Blood Bound 
Patricia Briggs
Published 2007 292 pages
Synopsis
Car mechanic Mercy Thompson is a Walker, a being who can shapeshift into a coyote at will and see ghosts. A bonus to being a walker is that it also makes her naturally immune to vampire magics and deceptions.
Mercy owes her vampire friend Stefan a favour. When he calls in that favour by asking her to accompany him to a meeting with a vampire from out of town she agrees to go. After all he only needs her there as a witness and as she is to attend the meeting in her coyote form it’s not like she even has to speak or take part in the meeting….
When Mercy and Stefan arrive at the hotel where the vampire is staying the only thing that Mercy can smell with her coyote nose over the stench of vampire and death is Stefan’s fear. Stefan is an old and powerful vampire. Mercy really doesn’t want to meet the thing that scares a vampire of Stefan’s strength.
The new vampire is not just a vampire, it’s a vampire possessed by a demon. Utterly evil, it murders for its own entertainment as well as for blood. Stefan and Mercy survive the meeting but they were no match for the demon possessed vampire who escaped. Mercy is called to give testimony to the vampire leader Marsilia that there is a demon possessed vampire on the loose in the Tri-Cities.
The vampires and the local werewolves form a small team to track and capture the demon possessed vampire but when they all fail to return Marsilia orders Mercy to join the hunt. It is up to Mercy to succeed in finding and destroying the demon ridden vampire before any more people, including Mercy’s friends, die.
The Review
Blood Bound is the second book in the Mercedes Thompson series by fantasy author Patricia Briggs. It works well as a stand alone story and although you don’t need to read Moon Called first to understand what is happening in Blood Bound, I would recommend that you do because Moon Called is an excellent read and you really don’t want to miss it.
Blood Bound continues the adventures of Mercy the shapeshifting mechanic. This time she has to deal with vampires and a demon as well as werewolf pack politics and a confused love-life. Fortunately for the reader, Mercy’s confused love-life (she is interested in two different werewolves but each comes with his own set of issues making Mercy reluctant to get involved) isn’t used by the author as excuse to turn the story into erotic fantasy as seems to be the current fashion with a lot of fantasy fiction. With so many other exciting things going on in the book, erotica would be superfluous anyway.
Blood Bound has the right mix of elements to make it an exciting and compelling read. It has fantasy, mystery, action, horror and a little romance, blended in just the right proportions to make the book one you won’t want to put down.
The writing style keeps the plot racing along - making Blood Bound a fast paced, quick read. The characters are well written and you can’t help but like Mercy who comes across as humble and yet indomitable at the same.
This is urban fantasy at its best, with plenty of content to satisfy both vampire and werewolf/shapeshifter fans. Good news is that there will be a third book in the series. Bad news is that it won’t be out until February 2008, so you’ll just have to wait until then for your next Mercedes Thompson instalment.
Recommended reading.
LoveVampires Review Rating: 
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