Moon Called - Patricia Briggs

Read for: Challenge with Rhinoa

Mercedes (Mercy) Thompson is a Native American mechanic with her own auto repair shop in the Tri-Cities of Washington State. A pretty damn good mechanic, Mercy also has a secret...she is a walker, a shapeshifter who can take the form of a coyote. In this world, many of the lesser fae have revealed themselves to the wider public, although werewolves and shapeshifters still keep themselves hidden. Mercy lives next door to the Alpha of the Tri-Cities werewolf pack, Adam, and is fast friends with his daughter, Jesse. Another friend is a local vampire, who manages to blend into the community but drives around in a replica of the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine!

Moon Called is the first in the Mercy Thompson series, in which Mercy becomes embroiled in deadly werewolf business when she gives a teenage runaway werewolf a job as her assistant. She soon discovers a deeper plot, and when Adam is gravelly wounded and his daughter kidnapped, must resort to returning to the clan of werewolves who raised her in Montana. Mercy is forced to confront her feelings for her lost love and work alongside the werewolves and vampires in order to find Jesse and save the day.

The story itself didn't particularly inspire me, but Briggs' characterisation was excellent, with really enjoyable characters. I became completely involved in Mercy's plight and found the book very difficult to put down. Mercy herself was an interesting character, although the heroine, she is forced to concede to the Alphas decisions though she may not like it. However, as she is not part of the pack, she can often go against werewolf tradition and make her own choices.

I found the werewolves particularly enjoyable to read about, and was very taken with Adam and his relationship with the feisty mechanic. I will certainly be reading more of the series and hope that Stefan the vampire makes another appearance! A really enjoyable book.

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Medieval Bookworm