Silence Fallen

January 30, 2017
Briggs delivers her usual action and danger in the 10th Mercy Thompson urban fantasy (after Fire Touched), and adds a surprising playfulness. Mercy, a cunning coyote shifter and ghostwalker, is kidnapped and taken to Italy by Iacopo Bonarata, the most powerful and deadly Old World vampire. Her psychic link to her mate, Adam, and the Tri-Cities werewolf pack is severed. When she escapes to the Czech Republic, the ever-resourceful and quick-witted heroine appropriates an old e-reader to contact the pack. Later she becomes the prisoner of a vampire witch, and an escape may require unleashing the Golem of Prague. Meanwhile, Adam and a team of supernatural buddies travel to Europe to extricate Mercy and determine why she was kidnapped. Though she is able to reestablish a small psychic connection to her people, the novel suffers from their separation. The tactical team’s scenes in Italy add intrigue, highlight Adam’s diplomatic and fighting skills, and deftly showcase the scary gamesmanship of their host, an intriguing new player in the series.

Lorelei King has become the voice of the Mercy Thompson series for many listeners. Fans of the books may be thrown by some changes in Book 10. Previous installments were told in the first person--seeing the story through Mercy's eyes. Now, the addition of a second voice takes some getting used to, as does the shifting of the story's timeline. Mercy is kidnapped and held captive in Europe, beyond the psychic reach of her mate. Although a convoluted subplot involving vampire politics slows down the pace of the story, narrator George Newbern ably delivers Adam's thoughts and frustrations while he's trying to track down Mercy. L.C.L. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine