"It's hard to sit still when your client is scheduled to die in fifteen hours!
San Francisco lawyer Alex Sedaka is surprised when California governor Chuck Dusenbury offers eleventh-hour clemency to Sedaka's Death Row client Clayton Burrow - convinced to do so by the dying mother of the victim. But there is a condition: Burrow must reveal where he buried body.
The problem: Burrow insists that he is innocent and claims that he was framed by the missing girl herself. Until then, Sedaka - who only recently took over the case - thought that Burrow was guilty. But now that Burrow has rejected the clemency offer, he is not so sure. Thus begins a race against time to unravel the mystery, aided by his secretary, an enigmatic legal intern and his own computer expert son.
Alex finds evidence of school bullying, marital infidelity and even child abuse. But with the clock ticking down to Burrow's execution, Alex is frustrated at every turn by elusive evidence that casts doubt on Burrow's guilt, but is not enough to satisfy the rigorous requirements of the courts or the governor at this late stage.
And as the execution looms ahead, the race turns frantic... and dangerous.
Perfect for fans of John Grisham, Scott Turow and Harlan Coben, Mercy is the first in a series featuring San Francisco lawyer Alex Sedaka.