Emme’s every move as she searches for his niece. But the closer Emme gets to Donor 1735 and the chilling truth, the more apparent it becomes that she’s escaped one dangerous man only to run head-on into another, one who’s far more determined, and every bit as deadly.

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MERCY STREET A Mercy Street Foundation Novel #1 First Time in Paperback March 2009 ISBN-10: 0345492277 ISBN-13: 978-0345492272

On a balmy spring evening, four high school seniors—three boys and a girl—enter a park in the small Pennsylvania city of Conroy. The next morning, two of the boys are found shot to death, and the girl and the third boy are gone. After three weeks with no leads and no sign of either of the two missing teenagers, the chief of police begins to wonder if they too were victims. But with no other suspects, the authorities conclude that one of these kids was the shooter.

The missing boy's grandmother, a secretary at the local parish church, maintains his innocence. On her behalf, the parish priest, Father Kevin Burch, hires former detective Mallory Russo as a private investigator to figure out what happened in the park that night. Mallory had ended her nine-year stint with the Conroy police force some time ago after becoming a target of a smear campaign. Now a true-crime author, Mallory is surprised to receive the priest's offer—and highly intrigued by the case. She can't help but accept the challenge—especially when she learns that her investigation will be financed by Father Burch's cousin the reclusive billionaire Robert Magellan, a man whose own wife and infant son disappeared without a trace a year ago, a man who understands the heartache of not knowing what happened to a loved one.

Detective Charlie Wanamaker is facing another sort of tragedy. He fled Conroy years ago with no plans to return to what he considered a dying factory town—until a family emergency brought him back. Finding the situation much worse than he'd thought, he trades his job as a big-city detective for one with the Conroy police department. Assigned to the park shooting case, Charlie quickly realizes that the initial investigation left a lot of questions unanswered. Unofficially, he teams up with Mallory to uncover the truth and find the two kids, dead or alive. What Charlie and Mallory discover will take them down a twisted path that leads to an old unsolved murder—and justice for a killer with a heart of stone.

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"Stewart sets up a clever overarching premise for her intense new series with an independent group of law-enforcement professionals whose mission is taking on cold cases, all bankrolled by a billionaire with his own tragic story. With its hard-edged drama and some burgeoning romance, this story works on many levels. Stewart is a blessing to the genre."
—Jill Smith, 4 stars — Romantic Times BOOKreviews

"Ms. Stewart begins a new series that focuses on missing persons. The vivid characters she assembles have ample flaws to interest readers as they watch them develop and reawaken to the new possibilities that life offers. The well-executed plot ends with a thrilling climax."
—Suan Wilson, Fresh Fiction

"All-in-all, another winner from the Queen of Romantic Suspense, Mariah Stewart! Highly recommended! *****"
—Detra Fitch, Huntress Reviews

"Mariah Stewart keeps on penning some of the very best romantic suspense tales in today’ market, and Mercy Street is a great example of her awesome talent. This book comes highly recommended by this reviewer."
—Betty Cox, Reader-to-Reader Reviews

"MERCY STREET is a gem in the ever-growing selection of romantic suspense novels. Mariah Stewart has created real characters with flaws and problems. They are memorable and likable, stay with you, and make you wonder what they’re doing long after you close the book. She also has tied together three mysteries into one fascinating story, and I for one can’t wait for the next installment in the Mercy Street Foundation series."
—Amie Taylor, Bookreporter.com