I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Soul Taken
by
Patricia Briggs
urban fantasy in a Kindle edition that was published by Ace Books on August 23, 2022 and has 398 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include When Demons Walk, Steal the Dragon, Home Improvement: Undead Edition, Fair Game, Frost Burned, Night Broken, Shifting Shadows, Dead Heat, Bone Crossed, Silver Borne, River Marked, Hunting Ground, Iron Kissed, Cry Wolf, Fire Touched, Silence Fallen, Burn Bright, Storm Cursed, Smoke Bitten, Wild Sign, Winter Lost
Thirteenth in the Mercedes Thompson (nineteenth in the Mercyverse) urban fantasy series revolving around Mercedes Thompson Hauptman, a coyote shifter mated to a wolf shifter in the Tri-Cities, Washington. This story takes place in October. The focus is on the missing Wulfe. If you’re interested, there is a chronological listing of the Mercedes Thompson books on my website.
My Take
I can’t blame Adam for being tired. I’m surprised he’s lasted so well for so long. It does NOT help that his mate insists on participating in every battle!
Briggs uses first person protagonist point-of-view from Mercy’s perspective, which makes it easy to “hear” Mercy’s concerns about that heart of gold of hers and how she really stuck the pack into it when she claimed the Tri-Cities in Fire Touched, 9. It cracks me up that the fae acknowledge the pack’s hold . . . from their own unexpected weaknesses.
Ho, ho, Briggs also notes the seethe’s fall from power!
Larry’s observation is also a good one on how Coyote’s daughter has changed their world. It’s cute! Larry says his “youngest goblins love playing heroes with [Adam’s] wolves.” Still doesn’t keep Larry from spying on the wolves.
It’s dang lucky that Adam was in the military — and good at it. He’s had to tighten up his pack members and keep up their morale. Funny how that can turn into a pumpkin patch.
Ben is definitely NSFW in any way, shape, or form, even if his company keeps trying to clean him up. Ooh, and Kyle found a way to talk Warren into a new car! Sly.
With his memories back, there are new dominance issues in the pack that makes things rather dicey. Adam has been ranked as the fourth most dominant wolf in the New World, a fact that is now in doubt. It will be a critical relationship in how it affects the pack’s stability because the Columbia Basin Pack is vital to the region’s stability — and stability is essential to werewolf survival. Zack seems to know more than the rest.
Briggs does keep the fun flowing. That night in the pumpkin patch, the betting pool as to Sherwood’s identity, that Adam’s swearing rivals Ben’s . . . as long as there aren’t any females in the room, Adam’s laughter when Zee has the same look on his face as Bran . . . when Mercy confronts ’em . . .
Ooh, Tad has a romantic relationship, and while she “thinks” she understands about Tad’s father, they both discover she really doesn’t. I do have to agree with Tad about Mercy needing to know how different kinds of magic work on her.
Lots of insights here what with Larry’s offer, Mercy realizing who Sherwood is, Adam offering his thoughts about Marsilia and Wulfe, Adam learning a better way to handle both Mercy and the Pack, his insight into his Beast, and Warren’s understanding of what Kyle needs.
There is an interesting distinction between whether artifacts are made with or without intent and how it affects their development. And it’s part of what has me confused with Soul Taken. I love and adore the Mercyverse, but this one feels all over the place.
There is a ton of action that feels disjointed. The characters both drive and compete with the action, and Briggs provides so much background information on such a variety of characters that I was overwhelmed. Weirdly enough, this made the prose feel disjointed. It didn’t help that some of the information provided was lacking.
We get the backstory on how Stefan came to be changed and exiled. Back when Andre had been his friend. When Marsilia and he helped Wulfe escape. Marsilia’s reasons for turning from Bonarata. The horror of Wulfe’s imprisonment. The reason Marsilia was exiled to Washington state. What. A. Jerk. And in spite of all that has been done to Wulfe, he’s still in there.
Omigod, Adam. Adam tried LSD a few times, lol.
And Mercy learns that she has new skills . . . even as she discovers someone is building a huge house on the notorious vineyard on which the she and the Pack have had so many adventures.
The Story
Adam is still cursed, and it’s playing havoc with the Pack’s need to protect the Tri-Cities. Especially with the new dominance challenge.
