This is the second book featuring Mercedes (Mercy) Thompson, a young woman who can shift into a coyote at will. In the previous book we became acquainted with her world, where werewolves, vampire, and fae live uneasily alongside humans, some 'out' to the public, some still living in secrecy.

Mercy is asked to accompany a vampire friend of hers to a meeting, in her coyote form. The idea is that the other vampire won't recognise that she's anything other than a regular coyote and she can be a witness to the exchange. But it all goes horribly wrong. People are dying and her loved ones start disappearing, despite all of them being stronger and more powerful than Mercy herself. How can she possibly save anyone? But mayby, just maybe, she can.

The only thing wrong with this book is that it ends. While it doesn't technically end on a cliffhanger, the romantic triangle between Mercy, Adam and Samuel is unresolved, and the reader is left feeling like they need to read the next book to find out what happened. Maybe I'm spoiled by stand-alone romance novels, but I hate feeling like I have to buy another book to find out what happens in the end. Having said that, the book was a decent length, and I wouldn't have cut anything out, so if the author had managed to include everything, it'd be a longer novel than the Lord of The Rings! Ha ha! So I do understand why the author has made the decision to tell Mercy's story in multiple books, but there's also a part of me that resents it.

It was the only flaw though. The characters are strong and multi-dimensional. Some of the stronger alpha-types were shown in different lights in this one, shown to have real weaknesses, which made them feel more real, more human if you will. The pace of the story is superb. The violence is just graphic enough to make you feel like you're there, but without making you feel like you need to put the book down and bleach your eyeballs. The supernatural characters felt real, and that's always an impressive feat. I'll definitely be reading another Mercy Thompson book.

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Created Jan 26, 2016 at 9:37pm • Submit your own review...