Patricia Briggs – Silver Borne

The fifth book in the Mercedes Thompson series, published March 30, 2010.
Genre: urban fantasy
Cover: Mercy gets more and more tattoos on the cover, not in the book, but I do like it.



When Mercy Thompson, mechanic and shapeshifter, attempts to return a powerful fae book she previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down.
It seems the book contains secrets – and the fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn’t take enough of Mercy’s attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side – leaving Mercy to cover for him lest his own father declare Samuel’s life forfeit.
All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn’t careful, she may not have many more.


I can’t believe how little I remembered of this book. And it is such a good one. This time it is Samuel who gets Mercy in trouble. Samuel is a very old werewolf, and he has grown weary. Being a doctor is no longer enough for him, and he decides to kill himself. Lucky for him, his wolf does not want to die and takes over, keeping him alive. Usually, a werewolf with the wolf in control, turns into a savage beast, but Sam is stronger than that, and he can control himself. But Mercy needs to keep this a secret from the other wolves, as it would mean a death sentence.
After her disastrous date with Adam, when one of the pack was unduly influencing her thoughts and actions, she has the perfect excuse to keep her distance from Adam and the pack for a while. But when an armed man comes to her garage, looking for a werewolf to kill, Adam drives to the rescue. Not that he needed to do that, as Mercy had everything well in hand. Somebody has send a television bounty hunter after Adam Hauptmann with a fake warrant to kill him. And given Mercy’s garage as the address where he could be found. Which is very strange, as Adam is a local businessman who goes to work 6 days out of 7.
As Mercy has brought Sam with her to work, Sam is the werewolf almost getting killed. For not telling Sylvia Sandoval that the big dog she brought with her, and that her littlest daughter Maria has been crawling all over and riding like a pony, she looses her friendship. Her son Gabriel is no longer allowed to work for Mercy as well, as it is not a safe environment for her son. And Mercy has no choice but to agree on that, she will sure miss his help though.

Is this really an elaborate plot to kill Mercy, and get the old Fae book she has borrowed from Phineas? Tad warned her about the book, he had gotten a strange message from Phin, and now the bookshop is closed and Phin has gone missing, and strange Fae are popping up all over the place. Mercy makes sure the book is in a safe place, and starts investigating with Sam. Which is a good thing when she is attacked by some strange and very strong kind of Fae and Sam kills him.

Of course Adam and the Marrok find out too soon about Sam’s condition, and they are very concerned about Mercy’s safety. According to Charles, Samuel’s brother, Sam has perhaps one week left before he fades and dies anyway. With only one half of the soul wiling to live, there is just not enough left. Unless Samuel finds something or someone new to live for….


A very action filled book, and I loved every page of it. The drama with Samuel/Sam, the intrigue with the Fae who is after the book, and the maker of the Silver Borne was a good story line. Add to that the stuff happening with the werewolf pack, Adam having to fight for his life and his title as Alpha while severely wounded, and the traitor in the pack being found out. Jesse is sweet on Gideon, and she helps Mercy find him when he gets abducted by the bad Fae. I really like how strong Jesse has become in this series.

Adam proves again how well he knows Mercy, and that he doesn’t want her to change. She is loyal to her friends, and he cannot fault her for that. But he will have her back when needed. I do love how their relationship is progressing.

This will be the last book I am re-reading for now in this series, on to new books, new worlds to discover.

10 stars.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian