ReRead Challenge Review: Bone Crossed

Bone Crossed
Patricia Briggs
Urban Fantasy
Mercy Thompson/Book 4
ACE/February 2009
Library book

From the inside cover ~

By day, Mercy is a car mechanic in the sprawling Tri-Cities of eastern Washington. By night, she explores her preternatural side. As shapeshifter with some unique talents, Mercy has often found herself having to maintain a tenuous harmony between the human and the not so human. This time she may get more than she bargained for.

Marsilia, the local Vampire Queen, has learned that Mercy crossed her by slaying a member of her clan -- and she's out for blood. But since Mercy is protected from direct reprisal b the werewolf pack (and her close relationship with its sexy Alpha), it won't be Mercy's blood Marsilia is after.

It'll be her friends'.

The exceptional Mercy Thompson series switches to hardcover with Bone Crossed and jumped into the realm of library reads for me. At least for now. I'm still debating if I'll buy the next, Silver Borne, in hardcover. It's suppose to be "Samuel's book" per Patty Briggs. I love Samuel so we'll have to see if I have the patience to wait. :)

I've been in a Patty Briggs kind of mood lately. Listening to Cry Wolf wasn't enough, I needed to do some reading too. I first read Bone Crossed last year, after reading the first three books in the series, pretty much back to back. I soaked up Briggs' writing. The flow of words, the descriptions of places, characters' thoughts and feelings, all made for a fascinating world that sucked me in and hasn't let go.

Bone Crossed follows up with the disturbing and upsetting events at the end of Iron Kissed. Mercy was brutalized and raped by a sick bastard who was then killed by Adam. It's been only days since events in Iron Kissed so Mercy is still on the road to recovery. Not so much physically, she sore with a few stitches and bruises. It's the mental and emotional recovery that's going to take a long time.

Mercy has a unique friendship with Stefan, a local vampire that she has known for 10 years. Her friendship with Stefan has complicated her life by putting her on the wrong side of Marsilia, the head of the local vampire seethe. Marsilia is powerful and hates Mercy. When Stefan is severely tortured and literally dump at Mercy's feet she realizes that she needs to do something before Marsilia begins torturing anyone else that Mercy cares about. An opportunity presents itself and Mercy heads out of town to the home of an old college friend for some ghost hunting. *cue spooky music*

But this is Mercy's world and things are rarely what they seem. Mercy finds that there's something more than a typical haunting going. It amazes me how much political intrigue there is when it comes to supernatural beings. You would think they would be more basic in dealing with their enemies. See an enemy, kill the enemy. But trying to fit into the human world causes the weres and the vamps to sometime resort to more subtle approaches. The vampires are very powerful and yet they have to be careful because if humans knew they existed the humans could wipe out their seethes in a matter of months. But one on one is a different story.

Throughout out Bone Crossed we see how Mercy is still dealing with her beating and rape. She suffers flashbacks and panic attacks. Adam's reaction is very much the understanding mate. There to support her however she needs. What I found myself wondering is if Adam had let out his rage over what happened to Mercy after the fact. He went ballistic on Tim, the rapist. Adam literally tore him apart. But I kept wondering how he is dealing with it now. We know he feels guilty for not keeping Mercy safe. We know this because Mercy tells us. Adam is a rock for Mercy, there to sooth her when she needs it and backs off when she needs space. Since we only get Mercy's POV it was hard to know how Adam was dealing with the aftermath of the rape. It was one of those times that I wish we had Adams POV.

Mercy and Adam's relationship continues to more forward with their mating. Adam does an admirable job of giving Mercy comfort and still being the strong pack Alpha. He lends her his strength and his knowledge of the pack dynamics. Mercy completes Adam. He seems so much more vibrant and approachable than he did in book one.

I found the ghost plot interesting and it added another side to Mercy. We don't know much about her college life but through Amber, her friend, we get to know a little bit of Mercy's college social life. The mystery surrounding the why of Amber's ghost was done well, with Briggs keeping the world building tight while adding more knowledge of the vampires and the wolves.

Overall another solid addition to the series. I am very much looking forward to the next book, Silver Borne, release date March 30.

Rating: A-