Review: Moon Called

Title: Moon Called

Author: Patricia Briggs

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: Mercy Thompson/Book 1

Published: February 2006

Mercy's Garage. It seems like a ordinary place owned and run by an ordinary woman. But nothing and no one is what they seem in Mercy's life. She's not what she seems. Sure, she a great mechanic. She's also a skin walker but she won't tell you that. Just like she won't tell you her sexy neighbor is the local werewolf pack's alpha or the VW van at her garage is owned by a vampire. And her former boss is a Fae. No, Mercy likes to keep her secrets and is a just woman who sometimes changes into a coyote. Fluffy tail and all.

This is one of those series that has been sitting on my TBR pile for what seems like forever. After reading all the great reviews for Ms. Briggs latest book in the series, Bone Crossed, I thought it was about time to start reading Mercy's books before I got too far behind. Can I just say to anyone who's been putting off reading this series ~ start now!

Mercy is a woman that likes to "fly under the radar". She doesn't want to call attention to herself. She'd rather be left to work in her shop and mind her own business. In spite of this it was surprisingly easy to get to know and like her. Which is kind of strange since she likes to keep people at a distance. She seems to be wary of getting too close to anyone. It's not that she doesn't care about people, she just prefers to care from a distance. This all begins to change when a newly made werewolf comes by the shop looking for work. Mercy knows that she should send him on his way but she's a softy at heart. So she feeds him and gives him some work. She's able to send the new werewolf, Mac, to the local Alpha, Adam Hauptman, who can help Mac through his early years of learning to control his wolf.

Adam is such a multi-layered character. He's a Vietnam veteran who still holds many ideas from that era. Times have changed but Adam hasn't completely changed with the times. But he's learning. He is also a divorced father with a teenage daughter. Now how often do you hear about a divorced werewolf? But Adam comes complete with an ex-wife and a wonderful daughter named Jesse. She knows who and what her dad is and she's really cool about it. The other thing about Adam is that he reminds me of Roarke from the In Death series (this is a good thing). Both very alpha, smart, successful businessmen attracted to strong, independent women.

If things weren't getting complicated enough in Mercy's life there's Samuel. Samuel is the Marrock's son. The Marrock, Bran, is the Alpha over all of the North American Alphas. Bran is also the head of the pack that Mercy grew up in. So you could say that Samuel is Mercy's high school sweetheart, except that Samuel was long out of high school when Mercy came along. I'm not totally sure what I think of Samuel. He's a very old werewolf who is also a doctor. The thing about the werewolves in Briggs' series is that they all have regular jobs. Doctors, teachers, businessmen, computer techs... it just seems so normal.

The vampires in the series do not seem normal at all. Oh, they seem normal for vampires just not the types to take up jobs and blend with the human populace. The vamp with the van at Mercy's is Stefan. He's... not sure how to describe him. He's a kinder, gentler vampire. We don't see too much of him in Moon Called but what we do see is that he does have certain feelings for Mercy. He's still very much a loyal subject to his Mistress who is also his maker but he does look out for Mercy. Poor Mercy, two werewolves and a vampire after her.

The world that Briggs has created is diverse and complex with not only the weres but also vampires and beings of the Fae in the mix. The Fae came out to the world a few decades before. They downplayed their abilities and pass themselves off as harmless beings who only want to help mankind. The weres and vampires still maintain anonymity but the time for humans to find out who their neighbors really are is closing in fast.

Count me a fan of this series. I've already read Blood Bound, the second book and have Iron Kissed in my TBR pile and Bone Crossed on order from the library. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happened next to Mercy, Adam, Samuel and Stefan.

Patricia Briggs is not new to the publishing world. She is the author of a number of science fiction/fantasy novels. She also has another series set in the same world as the Mercy Thompson series. It's the Alpha/Omega series and features Charles and Anna. More information about Ms. Briggs can be found at her website.


Rating: A-