First of all, let me be clear - I love the Mercy Thompson Series. I love it so much that I own all four books and have read them all several times. I also have On The Prowl simply because I wanted the short story involving Charles and Anna, and am a huge fan of the first Alpha and Omega book Cry Wolf. Love them all!
So I am afraid that my review might be not quite as objective as I would like. Seeing weakness in any book in a series that you love is like seeing a flaw in your child. You know it's there and make a note to help them learn better but are loathe to point it out to someone else.
Lucky for me, Ms. Briggs did not disappoint. I enjoyed this book immensely from beginning to end. One of the best things is seeing the evolution of her characters and the fact that she lets us into their heads so well. Anna is deliciously self aware and Charles is amazingly astute and tender. They make such a wonderful and complimentary couple that I find myself judging the relationships in other books against them. Not that every other couple should function the same, but do they fit like puzzle pieces even when clashing? Is the connection alive and vibrant on every page like it is here?
I think that one of the biggest strengths that Ms. Briggs has is that she writes three dimensional characters with three dimensional relationships. In a market where the sex scenes are hotter, wilder and more deviant she writes around them and still makes the reader happy. If there were explicit sex scenes in the Mercy Thompson novels or Alpha and Omega it would feel like she were not respecting her characters. I am happy to give them their privacy. How great does the writing have to be for a reader to want to respect the privacy of a fictional character? That alone is testament to her writing prowess.
Let's talk a little more about the book Hunting Ground. In the story Anna and Charles travel to attend a summit in which the North American werewolves will tell the rest of the world's wolves that they plan on coming out to the public and listen to their concerns. Power plays abound and Anna, who is a rare Omega and still learning what that means, draws a lot of attention. Vampires attack using pack magic and people are murdered. Suspicions turn to Charles and they need to work together to find the real bad guy.
It's an action packed story and more than deserves the A- that I gave it. Why an A- and not an A+? Well, it's mostly the dropping of a subplot. Some people are introduced in disturbing detail at the beginning of the book and then are alluded to later but with no real satisfaction. Maybe their story will be picked up in the next book, but I don't enjoy an entire chapter getting me intrigued in a very specific way and then never resolving it. Or at least bringing them up again one more time so that I know she didn't forget. I can't be more specific without adding spoilers, but that was my main issue.
Overall, I think that this is a book to add to the collection on your book shelf. If you don't have the previous books, buy those when your at the bookstore as well. Trust me, you'll want to have the whole series so that you can pick up one of the books and pop into the world anytime you want!
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