Review: Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Book Details:
Moon Called (Mercy Thompson)
by Patricia Briggs
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Published 2006, Penguin
Paperback, 288 pages
ISBN: 9780441013814

Synopsis:
"Mercy Thompson's life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a VW bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy isn't exactly normal herself."

I recently recieved the fifth book in the Mercy Thompson series, Silver Borne, for reviewing purposes, and decided to start the series at the beginning like a good bookworm. I was not sure if I would like the series, but imagine my surprise when mechanically-inclined, shapeshifter Mercy Thompson has a penchant for the Christian religion! She likes to attend church, and she chooses to wear a lamb on a necklace instead of a cross because she finds it sick to display the instrument of Christ's torture, and one of Christ's names is the Lamb of God. I gotta say, how cool is that?
Anyways, I find it interesting how non-chalant Mercy is about what she is and can do. She does not seem to know much about being a "walker", but it doesn't bother her. It's the other preternatural beings who give her bits of information about her kind in well-timed accidents. She reminds me a bit of Rachel Morgan from the Kim Harrison series. (Oooh, cross-over potential...)
I also liked the complexities of the different cultures that the various preternatual beings originate from, and most expecially the impossible-to-pronounce names to match, such as Elizaveta Arkadyevna Vyshnevetskaya and Siebold Adelbertsmiter. The book was heavy on politics and violence, while light on romance, which I can appreciate in light of the storyline, but I look forward to things heating up between Mercy Thompson and her two wanna-be boyfriends, Adam and Samuel. I got a bit confused when trying to remember who's who in the cast of characters, especially since many of the lesser werewolves all tended to behave the same, and I really hope that future books will explain who or what the Gray Lords are.

The Cover: The depiction of Mercy Thompson is spot on with the description in the book, right down to the tattoos in the correct places and the mechanic's work shirt with her name on it. (That's if you ignore the minor detail of the watch on her left wrist, when the book states she wears the watch on her right.) I'm not entirely sure what the wrought-iron gate in the background refers to, since the only "gate" I recall is from the vampire compound. This also means that I'm not certain if the animals on the gate are coyotes or wolves, since either could apply. Ahhh, I'm too much of a perfectionist anyways.

First Line: "I didn't realize he was a werewolf at first."
Perfect first line - baits me hook, line, and sinker! Immediately, the questions start rolling through my head: how could you not know he was a werewolf?! Wait, how are you supposed to know he was a werewolf? What the heck does he look like?? (Etc., etc.) That's what every book should do - bait the reader on the first sentence.

Favorite Quote: "Love thy enemies, it says in the scriptures. My foster mother always added, "At the very least, you will be polite to them.""





Read For: Support Your Local Library Challenge, 1st in a Series Challenge, Pages Read Challenge, New Authors Challenge, 101 Fantasy Challenge