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Being a different breed of shapeshifter-a walker-Mercy Thompson can see ghosts, but the spirit of her long-gone father has never visited her. Until now, on her honeymoon with the Alpha werewolf Adam. An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-and innocent people are dying. As other walkers make their presence known to Mercy, she must reconnect with her heritage to exorcise the world of the legend known as the river devil...
Female auto mechanics are still uncommon and female auto mechanics with werewolf boyfriends are even rarer; but capable grease monkey Mercy Thompson holds an even more unique distinction: She is a shapeshifter. Until now, she thought that this gift and curse was something that only she possessed; but now she learns differently. In this case, that's not a welcome discovery..... Now in mass market paperback and NOOK Book.
— James Killen
Patricia Briggs lives in Montana with her husband, children, and six horses.
From The Dalles Chronicle
"Two Local Men Still Missing"
Thomas Kerrington (62) and his son Christopher Kerrington (40) are still missing, though the boat that they were fishing in has been recovered. The boat was found abandoned two miles downstream of John Day Dam yesterday. The men set out on a morning fishing expedition Monday morning but never returned. Sherman Co. marine deputy Max Whitehead says, "This has been an unusually bad year for boating fatalities on the Columbia. We're stepping up patrols and urging boaters to take their safety very seriously." Searchers are scouring the river, but after four days, hopes are low for a safe recovery of the two men.
From The Hood River News
This week's fish counts are drastically down at both John Day and The Dalles Dams. Allen Robb of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says, "We are concerned that there was some sort of toxic dump in the river somewhere between the dams. There is a significant reduction in the numbers of fish and our operators are telling us that this is especially true of our larger fish such as the adult Coho salmon." Although extensive testing is under way, no sign of poison has been found in the river nor has there been an unusually high number of dead fish. "The fish are spooked," says local fishing guide Jon Turner Bowman.
Chapter One
Under the glare of streetlights, I could see that the grass of Stefan's front lawn was dried by the high summer heat to yellow. It had been mowed, but only with an eye to trimming the length of the grass, not to making it aesthetically pleasing. From the debris of dead grass in the yard, the lawn had been left to grow long enough that the city might have demanded it be mowed. The grass that remained was dry enough that whoever had cut it wouldn't have to do it again unless someone started watering.
I pulled the Rabbit up to the curb and parked. The last time I'd seen Stefan's house, it had fit right into his ritzy neighborhood. The yard's neglect hadn't spread to the house's exterior yet, but I worried about the people inside.
Stefan was resilient, smart, and just Stefan—able to talk Pokémon in ASL with deaf boys, defeat nasty villains while locked up in a cage, then drive off in his VW bus to fight bad guys another day. He was like Superman, but with fangs and oddly impaired morals.
I got out of my car and walked up the sidewalk toward the front porch. In the driveway, Scooby-Doo looked out at me eagerly through a layer of dust on the windows of Stefan's usually meticulously tended bus. I had gotten the big stuffed dog for Stefan to go with the Mystery Machine paint job.
I hadn't heard from Stefan for months, not since Christmas in fact. I'd been caught up in a lot of things, and getting kidnapped for a day (which was a month for everyone else because fairy queens can apparently do that), was only part of it. But for the last month, I'd called him once a week and gotten only his answering machine. Last night, I'd called him four times to invite him to Bad Movie Night. We were a person short of the usual as Adam—my mate, fiancé, and the Alpha of the Columbia Basin Pack—was out of town on business.
Adam owned a security firm that, until recently, had dealt primarily with government contractors. Since the werewolves—and Adam—had come out to the general public, though, his business had started to boom on other fronts. Werewolves were seen as very good security people, apparently. He was actively looking for someone else who could do most of the traveling but so far hadn't found the right person.
With Adam away, I could give more attention to the other people in my life. I'd decided Stefan had had time enough to lick his wounds, but from the looks of things, I was a few months late.
I knocked on the door and, when that got no response, gave it the old "Shave and a Haircut" knock. I'd resorted to pounding when the dead bolt finally clicked over, and the door opened.
