Ace, contemporary fantasy, August 2008
Connections to: "Alpha and Omega" in the On the Prowl anthology, start of a new series

As I indicated, Cry Wolf actually begins with the "Alpha and Omega" novella. You can read the former without the latter, but you might find yourself a little lost on some background material, such as how Anna came to be Changed and what life was like for her in her previous pack. There's an interesting commentary about starting a series with a novella on Patricia Briggs's website you might like to check out as well.

Anyway, as Cry Wolf opens, the Marrok himself has come to oversee the fallout from Charles's confrontation with Anna's old Alpha, and to bring Anna and Charles home to his lands. For Anna, it's an extremely stressful time: she has known nothing but abuse in pack life, and now she's striking out for a new pack with a mate in tow -- a mate she's known for less than a week -- and she has no idea what it means to be an Omega. Charles isn't having an easy time of it either: Brother Wolf is very possessive of Anna, but thanks to her past, Charles is afraid to scare her.

In the middle of all this interpersonal stuff, Bran has a job for Charles, one that he's not sure his son and enforcer is ready to take on, but he's the only werewolf who can handle it. There are reports of a rogue werewolf up in the mountains, and Bran needs the wolf either destroyed or brought into the pack. The former would be Charles's job, the latter Anna's (as Omega). Plus, Bran figures it can't hurt his son and Anna to have some alone time in the wilderness to get used to each other as mates. The Marrok is a matchmaker, who knew?!

Unfortunately, the rogue wolf case is not so simple and Charles and Anna are in over their heads. They're facing a witch with an apparent werewolf familiar, who can actually seize control of the pack if she gains control of the proper wolf -- i.e., Bran. Though this is her ultimate goal, the witch also has a debt to settle with another pack wolf, the mysterious Asil. What follows is a good, old-fashioned showdown, paranormal style.

Unlike the Mercy Thompson series, Cry Wolf is told in the third person. I think third worked much better for this series. Honestly, if we were stuck inside Anna's head, I think it would be mostly angst and fear, and that would get old quickly. I really like seeing an author writing from both first and third like this, simply because it showcases strengths and resiliency. Whereas I think Mercy does a good job getting inside other characters' heads with her own perspective, she was raised with the wolves. Anna, as a Changed wolf, and a tormented one at that, doesn't have enough perspective or knowledge for us to be solely in her head.

Despite knowing each other for so little time, Charles and Anna make a convincing couple. As a friend pointed out in the Café's discussion of this book, fated mate stuff can be tricky. I liked that both Anna and Charles were on the same page -- their wolves chose, and they're working with that. I thought Ms. Briggs laid out an interesting theory about how mating generally proceeds with human attraction first, then the wolves learning to accept. The fact that Anna and Charles are "backwards" makes them unique and believable.

The other thing I really enjoyed about this book is getting the pack perspective. Mercy, for as in-the-know as she is, isn't really pack, not in the way a werewolf would be, anyway. So this is more of an inside-pack view. I definitely liked the closer look at the pack wolves, particularly Bran. I feel bad for him, and I want to know more about his history. His choice of Leah as his mate makes sense, and it's good that he understands her perspective as well, because I can honestly see Leah being behind a power play or a betrayal in a future book. I enjoyed getting to know Asil, Sage, and Tag as well, and hope they will feature in future books.

Even if pressed to find flaws, I'd have to say there was nothing about this book that didn't work for me. It was pretty much perfect. I can't wait to return to Charles and Anna's world.

Review © 2008 by Riley Merrick