Mercedes Thompson - Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs

Patricia Briggs' website is here.

Patricia Briggs on Wikipedia is here.

Information on Patricia Briggs at the 2012 World Fantasy Convention is here.

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In book one, Moon Called, we meet Mercedes Thompson the volkswagon mechanic. We discover a world in which the Fae, the so-called 'Fairy Folk', have just come out and revealed themselves to the public. So far the cutest and most innocent have been shown off, leaving the more dangerous and deadly behind the door.

We get to know Mercy; her dealings with her friend who is a vampire, her next door neighbor Adam who is the Alpha for the local werewolf pack, her friend Samuel, whose father fostered Mercy as a child when it was discovered what she was. What she is, is a 'skin walker'. But unlike the skin walkers of legend; who were basically evil and killed animals to wear their skins and use magic to transform themselves into those animals; Mercy merely shifts into a coyote at will, unlike the Werewolves who need a full moon or an Alpha pushing them. In a very stressful situation a were can change if there's no Alpha to control them, but you most certainly do not want to be around when they do!

A stray werewolf; brand new almost; shows up on Mercy's shop doorstep, looking for work. Where he came from, how he was turned and what happens when Adam and Bran; Samuel's father and the Marrok, the Alpha of all the werewolves in North America; find out make an engaging story filled with twists, humor and even some sexual tension via a love triangle.

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Book two, Blood Bound, centers on Mercy and her vampire friend Stefan. Mercy gets to go back to the vampire seethe after the favor she does for Stefan ends badly. This tale involves demons and vampires and vampires who are demon ridden. Demon ridden vampires become sorcerers, completely evil and uncaring about anything or anyone.

Loyalty and redemption are big story plots in this book as the tale unfolds from a simple chore to having to take down a sorcerer who has trapped werewolves and demons alike.

Mercy meets one of the local Fae who runs a bar where a lot of Fae hang out and 'Uncle Mike' is a great help to her, mostly because she is a friends of Zee, the Fae who used to own her car shop. Mercy finds out; just like in the vampire keep; she is becoming privy to way more secrets than she wants to be.

When the dust settles, there are still some loose ends that it seems only Mercy can clear up and she is determined to make it her job to do so.

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In book three of the series, Iron Kissed, Mercy gets invited to help the Fae since she owes them a favor. In doing this, we get to know her and Adam's pack, along with Samuel, even better. The politics, the individual characters and the relationships between them are intense and complex, making this story a good continuation of the first two. Even as a stand alone novel it is a good tale.

We learn about the Fae reservations, where the humans herded the Fae to when they came out. Not learning from history regarding such things, the humans seem to think a big wall and some security guards can hold back the Fae if they are determined to create havoc. Any fantasy reader knows this is pure nonsense, of course.

In helping the Fae solve the murders that have taken place on the Reservation, Mercy gets caught up in more than she bargained for.

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Book four of the series, Bone Crossed, has Mercy dealing with the repercussions of the events from her last book; with the help of Adam, his pack and even her mother.

Suddenly a crispy burnt vampire appears in her living room; it's Stefan come with a warning; She knows. The Mistress of the seethe knows Mercy killed one of her vampires and is not pleased at all.

Almost at the same time, an old acquantance shows up on Mercy's doorstep offering a trip out of town and a ghost story to investigate. Too good to be true? A trap? The Gods giving Mercy a break? Who knows, but she reluctantly ends up going with Stefan along to help her.

A new vampire, an old friend, some new friends; and of course Adam and his pack are all here again; supporting and defining Mercy as she picks her way through this latest adventure.

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In book five of the series, Silver Bourne, Mercy is checking up on a Fae friend who loaned her a book. In discovering what happened to him, she once again runs afoul of the Fae. At the same time she is dealing with the knowledge that something has gone wrong in the mating bond process between her and Adam.

A phone call from Samuel; who isn't Samuel but his wolf taken over because Samuel isn't exactly sane right now; only adds fuel to the fire. Tiptoeing around not telling Adam or the Marrok, (Samuel's father), what's going on is not easy at all; but Mercy is helped by the knowledge that if they knew; they'd be honor bound to kill Samuel.

And now someone is trying to kill ... Adam? Samuel? Mercy? No one knows for sure, it could have even been Zee the assassin was after.

A new companion and old friend of Samuel's arrives to help and it takes both of them, Ariana and Zee, to help Mercy get into Underhill to save her friends and packmates.

