River Marked
Patricia Briggs
Mercy's roots
In River Marked, the sixth novel of Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series, we finally get some insight into Mercy's shapeshifting abilities. The main preternatural creatures in the Mercyverse. are Werewolves, Vampires, and Fay. These are supposed to have come to America from Europe (which fits what I know about the folklore). Mercy herself is something different: she's a coyote shapeshifter. She is also vaguely of American Indian heritage. (Note: in this novel characters refer to native Americans as Indians, so I will do the same in this review.) It has been hinted that her father was Blackfeet, although, since he died when Mercy was young, she herself has only a vague idea about that.
In River Marked that is clarified -- not to the point of being 100% clear, mind you, but it's more clear than it was. Coyote is everywhere in Indian folklore. That fits, since coyotes are found throughout North America. (Even in cities -- coyotes are adaptable and can find a niche just about anywhere.) The Trickster is, as far as I know, universal in folklore: Reynard or the fox in Europe, the Monkey King in China, foxes again in Japan, Loki in Scandinavia, Anansi/Spider in Africa, Coyote in North America. Mercy finally meets Coyote, and learns that he is or is not her father, in some mystical sense that he refuses to completely clarify. Besides being a trickster he's a god, and answering questions when he doesn't want to... Well, don't hold your breath.
The envelope of the plot here is that Adam and Mercy get married and go on honeymoon. For their honeymoon they borrow a very fancy trailer/mobile home from one of the Fay and camp out at a unoccupied campground on the Columbia River owned by the Fay. We get a lot of honeymoon bliss, which honestly, becomes a bit tedious. It transpires that an ancient horror is wreaking havoc in the Columbia. The ancient horror in question is of Indian origin, so Mercy's heritage comes into play in dealing with it. Adam is not much use, since werewolves are not good in water.
This is a good story with a big exciting fight as a climax. But it's real strength is world-building. We finally know (pace Coyote's vagueness) where Mercy comes from and what she is. He will continue to haunt the series.