Review of River Marked by Patricia Briggs

A review of “River Marked” A Mercy Thompson novel by Patricia Briggs

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After hating the last book, I was reluctant to start reading this book. However, this book starts off with some charm and moves along quickly to the main plot. The novel book ends the story with Mercy and Stefan the vampire. It opens with Mercy trying to take care of Stefan and then Stefan helps take care of Mercy at the end. Both commiserating over that fact that they need help and aren't used to asking for it. I've always enjoyed Stefan the vampire, there was always this flirty, sexual tension between the two characters. This book really shows that they are just friends that care about each other, despite him being a vampire.

We get the return of Mercy's mom and are introduced to her two half-sisters. I was surprised that in book six, Mercy and Adam are getting married. It feels a bit rushed to me, and I do have some issues with their relationship. They are too possessive of each other, are constantly arguing and then constantly having sex. This book attempts to show the two having common interest in the outdoors and camping, but they fight too much with each other. I want to know what it is about Adam that Mercy loves other than he's super model hot; and what is it about Mercy that Adam loves so much. By the end of the book, they start working together more and trusting each other, so there is some relationship development.

Unlike the last book, which had too many plots’ lines, this novel sticks to one main plot line and expands the world building. We finally learn the truth about Mercy's father, and why she can shift into a coyote and is somewhat averse to magic and can see ghosts. She is a descendant of an ancient Native American Spirit known as Coyote. The story doesn't fully explain the difference in magic between the Spirit animals and the Fae magic, so it gets a bit confusing at times.

The main plot line is that Mercy and Adam were arranged to be at this camp site to investigate a river creature that is killing people. A fae called Otter-kin are introduced as the prime suspect but it turns out the real big bad is the River Devil, a Kraken or Scylla like creature that marks people to do her bidding. Except that Mercy can resist her thrall because of her connection to Coyote. Mercy with the help of the other Spirit Animals, plan to kill the River Devil after Mercy realizes her dreams are real events that the River Devil has committed. In the end, Mercy struggles to defeat the River Devil and comes out with several severe injuries that leave her in a wheelchair. Adam even gets a few scenes struggling with his wolf.

What I like about this book, is the threat level of the River Devil is shown often instead of being told. The story has stakes, and Mercy doesn't easily defeat the villain unscathed. There are real consequences to this plot and the danger feels real. At one point Mercy must make a decision to sacrifice herself in order to save some little kids. But she is the key to taking out the River Devil, so if she dies the creature will only continue to kill more people. It's a tough choice, that adds to the urgency and danger of the situation.

This is by far the best book since book 3, and a big part of it is that it has a focused story line. We get some good back story on Mercy's father; we learn more about the Native American magic and shape shifters; and even some good relationship development between Mercy and Adam. This story feels fresh, and something new other than vampires and evil fae magic. I like taking the main characters away from the wolf pack, and their comfort zone.

 

So, I really enjoyed this book, especially after the last book. This gives me hope that the series can still be good, and book 5 was just a misfire. Looking forward to reading the next book and seeing where the characters go from here. Especially now that Mercy and Adam are married and that we finally learned the reveal of Mercy's father. What will future stories focus on?