Iron Kissed - Patricia Briggs

Iron Kissed
Patricia Briggs
Ace Fantasy
Copyright: 2008
9780441015665

From the back of the book:

I could smell her fear, and it satisfied something deep inside me that had been writhing under her cool, superior gaze. I curled my upper lip so she could get a good look at my sharp teeth. I might only weigh thirty or so pounds in my coyote shape, but I was a predator...

Mechanic Mercy Thompson can shift her shape - but not her loyalty. When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to Mercy to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not

Mercy's loyalty is under pressure from other directions too. Werewolves are not known for their patience, and if Mercy can't decide betweeen the two she cares for, Sam and Adam may make the choice for her...

Iron Kissed is the third book in the Mercy Thompson series, following on the heels of Blood Bound, and the most dramatic to this point.

Where the Fae have been rather peripheral to the previous two books, they take center stage in Iron Kissed, when Zee is arrested for the murder of a human guard (and presumably, the previous murders of fae). Nobody will investigate, so Mercy does it herself. At the same time, both Adam and Samuel are pressing her to declare one or the other to be her choice.

This book reminds me the most of the early Anita Blake books by Laurell K. Hamilton, I guess because the crime solving aspects are so much more prominent. On the other hand, unlike Anita, who has the resources of the police more or less at her disposal, Mercy has to figure out much more of the problem and solution on her own. It's neat to see her making use of her advantages rather than worrying about them. On the other hand, they are all things she was born with, and so, she's used to the benefits and the drawbacks.

As with Moon Called, and Blood Bound, the actual perpetrator of the crimes is left a mystery until the very end of the book, so that each time you think you know who it is, the author throws in another twist to keep you guessing (something that I really enjoy as I hate being able to predict what's going to happen in a story before it does).

Iron Kissed is the last book (I think) of the love triangle aspect, as Mercy does make her choice at the end. What that is going to mean for Bone Crossed, I don't know, but I've got to say the fourth book looks really good, at least going by the excerpt in Cry Wolf that I read yesterday.

The other books in this series/world so far are:
Moon Called
Blood Bound
Iron Kissed
Bone Crossed

Cry Wolf

Other reviewers' opinions:
Books and Other Thoughts: One Nosy Coyote
Rhinoa's Ramblings: Iron Kissed - Patricia Briggs