Book 74, 2022
Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I knocked back Soul Taken, by Patricia Briggs, in 24 hours. Woo! This is the 13th installment in the "Mercy Thompson" urban fantasy series, starring our favorite coyote shifter, Mercy. Story is told in Mercy's first-person point of view, except for one chapter that was in Adam's third-person pov. I didn't see the need for that, and it sort of jarred me out of the narrative. Moving on.
There is turmoil in the pack when damaged wolf Sherwood regains his memories and it turns out he's more dominant than Adam. Neither wolf wants a fight, but the situation must be settled between them. During their cautious negotiations, Marsilia, the mistress of the local vampires, appears to warn Mercy and Adam that Wulfe, her damaged vampire, is missing. Mercy is worried, because what could take down a vampire as dangerous as Wulfe? Not long after, the pack is apprised of a potential serial killer in the area--a supernatural serial killer. One who seems to have drawn from a local legend, the Harvester, who kills with a cursed sickle. Since Adam's pack has claimed the entire Tri-Cities as their territory, it falls on them to investigate and eliminate this new threat. Mercy's ability to scent and parse magic, along with her hit-or-miss immunity to magic, makes her a valuable asset in this endeavor...until the Soul Taker sets its sights on the daughter of Coyote.
The book was pretty much pedal to the metal the entire way through. Mercy and Adam are pulled in so many different directions that I was exhausted for them. Add to that the issue with Sherwood, Zee's covetous desire for the cursed sickle, the disappearance of not only Wulfe but all the vampires in the seethe, and Warren's personal problem that left him snappish and very un-Warren-like, and I had difficulty setting the book aside. Characterizations were flawless, as always. The pacing was frantic with only brief, quieter interludes to allow a breather. Descriptions were vivid. The author hinted at what may be involved in the next "Alpha and Omega" book, much as the most recent "Alpha and Omega" book hinted at what would happen with Sherwood in this series. A cruel, yet brilliant ploy!
Favorite lines:
♦ Stories like to grow as they are passed around, becoming more exciting and less likely.
♦ "I'll find time to gibber in a corner with fear as soon as we're all safe."
I loved the book, but the ending was just a tad (Tad? Hah!) disappointing. Giving this one a score of four.
