A murder mystery in a dark fantasy world

On the surface, Mercy Thomson is a reputable car mechanic, a single woman who lives on her own with a cat. But Mercy is far from ordinary - she is what the old legends call a skinwalker, a shapeshifter with Native American blood. In her animal form, she is a coyote, and she is able to shift back and forth from human to animal at will, swiftly and with none of the pain and limitations that werewolves experience. Of course, in size and strength she is no match for a werewolf; she counts on her speed and intelligence to keep herself out of trouble.

Even so, when a young man appears in her shop asking for work, looking as though he's barely survived an encounter with a wild beast, she gives him a job. Even though he's a werewolf. This sets in action a chain of events that gets Mercy into more trouble than she ever could have imagined - trouble that involves her ruggedly handsome alpha werewolf neighbor, the vampire whose "mystery machine" van is in her shop, an old flame from her teen years who broke her heart, and a dead body that shows up on her porch.

Mercy, a coyote raised among werewolves, has learned not only to survive as the underdog (sorry about the pun), but to stand up for herself and maintain control of difficult situations. She is politically savvy, tough, and wily, and these qualities are called to task as a little coyote finds herself up against some very big bad monsters. I thoroughly enjoyed this gripping novel - the writing was smooth, the pacing taut, and the characters were original and very sympathetic. I can tell from this first book that this is one series I am going to stick with. I only wish there were more of them to read!

Books (so far) in the Mercy Thompson series:

1. Moon Called
2. Blood Bound
3. Iron Kissed (to be published in January 2008)
   

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (Ace, 2006)