Merciless by Diana Palmer

I had a really difficult time getting into Merciless by Diana Palmer. The first two chapters sat well with me, but then it really went downhill from there. The two main characters, FBI agent Jon and single mom Joceline, are seemingly in love with one another but neither will admit it. When their lives are threatened and they are forced to hide out together, the two finally decide to be with one another and Joceline spills a big secret that is really pretty obvious from page one. The dialogue in the book really got me. The characters would constantly state the most obvious things, and the historical facts made it sound like they were reading out of a book. When the dialogue is discussing someone’s pregnancy and then the dialogue tag reads “she said, alluding to her pregnancy,” well, that is a little unnecessary. And maybe it’s just because I’m younger, but the old fashioned views that were constantly talked about seemed a bit overboard. In every chapter it’s mentioned that Joceline has a child out of wedlock and what a horrible person she is because of it. After the first few chapters I had trouble staying with the book, but the kicker was when (SPOILER-ISH ALERT) Joceline confides to Jon that Markie is his son. This happens right after Jon’s mother is shot and killed. What is the appropriate response? To have sex and really leave it at that. I was completely baffled. I can’t say I would recommend Merciless, but I have heard that Diana Palmer’s earlier works are said to be better.
[Rating: 2]