Saving Mercy by Abbie Roads
Abbie Roads’s SAVING MERCY.
He’s found her at last
Cain Killion knows himself to be a damaged man, his only saving grace the extrasensory connection to blood that he uses to catch murderers. His latest case takes a macabre turn when he discovers a familiar and haunting symbol linking the crime to his own horrific past—and only one woman could know what it means.
Equal Opportunity Torture
by Abbie Roads
I love tortured characters. Love them! I won’t read a book without them. I can’t. If everyone in the book has had a life of rainbows and sunshine and cupcakes, I just don’t care. And here’s why…My day job has changed me. Made me into someone who likes tortured characters. Let me explain the reason…
I’m a mental health counselor. On the job, I hear people’s worst stories. Rape, incest, abuse—all common themes. My clients are victimized, bullied, and stalked. My role as their therapist is to walk with them through their most painful experiences to find a place of mental health and peace. They all start at a very dark and desperate place, but they want to be is in the light. I find my clients’ journeys fascinating and inspiring. I’ve come to realize that in a way, I mimic those journeys in my writing.
My characters—my heroes, my heroines, even my villians—are tortured in their own way. I’m and equal opportunity character torturer—lol. I create characters who are beaten down by life, and then send them on a mission where the goal is to triumph over all the adversity.
When a character starts the story in such a terrible place, but ends up with a happily-ever-after… Well, honestly, that feels more profound to me than if they started the story semi-happy and ended the story happy.
My recommendations for some good tortured characters:
I love Adriana Anders Under Her Skin. Wow. I devoured that book. I loved bushy-bearded, ex-con Ivan. And I loved all the pain Uma had gone through. Yet, she still possessed the will to survive. And I even loved rotten Mrs. Lloyd!
You want some tortured alpha males? Here they are… J.R. Ward’s The Black Dagger Brotherhood. Choose a Brother. He’s tortured. I love all of them. But my favorites are Wrath, Rhage, and Zsadist. Enjoy! You’ll thank me later. I promise.
If you enjoy YA try the Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi. The heroine starts the book in an asylum and frankly seems like she might just be a little cracked in the head. Oh, but the twists and turns that happen in the story.
My own tortured hero:
In my newest novel, SAVING MERCY, Cain is the son of the world’s most famous serial killer. His father groomed him to be a killer too. Cain witnessed things, did things, no child should ever experience. It changed him. It damaged him. As an adult, he feels the allure of evil, but combats his awful urges by working with the FBI to solve crimes like the ones his father committed. He thinks of himself as a bad man, who’s only one step away from being like his father.
Will Cain be one of your favorite tortured heroes?
Who are your favorite tortured characters?
SAVING MERCY
He’s found her at last
Cain Killion knows himself to be a damaged man, his only saving grace the extrasensory connection to blood that he uses to catch murderers. His latest case takes a macabre turn when he discovers a familiar and haunting symbol linking the crime to his own horrific past—and only one woman could know what it means.
Only to lose her to a nightmare
Mercy Ledger is brave, resilient, beautiful—and in terrible danger. The moment he sees Mercy, Cain knows he’s the one who can save her. He also knows he’s beyond redemption. But the lines between good and evil blur and the only thing clear to Cain and Mercy is that they belong together. Love is the antidote for blood—but is their bond strong enough to overcome the evil that stalks them?
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ogFR9w
iBooks: http://apple.co/2ogG4cO
♥
Abbie Roads is a mental health counselor known for her blunt, honest style of therapy. By night she writes dark emotional novels, always giving her characters the happy ending she wishes for all her clients. Her novels have finaled in RWA contests, including the Golden Heart. She lives with her family in Marion, OH.
I can’t wait to read this one!