Mercy Thompson
The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs has 15 known books (15 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Moon Called (2006). Winter Lost is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date.
- Books
- 15 known books (14 novels + 1 collection)
- Published
- 15
- First published
- 2006
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Fantasy
Reading order
- Book 1:
Moon Called
Moon Called (2006) opens the Mercy Thompson series, introducing Mercy as a Volkswagen mechanic in Washington State's Tri-Cities who is secretly a walker -- a rare coyote-shifting skinwalker raised by werewolves after her father died before her birth. It runs 306 pages. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Moon Called - Book 2:
Blood Bound
Blood Bound followed in 2007, the second entry, pulling Mercy further into the vampire seethe and werewolf pack politics of her Tri-Cities neighborhood. It runs 342 pages. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blood Bound - Book 3:
Iron Kissed
Iron Kissed, published in 2008, is the third Mercy Thompson novel, continuing Patricia Briggs' densely political, rule-governed supernatural world of pack law and fae treaties. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Iron Kissed - Book 4:
Bone Crossed
Bone Crossed was published in 2009 and runs 309 pages, the fourth entry, with Mercy navigating vampire and werewolf politics as an outsider with abilities of her own. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Bone Crossed - Book 5:
Silver Borne
Silver Borne, arriving in 2010, is the fifth Mercy Thompson novel at 314 pages, continuing the slow-building romance between Mercy and werewolf Alpha Adam Hauptman alongside the book's own supernatural mystery. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Silver Borne - Book 6:
River Marked
River Marked (2011) is the sixth entry at 324 pages, keeping Mercy Thompson's mechanic's-eye practicality front and center against Patricia Briggs' rule-governed world of fae Grey Lords and werewolf pack law. Alternative text for cover: Cover of River Marked - Book 7:
Frost Burned
Frost Burned, published in 2013, is the seventh Mercy Thompson novel, continuing the overarching thread of pack and species politics that escalates across the series. It runs 331 pages. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Frost Burned - Book 8:
Night Broken
Night Broken followed in 2014 and runs 341 pages, the eighth entry, with Mercy's relationship to the local werewolf pack once again complicating a case she'd rather have avoided. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Night Broken - Book 9:
Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson
Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson (2014) is a short story and novella anthology spanning the wider Mercyverse, written entirely by Patricia Briggs and best read after book 8, Night Broken, where it sits chronologically. It runs 457 pages. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson - Book 10:
Fire Touched
Fire Touched was published in 2016 and runs 342 pages, the ninth novel in the series, continuing Mercy's supernatural-politics balancing act between werewolf pack, vampire seethe and fae neighbors. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fire Touched - Book 11:
Silence Fallen
Silence Fallen, arriving in 2017, is the tenth Mercy Thompson novel at 371 pages, part of the long-running series Patricia Briggs has kept among the most consistently well-reviewed in urban fantasy. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Silence Fallen - Book 12:
Storm Cursed
Storm Cursed (2019) is the eleventh entry at 368 pages, continuing the case-of-the-book supernatural mysteries layered over the series' escalating pack and species politics. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Storm Cursed - Book 13:
Smoke Bitten
Smoke Bitten was published in 2020 and runs 336 pages, the twelfth Mercy Thompson novel, with Mercy still navigating the world of pack law and fae treaties as the series' grounded, blue-collar heroine. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Smoke Bitten - Book 14:
Soul Taken
Soul Taken, arriving in 2022, is the thirteenth entry at 352 pages, keeping Mercy's slow-building relationship with Adam Hauptman and the series' wider supernatural politics moving forward. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Soul Taken - Book 15:
Winter Lost
Winter Lost (2024) is the fourteenth and, as of this catalogue, most recent Mercy Thompson novel, running 416 pages, with no book 15 yet announced by Patricia Briggs. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Winter Lost
Key facts about the Mercy Thompson series
The Mercy Thompson series has 15 books on our list. Since all 15 are out now, you can read the whole list today. 14 are novels, while the rest is a collection.
Start with Moon Called, since it opens the publication order in 2006. Blood Bound is book 2, from 2007. Iron Kissed is book 3, from 2008.
Bone Crossed is book 4, from 2009. Silver Borne is book 5, from 2010. River Marked is book 6, from 2011.
Frost Burned is book 7, from 2013, while Night Broken is book 8, from 2014. Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson is book 9, from 2014.
Fire Touched is book 10, from 2016, while Silence Fallen is book 11, from 2017. Storm Cursed is book 12, from 2019. Since the list above shows all 15, you can find the rest there.
Each title links to its own page, while the list keeps them in date order. Each book page shows its dates and editions.
Winter Lost is the latest book with a full release date, out on 18 June 2024. The catalogue marks it as ongoing, yet no next book has a date so far.
The books came out between 2006 and 2024, while their length runs from 306 to 457 pages. That is a run of 18 years.
Patricia Briggs has 32 books on our list. Additionally, they write Sianim, Hurog and Raven, plus 1 more series. We shelve the books under urban fantasy.
About the Mercy Thompson series
Mercy Thompson is a Volkswagen mechanic in the Tri-Cities of Washington State who also happens to be a walker -- a rare, coyote-shifting skinwalker raised by werewolves after her father died before her birth. She lives next door to the local werewolf pack's Alpha, counts a vampire seethe and a fae reservation among her neighbors, and gets pulled into supernatural politics she'd rather avoid, from pack succession fights to fae treaties to vampire power struggles. Patricia Briggs builds a densely political, rule-governed supernatural world -- werewolf pack law, fae Grey Lords, vampire seethes -- and lets Mercy navigate it as an outsider with her own non-wolf, non-vampire abilities and a mechanic's stubborn practicality.
The series is a first-person urban fantasy with a slow-building romance (Mercy and werewolf Alpha Adam Hauptman) layered under case-of-the-book supernatural mysteries and an overarching thread of pack and species politics that escalates across the books. Readers drawn to grounded, blue-collar heroines, tightly plotted pack politics, and a world where every supernatural faction has its own law and its own agenda will find a lot to like here. Now fourteen novels deep and still running, Mercy Thompson is one of the longest-running, most consistently well-reviewed series in urban fantasy, and shares a universe with Briggs's companion series Alpha and Omega.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Mercy Thompson series?
There are 14 novels, from Moon Called (2006) through Winter Lost (2024), plus the short story/novella collection Shifting Shadows (2014).
What order should I read the Mercy Thompson books in?
Publication order, starting with Moon Called. The series builds continuously, so read the numbered novels in release order; slot Shifting Shadows in after book 8 (Night Broken) if you want the stories in their loose chronological place.
Is the Mercy Thompson series finished?
No, it's ongoing. Winter Lost (book 14) came out in June 2024. Patricia Briggs has not announced a title or date for book 15 as of this writing.
Do I need to read Alpha and Omega too?
No, Mercy Thompson stands alone. Alpha and Omega is a companion series in the same world whose events increasingly overlap with Mercy's from partway through both series -- worth reading alongside Mercy Thompson if you want the full picture, but not required.
Is Mercy Thompson a standalone or does it require reading other series first?
It's a standalone starting point into Briggs's shared Mercyverse -- no prior reading required.