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Description edit see section history

Mercy Thompson's life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a VW bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy isn't exactly normal herself.

Summary edit see section history

Werewolves can be dangerous if you get in their way, but they'll leave you alone if you are careful. They are very good at hiding their natures from the human population, but I'm not human. I know them when I meet them, and they know me, too.
Mercy Thompson's sexy next-door neighbor is a... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Werewolves can be dangerous if you get in their way, but they'll leave you alone if you are careful. They are very good at hiding their natures from the human population, but I'm not human. I know them when I meet them, and they know me, too.
Mercy Thompson's sexy next-door neighbor is a werewolf.
She's tinkering with a VW bus at her mechanic shop that happens to belong to a vampire.
But then, Mercy Thompson is not exactly normal herself...and her connection to the world of things that go bump in the night is about to get her into a whole lot of trouble.

Characters edit see section history

  • Mercedes (Mercy) Thompson: Mercy is the daughter of a Blackfoot Indian and a White, teenage mother, she is a mechanic and a "walker," a Native American shapeshifter who transforms into a coyote, sees the spirits of the dead, and has at least some small inborn resistance to most magic. She bought her beloved auto repair shop from Zee.
  • Adam Hauptman: Werewolf, lives behind Mercy, Alpha of the Tri-Cities werewolf pack. Well known for his security firm.
  • Jessica (Jesse) Hauptman: Adam's human teenage daughter
  • Siebold (Zee) Adelbertsmiter: Fae who taught Mercy about mechanics, he is a Gremlin/Fae with an affinity for metals. He helps out Mercy in the shop.
  • Stefan Uccello: Vampire who is Mercy's friend. He owns a VW bus decorated like the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo.
  • Elizaveta Arkadyevna Vyshnevetskaya: Witch by blood whose services Adam uses
  • Robert: Elizaveta's grandson
  • Charles Cornick: Bran's son and Samuel's half-brother. The only known person who was born a werewolf.
  • Gerry Wallace: Werewolf in Bran's pack.
  • Dr. Carter Wallace: Veterinarian, turned werewolf who did not take the change well.Gerry Wallace's father.
  • Kyle Brooks: Warren's human partner
  • Alan Mackenzie (Mac) Frazier: Newly made werewolf.
  • Signora Marsilia: Leader of the Vampire seethe in the Tri-Cities.
  • Tony Montenegro: Human cop and acquaintance of Mercy's. Able to make his undercover personas very convincing.
  • Medea: Mercy's cat.
  • Andre: Vampire.
  • Warren: Homosexual werewolf, third in command in Adam's pack. Good friend to Mercy.
  • Leo James: One of the Chicago Alphas.
  • Samuel Cornick: Son of the Marrok, knew Mercy when she was growing up, a doctor
  • Lilly: Vampire and a great pianist.
  • David Christiansen: Adam's army buddy; Changed at the same time as Adam.
  • Ben: Werewolf exiled from London for being a suspect in a series of brutal rapes, a red wolf
  • Auriele Zao: Werewolf, Darryl's wife, one of the few female werewolves in the pack.
  • Darryl Zao: Werewolf, Adam's second in command, mated, a doctor
  • Bran Cornick: The Marrok, the Alpha werewolf of all werewolf packs in North America. He took Mercy in when she was a toddler and helped raise her.
  • Gabriel Sandoval: Works for Mercy.
Show all 26 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Dance when the moon sings, and don't cry about troubles that haven't yet come.”
    Dr. Wallace
  • “Mercy?" His voice was a hoarse whisper."C'est moi, c'est moi, 'tis I" I told him. It seem appropriately melodramatic, though I didn't know if he'd catch the reference. I shouldn't have worried. Unexpectedly he laughed. "Trust you to quote Lancelot rather than Guinevere.”
    Adam & Mercy
  • “Honey," He drawled, pulling on his Southern roots. "When a wolf watches a lamb, he's not thinking about the lamb's mommy.”
    Adam
  • “Mercedes the Volkswagen mechanic?”
    Mac
  • “A Vanagon resembles nothing so much as a Twinkie on wheels; a fifteen-foot-long, six-foot-wide Twinkie with as much aerodynamic styling as a barn door”
  • “A werewolf doesn't need a sword or a gun to tear you to bits”
    Mercy
  • “It is not madness I am afraid of.It is insanity!”
  • “They'd moved in two years ago and adopted me after I fixed their tractor”
  • “That is not fair.I'll eat your dessert and like it- but you cant use sex to keep me from getting mad.”
