Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1)

Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1)
Patricia Briggs, 2006

Premise: When a runaway kid shows up at Mercy’s auto shop looking for a little under the table work, it doesn’t seem like much. But a hungry teenager who’s also a new rewolf is a recipe for trouble. Luckily Mercy knows enough about wolves to give the kid a hand, until it drags her into an interstate plot that could put all the local paranormals in danger.

The “our world except some paranormal folks are out in the open” setting is pretty familiar at this point to anyone who reads urban fantasy or PNR. The twist on this one is that of all things, minor fae were the first to go public, and it looks like other folks will eventually follow suit. So part of the background of the plot is a conversation internal to the werewolf community about being public or not, and that’s pretty interesting. It’s not really explored the way it could be, but it’s a neat aspect to consider.

Mercy is fun, she’s not a were, but sort of similar. Her super-special uniqueness didn’t bother me because it wasn’t dwelt on to any extended degree, mostly just a part of the backstory. Her voice is entertaining (the book is in first person), and I found it easy to sympathize with her. There’s a touch of romance (of course there is) but it doesn’t overwhelm the story.

I liked the level of creepiness most of the paranormal characters had. Mercy’s used to it, to a degree, but none of these folks are human, including her, and while many of them are friendlies, they are still dangerous, still alien.

A few nit-picks: the villain’s plot has emotional resonance, but is slightly over-complicated. The cover to the edition I have is ugly and ludicrous, and made me not want to read the book, or wish I’d gotten it on my Kindle.

It was an exciting, fast-paced read, though, and I enjoyed it. Will I read more in the series? Maybe.

3 Stars - A Good Book