It took me a while to recognize Rachel. The last time I'd seen her, she'd looked like the poster girl for the disenchanted goth or runaway teenager. Now she looked like a crack addict. She'd lost maybe thirty pounds she didn't have to lose. Her hair hung in limp, greasy, and uncombed strings down her shoulders. Mascara smudges dripped over her cheeks in faded smears that would have done credit to an extra in Night of the Living Dead. Her neck was bruised, and she held herself like her bones ached. I tried not to show that I noticed she was missing the last two fingers on her right hand. Her hand was healed, but the scars were still red and angry.
Marsilia, the Mistress of the Tri-Cities' vampires, had used Stefan, her faithful knight, to oust traitors from her seethe, and part of that involved taking his menagerie—the humans he kept to feed from—and making him think they were dead by breaking his blood bonds to them. She seemed to think that torturing them had been necessary as well, but I don't trust vampires—other than Stefan—to speak the truth. Marsilia hadn't thought Stefan would object to her use of him and his menagerie once he knew that she'd done it to protect herself. He was, after all, her loyal Soldier. She'd miscalculated how badly Stefan would deal with her betrayal. From the looks of it, he wasn't recovering well.
"You'd better get out of here, Mercy," Rachel told me dully. "'Tisn't safe."
I caught the door before she could shut it. "Is Stefan home?"
She drew in a ragged breath. "He won't help. He doesn't."
At least it didn't sound like Stefan was the danger she had been warning me about. She'd turned her head when I stopped her from shutting the door, and I saw that someone had been chewing on her neck. Human teeth, I thought, not fangs, but the scabs climbed the side of the tendon between her collarbone and her jaw in brutal relief.
I shouldered the door open and stepped inside so I could reach out and touch the scabs, and Rachel flinched back, retreating from the door and from me.
"Who did this?" I asked. Impossible to believe Stefan would let anyone else hurt her again. "One of Marsilia's vampires?"
She shook her head. "Ford."
For a moment I drew a blank. Then I remembered the big man who'd driven me out of Stefan's house the last time I was there. Half-changed to vampire and mostly crazy with it—and that had been before Marsilia had gotten her claws into him. A very nasty scary guy—and I expected he'd been scary before he'd ever seen a vampire.
"Where's Stefan?"
I have very little tolerance for drama that ends in people getting hurt. It was Stefan's job to take care of his people, never mind that for most vampires their menageries existed as convenient snacks, and all the people in them died slow, nasty deaths over a period that might last as long as six months.
Stefan hadn't been like that. I knew that Naomi, the woman who ran his household, had been with him for thirty years or more. Stefan was careful. He'd been trying to prove that it was possible to live without killing. From the looks of Rachel, he wasn't trying very hard anymore.
"You can't come in," she said. "You need to leave. We're not to disturb him, and Ford "
The floor of the entryway was filthy, and my nose detected sweaty bodies, mold, and the sour scent of old fear. The whole house smelled like a garbage heap to my coyote-sensitive nose. It would probably have smelled like a garbage heap to a normal human, too.
"I'm going to disturb him all right," I told her grimly. Someone obviously needed to. "Where is he?"
When it became obvious that she couldn't or wouldn't answer, I walked farther into the house and bellowed his name, tilting my head so my voice would carry up the stairs. "Stefan! You get your butt down here. I have a bone or two to pick with you. Stefan! You've had enough time to writhe in self-pity. Either kill Marsilia—and I'll help with that one—or get over it."
Rachel had resorted to patting my shoulder and tugging at my clothes to try to get me back outside the house. "He can't go outside," she said with frantic urgency. "Stefan makes him stay in. Mercy, you have to get outside."
I'm tough and strong, and she was shaking with weariness and, likely, iron deficiency. I had no trouble staying right where I was.
"Stefan," I bellowed again.
A lot of things happened in a very short period of time, so that I had to think of them later to put them together in the proper order.