    Mercy
  • “I don’t like lies. Not even lies of omission. Hard truths can be dealt with, triumphed over, but lies will destroy your soul.”
    Bran
  • “Love thy enemies, it says in the scriptures. My foster mother always added, “At the very least, you will be polite to them.”
    Mercy
  • “Vampire politics, I thought. Humans, werewolves, or, apparently, vampires, it doesn’t matter; get more than three of them together and the jockeying for power begins.”
    Mercy
  • “What did you do to your arm?” “I got knocked into a bunch of wooden crates by a werewolf while I was trying to rescue a young girl from the clutches of an evil witch and a drug lord.” “Ha-ha. Must have been something stupid if you won’t tell the truth.”
    Tony and Mercy
  • “MS. THOMPSON, it said in heavy block letters, PLEASE KEEP YOUR FELINE OFF MY PROPERTY. IF I SEE IT AGAIN, I WILL EAT IT.”
    Letter from Adam to Mercy
  • “Mine," he said. Adam's eyes narrowed. "I don't think so. She is mine." It would of been flattering, I thought, except that at least one of them was talking about dinner and I wasn't certain about the other.”
    Adam, Mercy, and Mac
  • “Bran was the only person I knew who could use words like "blackguard" and make them sound like swear words-but then he could have said "bunny rabbit" in that tone of voice and weaken my spine with the same shiver of fear.”
    Mercy
  • “I have a degree in history, which is one of the reasons I'm an auto mechanic.”
    Mercy
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • “Dance when the moon sings, and don’t cry about troubles that haven’t yet come.”
    Highlighted by 155 Kindle customers
  • “Not even lies of omission. Hard truths can be dealt with, triumphed over, but lies will destroy your soul.”
    Highlighted by 110 Kindle customers
  • His voice was soft and sweet as molasses; but my mother once told me that you had to trust that the first thing out of a person’s mouth was truth. After they have a chance to think about it, they’ll change what they say to be more socially acceptable, something they think you’ll be happier with, something that will get the results they want.
    Highlighted by 95 Kindle customers
  • Love thy enemies, it says in the scriptures. My foster mother always added, “At the very least, you will be polite to them.”
    Highlighted by 69 Kindle customers
  • “Livin’s easier than dyin’ most times,
    Highlighted by 65 Kindle customers
  • “Just remember, I’ve been known to believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
    Highlighted by 62 Kindle customers
  • I have a whole spiel about how sick it is to carry around the instrument of Christ’s torture as a symbol for the Prince of Peace who taught us to love one another.
    Highlighted by 46 Kindle customers
  • “Happiness is German engineering, Italian cooking, and Belgian chocolate”
    Highlighted by 38 Kindle customers
  • Contents acknowledgments
    Highlighted by 18 Kindle customers
  • obstreperous. They will be punished.” “Tell the Signora that I find her apologies gracious and that I, too, regret any trouble she suffered this night,” I lied. But I must have done it well, because Stefan gave me a half nod of approval. The vampire bowed, then, holding it gingerly by its chain, handed me Samuel’s cross and a small sheet of paper, the thick handmade kind. It smelled of the same herbs that scented the house
    Highlighted by 9 Kindle customers
Show all 27 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Washington

First Sentence edit see section history

I didn't realize he was a werewolf at first.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Chapters 1-16

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 7 in Mercy Thompson. (standard series)

Followed by Blood Bound.

This book is in Vampire (community list). (community list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Patricia Briggs (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Daniel Dos Santos (artist) (Cover Artist)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Ace Books
Country: USA
Publication Date: February 2006
ISBN: 9780441013814
Page Count: 304

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: CPB Box no. 2453 vol. 3
  • Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Adults

Suitable for young adult audience.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Urban Shaman
  • Iron Kissed
  • Wolfsbane and Mistletoe
  • Bone Crossed
  • Silver Borne
  • River Marked
  • Alpha & Omega
  • Cry Wolf
  • Strange Brew
  • Hunting Ground
  • Blood Bound

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