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Book six, River Marked, has Adam and Mercy off on vacation, just the two of them, getting away from the pack and getting to know each other better. Now married, their honeymoon is taking place in a huge trailer provided by Uncle Mike, who also offers a suggestion on a camping spot.

No surprise that there are Fae goings on at that spot and Adam and Mercy find themselves dealing with the gods, other walkers, the Fae and a serial killer instead of spending their time with a more traditional honeymoon.

Mercy finds out more about her father, her past and her Native American heritage on this trip and grows closer to Adam and the pack as well.

I found this novel to be good, but the weakest of the series.

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The short story from On The Prowl that started off the Alpha and Omega series is all about how Charles met Anna. Coming off the events from the Mercedes Thompson series, the Marrok's other son Charles is sent to Chicago to clean things up.

In Chicago he finds Anna, the most submissive wolf in the pack. Or is she?

Despite an order not to call the Marrok, Anna manages to do so. Everyone backs from Charles's temper but her; she actually seems to calm him down.

Before even meeting and dealing with the Pack Leader, Charles's wolf knows they have met their mate in the Omega wolf Anna.

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The first novel, Cry Wolf, takes up right from where the short story left off. Charles and Anna are on their way to his home within his father's pack in Montana.

But there's a problem brewing in the mountains. It seems there might just be a rogue wolf, one out of control and answering to no Alpha. Charles is the enforcer of the pack and it's his job to go out and solve problems like these.

Unfortunately Charles is still weak from his ordeal in Chicago and his bond with Anna is fragile... too fragile. Her treatment from the pack has her nervous and fearful around dominant wolves and the wolves who call the town where Bran the Marrok holds sway are not the most stable of wolves to begin with.

So it's off the the mountains for the two of them, hiking through the snow when their truck cannot get any further.

A rogue wolf, an evil witch, a ghost, a haunted man/werewolf; all add up to a good story as Charles and Anna struggle to deal with it all as well as dealing with getting to know each other.

As a side note, I found the cover art here to be very mediocre. The wolf who is supposed to be Charles, I'm assuming, looks more like a fox than a wolf.

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In the second novel of the series, Hunting Ground, Charles has a bad feeling about his father getting involved in a meeting with the Alphas from other countries as they prepare to let the world know werewolves exist.

Using a Fae as a mediator and meeting so many Alphas at one time in one place, many of whom do not care for the Marrok at all, has Charles as nervous as a wolf on a hot tin roof.

Finally getting his father to agree to stand down and let him go, Charles is content to go with Anna at his side as his mate.

But Anna is not at her best surrounded by Alphas and is soon shooed off to visit with one of the wives. Meeting another Omega is a bonus, only Anna finds he knows even less than she does!

Vampire serial killers, backstabbing plots, murder and mayhem run rampant through this novel, culminating in Anna coming into her own as an Omega and a mate to Charles.

Another side note, this artwork is even worse than the first novel's artwork! Has this person/people even seen a wolf before?

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Fair Game is the third book in the Alpha and Omega series by Patricia Briggs. The main players in this series are Charles and Anna, husband and wife, mates and werewolves. Charles is the Alpha and Anna is the Omega. This book begins where book 6, River Marked in the Mercedes Thompson series left off, but there is no need to read that series to enjoy this book.

Charles is having troubles and only Anna seems to notice. The werewolves are out, all the way out, and this means that behavior that might have gotten dealt with privately is now under public scrutiny. So when a wolf messes up and leaves something that might make humans think they are monsters, killers and things to be destroyed, instead of dealing with the mess quietly and hushing it up, the offenders are not killed straight out by their pack. Except most Alphas of the back can't do it. So it falls to Charles, as his father's 'assassin' to do the job. And it's hurting him badly and only Anna can tell.

Finally she gets the Marok, Charles's father Bran to listen, and his solution is to send Anna to help the FBI with a serial killer, letting Charles be her bodyguard. Maybe protecting and helping will sooth Charles a bit. The killer has killed werewolves recently, something that is not easy to do. And of course, the Marok is interested in how this is possible.

So Anna and Charles head for Boston to meet with the FBI, Homeland Security and others, to consult and hopefully aid on the case. Black magic, Fae, werewolves and politics all have their influence on the outcome. It's a compelling read and ends with a surprise hook that guarantees you'll be waiting impatiently for Patricia Briggs's next novel!

Artwork is slightly better on this one ...

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