Rachel sucked in a breath of air and froze, her hand on my arm abruptly holding on to me rather than pushing me away. But she lost her grip when someone grabbed me from behind and threw me onto the upright piano that sat against the wall between the entryway and the living room. It made such a huge noise that I mixed up the sound of my impact with the pain of my back hitting the top of the piano. Reaction to countless karate drills kept me from stiffening, and I rolled down the face of the piano. Not a fun thing. My face hit the flagstone floor. Something crashed into a limp pile beside me, and suddenly I was face-to-face with Ford, the big scary guy who inexplicably seemed to have thrown himself down beside me, blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth.
He looked different than he had last time, leaner and filthier. His clothing was stained with sweat, old blood, and sex. But his eyes, staring momentarily at me, were wide and startled like a child's.
Then a faded purple T-shirt spilling over ragged dirty jeans, and long, tangled dark hair blocked my view of Ford.
My protector was too thin, too unkempt, but my nose told me that he was Stefan almost before my brain knew to ask the question. Unwashed vampire is better than unwashed human, but it is not pleasant, either.
"No," Stefan said, his voice soft, but Ford cried out, and Rachel let out a squeak of sound.
"I'm all right, Stefan," I told him, rolling stiffly to hands and knees. But he ignored me.
"We don't harm our guests," Stefan said, and Ford whimpered.
I stood up, ignoring the protest of sore shoulders and hip. I'd have bruises tomorrow, but nothing worse thanks to sensei's sometimes brutal how-to-fall sessions. The piano looked like it would survive our encounter as well.
"It wasn't Ford's fault," I said loudly. "He's just trying to do your job." I don't know if it was true or not; I suspected Ford was just crazy. But I was willing to try anything to get Stefan's attention.
Still crouched between Ford and me, Stefan turned his head to look at me. His eyes were cold and hungry, and he gazed at me as though I were a complete stranger.
Better monsters than he had tried to cow me, so I didn't even flinch.
"You're supposed to be taking care of these people," I snapped at him. Okay, so he did scare me, which is why I was snippy. Get-scared-and-get-mad wasn't always smart. I, raised in a pack of werewolves, certainly knew better. But looking at Stefan and what had happened to his home made me want to cry—and I'd rather get scared and mad than do that. If Stefan thought I pitied him, he'd never let me help. Criticism was easy to take.
"Look at her—" I gestured toward Rachel, and Stefan's gaze followed my hand in response to the command in my voice, command I was just learning to borrow from Adam. There were a few perks to being the Alpha werewolf's mate.
Stefan jerked his gaze back to me as soon as he realized what I'd done, baring his fangs in a way that reminded me more of one of the werewolves than a vampire. But the snarl died from his face, and he looked at Rachel again.
The tension died from his shoulders, and he looked down at Ford. I couldn't see the big man's face, but his body language clearly said surrender to my pack-trained sight.
"Merda," said Stefan, releasing his hold on Ford.
"Stefan?"
The menace was gone from his face, but so was all trace of any emotion. He appeared almost dazed.
"Go get showered. Comb your hair and change your clothes," I told him briskly, striking while he was still weak. "And don't dawdle and leave me at the mercy of your people for very long. I'm taking you out tonight to watch some bad movies with Warren, Kyle, and me. Adam is out of town, so there's a slot open."
Warren was my best friend, a werewolf, and third in the Columbia Basin Pack. Kyle was a lawyer, human, and Warren's lover. Bad Movie Night was our therapy night, but sometimes we invited people we thought needed it.
Stefan gave me an incredulous stare.
"You obviously need someone to hit you with a cattle prod to get you moving," I informed him with a sweeping gesture that took in the disreputable state of his house and his people. "But you got me instead, your friendly neighborhood coyote. You might as well give in because I'll just annoy you until you do. Of course, I know a cowboy who probably has a cattle prod somewhere if it comes to that."
One side of his mouth turned up. "Warren is a werewolf. He doesn't need a prod to get cows moving." His voice sounded rough and unused. He glanced down at Ford.
"He's not going to hurt anyone soon," I told the vampire. "But I can drive most people to violence given enough time, so you should get moving."
Abruptly, there was a popping noise, and Stefan was gone. I knew he could teleport though he seldom did it in front of me. Both of his people jerked reflexively, so I guess they hadn't seen him do it much, either. I dusted off my hands and turned to Rachel.
