Night Broken
Mercy Thompson, Book 8
Patricia Briggs
Published: 11 March, 2014
ACE, Hardcover, 352p.
ISBN: 978-0425256749
As an unexpected phone call herald a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam's ex-wife is in trouble,
on the run from a stalker. Adam isn't the kind of man to turn away a person in need - and Mercy know it.
But with Christy holed up in Adam's house, Mercy can't shake the feeling that something in the situation
isn't right.
Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good
intentions. She wants Adam back and she's willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen,
including turning Adam's pack against Mercy.
Mercy isn't about to step down without a fight, but there's a more dangerous threat circling. Christy's
stalker is more than a bad man - in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start pilin up,
Mercy must put her personal troubles adise to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world
apart.
With the introduction (to us), and the return of Adam's ex-wife, Christy, I was very hesitant about what I would find between the covers of Night Broken - and I was right. Up to a point, that is. Christy just waltzed back into their lives like Little Miss Sunshine and tried to mess up Mercy and Adam's relationship - as well as Mercy's standing with others in the Pack.
However, that meddling became a secondary thought once I got into the story {be patient my lovelies, it takes a bit of time for the whole Christy thing to settle down and the story to begin, but once it does - it's great!} I motored through the eBook in about 2 hours, totally forgetting to make my lunch so I was starving when I finally read the last sentence.
There are a few surprises, and it is nice to see that we can still learn more about Mercy. I especially enjoyed her habit of seeking petty revenge on people who get on her shit list. What she did to Bran's wife, Leah, was so inspired. But it's her parting gift to Christy that had me laughing -
so for Mercy to have that little gem up her sleeve - and the timing of it as well - was masterfully done... and don't think that Christy didn't deserve it either ;-D
Of the bad guys in this book, I think there were wasted opportunites. Our immediate antagonist, the big bad from out of town, who causes as much destruction as possible - it is a Mercy Thompson book, so what else would you expect? - had the potential for so much more. Then we have our menacing Gray Lord, Beauclaire, who wants to get his hands on Mercy's tempremental walking stick. Perhaps this subplot will bleed over into the next Alpah & Omega book (or even the next MT book), here's hoping ;-D. Finally there is Wulfe. He makes a rather creepy appearance, slightly sinister bent and all, and makes overtures of a not so innocent nature to Mercy. He's got some scheme in mind, as always, and this time is no different. He's always looking to strengthen Marsilia's hold on the vampires so he's the one I'd be keeping my eyes on in the future.
On a friendlier note, our favourite Walker's not-father makes a return. I do love Coyote. He is such a frustrating bastard, spouting all these cryptic clues. But when the chips are down, he does seem to have a genuine soft spot for Mercy. I think he just can't help but love her as a father would - in his own way - despite what he says. On the family front, Mercy finds a surprising connection {and you can't make me tell you! ;-D } and I keep wondering now if there might be more of them popping up in the future?
Christy appearance and meddling, I was relieved to see, made no difference in Mercy relationship with Adam - or Jesse. I'm glad the author didn't let Adam faulter in his attention, or attraction, to Mercy. It would have been a cheap way to ratchet up the tension between characters to have his attention focused more on Christy than Mercy, and I'm glad that Ms Briggs chose the higher road. Another thumbs up for the way in which she dealt with Jesse's reaction to her mothers arrival, and her manipulations. It was heartening to have scenes where Jesse just accepts the reality that while she loves her mother, it doesn't mean she has to like the way she acts.
As with every book we find ourselves coping with the influx of new characters (and yes, there are a few new ones popping up), however it was great to see more of Tad - and have some of his power revealed - but there is, sadly, no Zee in this book, nor did Uncle Mike make an appearance. Perhaps next time ;-D Tony is back with some tough questions, and Samuel and his mate also put in an appearance.
In all, this wasn't a bad book. I loved the fast paced, action packed scenes at the end - and I just can't believe the way Mercy takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. Her injuries in this book are rather awesome, but like Coyote, she just puts herself back together again with the dawn.
I see great things ahead for the Mercy Thompson series, and can only hope it continues for many years to come.
Until next time,
Happy reading!
However, that meddling became a secondary thought once I got into the story {be patient my lovelies, it takes a bit of time for the whole Christy thing to settle down and the story to begin, but once it does - it's great!} I motored through the eBook in about 2 hours, totally forgetting to make my lunch so I was starving when I finally read the last sentence.
There are a few surprises, and it is nice to see that we can still learn more about Mercy. I especially enjoyed her habit of seeking petty revenge on people who get on her shit list. What she did to Bran's wife, Leah, was so inspired. But it's her parting gift to Christy that had me laughing -
"She's nasty and vindictive," Christy said.
"Everyone thinks she farts rainbows...."
so for Mercy to have that little gem up her sleeve - and the timing of it as well - was masterfully done... and don't think that Christy didn't deserve it either ;-D
Of the bad guys in this book, I think there were wasted opportunites. Our immediate antagonist, the big bad from out of town, who causes as much destruction as possible - it is a Mercy Thompson book, so what else would you expect? - had the potential for so much more. Then we have our menacing Gray Lord, Beauclaire, who wants to get his hands on Mercy's tempremental walking stick. Perhaps this subplot will bleed over into the next Alpah & Omega book (or even the next MT book), here's hoping ;-D. Finally there is Wulfe. He makes a rather creepy appearance, slightly sinister bent and all, and makes overtures of a not so innocent nature to Mercy. He's got some scheme in mind, as always, and this time is no different. He's always looking to strengthen Marsilia's hold on the vampires so he's the one I'd be keeping my eyes on in the future.
On a friendlier note, our favourite Walker's not-father makes a return. I do love Coyote. He is such a frustrating bastard, spouting all these cryptic clues. But when the chips are down, he does seem to have a genuine soft spot for Mercy. I think he just can't help but love her as a father would - in his own way - despite what he says. On the family front, Mercy finds a surprising connection {and you can't make me tell you! ;-D } and I keep wondering now if there might be more of them popping up in the future?
Christy appearance and meddling, I was relieved to see, made no difference in Mercy relationship with Adam - or Jesse. I'm glad the author didn't let Adam faulter in his attention, or attraction, to Mercy. It would have been a cheap way to ratchet up the tension between characters to have his attention focused more on Christy than Mercy, and I'm glad that Ms Briggs chose the higher road. Another thumbs up for the way in which she dealt with Jesse's reaction to her mothers arrival, and her manipulations. It was heartening to have scenes where Jesse just accepts the reality that while she loves her mother, it doesn't mean she has to like the way she acts.
As with every book we find ourselves coping with the influx of new characters (and yes, there are a few new ones popping up), however it was great to see more of Tad - and have some of his power revealed - but there is, sadly, no Zee in this book, nor did Uncle Mike make an appearance. Perhaps next time ;-D Tony is back with some tough questions, and Samuel and his mate also put in an appearance.
In all, this wasn't a bad book. I loved the fast paced, action packed scenes at the end - and I just can't believe the way Mercy takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. Her injuries in this book are rather awesome, but like Coyote, she just puts herself back together again with the dawn.
I see great things ahead for the Mercy Thompson series, and can only hope it continues for many years to come.
Until next time,
Happy reading!
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