Kiss The Dead by Laurell K. Hamilton, UK edition cover.

Title: Kiss The Dead  (An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Novel, #21)
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher:  Headline (7th June 2012)
Blurb:

I KNEW WITHOUT DOUBT THAT IF ANY MORE VAMPIRES TRIED TO ATTACK US I’D KILL THEM TOO, REGARDLESS OF APPARENT AGE, RACE, SEX, OR RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS. I WAS AN EQUAL-OPPORTUNITY EXECUTIONER; I KILLED EVERYBODY.

My name is Anita Blake and I am a vampire hunter and necromancer, as well as  a US Marshal. So when a fifteen-year-old girl is abducted by vampires, it’s up to me to find her. And when I do, I’m faced with something I’ve never seen before: a terrifyingly ordinary group of people – kids, grandparents, soccer moms – all recently turned and willing to die to avoid serving their vampire master. And where there’s one martyr, I know there will be more . . .

But even vampires have monsters they’re afraid of. And I’m one of them . . .

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Review:

Kiss The Dead is the twenty-first book in Laurell K. Hamilton’s epic An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Novel series. Anita is in a very different place to where she was in the first book Guilty Pleasures, and at this point in the series it is very definitely an adult book. On the whole I’ve really enjoyed this series, watching Anita and her guys change and develop, and this book was no exception.

The idea for the main plot of this book is, in my opinion, a really interesting one. The vampires and shifters in the Anita Blake universe live in hierarchies, it’s how they’ve always done it. They’ve ‘come out’ and become ‘legal’ in the US, where there are certain ideas about ‘freedom’. In this book these two very different ideals collide, and it is rather interesting to watch. My only complaint about the book was there isn’t enough of it; I wish Hamilton had taken the time to explore this idea further, as it is REALLY interesting. In some ways Hamilton is just upping the ante with what she’s done with Richard in pervious books, but I thought it was an interesting concept and hope it’s explored more in future books.

Sex scenes are one of the biggest gripes for most people as far as the Anita Blake books go, and that’s fair enough – I’ve always been of the opinion if you don’t like, then you don’t read – because Hamilton can include LOTS of them. However, in this book the first sex scene did not make an appearance until around half-way through. There was some awesome and interesting plot before that really carried the book forward. And you know what, the sex scene worked. It was in just the right place.

As always Anita was juggling her issues in this book, but for me that’s just part of her character. The fact that she has issues makes her more human for me, though I will admit that there have been times in previous books where I’ve just wanted to tell her to get on with it already. I’m hoping the resolution in this book actually sticks, but I guess I’ll have to wait for book twenty-two to be sure. There are of course familiar faces in this book and of course some new characters. I’m kinda hoping one of the newbies sticks around because from what I saw in this book, he should be an interesting character and I look forward to seeing how Hamilton develops him (if he appears on the page again).

If you’re a fan of Anita Blake then you should definitely get your hands on this book. It is Hamilton at her best. My only issue with it was it wasn’t long enough, but such is life.