MERCY AND THE CAT

by Jason McIntyre

Another McIntyre story, another great read.

Mercy and the Cat aroused my curiosity by just reading its appealing, enigmatic title. It’s the third novella I’ve read by this Canadian author and the result is the same as always: I hit me like a juggernaut. Days after finishing it, it stills resounds in my brain.

We have to distinguish two kinds of styles in Jason McIntyre’s works.  On the one hand, you’ve got his long novels, masterfully written and elaborated, with plots and sub-plots, flashbacks and unexpected turns. On the other hand, you’ve got his novellas, which could be described as perfect little jewels, with the same deep depiction of characters that you can find in his longer works but with less meandering plots.  Nevertheless, and despite being a more straightforward story, McIntyre’s style and prose in Mercy and the Cat (or any other novella) is still as elegant, poetic and exquisite as any of his novels.

Mercy and the Cat contains more mature and disturbing contents than any other story I’ve read by this author. However I took this as a positive feature, because when a writer can surprise you and break all your expectations again, you realize that the time you’re investing in reading his work is actually worthy.

In this story we have a troubled main character, Dave Bolander, and the events in a late summer night.   I won’t write anything else about the plot because it’ll spoil the fun to future readers. I’ll just say that, from the very beginning the reader suspects that something’s wrong with him but it’s really difficult to discern what it is. In addition to this, there’s a strong feeling of menace from the very first page, which increases as the story unfolds.

This is a magnificent thriller full of suspense and mystery that will not disappoint any reader of this genre. If you want to read something different, well written and fresh, go ahead and grab this book!