One would think, by this many books in the series, Patricia
Briggs might be getting tired, or her characters would run
out of steam. However, that just can't be said for the
Mercy Thompson novels: the characters become more
nuanced,
the excitement is fast-paced, and Briggs makes sure even
novice readers of her works understand the complexities of
the relationships without tedious-feeling exposition. Mercy
is, as always, stubborn, smart, and a great leader. When
she realizes that she has lost connections to the wolf
pack, including her husband and mate, the Alpha, she
immediately thinks of how to keep people safe and who she
can call to assist. She takes charge because she has to,
working through exhaustion and fear, but she also
recognizes when she might be over her head and need some
outside help.
As Mercy struggles to keep the people she can find safe and
discover what happened to those they've lost, information
trickles in, both from the mate bond between Mercy and
Adam, from the "bad guys," and from people Mercy has always
assumed to be the "bad guys" in multiple directions. She
isn't always sure who to trust as she learns Adam and the
pack may, or may not, have been taken by someone who may,
or may not, be working for a branch of the government. In
addition, calling in other resources could bring trouble
down on their heads. Dashing around in a vehicle she
borrowed from her shop, a fancy car belonging to the local
vampire queen, a car that gets less fancy as the night goes
on, Mercy struggles to help her mate, the pack, and her
other friends, every way she can, even if those ways
involve potential danger to herself, to others, and include
making up the rules as she goes along.
FROST BURNED is a fantastic book! Mercy and the rest of the
gang
are excellent in this installment. FROST BURNED touches on
many of the characters
from the rest of the books, but it never feels like the cast
is unwieldy to remember. As well as being a great
adventure, an interesting section in building on
relationships and prior plot arcs, and funny at many
points, FROST BURNED is also a love story: to what lengths
will Adam and Mercy go to return to each other?
Mercy Thompson’s life has undergone a seismic change.
Becoming the mate of Adam Hauptman—the charismatic Alpha of
the local werewolf pack—has made her a stepmother to his
daughter Jesse, a relationship that brings moments of
blissful normalcy to Mercy’s life. But on the edges of
humanity, what passes for a minor mishap on an ordinary day
can turn into so much more…
After an accident in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Mercy and
Jesse can’t reach Adam—or anyone else in the pack for that
matter. They’ve all been abducted.
Through their mating bond, all Mercy knows is that Adam is
angry and in pain. With the werewolves fighting a political
battle to gain acceptance from the public, Mercy fears
Adam’s disappearance may be related—and that he and the pack
are in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy may
be forced to seek assistance from any ally she can get, no
matter how unlikely.