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Mercy Thompson, VW mechanic and coyote shapeshifter, is married to Adam Hauptman, alpha of the Columbia Basin Werewolf Pack in the Tri-Cities area of the American North West. A few books ago they declared themselves to be protectors of/from magical beings in their territory. They forged an alliance with the local vampire seethe run by Marsilia, and got rid of the local black witches. They also have an uneasy truce with the fae at large, and a close friendship with Zee and his son Tad. Zee is the Dark Smith who has, over the millennia, gone by other names (including Wayland). He's immensely powerful but happy to spend some time being Mercy's mentor in the garage (and other things).
That's the general background to the series. In this book the vampire Wulf (old, powerful and crazily unstable) is missing. His disappearance threatens the uneasy alliances that keep the Tri-Cities werewolf pack safe, so Mercy (coyote shapechanger) and Adam (pack leader) need to find him, and soon. At the same time a shadowy villain called the Harvester starts killing people with a magical sickle, and it seems that the sickle is not just any old weapon, it's the powerfully cursed, sentient weapon called the Soul Taker. Expect giant spider-monsters, an amnesiac werewolf who finally remembers who he is, the return of a vampire enemy and some epic fight scenes.
Ms Briggs Mercy Thompson books are buy-on-sight for me. I really enjoyed this and highly recommend it, but it'd not the best starting place for the series. I suggest starting from the beginning with Moon Called. You'll be glad you did.
The sixth Charles and Anna Werewolf book didn't really grab me as much as the earlier ones, but it was still worth reading. I had this as a review copy from Netgalley and, like a previous Briggs review copy, the formatting made it a difficult read. I'm sure this will not be a problem in the final published copy, but the publisher should take note that it's distracting for reviewers. Anyhow, that aside, Charles and Anna are off into the wilds of California to solve a mystery of why a small off-grid settlement seems to be deserted. It's a Marie Celeste type of puzzle and seems to have its roots in the supernatural. Something old and dangerous has woken, and the Marrok's mate (not the most popular wolf in the pack despite her status) might know something about it.
I eventually managed to read this despite the weird formatting of the E-ARC which I'm sure won't affect the commercial copy. Mercy Thompson is a coyote shape-shifter raised with werewolves and is now the mate of Adam, the Columbia Basin's alpha. This book is a return to form for Mercy with a story based entirely around her home ground. A gate to Underhill appears in Mercy and Adam's back yard and something has come through it - a smoke monster that can take over the mind of a human with one bite of its jack-rabbity teeth. Mercy's former neighbours are its first victims. But there's another threat to the werewolf pack. Interlopers, werewolves without a pack of their own, are planning to take over the pack. And as if that wasn't enough Mercy and Adam are having personal problems. Patricia Briggs is a buy on sight author for me and her Mercy Thompsons are always a delight to read. This is very much what we've come to expect from a Mercy Thompson book: peril, relationships (pack and personal), new monsters to fight and a thoroughly well written background of magic and mundane intertwined. Great stuff. 
I love the Mercy Thompson (coyote shapechanger, raised by werewolves) series, so when I say this is not one of the best, it's relative, and still gets four stars from me. Several books ago, Mercy rashly accepted responsibility for the safety of the citizens living in the werewolf pack's territory. Adam, the pack alpha and Mercy's mate, who also runs a security firm, is tied up with negotiations between the government and the Fae, and has also taken a contract to protect one of the senators involved. The Fae are very dangerous, but so, too, are black witches and it looks like a coven of black witches is trying to move into pack territory by attacking Elizaveta, the local grey witch Adam calls on when he needs a magical solution to something. There are very few white witches, grey is about the best Adam can hope for, but he and Mercy get a shock when they discover Elizaveta's secret. 
