by Terrance Mc Arthur

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Smoke Bitten, and links to purchase it.

You may think it’s a jackrabbit, or someone you know, but….
If it bites you, the puncture wound begins to smoke.
It takes over your body and your life.
It uses you to kill to gain strength and power.
When there is no more use for you, it tosses your body aside and turns into smoke.

Not a nice creature, at all…and it’s after Mercy Thompson, the VW mechanic who can turn into a coyote, see ghosts, and is married to Adam, the Alpha Werewolf of the Tri-Cities in the state of Washington.

Smoke Bitten, Patricia Briggs’ twelfth Mercy Thompson urban Fantasy book, isn’t a roller coaster ride. It’s more like a destruction derby, with danger coming from many directions at once. Besides Old Smokey, a gang of werewolves is trying to take over the territory, the sentient Underhill (the former home of the Fae) decided to build a gate for herself and her imprisoned creatures in Adam and Mercy’s back yard, a witch’s curse, and a magic-using vampire is stalking Mercy, when he isn’t saving her life. There are members of the pack who hate Mercy because they believe the lies of Adam’s ex-wife. On top of that, something has caused Adam to shut down their marital/pack link, leaving Mercy feeling left out of his life.

Briggs knows how to construct mayhem on a cinematic level, and the confrontations are edgy. Mercy and Adam are married, and theirs is a relationship, although it’s experiencing a rocky patch. They do “cleave unto one another,” with a playful attitude. Because this is the twelfth book in the series, many of the characters are familiar to fans of the books, but new readers might feel lost in the relationships and the backstories. Having read the previous novel, Storm Cursed, would be a help. Since Underhill was the home of fairy-tale creatures, it wouldn’t hurt to know the works of the Brothers Grimm and other folklore collectors. There are bargains and beasts, and—believe it or not—there is a fairy-tale ending contained in this book…but I won’t tell you which one.

To enter to win a copy of Smoke Bitten, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “smoke,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen May 2, 2020. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If you are entering via email please include you mailing address in case you win, it will be deleted after the contest. You can read our privacy statement here if you like. BE AWARE THAT IT MAY TAKE LONGER THAN USUAL FOR WINNERS TO GET THEIR BOOKS DUE TO THE CURRENT CRISIS.

You can use this link to purchase this book from indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy, and KRL gets a portion of the sale:

Smoke Bitten (A Mercy Thompson Novel #12)

You can use this link to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:

Terrance V. Mc Arthur is a Librarian in Fresno County, California. He is also a storyteller, puppeteer, magician, and maker of pine needle baskets. On top of that he writes stories that range from rhymed children’s tales to splatterpunk horror. He’s an odd bird, but he’s nice to have around.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.