‘Iron Kissed’ – Patricia Briggs (Orbit Books)

The ‘to be read’ pile is starting to look a little wobbly again so this week I’ve been picking some of the shorter books, off the top, to try and make it stable again :o) If you look down the screen you’ll see it’s worked out fairly well in terms of me enjoying what I’ve read! This week has been all about science fiction, so far, and I thought that it was time to take a little breather and go somewhere different. It’s back to ‘Urban Fantasy’ then and a series that I’ve liked the look of so far. I’m assuming that there is more to come from Patricia Briggs’ ‘Mercedes Thompson’ series but ‘Iron Kissed’ rounds the events of the last two books off in a more than satisfactory manner…

Mercy Thompson just can’t seem to stay out of trouble. The events of the last book, ‘Bloodbound’, ended in her owing the Fae folk a favour and now they’re calling it in. Mercy is initially asked to help track down whoever is murdering Fae folk, on the nearby reservation, but the case takes a completely different turn when Zee (her mentor and friend, as well as Fae himself) is found at the scene of a particularly brutal killing of a human security guard. Mercy knows that Zee couldn’t have done it but the evidence is stacked against him and he won’t talk to anyone. It’s a race then to prove her friend’s innocence but it looks like Mercy has bitten off more than she can chew…

When I reviewed ‘Bloodbound’, the preceding novel in the series, I was a little concerned that this was starting to look like a series that followed the same pattern in each book which would make things repetitive to say the least. ‘Iron Kissed’ has reassured me, a little, as even though that familiar pattern is still in evidence Briggs ramps things up a notch or two by making the situations more urgent and Mercy’s adversaries even more formidable. Couple these with a ‘twisty turny plot’ and you’ve got a book that did it for me on more than one level. If you thought the vampires and werewolves were tough then the Fae are really going to surprise you! One particular pursuit and fight is worth the price of admission all on its own… As with the vampires and werewolves, Briggs gives the Fae a refreshing mixture of normality and otherworldly strangeness. I could quite easily see myself going for a drink with a Fae but, at the same time, I wouldn’t want to spill its pint!

So… more of the same but a lot more so! Is that a good thing? I think so; Briggs is obviously not afraid to push her characters just to see what they’re capable of and spice things up a bit. Mercy has to go through some really harrowing stuff, and deal with the consequences, during the course of ‘Iron Kissed’ and despite the otherworldly thing going on Briggs still manages to ground these events in the reality they deserve. I liked that she did that as there are some things that will always be brutal and wrong and shouldn’t be dressed up as something that they’re not.

One other thing that I really enjoyed seeing (and am eternally indebted to Patricia Briggs for) is that Mercy finally decides on one werewolf over the other in the ‘should I choose Adam or Samuel’ sub-plot that has been running for the last two books. It’s really cool to see an author with enough confidence in her work that she is able to bring the romance to some kind of conclusion (although I’m sure there will be twists to come) and let the story have its head. I’m not naming any names but I’m pretty sure you know who I’m talking about…

One thing that did bug me though is that, looking back over the three books, the series has been introducing us to a ‘threat of the day’ (werewolf, vampire and Fae) and now it looks like they’ve all been dealt with. Where does the series go next? (Assuming it continues, I don’t know if it does…) The ‘Mercedes Thompson’ series feels like it’s still got some legs in it but it also feels like there’s no-where for it to go unless another Briggs pulls another race out of her sleeve. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…

While there’s nothing new to ‘Iron Kissed’ the fact that things step up a gear really makes up for this, if you’re already a fan then I think you’ll be pleased and I hope that there’s more to come…

Eight out of Ten