I suppose there may be a few less likely names for a book critic than "Mercy," (Miss Illiterate Fool comes to mind), but surely there cannot be many. I do not think the New York Times would have a food column by-lined "Al L. Yucky." If the best guy for the job WAS actually named that, they would have him write his offerings under a more suitable pseudonym, such as "Pierre Frenchman" or something. It's hard not to imagine tons of texts from publishers/authors/publicity hacks arriving with every novel's proof exam copies sent to Mercy's employer along the lines of "Please have Mercy on me." As a long-time veteran of the book business, I cannot recall any critics going by the handle of "Mercy;" obviously, any that were born that way saw fit to update before breaking into the critiquing game. Furthermore, most asthmatics who are subject to dropping down dead from the least little attack wear their inhalers on lanyards, with back-ups in their pockets. That way, if a purse-snatching brings on an attack, it's not an automatic death sentence. If your car keys were the only thing keeping you alive for the next five minutes, would you be constantly losing or forgetting them?
Review of Mercy
