Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson #13
Urban Fantasy
August 23, 2022 by Ace
ARC
Review by Iby
Mercy Thompson fans – rejoice! We have a new installment to dig into. In this thirteenth book in the series, the vampire Wulfe is missing – which is concerning, as his most recent past-time has included stalking Mercy. When he disappears, the mistress of the seethe informs Mercy that the pack must produce Wulfe, or their alliance would be in jeopardy.
Besides Wulfe disappearing, Mercy and Adam discover that other, less powerful supernatural beings have disappeared. Between this, and some turmoil within the pack, Mercy has some investigating to do, including learning more about the legend of the Harvester, who reaps souls with a black scythe.
Just based on this context, I knew we were in for an action-packed, creepy ride. One piece that stood out to me is that Ms. Briggs seems to introduce more horror elements into this series as it continues. In a previous installment, we have some scary black magic-practicing witches, and in this book, we have creepy eyeless characters and spider-like fae that lay eggs in their victims’ skin. The book was honestly on the upper limit of my creepiness level, but it added to the suspense in the series.
One aspect that I loved is that many of my favorite secondary characters are back in action. I love the focus on Mercy’s relationship with Tad and Zee, and the emphasis on some of the werewolves in the pack (with some very interesting revelations). Zee especially has always been an interesting character to me, and I enjoyed seeing him as a concerned father in this installment. Ms. Briggs sets the stage for some future changing pack dynamics, which could be really interesting to watch in the next few installments. Some family revelations really surprised me, but I liked the twist with these characters.
I also enjoyed seeing Mercy and Adam get closer as they tackle the situation together. It struck me as I was reading – this is one of the books where we see them most closely interact, and I love the close-up we get of their relationship. It’s not a perfect relationship, but after some recent installments where black magic interfered, it was great to see them back in action, trusting each other again.
Characters I’d love to spend more time within the next installment: there is never enough time with Coyote, and Ben made too few cameos for my liking. And where is Gary Laughingdog? Still rooting for him to persuade Honey to go on a date.
At the end of the day, Mercy continues to be Mercy, and I truly read the books for her. She is one of the most relatable urban fantasy heroines out there – she might not be the strongest, she might not be the smartest – but she loves hard, works hard, and isn’t afraid to cause a little chaos wherever she goes. She has continued to grow into her place in the pack, and I smile whenever she interacts with her pseudo-father figures (and I count Zee, Bran, and Coyote in that category). She might be stubborn and will run right into the fire, but I continue to root for her and her loved ones in every new installment.
As always, an excellent (and spooky!) addition to this ongoing series. Ms. Briggs maintains her place of honor as an auto-buy author – I’ll follow this series wherever she takes it, spider eggs and all.
Grade: A
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