Fair Game

Fair Game (2012) Patricia Briggs

The third Alpha & Omega book takes place several years between River Marked and Frost Burned.

After the werewolves became known to the public, Charles’ job became much more difficult, since infractions that were previously allowed to slide, now carry a death sentence–a sentence that in many cases Charles has to carry out, when an Alpha can’t or won’t.

Asil left Bran alone with his thoughts then, because if he stayed, Bran would argue with him. This way, Bran would have no one to argue with but himself. And Asil had always credited Bran with the ability to be persuasive.

To give Charles a break, Bran sends him to Boston in search of a serial killer who has been operating for decades, and has picked up werewolf victims.

It is here that we meet Beauclaire (who makes an appearance in Night Broken).

“It is not wise to give something old and powerful something they care about. And I am very old.” He looked at the FBI agents. “Even, possibly, older than your father.

Although the events surrounding the serial killer are horrific, there is much to lighten the story.

A jogger approached them and stopped, jogging in place. “Your dog should be on a leash,” he said in politely disapproving tones. “It’s the rules. There are lots of kids here and a big dog like that might scare someone.”

“Werewolf,” said Anna blandly, just to see what he would do. He stopped jogging and looked, his jaw dropping.

“Shit,” he said. “You’re kidding me.”

“It’s a werewolf,” said Leslie.

“It’s red. Aren’t werewolves supposed to be black or gray?”

“Werewolves can be whatever color,” Anna told him.

He bent down, stretching his legs and breathing deeply. “It’s beautiful.”

He bowed his head, working his hands; then he turned and started walking backward again, facing her. Anna followed, keeping a sharp eye out for things he might back into or over. She wondered if Isaac did this all the time— and, if so, how he avoided getting photos in the paper with captions like “Local Alpha Trips over Child” or “Wolf Versus Street Sign, Street Sign Wins.”

This book tells of the events that have bearing on later books in the Mercy series. You don’t have to know the details for the later books, but it is fascinating to see how the result came to pass.

Published by Ace

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