Smoke Bitten: Mercy Thompson: Book 12

Mercy Thompson, if you are delving into this series at the 12th book good luck, although I suppose you would probably fare as well as me, who can't remember what she had for breakfast yesterday let alone the twists and turns in this momentous series. Anyhoo, things are not all sweetness and light at the pack house. Adam's ex-wife is creating tension and Mercy is getting the blame, unfairly. To escape the tension Mercy wanders off to her old home and encounters the ghost of her near neighbour, who apparently has just been murdered. Soon Mercy is on the trail of an entity which bites its victims, forces them to kill innocents and then assumes their bodies for a short period. But this being Mercy she isn't just hunting down a dangerous creature, oh no, she is also trying to understand what is wrong in her marriage, deal with a stalker, fend off an attempted coup by another pack, cope with a doorway to Underhill on her land, and hold together what is left of her own pack. I liked this but I didn't love it. It felt shorter than usual (352 pages which is about the same as the last couple) and less intense than other books. Having said that, I am totally chuffed with myself that I put the clues together (can't say more than that because spoilers), which I NEVER do with Mercy Thompson books. So maybe this is one of those slightly more humdrum books in the series, yanno after the drama of the witches and Elizaveta in the last one.

Another wonderful installment to this series. I've been following Mercy's story for years now and I'm so surprised that each book has brought something new while also still staying true to Mercy herself. Looking forward to what's next.

As always - another great book from PB. read it in one go.