Mercy Blade (Jane Yellowrock #3) by Faith Hunter
Urban Fantasy
January 4, 2011
Paperback, 336 Pages
Roc

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: ”Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” “But not this time God. You had your chance.”

Jane Yellowrock, rogue vampire hunter and employee to Leo Pellissier, Blood Master of the City, finds herself caught in the crossfire when were-animals decide to announce their presence to the mortal world. When Jane is attacked by 5 were-wolves she is grateful but mystified when her life is saved by the mysterious Girrard. Girrard (Gee) used to be Leo’s Mercy Blade- his assassin-until he abruptly left. As if Jane didn’t have enough problems; Leo is hosting a massive party and Jane’s to provide the security; her boyfriend seems to be missing, a master assassin’s in town, and her beast keeps reminding her at inappropriate times that big cats don’t mate for life.

Faith Hunter’s 3rd installment of her Jane Yellowrock series takes us back into Jane’s turbulent and dangerous world filled with supernatural creatures who all have a hidden agenda that often involves her. Leo has called Jane back to New Orleans. The weres are out of the closet and previous bad blood between them and Leo is causing security concerns. Rick is secretive as always and he disappears once they hit New Orleans with promise of breakfast the next day.

Rick never shows up and Jane soon finds herself embroiled in a mystery that will test everything that Jane has.

Vividly descriptive, the world building here is saturated with wonderful prose but at the expense of the plot. I found myself often confused after a scene because while I could describe the ambiance and emotions of the scene word for word, I would have to go back and read to see what actually happened. I’m also concerned about the over arc. I have loss sense to just what the main conflict or objective is. Where or what is Ms. Hunter leading us to?

Regardless though, there is still plenty of tense action and nail biting suspense to keep you on the edge of you ride with Jane through the mystery and conflict surrounding this installment.

I really enjoyed the police procedural aspect of this story. It adds a sense of realism and humanizes Jane in the fact that she uses everyday investigational skills as a part of her job rather then relying only on her supernatural powers.

To me this is a heavy character driven story and we are given more background information concerning Leo and Jane’s lives which explains quite a few questions I had from previous installments. I find Ms. Hunter’s characters easily some of the most vividly written in Urban Fantasy. Lush and expressive, each one able to hold a story in their own right. But this one throws a lot at you. I am finding myself less sympathetic towards them with each passing scene. You find yourself twisting and second guessing along with Jane. Her confusion is plausible because you yourself are confused. We interact more with Jane’s inner Beast and that provides some humorous moments. Jane and her Beast seem to be co-habituating better and it shows in their scenes together.

There is a great deal of self-esteem issues and overall lack of communication in this installment that I found most troubling. Jane’s boyfriend Rick is an undercover cop and does some things I found irresponsible. Jane makes excuses for him the whole book. You feel she is not used to having a permanent lover in her life and the constant quips about her lack of beauty and feminism is depressing. I also had problems with everyone taking advantage of Jane. Too often information is kept from Jane or things are done without her knowledge and/or consent. Things that can be fatal for her. Yet she never takes anyone to task over it. She acts like a servant while in reality she is a paid employee. Only towards the end does she finally show her displeasure and strike out in defense. Even then she makes excuses for those involved.

We are once again treated to the love triangle concerning Jane, Rick, and Bruiser. Rick is around but not and the sparks that fly when Jane and Bruiser are together ignite the pages on fire. It’s hard for me to get excited about Rick because I don’t feel any chemistry there. We only “see” Jane’s feelings but never his. I don’t see Rick as Jane’s HEA and Ms. Hunter doesn’t really write him is as one so I’m at a loss to why he’s there. With Bruiser and Jane you are treated to more sensual dialogue and smexy scenes that leaves this reader with no doubts who Jane should be with.

Multiple subplots intertwine through the main storyline and only towards the end do you see the big picture these individual threads create. The ending is climatic with Jane forefront in all her arse kicking glory. The follow up is once again a major cliffhanger that left me feeling a bit deflated. I will continue on with Book 4 as I now need to see what happens with the cliffhanger but the shine is starting to wear off for me in this series.

Rating: C-

Recent Reviews
Bibliophilic Book Blog – 5/5
All Things Urban Fantasy – 4/5
The Discriminating Fan Girl – 4.5/5
Urban Fantasy Investigations – 4/5
Goodreads

Jane Yellowrock:
Skinwalker
Blood Cross
Mercy Blade

Author’s Website.

Amazon l Kindle l Book Depository l Nook l Sony