Title: Fair Game

Author: Patricia Briggs

Series: Alpha & Omega #3

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Mystery

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: It is said that opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son—and enforcer—of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant Alpha. While Anna, an Omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind.

When the FBI requests the pack’s help on a local serial-killer case, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston to join the investigation. It soon becomes clear that someone is targeting the preternatural. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer’s sights…

The Review:

While Cry Wolf read like a paranormal romance and Hunting Ground read like an urban fantasy, Fair Game was strongly tugging at the mystery category. It’s almost like Briggs is playing with different story structures to branch out from her comfort zone. And you know what? I’m 100% willing to go on that ride with her. It’s not easy to write in a different genre, but I love that she’s introducing it within urban fantasy parameters.

Fair Game was easily the most gruesome story to date (at least as far as I was concerned – but I sort of let my imagination run wild with this one). It raised the stakes, kept me at the edge of my seat, and made me really hate the bad guys. My favorite part of this novel was the layered plot; it slowly revealed one clue after another, building an excellent momentum for the end.

I mentioned in my review of book #2 that Anna and Charles’ relationship is one of my favorites in the genre. To be honest, I wasn’t  even certain if I liked either of the characters up front, but I still loved how well their personalities played off of each other. The visuals of a five-foot mousey woman scolding a behemoth of a werewolf without fear makes me smile every time. Briggs gets an A+ for character development and perhaps another + for story.

Recommendations: I am sure lovers of Mercy have already picked these books up, but I have to say the back history here makes the whole saga rich and vibrant. If you like Briggs but haven’t read this one yet, put it one your list! A warning to the wary: this series does contain a good deal of language and sexual content but not nearly as graphic as Laurell K. Hamilton or Keri Arthur.

by Niki Hawkes

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