I've been trying to read this book for about two weeks now. Today, merely half-way through, I finally gave up.

I had high hopes for the first couple of chapters; after all, we went pages and pages and pages without any sex at all! Yippee! So, I thought (wrongly, but who knew at the time?) this would actually be a good story. The problem? You can't have a good story with such a horrible lack of imaginative plot.

Where's Jean-Claude? Oh yeah, he's back home in St. Louis, being moody and maudlin and getting one entire scene with Anita that's done via cell phone.

Where's Richard? I have no clue. Nathaniel? I'm guessing at home, too. Micah? Ditto.

So, who's in the story? Three of Anita's fellow Marshals - Edward/Ted, Bernardo, and Olaf the serial killer.

Now that I write that out, it SHOULD have been exciting. I mean, after all, Anita is traveling to Las Vegas because the Vampire Master Vittorio sent her a human head in a box. Seeing as how Anita can't really ignore that kind of message, off she goes.

It SHOULD have been a good story. It COULD have been a good story, except for the small matter I mentioned earlier - there is no plot! Or, if you'd like to call what is there a plot, I'll rephrase my statement into there is no GOOD, IMAGINATIVE plot.

There are weird weretigers, a djinn, vampires, Marme Noir, even weirder weretigers, a hint of Belle Morte, a human SWAT team, a fairly nasty Undersheriff, and the marshals. (And just FYI, if I never have to read about a turned-on serial killer again, it STILL won't be enough to erase the disgusting scenes that SKIN TRADE includes out of my mind.)

Most of the Anita Blake fans will read this one, or try to. I gave up buying the books forever ago, so I can't really complain that I lost anything more than time since I borrowed this one from the library.

But holy crow, I don't even know if I'll bother to try to read the next book in the series. What was once so very, very good is now beyond very, very bad. It's just plain crap. ( )

Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton in book 17 in the bestselling Anita Blake series. Released just two days ago, Skin Trade showcases a bit of the type of "old school" Anita Blake stories we know and love. Since the book is so new, and so many people have not read it yet, I refuse to give any spoilers. My synopsis will be nothing more than you can find on the inside jacket of the book.

There's a vampire serial killer in Las Vegas, and he wants Anita. He's sent her a lovely welcome basket - a severed human head - of course, spurring her into immediate action, and sending her without delay from St. Louis to "Sin City". Once in Vegas, Anita is joined by three familiar faces - Federal Marshals Edward/Ted Forrester, Olaf/Otto Jenkins, and Bernardo Spotted Horse - who have come to help find the serial killer and take him out - paranormal-style.

When she examines the bodies of a recently slain SWAT team and Vegas' Vampire Executioner, Anita senses "tiger" too strongly to ignore. The Master of the City of Las Vegas Max, and his wife, queen of the local weretigers Chang-Bibiana, are in charge of all tigers in Vegas. Anita must meet with them and achieve their cooperation with her investigation if she wants to make any headway in the case. Since diplomacy has never been Anita's strong point, she can be sure to push buttons wherever she goes.

Added to the fact that a vampire serial killer has called her to Vegas, Anita must battle her inner beasts - the tigers in particular - in order to stay focused and stay alive. She also has to prove herself to local law enforcement, feed the ardeur, and worry about Marmie Noir and Belle Morte trying to snag her from her dreams. She must work hard to control her metaphysical abilities and try to reconcile them with her duties to law enforcement. If she fails to do so, she may lose her badge.

I found Anita to be as snark-tastic as ever in Skin Trade. During her work on the serial killer case, Anita is engaged in an inner battle that may change her life forever. For many books now, Anita has been wearing multiple hats: she is a powerful necromancer, the human servant of the Master of the City of St. Louis, the Lupa and "the enforcer" for the local werewolf pack, the Nimir-Ra to the local wereleopard pard, a Federal Marshal, and "the Executioner" to vampires everywhere. There is a lot of inner tumult in Skin Trade as Anita begins to realize that she can't be everything to everyone, and still do her job.

As far as I'm concerned, with Skin Trade, LKH has gotten the series back on track. Skin Trade ties together stories from many of the earlier books of the series, while bringing back some of our favorite characters. I really enjoyed exploring the relationships and development of all the characters, both old and new. While Anita is the protector of the innocent - be they human, vampire, or shapeshifter - she remains as tough as nails on the outside, while struggling on the inside to fulfill her dual roles as vampire Executioner and human servant to a Master of the City.

The metaphysical disasters and supernatural threats are well-written and as impressive as ever. The serial killer has frightening powers that we haven't seen before in the series, and he uses them to attack the Vegas PD in order to bring Anita closer to him. How can she defeat something she's never experienced before? Anita is also dealing with the expansion of her own power, and trying to find a way to remain in control of all her metaphysical beasts. And then there's the ardeur... 'nuf said.

Skin Trade is well-crafted, and the best Anita Blake book I've read in years. LKH has gone back to the supernatural thriller/suspense/detective storyline that I always enjoyed in earlier books. Skin Trade is a refreshing and compelling addition to the Anita Blake series. ( )

When Anita receives a severed head in a box, it's off to Las Vegas to track down the serial killer that nearly killed her. He's resurfaced and nastier than ever. Her back-up? Edward, Otto - yes, Otto the serial killer with a crush on her - and pretty boy Bernardo. Can they locate the vamp who's taken out a whole SWAT team before Anita's ardeur has her tearing the clothes off of everyone in sight?

Hamilton keeps Anita's clothes on for the majority of the book - something of a rarity. But unfortunately for most of the beginning Anita comes off as something of a wuss. Other than that, I enjoyed it. It will be interesting to see where Hamilton takes things next. Europe, perhaps? ( )

I'm so excited! This felt like the Anita Blake I knew and loved from way back when. This book was very similar to Laurell Hamilton's earlier books in the series - big on plot, fewer multi-species orgies. In fact, I was 3/4 through the book before a single orgy happened.

Personally, I loved the mystery angle and all the vampire & were-animal political drama. This was a fun book to read!

I realize that critiquing Anita Blake's sex life can get me in a heap of hot water in some circles. To be honest, I tend to skip over those scenes to get to the actual story. The orgies aren't very romantic and if you've read about one fivesome, you've read them all! ( )

In this installment, Anita actually gets to do some work outside the bedroom, which was a refreshing change but, unfortunately, not very interesting. The plot was not strong enough to keep me from noticing the author's ceaseless use of the phrase "as if...", and the frequency with which Anita's companions commented on what she was thinking -- not saying aloud -- made me want to tear my hair out. ( )