On Sea Monsters: A Review of River Marked by Patricia Briggs

River Marked by Patricia Briggs is book six in the Mercy Thompson series, and now that I've read it, I am finally caught up!

In this book, Mercy and Adam get married and go on an impromptu camping trip as a honeymoon. Their new marital bliss is spoiled by the presence of a river monster, who has been eating people. Mercy teams up with some of the local people--and a mysterious ghost that might be her father--to kill the monster before it can become too strong.

Positive Comments:

I love Adam and Mercy together. They're two very different people, but they fit well, and I enjoyed the romance between them.

I enjoyed learning about Mercy's lineage, including what makes her a walker. These things were glossed over in the previous books, so it was nice to finally have the gaps in world building filled in. Furthermore, those touches of world building supported Mercy's development as a character.

Critical Comments:

This is by and large a monster hunting book. That means the antagonist is bland and uninteresting compared to some that we've seen in past books.

I missed a lot of the supporting cast. Stefan, Gabriel, Jesse, Warren, and the rest, are almost entirely left out of this book. In a way, it was nice to focus more on Mercy's back story and her relationship with Adam, but overall, I missed everyone.

Recommendation:

While this is, by no means, the strongest book in the series, it also isn't the weakest. As an addition to a good series, it passes the bar for me. I recommend it to Mercy Thompson fans. 3.5 stars.