It’s Mercy’s worries about Stefan that end up with a trashed house and a lot of questions. There are more questions when Mercy and Adam hear the rumors of the Tri-Cities sham and learn about missing, weaker supernaturals.
Could any of this have to do with the hunt Zee has been on for a sentient artifact? One that has been purposely let loose . . . and with its own agenda.
The Characters
The Tri-Cities is . . .
. . . now a neutral zone for humans and the supernatural, which has led to consequences.
Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson is a coyote shifter, a walker with a black belt, and a car mechanic, specifically for VWs. Being a a descendant of Coyote, one of the avatars of the First People, Mercy has her own chaotic magic. She’s also mated to Adam Hauptman, a.k.a. Captain Wolf Larsen, the Alpha werewolf for the Columbia Basin Pack and a former Army Ranger and LRRP in Vietnam, who had grown up in Montana. He’s recognized throughout America, partly due to his movie star looks and partly to his networking contacts. Jesse is his quirky daughter, who’s had to give up going away to college. Medea is Mercy’s quirky Manx cat who’ll hang out with anybody. Christy, Adam’s ex-wife and Jesse’s mom has moved back to Eugene. Thank god. And Lugh’s walking stick is back, lol.
The Columbia Basin Pack is . . .
. . . still unaffiliated with the Marrok and down to twenty-six members. Darryl Zao is Adam’s second-in-command and a brilliant scientist. He’s mated to Auriele, a high school science teacher and werewolf. Warren Smith is gay, Adam’s third-in-command, and a private investigator for Kyle’s law firm; Kyle Brooks, a very successful lawyer, is his human partner. The widowed Honey Jorgenson has moved up in ranking. Mary Jo is a firefighter with EMT training, who doesn’t appear to hate Mercy anymore. She’s dating Renny Renton, a deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. The NSFW and dangerous Ben Shaw, a computer genius, has mellowed since his arrival from England. He’s recently moved out of Pack HQ now that he’s recovered from events in Smoke Bitten, 12. George (born sometime in the late 19th century) is a police officer with the Pasco PD. Carlos. Zack Drummond is the pack submissive who’s still staying with Warren and Kyle. The rescued Sherwood Post‘s true nature, a.k.a. Pegleg, was revealed in Storm Cursed, 11. Pirate is the one-eyed kitten Sherwood rescued in Storm Cursed.
Joel Arocha, a human-turned-tibicena (Night Broken, 8), usually appears as a large presa Canario. Lucia is his wife who is now working as an accountant for the pack. Joel is finally stable enough that he and Lucia have moved back home along with Aiden, the pack’s rescued-from-Underhill boy, who just happens to be gifted with Fire.
Isabella “Izzy” Norman is one of Jesse’s few (and loyal) friends. Tad Adelbertsmiter is Zee’s half-human son with some tremendous powers, but has had to quit working for Mercy. He still hasn’t told why he left that Ivy League university with the full-ride scholarship. Zee Adelbertsmiter, an iron-kissed fae, a.k.a. the Dark Smith of Drontheim, had sold the garage to Mercy, but comes in to help out. The human Gabriel had been Mercy’s assistant until he left for college.
Danson, who graduated from Pasco High, has written a horror movie, Harvester, based on a local urban myth. Jesse and Izzy’s English Lit Professor Holbearth greatly dislikes Danson, despite? because of? their attending school from kindergarten through high school together.
Geena Reed, a white witch, is a friend of George’s whom he met at his BDSM club. Sandy isn’t missing yet, but Katie, Ruben Gresham, and Millie Sawyer, all white witches, are. Sarina does readings and rents a space from Helena is a gray witch, who owns an antiques store. She and her friends had hoped the Tri-Cities would be a safe place. Andy Vargas works at a grocery store in Pasco. The same one where Aubrey Worth had worked.
Detective Tony Montenegro, another friend of Mercy’s, usually works undercover for the Kennewick PD. Benton County has a coroner, Rahul Amin, who specializes in supernatural crimes. Dimitri is their specialist.
Tamra Chin is a good journalist who has done some pieces on the Pack.
Bright Future is . . .
. . . a hate group which is now targeting Jesse. The John Lauren Society is another hate group, for the rich.
