The second book in the Mercy Thompson series focuses more on vampires and less on werewolves. A demon-possessed vampire sorcerer arrives in the Tri-cities, leaving a trail of bodies that is attracting unwanted attention for the local vampire seethe (what a great collective noun!) — including Mercy’s vampire friend Stefan. Aside from being incredibly powerful, the beast’s proximity also drives werewolves into a blind rage. Against the wishes of her werewolf friends, Stefan and the vampires enlist Mercy to help find and destroy the demon-vamp.
The vampire sequence in the first book was one of my favorite parts, so I was happy when this book opened with Stefan the vampire calling in a favor from Mercy. Because she’s a walker, and therefore less susceptible to vampire magic, Mercy goes along in coyote form while Stefan meets a newly-made vampire that’s been causing trouble. It goes badly.
This was another very entertaining entry in the Mercy Thompson series, and I don’t really have many complaints. But I do have some. It’s still very strange to me when, once or twice in each book, seemingly out of left field, the author brings up Mercy’s Christianity. Like this line:
“When I knelt for prayer before bedtime, I asked God to help Warren and Stefan catch the demon, as had become my usual plea.”
Mercy, if God is allowing demons and vampires to run around unchecked, I think you’re on your own, right? I don’t want to harp on this too much, it just really grates on me when supernatural stories take place in a universe with a supposedly omnipotent deity that doesn’t actually do anything. Where have you been, deity, letting these monsters run around without intervening? And if you’re helpless to stop them, what is the basis for the protagonist’s faith? Anyway. I’m not ignorant of the historical relationship between vampire fiction and Christianity — vampires are damaged by holy water and crucifixes, etc — but I think making the protagonist a skeptic rather than a true believer could have been a more interesting choice. Luckily, so far, Mercy’s piety only makes me cringe once or twice per book.
And just checking in on the romance level: The love triangle from the first book may have escalated to a love diamond (?) but it is still very tame so far. The sexual tension complicates the character relationships in ways that are interesting, without disrupting the life-or-death seriousness of the main plot — so it’s OK by me. It’s a good thing Mercy is such a chaste, Christian slayer of evil. Very demure. Very mindful. Clearly, there will be absolutely no werewolf sex before the third date book.
Anyway, aside from the protagonist’s faith in a do-nothing deity — also a real-life pet peeve of mine! — these books are a lot of fun and I’m going to keep reading them.