RIVER MARKED by Patricia Briggs

Title: River Marked
Series: Mercy Thompson #6
Author: Patricia Briggs

Summary

Mercy and Adam, with a bit of help from their friends and family, are married and off to their honeymoon at a campground near the Columbia Gorge.  Time together, and away from the pack, fae, and vampires, seems to be the perfect way for Mercy to avoid trouble; after all, how much trouble can a coyote and her mate attract?

Mercy becomes suspicious of their vacation when she learns that Uncle Mike had a hand in the honeymoon plans, and her suspicions are only confirmed when her and Adam find a canoe in the river, one whose passenger is injured.  Something in the river is killing people, and it's determined to kill Mercy next.

But river monsters aren't the only thing that Mercy discovers in their campground.  For the first time, she sees the ghost of Joe Old Coyote, her father, and she can't help but wonder why he is suddenly appearing.

In order to defeat the monster in the river, Mercy has to learn a bit about her past, and what it means to be a walker.

My Impression

I loved that Mercy finally learns more about being a walker in this book.  As much as I've wanted to know about where walkers come from and Mercy's abilities, I had to accept that it was information that would never be provided in this series.  Since Mercy's dad is dead and the only knowledge of walkers comes from legends, more information seemed impossible, so I was really happy that this book not only gave more information, but introduced other walkers.  Mercy still doesn't have all the answers, but it was still nice to know a little more.

I also liked the development of Adam and Mercy's relationship.  I'm happy that they are married, but I was glad that their marriage didn't solve all their problems.  The two have a couple of things to work out, which made their relationship seem more realistic.  Along with their troubles, there are still great moments where they are able to confide in each other and we get to learn more about both characters as a result.

It was also nice to get out of the Tri-Cities area.  It seems like the area just attracts a lot of bad guys, and that the fae, wolves, and vampires in the area are the focus of these problems being brought out.  Though Mercy does travel out of the area in Bone Crossed, the villain was still targeting her and manipulating her arrival in the city.  In this book, despite Uncle Mike's hand in pushing Adam and Mercy into the situation, the bad guy doesn't target Mercy until she is in its territory.  It appears more happenstance, like Mercy and Adam partially fell in to the problem and then were expected to be part of the solution.  However, I'm also not sure I like that danger seems to follow Mercy; I can't tell if danger follows Mercy, or if her coyote nature means that she always falls into it.  Of course, without this constant danger, there wouldn't be any more Mercy books, and that would be a bad thing.

Why I Picked Up This Book

It was the next book in the series...need I say more?

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Romance
My Rating: Five Stars

Interested in other books by Patricia Briggs?  Check here to read my reviews of other books from this series.