Bone Crossed (Patricia Briggs)

I just can't get enough of this series. Mercy Thompson is tough, funny, vulnerable, resourceful, sexy, honest -- everything one could want in a hero. In this story she's coping with the aftermath of trauma she experienced in earlier books and trying to find her footing in the new relationship she has with the werewolf pack (and its sexy Alpha), so she doesn't need a threat posted on the wall of her mechanic shop indicating that the vampires have declared open season on her and hers. She has to try to find out what the vampires are after and how to protect herself from them, and also solve a seemingly unrelated problem brought to her by an old college friend who suspects her house is haunted. Of course, the two problems turn out to be related, and much worse than anyone thought, but through bloody-minded toughness and quick thinking, and with help from various expected and unexpected sources, she manages to make everything work out as it should. Mostly. Recommended.

Iron Kissed (Patricia Briggs)

Another story of Mercy Thompson, the shapeshifting mechanic and her world of werewolves, vampires, witches, and fae. She is called in to investigate a series of murders in the fae reservation: murders that have never been reported to authorities because the fae handle these things themselves, but Mercy's fae friend Zee thinks her special coyote abilities might be useful. Along the way Zee winds up imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit and Mercy finds herself a target of the real murdered, who stalks her for his own twisted pleasures. Mercy's ties to Adam, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack, grow ever tighter in this story. I'm really loving these books!

Silver Borne (Patricia Briggs)

After this, I will focus more on reading this series in order! Mercy Thompson, the shapeshifting hero of these books, has a life that progresses and changes, with the events of each book affecting the shape of future events, and dipping into her life at random is making me nuts! Here Mercy learns that a book in her possession is much more important than she realized and is trying to untangle that problem without getting anyone killed. In the meantime her roommate, an alpha werewolf she used to be in a relationship with, has become despondent, and Mercy must also struggle with resentment and outright hostility from the local pack since its Alpha took her as his mate. Briggs handles these relationship issues with skill, dodging any tendency for soap opera overindulgence, while delivering a thrilling life-or-death supernatural mystery to solve. I really enjoy these books a lot.

Night Broken (Patricia Briggs)

I've jumped ahead to this most recent book in the Mercy Thompson series, and it lives up to the others that I have read. Mercy continues to work with werewolves and other friends (in this case, members of the fae) to fight evil (in this case, the personification of a volcano god - really!). One thing I missed in this book was that Mercy didn't use her ability to shapeshift into a coyote much, though a big part of the story was about her relationship with Coyote, the actual trickster god. A big part of the book related to a confrontation with Adam's ex-wife, who has come home seeking help with a stalker and polarizes the wolf pack into Mercy versus the ex. I raced through it and had a lot of fun along the way.

Blood Bound (Patricia Briggs)

This second book in the Mercy Thompson series is as good as the first. Mercy is resourceful, brave, and likeable as she faces a murderous demon, with the help of her werewolf, fae, and vampire friends. And with her own ability, which is that she can shift at will into a coyote. I like her as a strong female character, though the cover of the paperback annoyed me. Mercy makes her living as an auto mechanic, but I doubt she works with her overalls zipped down below the navel. I also like that the supernatural creatures are not just stereotype. Each individual has a unique personality that comes through even when overlaid with things like the rigid pack hierarchy of the wolves. Briggs has a deft hand with contemporary fantasy, and I will definitely read more.