Review: Night Broken (Mercy Thompson, #8)

Author: Patricia Briggs
Narrator: Lorelei King
Series: Mercy Thompson, #8
Published: March 4th 2014
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Lenght: 10 hrs and 5 mins
Buy: Audible

An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.

Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.

Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s ex is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.

There are very few authors who can do no wrong in my eyes. Not when the entire first half of their book seems rather aimless. Not when they neglect quite a few secondary characters I adore. Not when they bring in the evil ex-wife, which is usually a deal-breaker for me. In fact, now that I think about it, there’s only one author who can do all those things at the same time and still keep me as a devoted fan, and it’s Patty Briggs.

That’s not to say I wasn’t disappointed and even a bit panicked during the first half of Night Broken. Unfocused and slow, it showed all the usual signs of a filler book. Christy’s reappearance scared me and, in the interest of full disclosure, there were moments when I wished that Briggs had chosen to do anything but bring her back. I feared she would slip into those dreaded soap opera patterns, turn Mercy and Adam’s situation into a torturous love triangle and create and unnecessary rift in their relationship.

Shame on me. I should have known better.

While a part of me still wishes that Christy could have stayed exactly where she was – far, far away from Tri Cities and Mercy – I have to admit that Briggs handled the situation elegantly, showing once again why we all love our level-headed and mature Mercy. As the story progressed, the sharp contrast between her and Christy became obvious to everyone, even to those who’d have preferred not to see it. For me, as a reader, it helped that Mercy and Adam always remained on the same side, never once allowing the seed of doubt to be planted between them.

Mercy’s enemy in Night Broken is very exotic and interesting, but not as nuanced as those before him. He is, in part, overshadowed by several subplots, including Mercy’s newly discovered half-brother. Mercy’s constant struggles with the pack are also a constant in the background, as her need for acceptance – not for herself, but to make Adam’s life easier – influences every decision she makes.

Lorelei King performed flawlessly and showed us, once again, why she’s one of the best narrators in the world. This was my first Mercy Thompson audio, but I liked that I couldn’t just race through the long-awaited book. One of my favorite things about audio format is that it stops me from finishing a book in a couple of hours and allows me to savor it instead. I’ve come to associate King’s voice with Charley Davidson, which was somewhat problematic at first, but I quickly separated the two in my mind and enjoyed her rendition to the full.

Even after eight books, this remains my favorite series, which I suppose says more than enough about its quality. There’s still so much to be said, so many unexplored possibilities for these characters. I hope we’ll have many more installments to look forward to.