"Where is Naomi?" I asked. I couldn't see her letting things get into this state.
"She died," Rachel told me. "Marsilia broke her, and we couldn't put her back together. I think that was the final straw for Stefan." She glanced up the stairway. "How did you do that?"
"He doesn't want me to get the cattle prod," I told her.
Her arms were wrapped around herself, her mutilated hand clearly visible. She was bruised, bitten, battered—and she said, "We've been so worried about him. He won't talk to any of us, not since Naomi died."
Poor Stefan had tried to curl up and die because Marsilia had sold him out—and he'd done his best to take the remnants of his menagerie with him. And Rachel was worried about him.
About him.
"How many of you are left?" I asked. Naomi had been a tough lady. If she was gone, she wouldn't have been the only one.
"Four."
No wonder they looked bad. Four people couldn't feed a vampire all by themselves.
"He's been going out hunting?" I asked.
"No," she said. "I don't think he's been out of the house since we buried Naomi."
"You should have called me," I said.
"Yes," said Ford from the ground, his voice deep enough to echo. His eyes were closed. "We should have."
Now that he wasn't attacking me, I could see that he was thin, too. That couldn't be good in a man in transition from human to vampire. Hungry vampire fledglings have a tendency to go out and find their own food.
Stefan should have fixed this before it got so bad.
If I'd had a cattle prod, I might have been tempted to use it, at least until the stairs creaked, and I looked up to see Stefan coming down. I have a dusty degree in history for which I'd sat through a number of films of the Third Reich, and there were men who'd died in the concentration camps who were less emaciated than Stefan in the bright green Scooby-Doo T-shirt he'd filled out just fine when I'd seen him wear it a few months ago. Now it hung from his bones. Cleaned up, he looked worse than he had at first.
Rachel said that Marsilia had broken Naomi. Looking at Stefan, I thought that she'd come very close to breaking him, too. Someday, someday I would be in the same room with Marsilia with a wooden stake in my hand, and, by Heaven, I would use it. If, of course, Marsilia were unconscious, and all of her vampires were unconscious, too. Otherwise, I'd just be dead because Marsilia was a lot more dangerous than I was. Still, the thought of sinking a sharp piece of wood into her chest through her heart gave me great joy.
To Stefan, I said, "You need a donor before we go out? So no one pulls us over and makes me take you to the hospital or the morgue?"
He paused and looked down at Rachel and Ford. He frowned, then looked puzzled and a little lost. "No. They are too weak, there aren't enough of them left."
"I wasn't talking about them, Shaggy," I told him gently. "I've donated before, and I'm willing to do it again."
Anonymous
Posted Mon Sep 13 00:00:00 EDT 2010
Patricia Briggs has once again outdone herself in her newest installment of the Mercy Thompson series.
Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.
An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help.
20 out of 28 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.The werewolves outed themselves and while humans debate the politics of the species living in their midst, car mechanic Mercy Thompson is a walker who can turn into a coyote at will. She is busy trying to elope with Adam the alpha werewolf of the Columbia Basin Poole. Her friends and family want to throw a wedding for the couple before they depart on their honeymoon along the banks of the Columbia River.
When Mercy finds out the Fae gave them a luxurious camper; she is upset because the Fae do not do favors without an exorbitant price. The fae wants her to investigate the disappearance of several people along the river. What they find is that there is an essence known as the river devil that is in a symbiotic relationship with the fae otterkin that looks human but is a deadly predator. She distances herself from the river devil who has marked her. The God Coyote informs Mercy about her parentage and she has a role to play as part of her heritage to end the river devil's reign of terror while a frustrated Adam must back away.
River Marked is a wonderful urban fantasy that has characters who touch the souls of readers especially the lead couple; a loving duet who lives for today as they may not see the morrow. Coyote the Trickster and the other gods of native American mythology enhances the Mercy mythos. With a strong cast including other walkers and a terrific malevolence, fans of the saga will relish Mercy's honeymoon.
