River Marked

March 1, 2011
Those who fight evil never have real vacations; case in point, the sixth Mercy Thompson book, in which a camping honeymoon turns very bloody.

Mercedes Thompson, mechanic and coyote shapeshifter, actually manages to marry Adam Hauptman, werewolf Alpha, with very little fuss, despite her trepidations. The trouble truly starts when the newlyweds head off to a secluded campground by the Columbia River, in which a suspicious number of people appear to have drowned lately. With the help of local Native American medicine men, shapeshifters and animal spirits, Mercy confronts the fearsome river devil, an ancient water serpent with hypnotic powers. As she gears up for battle, she learns a great deal about her deceased father and the source of her powers. Of course, we know from the outset that Mercy will win, particularly because Briggs raises the stakes so high (the river devil kills children; you can't include that with the romantic element and not have a decisive victory). However, that doesn't mean the journey doesn't have some excitement, and Mercy fans will enjoy both discovering more about her past and seeing her on the road to a (relatively) happily wedded future.

A more than acceptable example of an extremely popular subgenre of urban fantasy.

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