Book Review: Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

In Iron Kissed, the latest book in Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series, personal loyalties intertwine with supernatural politics as shapeshifter Mercy tries to clear her former boss's name. Zee, a metal-working fae, was arrested after being found at the scene of a murder; the victim had been killing fae. The fae are more than willing to let Zee take the blame, as an investigation might prove harmful to them, but Mercy will not accept that. When her zeal for the truth puts her in danger, she must accept the protection of two werewolves who have both been trying to claim her as their mate.

Patricia Briggs is a superb worldbuilder; in Iron Kissed she provides enough background information for readers not familiar with the first two books in the series (Moon Called and Blood Bound) without too much boring and awkward exposition. Her descriptions of supernatural creatures and their cultures and politics are intricate and in some cases very original. Fantasy, mystery, and horror are smoothly integrated for a consistent and believable universe.

Mercy Thompson herself, however, is much like all the other spunky supernatural romance heroine clones that have become popular in recent years: strong, determined, and self-sufficient almost to the point of parody, and yet willing to accept domination by an alpha male whose behavior would be considered rude, domineering, and sometimes even abusive if he did not have the excuse of being a werewolf, who simply have such things in their nature. The final straw fell near the end of the novel, after the killer rapes Mercy. Her immediate emotional reactions are believable for her situation, and painfully familiar to any victim of sexual assault. But she is not able to express these emotions to Adam, the werewolf who, practically without her consent, has claimed her as his mate in order to "protect" her. Instead she is silenced, remaining in animal form while another man explains to Adam what her emotions must be. Adam responds, inexplicably, by not only promising to protect her, but also threatening to track her down should she ever decide to leave. What a frighteningly inappropriate thing to tell a woman who has just been through such a traumatic ordeal!

But Mercy accepts it, never giving any hint that the werewolves' actions towards her are wrong, merely excuses about them being "from a different time" (werewolves being extremely long-lived in the Mercy Thompson universe). She seems to choose him in the end, convincing herself that he isn't pressuring her, despite his statement that "I won't force you, but... I won't leave or let you leave, either."

It is a shame that this ending, in which a strong-willed heroine is reduced to accepting a man's poor treatment of her after suffering through rape as a plot device, must overshadow such a wonderful story. The mystery is superbly plotted and suspenseful, the character interactions complicated and believable - especially the ones where people care for each other deeply but, for one reason or another, have great difficulty expressing it - the universe well-developed and intriguing, and the writing and narration style a great pleasure to read. Judging from the course taken by similar supernatural romance series, Mercy's issues with domineering men will get worse before they get better, and so the series has lost this reader for the time being.