This first book in a new supernatural series features
shapechanger and Volkswagen mechanic Mercy Thompson.
Although Mercy is a shapechanger, a walker, she isn't a
werewolf. Mercy has the ability to take coyote form when
necessity or longing demands it. Raised by the most
powerful werewolf pack in North America, Mercy knows the
drill when it comes to the pack and their rules and
regulations. So when a freshly made wolf stumbles into her
shop, she knows she should alert the Tri-Cities Alpha. But
instinct tells Mercy to wait.
When disaster strikes and the Alpha, Adam, steps in, it's
already too late. Mercy is in up to her eyeballs in a
situation that quickly goes from bad to worse. The new wolf
and Adam are attacked in the same night, and Adam's young
human daughter, Jesse, is kidnapped. Not sure who's
responsible for the attack, Mercy hesitates to notify his
pack while Adam is at his weakest and vulnerable to the
other dominant males. Mercy throws Adam into a borrowed van
and heads for home -- home to the pack she can trust
without
question.
But home is also the place where she comes face-to-face
with old pain, rejection, politics and enemies. And home is
where Samuel is -- Samuel, whom Mercy adored as a child and
loved as young woman, Samuel whom she betrayed and
abandoned. Adam's accelerated healing powers have him back
on his feet in no time, and pursuing the men and wolves who
have Jesse. Adam heads back to the Tri-Cities with Mercy
and Samuel in tow. The three of them are often at each
other's throats, sometimes literally. The trio square off
against witches, local vampires and the pack before they
find Jesse's kidnappers and the "brains" behind a power
play so twisted it almost destroys them before they even
realize they're all part of the plan.
MOON CALLED is Patricia Briggs' first fantasy set in
a contemporary, albeit alternate, universe. I wasn't
surprised to find that she handled the urban setting just
as deftly as her more traditional fantasy novels. I've
never been disappointed by one of her books and this one is
no exception. Mercy's world is an alternate universe much
like Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake books (but
with much less sex, weapons and descriptions of what she's
wearing and much more plot) or the Buffyverse or more
recently the Kim Harrison books. Mercy is tough and
independent. A woman used to being on her own but with a
strong network of family and friends. It will be
interesting to see how her relationships with both Adam and
Samuel develop in future books. The plot twists and turns,
you won't figure it out, but that won't bother you in the
least. MOON CALLED ends on a high note and leaves you
wanting more. Like a good book should.
(Note: With STEAL
THE DRAGON and WHEN DEMONS WALK both finally back in print,
the only one of Briggs' books still out of print is
MASQUES. I've heard that it will be available again in 2006
with a sequel soon to follow. I hope the rumors are true.)
Mercy Thompson's sexy next-door neighbor is a werewolf.
She's tinkering with a VW bus at her mechanic shop that
happens to belong to a vampire.
But then, Mercy Thompson is not exactly normal herself...
and her connection to the world of things that go bump in
the night is about to get her into a whole lot more trouble.
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