Harriet Klausner
19 out of 21 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I strongly recommend you read the previous books in the series (Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron Kissed, Bone Crossed and Silver Borne) prior to reading this installment.
I procrastinated to read this installment and for good reason. The plot was a complete and utter flop. It was so boring, reading this book felt like a chore. I was determine to finish this book, solely because I paid so much for it (talk about an over-priced e-book).
I have to agree with another reviewer that wondered "if Ms. Briggs was taken over by pod people." This installment wasn't as good or even resembled previous books. The main characters were basically a footnote. The storyline seem to come out of left-field, and lacked some sought of pizazz and direction.
In a lot of ways I wish the werewolves from Mercy's world were similar to the hellhounds from Sharon Ashwood's latest installment in the Dark Forgotten series, Frostbound or the weres from Ilona Andrew's Kate Daniels series. Sharon Ashwood's hellhounds and Ilona Andrew's weres feel more "alive" to me and have a greater range of supernatural diversity and freedoms. The werewolves from Mercy's world treat their wolf as a curse and don't seem to celebrate the connection to their wolf. In addition, the females are severely limited and function as nothings. They are low on the totem pole and equal to slaves with no other purpose than existing solely for mating and completely no other reason to be. And at that, they can't even breed as a were.
The story was overrun with an abundance of secondary characters. I rated this installment two-starts because I did appreciate the effort Ms. Brigg's put in to using a different culture for the basis of the book, instead of sticking to the usual European folklore, which most authors seem to do. I never really got to the point where I just couldn't put this book down or the story stayed on my mind constantly when I wasn't reading it. I was entertained at rare points but not held spellbound throughout most of this book.
In truth, I am contemplating if I really want to continue on with this series. I don't really see any point to it, what is the focus? Where is the series headed? Personally I feel like this series should have ended with Bone Crossed, then it would've ended on a high note.
8 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Mar 04 00:00:00 EST 2011
I Also Recommend:
This book was just ok for me...I loved this series in the beginning, but the last couple of books have been lacking me for. I did love the interaction between Adam and Mercy, something that you haven't gotten in any other the other books. I will read the next book in this series if there is one but I think I will wait until the price goes down from the "just released" price.
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Mar 18 00:00:00 EDT 2011
This is going to be another one of those rambling reviews where I just throw all my thoughts in the air and let them fall were they may. I can't seem to get them to form into any coherent form:
There are mysterious deaths and disappearances in the Columbia Gorge area, which is "coincidentally" where Mercy and Adam are going camping for 10 days. A few days after they get there, they find an injured man in a boat. His friends, who are Native American, show up to help get him to the hospital. They know Mercy is also Native American, and she gets a mysterious visitor who knows who and what she is. As they piece together what's going on in the water, Mercy also learns about her father - who and what he really was.
Thoughts: I love this series! Let me say up front that I don't think this book would make a good stand-alone. I think you could do it, but I wouldn't recommend it.
I loved seeing Mercy and Adam interact in River Marked. The wolf/coyote nuances, signals, and feelings that they deal with, showing their feelings beyond just saying "I love you" or "I'm upset right now". I like that their bond doesn't just automatically make things perfect between them, that there are issues they'll have to work through, just like any other couple (okay, maybe not just like any other couple, lol).
I liked that Mercy got some insight into her heritage as a Native American and as a Walker. She doesn't see herself as such, but it was a fun twist that in River Marked, Mercy was more accepted and Adam was the outsider. The Native American lore was interesting, although I was frustrated that a running joke was that several of the stories supposedly had a naughtier version, and when Mercy was finally told the naughty versions, the reader was not privy to the stories. I felt like I was missing an inside joke. The scene in mini-Stonehenge was fascinating on so many different levels.
The villain was pretty bad. Like creepy bad. And cruel. The fact that the victims walked complacently to their deaths made it worse. Mercy's tough decision regarding the girl and her brother was heartwrenching to read.
Confession: I've been fascinated with Mercy's "pimp stick" since the day it appeared. I love that it has been a constant through several books and am intrigued by the potential changes to the stick in River Marked.
