Moon Called – A Review
A Mercy thompson Novel – Book 1
by Patricia Briggs
Walk down the aisles devoted to Sci-Fi & Fantasy in any bookstore or library these days and you will find yourself deluged with paranormal, supernatural, and urban fantasy fiction. With all that output there are a half dozen or so authors that float like cream to the top. Patricia Briggs is one of those.
Moon Called is the first book in Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series. First and foremost this is a tale of a young woman on her own. Tattooed and pierced she projects an air of confidence and fierce independence. She owns her own garage and makes her living as a car mechanic. Not just any cars mind you, she works primarily on Volkswagens which offers the reader the first bit of ironic humor as her given name is Mercedes although she goes by Mercy with everyone but the IRS and the DMV. She has a very unique heritage. After all there are many people who can claim to have some Native American blood running through their DNA but not many that are by heredity Skinwalkers or as European Americans call them, Shapeshifters. When Mercy shifts she turns into a werecoyote. Werecoyotes are small when compared to werewolves but fast, agile, cunning. Some might even say tricky. There are other more aggressive supernatural beings in Mercy’s corner of the state of Washington. Within this Tri-City metro area there is a werewolf pack which she is not part of but with whom she has a loose sort of alliance, nearby is a relatively friendly vampire by the name of Stefan who is also a customer of her garage & a snobby Russian witch. Balancing business and what passes for her personal life would be enough of a trick at the best of times.
When a very young newly made werewolf shows up looking for work at her place followed by a dead body dumped on her doorstep, topped with the disappearance of a teenage girl, she is pressed into service to help unravel the mystery of what is going on and who is responsible. Mercy’s life becomes more complicated and far more dangerous. Pack politics filled with jockeying for dominance and rank and the concerns on the part of werewolves and vampires about being outed to the world at large provide much of the framework within which she must do her work.
It is good to see that Ms. Briggs makes sure Mercy retains her sense of humor even when things get rough. Here is a snippet of dialogue that should give you a clue to some of what you can expect when Mercy Thompson is on the scene.
“How did you break your arm, Mercy?” he asked.
“A werewolf tossed me against a giant packing crate while I was trying to rescue a frightened young girl who’d been kidnapped by an evil witch and a drug lord.” (excerpt from Moon Called by Patricia Briggs)
This is Urban fantasy that is enjoyable today and will hold up over time.
By June Williams
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Buzz-O-Meter Scale 1-10 (10 being the Highest)
Moon Called Gets A “9″
I’ve already read through the series ans so far it keeps getting better. It is nice to see someone review a book that doesn’t need to tear it apart ot feel good about themselves.
Why thank you Phil. It’s easy to erite a positive review when you’ve enjoyed a book. The trick is to give constructive criticisim when you feel you just lost 20-30 hours of precious time you may never recover. Please stop by often
This doesn’t sound like the “run of the mill” uni-dimensional novel series so often cranked out in this genre. I like the sense of humor coupled with various types of paranormal lore. I’ll be looking for the series in my local library (or local bookstore). Thanks for the intriguing review.
Thank you Colleen. While you are at your local library or bookstore be sure to check her other series. Patricia Briggs is an exceptional writer.