Title: Dead Heat
Series: Alpha and Omega (Book 4)
Author: Patricia Briggs
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: March 3, 2015
Pages: 336
Book Source: Publisher

I just finished “Dead Heat” by Patricia Briggs. It’s the fourth full length book in the Alpha and Omega series (which I call the Anna and Charles series). The series began from a novella published in the anthology entitled, “On the Prowl”.

If you read Brigg’s other series (Mercy Thompson), then this series will just add to your enjoyment. Both series run side by side, with some of the characters crossing over. I enjoy when I get to read about one character living their life in another character’s world.

I’ll start this review off by saying this book takes place in a world of werewolves, and the fae were recently introduced into the series. Now some of you may be thinking, “Well, duh!” But I did a presentation in college on a book called “Drawing Down the Moon”, and I never mentioned that the author was Wiccan. My professor marked me down an entire grade level… so I thought I should state what may be obvious.

As with a lot of Urban Fantasy, the story unfolds around a mystery. This one involves children who are being stolen, and the fetches that are put in their place. Normally Charles, who is his pack’s enforcer, and Anna, who is an Omega (a werewolf that does not have to bow down to the Alpha, and who can calm other wolves down), are doing business for the Alpha, Charles’s father. But in this case it begins as a pleasure trip to try and find Anna a horse for her birthday.

They get to Arizona, and there is a threat on the lives of that area’s Alpha’s grand-children. So Anna and Charles jump into the danger, and we get to join them on the hunt for the ones responsible.

Some Urban Fantasy is super fast paced the entire book. There is some story, but a lot of it revolves around fight scenes. In the Alpha and Omega series, you get a lot of great storytelling, along with the action scenes. And as far as relationships go, there is no hot and heavy sex scenes. (If you want books with those, let me know, and I can recommend some!) I would say that the romantic scenes in the book are more sweet, and like the 1950’s sitcoms where you know sex is happening, but you don’t see it.

Since this is the fifth story in the series you may be wondering if you have to read the others first. As with any series I would say you should start at the beginning because you get to grow with the characters, but in this case you don’t absolutely have to.

It’s not a stand alone book, but Briggs gives you brief enough descriptions of the essentials for the plot that was in the previous books. A few things may make you pause, but you can keep reading and enjoy the story anyway. And after you finish, you may just want to go back and start the Anna and Charles series from the beginning.
I highly recommend that you do.

*I was given a copy of the Uncorrected Proof by Ace Books. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I was not given any money or material incentives for an honest review of this book.