The fourth of the Anita Blake series. Again, not as tasty as Kim Harrison’s work (Rachel Morgan) but better than some of the vampire-pulp genre. Lots of biting, even if there’s not so very much sex. Of course, biting is a proxy for sex in vampire books, and we all know that.

It still annoys me that Laurell K Hamilton seems to keep a bunch of descriptive phrases on “auto fill” in her word processor.

For example, every time someone sits with correct posture it doesn’t always need to be followed by the exact words “My stepmother, Judith, would have been proud.” At least mix it up and say “Judith still bemoaned the fact that I never sat that way. I always disappointed my stepmother.”

Descriptions of guns are word-for-word identical between the books. Stuff like that. It’s not endearing, and it’s actually starting to get in the way of my enjoyment of the series. And I’ve still got the next five books already bought and laying by my hand this vacation.

I marked it Worth Consuming but my recommendation would be to not read lots of this back-to-back if you can avoid it.

Description from amazon:

“The zombie-raising business gets slow in December, so Anita Blake is starting to see some oddball cases. She’s got a neatly typed list of eight missing lycanthropes given to her by Marcus, the leader of the local werewolf pack, who wants her to find them. The trouble is, Anita’s occasionally furry boyfriend Richard is locked in a power struggle with Marcus. Jean-Claude, master vampire of the city and Anita’s other love interest, is getting jealous as well. To top it off, Anita has to solve some horrific murders and keep her bounty-hunting friend Edward from killing Richard and Jean-Claude. Hamilton alternates between funny and fearsome in this larky series about a monster hunter with a few dark secrets.”

My thoughts:

As good as the plot was (multiple twists included), I was very concerned for the pattern that could be forming…Anita tends to solve cases in between injuries and sleep deprivation. Heck, no wonder the men in her life think they can call the shots. I really hope she learns to take care of herself.

I also really have to wonder about the Hamilton universe in general. All of these preternatural creatures hve been legislated certain rights within the overall society, but they certainly seem to get away with a lot in terms of bad behavior. I’d also like to see Anita get more respect from her police co-workers (rogue cops aside).

Previously published on BookCrossing.com, 2003