Bone Crossed

Bone Crossed (2009) Patricia Briggs

Mercy is still struggling after the events of Iron Kissed, the previous book. Excluding the stitches, she is better physically, however, mentally and emotionally, she has a long way to go. Into this whirls a friend from college, Amber, who wants Mercy to come investigate the ghost who is haunting her house. Since the vampire queen, Marsilla, has issued a death threat against Mercy, getting her out of town seems like a good idea to everyone involved, including Stefan, her friend the vampire who is in trouble himself.

First and foremost, much of this book is Mercy’s dealing with the emotional wreckage of the events from the previous book. And that is one of the greatest strengths of the book. There is no magic fix for Mercy; yes, she is now in a relationship with Adam, but that relationship does not solve her emotional crisis–as much as she wants it too. I can’t express how pleased I am to see a character actually dealing with trauma in a realistic way. Yes, it’s hard to see Mercy struggling and in pain. But it is this that makes the story and her character so real.

The other thing I like is that although Mercy and Adam have troubles, and although Mercy is (especially during her panic attacks) slightly irrational, they deal with their troubles like grown-ups. In other words, their relationship is a strength, not a weakness, and although it is part of the book, it isn’t the heart of the story.

As far as the story goes, it was (as expected from this series) very good. Mercy is continuing to learn to lean on others, and although it’s a slow process, she is getting better at it.

One last thing–I love the covers of these books. Yeah, I think she’s showing a silly amount of flesh for being at work. However, the cover figure is curvaceous and REAL looking–not a ridiculous stick figure. Huzzah to Ace for these covers!

If you have not read the Mercy Thompson series, I highly recommend you start at the beginning and read your way to here.

One last night–I stayed up until 2AM to finish the book–that’s something I try very hard to avoid, so you know the story had really drawn me in when I lose sleep for it.
Rating: 8.5/10

Published by Ace.

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