I want more Stefan!!! I'm frustrated that we didn't see much of Stefan in this book or the last. The end of River Marked left me feeling hopeful about Stephan - both that we'll see more of him in the next book(s) and that things are going to work out for him.
I would have also liked to see more Warren/Kyle...I was glad she was able to work in the few scenes they did appear in.
All in all, I couldn't put it down. It will be a long, long wait until 2013 for the next book!
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This book was a great read and a brilliant addition to the series. In this installment you get to see more of the relationship between Mercy and Adam as well as get a peek into Mercy's heritage. More complex characters are added and the side story helps you get to know more about why Mercy has some of her issues. A wonderful story that catches your attention and keeps you guessing about one thing or another all the way to the end.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Evie_Paromantasy
Posted Tue Aug 02 00:00:00 EDT 2011
I Also Recommend:
I am a huge fan of Patricia Briggs, especially the Mercy Thompson series, but this book fell short. I hate to say it, but it was the worst book of the series - not terrible - but definitely now in par with the other 5 extraordinary books that was before it.
Let's start with the bad news:
It took at least 60 pages of dull reading to finally get to the real action. Instead of the normal start-off action, we received the overly long catch-up on what happened (none of which was very interesting), a few happy moments (here comes the bride!), then the history of her heritage. While I enjoyed the intro into her Native American roots, it was sometimes overly written and unnecessarily long. I also missed the rest of the gang who is missing for much of the book.
The good news
After the first half of the book, the action starts and you are reminded of why you love the series and Mrs. Briggs writing so much. You go from dull to over-time action when Mercy and Adam encounter a sea creature who marks Mercy and many of the residents near Columbus River. A person who is river marked does the creature bidding and soon the murders are adding up and in the middle of it all is Mercy with Adam by her side. Mercy can see visions of the murders and right now the creature has it's sights set on one person - Mercy. She is stronger than the rest of the river marked people, but she needs help and that's where the Native Americans come into play. They reside by the river and have a close connection to Mercy, closer than she realizes. Her father was one of them and one person in particular knows all about him - Coyote. He not only knew her father, he also knows how to defeat the creature. Coyote heads up the team set out to destroy the sea creature, including many of the old Spirits, but it will costs many their lives. With innocents dying and the creature in Mercy's thoughts, can they stop it in time or will the creature overpower them, changing the world forever?
The introduction of Coyote was brilliant and I absolutely fell in love with his character. He is witty, funny, strong and is pure entertainment. I also loved that we are introduced to more shifters and adored the fact that we saw more of Adam and Mercy.
This is definitely not up to par with the rest of the series, but after the initial 60 or so pages, it does pick-up and we are reminded of why we love the series.
It pains me to do this to what is normally a 5 fang series, but this series is rated: 3 1/2 fangs.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Okay I feel like this book was just a story to write a story. By that I mean "oh man I got contracted for two more books let me write anything." The only thing that kept me as a continuing reader of this series is the introduction of Coyote. I really was just going to give it up but I wanted to see where she plays this. My recommendation is to borrow or check out this book at a library because it isnt worth the money.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Book_WhispererJO
Posted Tue Mar 22 00:00:00 EDT 2011
As the sixth book in the Mercedes Thompson series Briggs has still got it. Mercy has been through quite a journey in the past five books, and the trouble seems to still be lurking around every corner. As the girl that began as a loner; she can now find herself surround by many friends that continue to show their support and loyalty. Along with the growing number of friends she seems to steadily increase or enemies. As a alpha pack mate Mercy is learning further the importance of her strong and independent nature. Although, it seems that with each additional book Mercy is learning to depend and rely with heart and soul on her Alpha and lover. With trouble allows lurking Adam's patience is tested time and time again. Though, it is obvious that the love this man carries would force him to walk through fire if necessary. I was surprised by the abruptness of change in the first few pages of this book. While I welcomed the change I had never expected it so easily. Suspense was not the nature of this book, as I have come to expect in the past novels. This book seems to focus primarily on Adam and Mercy to deepen the readers knowledge of these two characters. Without the intensity and fast pace this book was entertaining, but lacked the urgency that I have come to expect with a Briggs story.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu Feb 24 00:00:00 EST 2011
I can't wait for march 1st! I love this series...but, I gotta say...the inconsistent covers of Mercy and her tattoos are getting on my nerves! C'mon PUBLISHERS! get it together....
