Publications

When the Guillotine Fell, St. Martins, 2008

The true crime story of the last man executed in French history. This book weaves together the case of Hamida Djandoubi, the one-legged man who brutally strangled Elisabeth Bousquet in 1974, with a philosophical and historical overview of the guillotine and the state's right to kill. The backdrop for the story is Marseille in the 1970s, a corrupt and heroin riddled city that belies the treacly, postcard image so many people associate with Provence

The book can be ordered from Amazon or Powell's or Barnes & Noble.

Time Was Soft There, St. Martin's Press, 2005

(In England : Books, Baguettes & Bedbugs, Orion, 2005)

A memoir of a crime reporter who flees to France after a threat from a gang source. In Paris, he discovers the wondrous Shakespeare and Company and is invited to live among the creaking shelves of this infamous bookstore. The author is befriended by the quixotic 89-year-old owner and adventure, mystery and, ultimately, redemption follow.

The book was named Books, Baguettes & Bedbugs for the British market, where, in a most gratifying turn of events, the hardcover went into third printing.

In the spring of 2006, the hardcover was released in Australia. In the fall of 2006, paperback editions of the book were released in both American and England. The book was released in Brazil under the name Um livro per dia in 2007 and in Korea in 2008.

"Mercer is a fine writer with a keen and jaundiced eye,"

-- Chicago Tribune

"A great read, both funny and quietly moving,"

-- San Francisco Chronicle

"[A] small classic of literary life,"

-- The Sunday Times

"[An] entertaining romp through Parisian literary bohemia,"

-- Newsweek

Read full reviews :: here ::

To support this book, the author toured independent bookstores across North America in 2005. An account of this 15,000 kilometer odyssey can be read *here*

Purchase the book at Amazon or Powell's or Barnes & Noble.

Money for Nothing, Warwick Press, 1999

A collection of true crime stories that illustrate the most ethical and least violent ways to make money from crime.

Nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award.

Purchase used copies at Abebooks.com or at Amazon.com.

The Champagne Gang, Warwick Press, 1998

A based-on-a-true story thriller about a band of young Canadian men who go on a crime spree that nets them six million dollars. In the movie version, the main characters were transformed into California surfer girls.

Purchase used copies at Abebooks.com or at Amazon.com.