Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs

By day, Mercy is a car mechanic in the sprawling Tri-Cities of Eastern Washington.  By night, she explores her preternatural side.  As a shapeshifter with some unique talents, Mercy has often found herself having to maintain a tenuous harmony between the human and the not so human.  This time she may get more than she bargained for.

Marsilia, the local Vampire Queen, has learned that Mercy crossed her by slaying a member of her clan - and she’s out for blood.  But since Mercy is protected from direct reprisal by the werewolf pack (and her close relationship with its sexy alpha), it won’t be Mercy’s blood Marsilia is after.

It’ll be her friends’.

Bone Crossed is the fourth book in the Mercy Thompson series and the first to be published in hardcover.  I would not suggest starting with this book if you have never read the series before.

Bone Crossed necessarily deals with the repercussions of Mercy’s rape at the end of Iron Kissed.  Mercy is refusing to allow what happened to shape her life.  She doesn’t want to be a victim and feels angry when she has panic attacks.  Mercy doesn’t want to allow herself time to heal.  Luckily, she has people in her life who gently make her deal with her feelings and help her though the panic attacks.

I loved the interactions between Mercy and Adam, each trusting the other.  Despite being an Alpha, Adam has the self-control to let Mercy handle her problems, he will only help if she is unable to solve them.  Mercy understands Adam enough that she is not angry at him when, out of frantic concern and desperation, he does something that will permanently affect her, without her consent.

There is a lot going on in Bone Crossed, and the main mystery is only part of that.  A very intriging part however!  An old college friend asks for Mercy’s help in dealing with a ghost her son says he can see.  To reduce the danger to her friends from Marsilia, Mercy decides to go out of town and help her friend.  I loved the son, Chad, and his relief when Mercy says she can see the ghost.  It is (of course) more than a just a simple ghost.

While Mercy is out of the town the werewolves are negociating peace with Marsilia.  It was good to see the werewolves deal from their own position of power, and that unlike some other series, Mercy is not the only person who can solve a problem.

Bone Crossed was a wonderful installment in one of my favourite series.  Patricia Briggs has said that the next book, Silver Borne, will be out in Feb 2010, and will focus on Samuel.