Bone Crossed

* This review may include spoilers for previous books in the series. *

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs

A Mercy Thompson Novel

ISBN# 978-0-441-01676-1

Available now

Published by Ace/Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Format: HC, 309 pages

Genres: fiction, urban fantasy

Since I'm mostly an urban fantasy fan I've only read this series and its spin-off, Alpha and Omega.  Briggs also writes quite a bit of fantasy including the Raven duology, the Hurog duology, and The Hob's Bargain.  Yes, this series has finally hit the big time and you really are seeing the first hardcover.  Bad for the readers, but good for the author I suppose.  I had some real issues with events in the last book, Iron Kissed, and I really doubted if I would continue the series.  Since this book sensitively shows the lasting effects of such events it put me more at ease with the series thus far.  

Mercy has many things to deal with in this book due to her attack.  The most frustrating being a brand new relationship with Adam that throws her into a panic attack every time he touches her.  More complications arise when a very crispy Stefan suddenly materializes in the middle of Mercy's living room.  He controls his bloodlust just long enough to tell her, "She knows" and "run".  This is a death sentence for Mercy, it means that Marsilia, Mistress of the Tri-Cities' vampires, knows who really killed Andre and why.  Before she can even think about this an old college acquaintance shows up at her door to ask for help.  Amber wants Mercy to investigate her haunted house in Spokane because her husband doesn't believe her or their son, who seems to be the ghost's target.  While the werewolves work on some kind of treaty with the vampires Adam decides that Spokane is probably the safest place for Mercy and Stefan to be right now.  There's only vampire in that territory and he's not known for allying or sharing his territory with other supernaturals.  James Blackwood may not be working with Marsilia, but it quickly becomes clear that he wants something from Mercy when she starts waking up with bite marks and no memory of how they got there.  The only question is does he know who and what she is or does he play with all his food like this?

Stefan is quickly becoming my favorite character in this series, and if you've been waiting for more of him this book is definitely for you.  What I really need to see in this series is more Adam.  I have a hard time accepting him as Mercy's mate when almost everything we know about him is in relation to others around him.  We know he's a good alpha and a good father, but who the hell is Adam the person?  It's hard to accept him as a main character when we know so much about everyone else, and he's treated as almost a secondary character.  This is not my favorite series, but it is very readable with some great pacing.  If you're looking for more urban fantasy featuring werewolves try this series.