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sat Jan 08 00:00:00 EST 2011
o my god i love patrisha briggs!!!! i cant wait untill this book comes out!
2 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sat Jun 23 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Patricia Briggs has developed a cunning new world among werewolves, vampires, fae, and a young skinwalker, better known as Mercy Thompson. Mercy, who can shift into a coyote, has stepped into a preternatural world and fallen for werewolf alpha, Adam Hauptman. This urban fantasy is enthralling and interestingly takes on a similar approach as Charlene Harris where "vampires have came out of the coffin" but, with the werewolves and fae displaying their true identity to the world. Ms. Briggs has excellent character development and imagery that captivates you and catapults you into the world she has created after the first book of the or two of the series. I am currently reading her Alpha and Omega series, which plays into the same world and similar setting as that of Mercy's. She is writing from the point of view of Charles (the native american werewolf that is the second born son of the Marrok.) Also a must read! I can't put her books down!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sat Jan 14 00:00:00 EST 2012
This is the only disappointing book I have read of Patricia Briggs to date and I own all of them.
I have read this 3times to try to like it and I can only enjoy the beginning and the end.
The Indian lore was confusing and poorly presented.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sun Oct 23 00:00:00 EDT 2011
I have loved the series building up to this installment but found this book all just a bit too predictable and saccharine. However finding out more about Mercy's origins was fascinating and I truly hope the next book will have a bit more 'meat' to it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.HowlerOne
Posted Sun Aug 21 00:00:00 EDT 2011
I love this series, but I think this last book was a little lacking. The beginning was too fluffy and happy, while the middle-end was too out there. Still love the author though! <3
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Although not as good as Briggs' previous novels, "River Marked" is still a good book. It's not as fast-paced as the previous Mercy Thompson books, but the history of Mercy and her family is detailed in this book, which makes for enlightening reading. I enjoyed it, and am looking forward to more stories, if the author sees fit to write them.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Sat Jun 04 00:00:00 EDT 2011
I have loved this book series and eagerly jumped to buy "River Marked" as soon as it was released. Although it's still a good story, the action drags quite a bit leading up to the big fight with the River Monster. All the discussion about what Native American spirits do as opposed to werewolves, walkers, and fae went on far too long and started to read like the minutes of some kind of supernatural city council meeting. The drama of the big fight was seriously undercut by the over-use of "I" in describing the action. It is possible to write gripping action from a first-person point of view without peppering the page with I,I,I,I and I.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I like the introduction of the Native American side of Mercy's heritage but I agree with some of the reviews here, it felt a little forced. Check it out from the Library before you decide on purchasing it. I will continue the series but this isn't one for my permenant library.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Tue May 03 00:00:00 EDT 2011
First off, most of the book was done without the pack surrounding Adam and Merry, which I found to be a bit different (sorta missed Jessie). I did wish that Adam and the others played a bigger role,but it was a good read. Everything did seem to happen quickly which I found to be a bit annoying, also I did not like how she skimmed over the relationship between Merry and Adam. If you liked the other books in the series, most likely like this one as well (some might be a tad bit disappointed how little of a part the other characters play into this book).
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I enjoyed this book simply because it showed a side of Mercy we have not seen and it allowed us to see the strength of the mate bond between her & Adam. Although this books puts all the other characters on the peripheral we were able to learn more about Mercy as a Walker and see her & Adam in action fighting the evil. It was a nice change and very insightful.
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Overview
Being a different breed of shapeshifter-a walker-Mercy Thompson can see ghosts, but the spirit of her long-gone father has never visited her. Until now, on her honeymoon with the Alpha werewolf Adam. An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-and innocent people are dying. As other walkers make their presence known to Mercy, she must reconnect with her heritage to exorcise the world of the legend known as the river devil...