My Review of Hit List

First let me say that I enjoyed this book. The truth of the matter is that I have yet to read an Anita Blake book I didn't enjoy. I'm somewhat ashamed of that statement tho. To borrow from another (far better) Anita Blake book, this series is one of my "Guilty Pleasures".  Having said that, however, this book while an improvement over Laurell's recent Anita books would have to be considered a critical failure (fiscally, I'm sure it's doing fine).  The plot is weak, the book is overloaded with under developed characters (both new and old), the characters spend most of their time talking rather than doing much of anything, Anita continues to be persecuted by the Federal Marshal Corps for being a girl (and a "slut"), and she is still the best at everything (which everyone notices and praises repeatedly).

If you want more Jean Claude (JC)... he's not in here. Richard? Nope. Micah? Uh uh. Asher? Jason? Dolph? Damian? No. No. No. No.  Well, Nathaniel HAS to be here, right? Nyet, Comrade. I thought you said this book was overloaded with characters? I did and it is.  Funny how, Laurell can cut back and STILL manage to put to many people in a book (Want an idea of how many she's introduced? check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Anita_Blake:_Vampire_Hunter_characters).

The entire book takes place in Seattle where Anita is investigating a string of weretiger murders for the U.S. Marshalls.  Consequently, Edward has a major roll (Bernardo and Olaf eventually show up).  Anita and Edward know from the get-go that the perpetrators are none other than the Harlequin that remained in the service of Mommy Darkness but they can't tell the other cops that.  As the book doesn't take place in St. Lewis, most of Anita's harem is out of the picture.  Inexplicably, JC allows her to travel WITHOUT body guards present (for half the book) while she hunts (and is being hunted by) the deadliest assasins in the vampire world. Thus we are introduced to several new marshalls, a couple new lycanthropes and eventually see some old, albeit, inconsequential faces (apparently when faced with the deadliest vamps on the planet, JC sends the second string to assist, I've always thought he had a deathwish... un-death wish?... true-deathwish?... whatever).  Despite all the names in the book, few of them do anything of note.

Doesn't SOUND like I liked it much, huh? Actually, I think this is the best one Laurell has written in a while, possibly since Obsidian Butterfly.  The sex has been toned way down (only one scene and it doesn't drag on), Anita doesn't manifest any new metaphysical abilities, and we get more Edward (although, I'm getting a little nervous about the way Laurell is handling him).

I'm not sure why these books (beyond the first seven or so) appeal to me, but they do.  I had more than one moment when I didn't want to get out of the car (listened to this one as an audiobook), and I actually brought the last disc in the house to finish off the book.

-Chris