cover image Mercy Street

Mercy Street

Mariah Stewart, . . Ballantine, $22 (302pp) ISBN 978-0-345-49226-5

This intriguing if somewhat bland first in a new romantic suspense series from bestseller Stewart (Last Breath ) introduces two cool crime solvers, PI Mallory Russo, a former Conroy, Pa., cop, and Charlie Wanamaker, a former Philly detective who’s returned to Conroy to help his alcoholic mother and his disabled sister. Despite bad experiences employing PIs, billionaire Robert Magellan, who’s haunted by the disappearance of his wife and young son, hires Mallory to locate two missing teens, Courtney Bauer and Ryan Corcoran. The high school students vanished after a playground shooting that left two of their friends dead. The Conroy police suspect the pair were involved, but Mary Corcoran, Ryan’s grandmother, and Linda Bauer, Courtney’s mom, are sure of their innocence. Some readers may wish that the author had given more time on stage to a bad girl suspect, but all will cheer the appealing romance that develops between Mallory and Charlie. (May)