Without Mercy

The murder of Julia “Jules” Farentino's father creates a bond with her younger half-sister, Shaylee Stillman in this juicy creep-a-thon from bestseller Jackson (Chosen to Die ). That bond is tested years later when 17-year-old Shaylee is shipped off to Blue Rock Academy, an Oregon school in “the middle of no-damned-where” for at-risk teens. Run by iron-fisted Rev. Tobias Lynch, Blue Rock recently had a student, Lauren Conway, go missing and a female teacher dismissed for inappropriate behavior with a student. When Jules takes a teaching position at Blue Rock to rescue Shay, she discovers Cooper Trent, her ex-boyfriend, working there as an undercover PI looking into Lauren's disappearance. The scary “suicide” strangulation of Shay's roommate and the murder of her teaching assistant boyfriend throw the school into further uproar. Meanwhile, the “Leader,” the head of a secret cult at Blue Rock, plots more mayhem. This campy cool thriller builds to a surprising cliffhanger ending. (Apr.)