Mercy 2 Finds a Groove

The second installment of the Mercy Thompson series shifts focus from the werewolves to the vampires.  This time her vampire friend, Stefan, decides to call in a favor from Mercy.  She risks life and limb to thwart an evil sorcerer-turned-vampire (as if vampires weren’t evil enough on their own) causing numerous deaths all around the city.  The supernatural cream of the crop are all involved to take this sucker down, from head vampires to head werewolves.  And even still,  somehow Mercy’s abilities prove useful to help save them all.

While I’m still not totally hooked, it’s definitely a step in the right direction.  This book is a lot better in terms of action and the characters are more established, so I could relate to them a bit more.  The love triangle (or maybe quadrangle?) is definitely kicked up a notch and confirmed here.  Adam seems to be becoming my Were of choice, but there is enough argument for her other suitor(s?) as well, so I will just see how Mrs. Briggs decides to develop that angle. I liked the incorporation of ghosts this time around, and their use is quite intuitive and sensible.  The vampire politics are somewhat more interesting than the first book since I didn’t find myself zoning out quite as much.

Stefan, has potential to be an extremely interesting character as the series progresses.  It’s hard to tell what motivates him which will only keep everyone guessing.  That’s a good sign of complexity considering that vampires are inherently evil in this series.

So all in all, it was certainly better than Moon Called, but I don’t really have the urge to want to inhale it like I’ve had with some of my favorites. Of course, that’s not necessarily a bad thing since I can be a much more productive human being, but this doesn’t necessarily need to be shot up to the top of your TBR list, even though it’s a decent read.  I am still interested enough to want to continue and see what unfolds for Mercy and her friends, so that’s a good thing. Onto Book 3!