The Color of Death vs The Mercy Chair: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Thriller
The Color of Death
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From the number-one New York Times bestselling author and FOX News host Trey Gowdy comes a dark mystery debut about a murder in a small South Carolina town. Assistant DA Colm Truesdale must pick up the pieces of his own…
The Mercy Chair
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Mike W. Craven (born 1968) is an English crime writer. He is the author of the Washington Poe series and the DI Avison Fluke series. In 2019 his novel The Puppet Show won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger award.
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Color of Death is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 8 for The Mercy Chair.
- The Color of Death has the widest readership — 418 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| The Color of Death | The Mercy Chair | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 3.2 (2) | 4.5 (13) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (418) | 4.5 (42) |
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Reception
| The Color of Death | The Mercy Chair | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 418 | 42 |
| Editions | 5 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 213 | 2696 |
| Pages | 288 | 443 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Color of Death or The Mercy Chair?
The Color of Death has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Color of Death 4.5/5, The Mercy Chair 4.3/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Color of Death or The Mercy Chair?
The Color of Death is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Color of Death (288 pages, ≈ 5 h 20 m); The Mercy Chair (443 pages, ≈ 8 h 12 m).
Which is harder to read: The Color of Death or The Mercy Chair?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Color of Death: Moderate; The Mercy Chair: Moderate.