The Marrok is . . .
. . . the leader of all the North American packs. He’s also the sneaky Bran Cornick who had helped raise Mercy with a single-minded focus on the werewolves surviving. Leah is the Marrok’s insecure mate who really hates Mercy. Samuel is a medical doctor and Bran’s oldest son. He’s mated to Ariana, the Silver Borne, 7. Charles is Bran’s younger son with his second mate, a Native American woman, and Bran’s “hatchet man”. Anna is Charles’ mate and an omega wolf (Shifting Shadows: “Alpha & Omega”, 0.5 (Mercyverse, 1.1)). Bryan had been Mercy’s foster father; he committed suicide when his wife didn’t survive becoming a werewolf.
The Ronald Wilson Reagan Fae Reservation is . . .
. . . a now-seat of power for the fae and an hour’s drive from the Tri-Cities. Beauclaire is a Gray Lord, one of the scary rulers of the fae but one with a preference for Mercy. Uncle Mike runs Uncle Mike’s, a fae pub where you can get food and is back to supernatural-only. Underhill calls herself “Tilly“. She locked the fae out of Underhill centuries ago, and they’re desperate for her to let them back in. She’s a sneaky thing and has installed a door to Underhill in the Hauptmans’ backyard.
The Tri-Cities Seethe
Marsilia, the exiled love of Bonarata, a.k.a. the Blade, the Bright Dagger, leads the seethe. Wulfe, witchborn, wizard, and older than Marsilia, is her very scary second-in-command who has been stalking Mercy. He’s also been known as Wulfe the Dragon and these days as Wulfe the Wizard. Andre had also been one of Marsilia’s lieutenants, until Blood Bound, 2.
Mercy’s oldest friend in the area, with a scary bond to her, Stefan Uccello, a.k.a. the Solider, had been loyal to Marsilia until events in Bone Crossed, 4. Now he’s alone yet still living in the Tri-Cities, acting as liaison between the werewolves and the vampires with his sheep, er, family: Rachel is his usual spokesperson and the ghostly Daniel is still around. Um, he is a fan of Scooby-doo with his very own Mystery Machine, although he hasn’t been the same since Smoke Bitten.
Larry is the king of the goblins with a unique offer. David Christiansen had been an army buddy of Adam’s and was turned at the same time. Now he leads a small group of mercenaries who specialize in rescuing victims.
Iacopo “Jacob” Bonarata, a.k.a. the Lord of Night, is the vampire ruler, who had been a captain of mercenaries before he’d been turned. Well, technically, he rules Italy, but in truth, his reach is around the world. Bonarata is building a house in Seattle.
The Uttu and Ninhursag were half-fae, spiders with poisonous spells who could wield the Soul Taker without effect. Elizaveta had gone black (Storm Cursed) to go up against the Hardesty witches.
Aha! The Easter Bunny Incident involved chocolate laxatives. Wayland Smith reportedly turned the eyes of the sons of a king into jewels and goblets of their skulls — and we finally learn his reason for it. Serves ’em right! The Cathers had been Mercy’s neighbors until Smoke Bitten, although Anna is still hanging around. There are three kinds of witches: white, gray, and black. The Seelennehmer, the Soul Taker, the Soul Stealer, is a magical artifact.
600 years ago
The incident in Northumberland was 600 years ago where a sorcerer who made a deal with a demon managed to last a little over a century. Some wolf joined their pack, a Jack Hedley who could change, like Mercy, in the blink of an eye. He was also known as the Great Beast of Northumberland.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a background of a deep gray-to-black night with a slice of moon overhead, mirrored by the sickle Mercy holds in a corn field. Mercy is in profile, her shoulder-blade-length black hair blowing in the breeze, the red feather earring blowing with it. She’s wearing a four-layer silver choker and a black tank top showing the tattoo that doesn’t actually exist on Mercy’s right shoulder. She’s handicapped by a black jacket that’s slipped down her arm. Most of the text is in white from the info blurb at the very top, the title that crosses Mercy’s bicep, and the series info at the bottom. the author’s name is just below the info blurb in a soft orange that also appears in the field.
The title refers to the souls of the dead being tied to their bodies, Soul Taken.
