I’m a fan of Brett Battles’ novels about covert operations “cleaner” Jonathan Quinn, and the spin-off Night Man novels have been fun too. The Night Man is Nate, Quinn’s associate, who has taken up a sideline in his spare time – essentially being Batman. Along with his sort-of girlfriend Jar, an Asian woman on the Autism spectrum who does the computer stuff, he intervenes to help people who need help, but can’t be helped by the law. It’s nice, and his relationship with Jar is quite sweet. Nate is motivated to these actions by the voice of his ex-girlfriend, Lisa, who is dead. Nate doesn’t believe in ghosts, but the voice always seems to be right.

But I was a little disappointed with the latest Night Man book, Mercy. Because this one takes Nate and Jar out of their usual urban environments into American flyover country. And they don’t look good there – in my opinion – though I’m sure they see it differently.

The Cleaner team is on suspension right now, so Nate and Jar have more time for their vigilante activities. Unfortunately, those activities have begun to attract media interest, which they don’t want. So they decide to get a small Winnebago and take a road trip. Jar has never seen much of the US.

At the Grand Canyon, guided by Lisa’s voice, they hike along the edge of the Canyon and rescue a teenaged boy who is stuck on a ledge just below the brink. When the boy returns to his camper, he is cruelly punished by his father. Nate and Jar do not hesitate to make this guy their target, following the family to their home in Mercy, Colorado, planning to document his abuse and turn the evidence over to the authorities.

However, they soon discover that the man is involved in plenty of other shady activities. There’s a criminal conspiracy under way, and Nate and Jar are on it, whatever the danger.

The adventure in Mercy was up to Brett Battles’ usual high standards. What I didn’t like was Nate’s attitude. He looks at these small-town people and has nothing good to say about them. They’re too white, they use the wrong pronouns, they’re not worried enough about Covid masking. As a resident of the Midwest, I found all this condescending. Nobody in the town is depicted positively, except for the abused kids.

I won’t be boycotting Battles’ books, but I hope he sticks in the future to people he understands and can sympathize with.