The Reading Bud

Book Blog by Heena Rathore-Pardeshi

Book Spotlight: Catalyst by Sloane Mercer

Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Sloane Mercer for her latest release, Catalyst.

Book: Catalyst
Author: Sloane Mercer
Publication Date: October 2, 2025
Publisher: AMEE Publishing
Genres: Psychological Thriller, Political Thriller, Terrorism/Espionage Thriller, Literary Suspense, International Intrigue
Page Count: 193
Formats Available: Kindle & Paperback
For Readers Who Loved Reading: I Am Pilgrim (Terry Hayes), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson), American Assassin (Vince Flynn), The Night Manager (John le Carré), and Our Kind of Traitor (John le Carré)


About the Book

Everyone’s the hero in their story. Even the monsters.

Jake Rossi, a Capitol crewman trying to rebuild his life, isn’t looking for meaning — just a paycheck, a place to belong, maybe someone to talk to. Then he meets Emily, a reserved Belgian chocolatier with a scar on her collarbone and eyes that never blink. Her silence is magnetic. Her past, untouchable.

But the closer Jake gets, the more off-kilter things begin to feel. Curiosity twists into obsession. Obsession curdles into fear. Is Emily a survivor haunted by shadows, or the shadow itself? Every answer Jake uncovers only deepens the riddle, and every step closer drags him toward a truth too dangerous to name.

By the time the city gathers under banners and floodlights, it may already be too late.

For readers of dark, atmospheric, slow-burning psychological thrillers with flawed heroes and razor-wire tension, Catalyst will keep you turning pages deep into the night.

You can find Catalyst here:
Amazon


About The Author

Sloane Mercer

Sloane Mercer is a storyteller of blurred lines, crafting fiction from fragments of truth. The portrait on this page is no different from the
story itself – part fact, part invention, and deliberately incomplete.
What matters is not who the author is, but the worlds they leave behind – the shadows you carry after closing the book, and the questions that follow you into the quiet.

You can find author Nordmed here:
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I’m Heena

Welcome to The Reading Bud, my cosy corner of the internet dedicated to all things books and authors. Here, I invite you to join me on a journey of discovering under-represented books, independent and small press authors, and all things book with a touch of love and loud purrs. Let’s get Reading!

Book of the Month

Read this captivating story on the adventures and hardships of Frank Knightlite, a man who strives to illuminate darkness with his lantern in search of answers to life’s questions.
You can get it here.
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