Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, Bk 1)

Adult/YA Fiction

G/A.  LaFevers, Robin. Grave Mercy. Houghton Mifflin, 2012. 549p. 978-0-547-62834-9. $17.99.

At the convent of St. Mortain, seventeen-year-old Ismae is trained as a highly skilled assassin in weaponry and poisons, as well as the feminine arts, in order to serve as a handmaiden of death.  St. Mortain, the god of Death, has also blessed her with powerful gifts.  She sets off on a mission at the court of Anne, Duchess of Brittany.  Anne’s court is filled with intrigue and political machinations and Anne’s own life is being threatened. Ismae poses as Gavriel Duval’s mistress, Anne’s handsome brother, but instead finds herself slowly falling in love with him.  When she is called upon to fulfill her vows, she finds herself at odds with her own desires.  Ismae must uncover the plot against Anne before it is too late.

-C. Campos, Angeles Mesa Branch Library, LAPL