Blood Bound

January 29, 2007
A sorcerer-turned-vampire wreaks havoc on Washington's Tri-Cities, causing death, destruction and a paranormal faceoff in the second of Briggs's series featuring Mercy Thompson, a mechanic and "walker": one who can turn into a coyote at will. After attempts by the paranormal community to destroy the malevolent sorcerer fail, Mercy finds herself pulled into the fray: though her werewolf and vampire friends are stronger than she, it turns out that Mercy's abilities make her the only one in town who can save them all. While she discovers the truth about her powers, she also learns more about her past, and the werewolves who raised her. Though the romantic subplot-involving two rival werewolves, Alpha wolf Adam and Mercy's roommate Samuel-fizzles, Briggs has a refreshing knack for imbuing her characters (even non-humans) with lived-in human qualities. When it gets going, this paranormal adventure story is engaging, but a flabby first-person narrative stunts the suspense.

February 26, 2007
A sorcerer-turned-vampire wreaks havoc on Washington's Tri-Cities, causing death, destruction and a paranormal faceoff in the second of Briggs's series featuring Mercy Thompson, a mechanic and "walker" one who can turn into a coyote at will. After attempts by the paranormal community to destroy the malevolent sorcerer fail, Mercy finds herself pulled into the fray: though her werewolf and vampire friends are stronger than she, it turns out that Mercy's abilities make her the only one in town who can save them all. While she discovers the truth about her powers, she also learns more about her past, and the werewolves who raised her. Though the romantic subplot-involving two rival werewolves, Alpha wolf Adam and Mercy's roommate Samuel-fizzles, Briggs has a refreshing knack for imbuing her characters (even non-humans) with lived-in human qualities. When it gets going, this paranormal adventure story is engaging, but a flabby first-person narrative stunts the suspense.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2007
Jalopy mechanic Mercedes Thompson may not be a were-creature, ruled by phases of the moon, but she can change into a coyote whenever she wants to. Because she owes him a favor, Mercedes agrees to back up vampire friend Stefan when he confronts another of his kind. But, being demon-possessed, that vampire proves deadlier than most. Before she can so much as bark, Mercedes is up to her ears in vampires fighting vampires, werewolves fighting vampires, and humans in the middle. She aims to off the demon-possessed vampire before any more killings, but she can't count on everyone who ought to be her ally because the local top vampire has schemes of her own. Briggs' world in which witches, vampires, werewolves, and shape-shifters live beside ordinary people is plausibly constructed; the characters are excellent; and the plot keeps the pages flapping. Those who haven't read the first Mercedes Thompson tale, " Moon Called" (2006), may well want to after reading the second.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)