Title: Soul Taken

Author: Patricia Briggs

Series: Mercy Thompson #13

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: The vampire Wulfe is missing. Since he’s deadly, possibly insane, and his current idea of “fun” is stalking me, some may see it as no great loss. But, warned that his disappearance might bring down the carefully constructed alliances that keep our pack safe, my mate and I must find Wulfe—and hope he’s still alive. As alive as a vampire can be, anyway. But Wulfe isn’t the only one who has disappeared. And now there are bodies, too. Has the Harvester returned to the Tri-Cities, reaping souls with his cursed sickle? Or is he just a character from a B horror movie and our enemy is someone else? The farther I follow Wulfe’s trail, the more twisted—and darker—the path becomes. I need to figure out what’s going on before the next body on the ground is mine. -Goodreads

The Review:

Briggs delivers yet another solid installment in the Mercy/A&O series.

It started out a bit slow, but I love spending time with these characters so much that they could be doing anything and I’d probably want to read about it. Werewolf pack dynamics continue to be one of my favorite elements to this series, and the beginning of the book focused on some changes brewing within it. Even though it took a while to get to the meat of the overall mystery, the time spent developing character was a huge highlight of the book for me. Briggs has this amazing ability to keep many characters enigmas while still providing satisfying discoveries for her readers. She withholds just enough to keep you wanting more without making it frustrating. Every reveal has an impact! It’s a testament to how rich this world is becoming.

This is a perfect mystery novel for the fall – complete with pumpkin patches and scythe-wielding villains. I loved the atmosphere and the lore. And even found the mystery page-turning. Overall, the book mostly worked to deepen character for me, as opposed to a few others which focused more on advancing the arc of the series. It was a delightful mystery full of action and humor and I can’t wait to read whatever she comes out with next!

Recommendations: Moon Called, the first book in this series, is one of the most accessible urban fantasies on the market and a great place to start in the genre. Beyond that, if you’re at this point in the series already, you definitely don’t need my encouragement to keep going! :)

I’d like to thank Berkley Publishing Group, Patricia Briggs, and Netgalley for the chance to read an early copy of Soul Taken!

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