For those familar with Mercy Thompson, this book centers on Anna and Charles. Bran, the Marrok (leader of the North American werewolves) is a central character, and Charles’ brother Samuel occasionally shows as well. It is set in the same world, but in Montana, where the Marrok’s pack resides, as opposed to Mercy’s Tri-Cities region. The book begins a little backwards, and Anna has already been rescued from her abusive pack by Charles. We learn that she is a rare Omega wolf, outside of pack structure and valued for her calming presence. She was Turned by her former pack and never told about her status. Abused and beaten, her inner wolf retreated until only a submissive human remained. With Charles and the newfound safety of the Marrok’s pack, Anna learns about the gifts she never knew she had.

Unfortunately, her bliss is cut short by a string of murders, signaling a rogue werewolf. As she and Charles, the Marrok’s enforcer, embark on a journey into the mountains to find the werewolf, they also uncover the dark history of one of their own. Excellent, excellent read.

Mercedes Thompson lives in a  world where fae, werewolves, and vampires are the order of the day. While she passes as human and earns a living as a mechanic, she is also a “walker”–a coyote shapeshifter of Native American blood–not to be confused with “skinwalkers”, evil mages who need to wear the skin of the animal they change into. As Mercedes puts it, the “walker label came from some dumb white person who couldn’t tell the difference”.

Mercedes seems to routinely get herself in trouble with the local werewolf pack, the vampire seethe, the fae, and of course, the men in her life (à la Jaz Parks). Did I mention she was raised by werewolves, can see ghosts and is immune to most vampiric magics? To top it off, the local Alpha of the werewolf pack has claimed her as his mate “to keep her safe”, giving her an extremely odd and often awkward status amongst the pack.

The Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson series are an excellent read and I can totally believe in her world–no gaping plot holes here! With these books, urban fantasy is quickly becoming a favorite genre of mine. They are smooth, easy reads that keep me entertained from beginning til end.

Briggs doesn’t clutter up her books with too many characters (a pet peeve of mine) and it is refreshing to pick up the third book and not have to flip to a  list in the front to recall who each character is and what their motives are. Topped off with a little romance and Mercy’s sarcastic sense of humour, this series is not only simply enjoyable, but a must read!