Storm Cursed

May 6, 2019
The suspenseful 11th Mercy Thompson urban fantasy opens with the Columbia Basin Pack of shape-shifters contending with a plague of zombies and the unfamiliar witch who must be creating them. When they go to their local gray witch for help, they find her family massacred and evidence that she herself has been practicing black magic. As they dig deeper into the mystery, the pack turns to the local vampire seethe for answers, leading Mercy to reunite with former allies and discover that events from the past may tie in to the zombie incursion. This story brings together a lot of seemingly unrelated plot threads from past novels in a way that feels organic and that doesn’t impede the pacing of the current mystery. Fans of the series will enjoy this solid addition, but new readers might find that there’s too much history to make this story work as an ingress point.

Narrator Lorelei King captures Mercy Thompson's matter-of-fact personality perfectly with her calm, composed approach. In this latest installment from author Briggs, Mercy and her crew solve a problem involving witches, goblins, and miniature goat zombies. For Mercy, it's just another typical day of protecting her territory. When King does infuse intense emotion, it has a lot more impact by contrast, and listeners can really feel Mercy's plight. The action scenes, viewed through Mercy's even-keeled lens, could use a bit more excitement and urgency, but at least they are consistent with the character's personality. Overall, this audiobook delivers great character dynamics, a fun mystery, loads of action, and plenty of amusing werewolf antics guaranteed to delight listening fans of the genre. N.H. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine