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. ( )

So when Dad tells me on the phone that he's reading the latest Anita Blake and that it's amazingly good like old times, I finally give up any hope of waiting for the paperback and rush right out to buy the hardcover. Then I ruin my sleep pattern for a few days because I can't put it down.

In Skin Trade, mystery is finally back in the game. I'm one of those fans who liked the first few books best--the ones that focused on solving the crime or latest puzzle instead of sacrificing plot to hundreds of pages of sex. Don't get me wrong, I do like the later books, sex and all, but they're a different flavor than what I fell in love with originally.

There's a killer to track, and that's a perfect reason to bring back Edward, everyone's favorite badass, and let's not forget our in-house expert, Oloff, the government-sanctioned psycho. There are also new creatures introduced to flesh out our paranormal world, always a plus but lacking somewhat in recent novels. This time we get djinn.

The pitfalls: 1) Our oldest most powerful vamp is taken out off screen, though at least it means Anita doesn't have to up the power level in our seemingly endless arms race here. 2) Oh wait, there's *another* oldest and most powerful vamp, but don't worry, he'll be so easy that we'll take him out too before the book is out. Um? Why introduce a super-cool archvillain only to kill him off before doing more with him? Then again, we would have had the equivalent of nuclear war if he'd regained full strength, and maybe that wasn't the direction Hamilton wanted the world to head.

Some reviewers were upset that our two sidekicks are omitted from the final battle and epilogue, but we'll see them again, so that doesn't really bother me. The only other "loose end" really is the exact nature of Belle Morte's gift to Anita, and I treat that as a minor cliffhanger that will likely be dealt with next time.

Overall, a great Anita book. Not beating out the first few, but much better than the last. Would I recommend it? If you're a fan of the mystery heritage of the series, you'll be pleased, and there's a little something for every style of Anita fan in this one. Rereadability? Yeah, I'd love to read through the whole series again from the beginning, if I found time between my current "to read" stack and her next book. For now I'm eagerly awaiting the next book, as always, and especially so I can see if this book's regained sense of mystery becomes a trend. ( )

You know I'm really getting over LKH and Anita. She just takes so long to learn and grow and her woe is me, cops don't treat me nice... I'm just over it. Here Anita is contantly being rolled by the tigers, they obsessed with her, she unable to function around them. It's tigers, tigers everywhere. I love Jean Claude and LKH is reducing him to a bit part, he basically has 2 phone calls with Anita and sulky ones at that. I'm not interested in how all the men are struggling for Anitas attention and how they all long for her and how with every book her list of lovers just grows. There is some plot here, with a made vampire in Vegas throwing everyone into a tizzy, and references to past books/situations but the culmination of another long standing plot line with Marmee the mother of all vampires comes with almost shocking speed. She's beyond library now, she's going into skim mode. If I don't get some JC Asher action in the next book, I don't think I'll bother picking up any more... ( )

I've been reading the Anita Blake books from the very beginning & really enjoyed them until the point where the books turned into soft-core porn first, everything else about 16th. Don't get me wrong, I don't have any issues with soft-core porn, but that absolutely isn't what I read these books for &, frankly, Laurell K. Hamilton doesn't write it all that well.

I've kept reading the books, though. I just kept thinking, "Okay, at some point she'll get over this phase ..." I did, however, stop buying them. These days I wait for the copy to become available at the library & I don't even get on the waiting list for it.

All that said I was very pleased to find that this book was much much better than many others. While she's not quite back to the level of Obsidian Butterfly, she's definitely on the right track. There were vampire & shapeshifter politics & there was Anita trying to figure out what to do with all the men in her life while tracking a serial killer vampire with her executioner buddies from [book:Obsidian Butterfly|190361].

There are some things here that are still annoying - primarily that every single male person that Anita meets wants to do her. This is a really lazy & boring plot device (it's also highly improbable). Having said that, I enjoy watching Rescue Me even though every woman that meets Denis Leary's character has sex with him so maybe that's an unreasonable quibble.

All told if Hamilton can continue to take Anita in a direction where there is actual plot then I don't mind the occasional descent into soft porn territory. When she's at her best she's definitely playing in a cool world that I enjoy visiting. Here's hoping this new direction takes. ( )

I think this was a bad first full Anita Blake book to start with as an impression of Laurell. I borrowed it from a coworker who has read the entire series so was able to tell me that the book was written different than the previous due to complaints about to much sex. Well, hell, I think she should stick to what works for her. I have not counted her out yet though. I will read the first two books in the series before I make a concrete decision. ( )

I'm impressed. LKH has managed to write an Anita Blake book that's actually plot-focused and driven instead of sex-obsessed. There really is hope for her yet. I seriously enjoyed this installment, even if the weird body-takeover sexfest thing has been done. ( )

Finally, a new Anita Blake story! Anita’s one of my favourite characters in the (dark) urban fantasy genre and, even though I’m not the hugest fan of all the sex that has been popping up in the novels, I still love the way Laurell K. Hamilton writes. Her plots are always tight and she creates the most wonderful characters, and really manages to keep them all individuals even in this series, which has tons of recurring characters.

In Skin Trade, Anita is in U.S. Marshal mode and goes to Las Vegas to hunt a serial killing vamp, meeting up with Edward and a couple other characters from previous stories, so the book is very reminiscent of Obsidian Butterfly. I liked this a lot, not only because I really enjoy Anita’s out of town adventures but because it meant fewer drawn-out sex scenes and more (non-sexy) action. There’s also more exploration about the different beasts she carries and how that’s affecting her life, which was nice.

I don’t want to give too much away since the book is only a couple months old but I will say that it reads like an earlier Anita book, since the focus is less on her relationships and more on her job. There is some good personal development, though, which I appreciate because I think Anita’s such an interesting character. It’s nice to see her thinking about her past actions and how they’re affecting her life.

As always, though, it was a great book that I just couldn’t put down. So thanks, Ms. Hamilton! I look forward to Divine Misdemeanors (the next Merry book) this winter.

Originally published at http://ireadgood.wordpress.com ( )

I had such high hopes for this book! Anita was back to being an executioner! She’s on the road, so her stable of men will be smaller! Maybe there will be less of the metaphysical stuff!

And then I was so, so disappointed. If there was ever a book in need of an editor with a sharp red pen, it was this one.

The worst part of the book? The talking, talking, and more talking. Everyone had to discuss every little freakin’ thing, at the most inopportune times, and ad nauseum. How many times do we need to revisit the “other people think Anita’s a slut cuz she has so many boyfriends” point? Or the “Olaf the serial killer/U.S. Marshall wants Anita and he makes her really uncomfortable” point? And in the middle of a supposedly fast-paced search for a serial killer? There is just a ridiculous amount of discussion and pissing contests, for lack of a better term. The sex is toned down quite a bit in this one, with the wildest scene actually only alluded to, but even that wasn’t enough to save this book. I did enjoy the final confrontation, but it should have been about 200 pages sooner than it was. I’ve stuck through this series for 17 books, but I’m not sure I’ll bother with #18. ( )

Anita is back! Really good story featuring Edward. She actually made it to around page 325 before Anita had sex. More focus on the plot. Looking forward to the next in the series if it keeps up like this. ( )

One of the better recent Anita Blake novels. More emphasis on the police work and the adventure and less emphasis on the sex. Actually, there is little actual sex until the last third of the book. ( )

I liked this book, it wasn't too bad. I noticed that LKH is trying to tone down the sex and I was glad to see Anita come back to her former glory. She was very whiny in this book...I realize she is trying to "find herself" but it was annoying for 5 pages of whining about it. There was also some weirdness with a 16 year old boy as well. But, from a plot perspective, it was ok. ( )

I really love that this book was more like her earlier works - more storyline, less sex. Anita's situation is what it is with the ardeur, but really, sex every other page doesn't move story along very well. It took 3/4 of the book to get the X rating this time, and I applaud it.

I really like how Ms. Hamilton brings back "side" characters and fills them out a bit - Olaf has always been scary-creepy, but we get a much better understanding of why and just HOW scary-creepy he is. While still being very good at tracking down the things that go bump in the night. Perhaps a bit too many characters at times, though. Gets hard to keep track. For example, this book had new and familiar lions, a couple familar vamps as well as several "wallpaper" vamps (we've heard of them, but they aren't major players in the other books). A significant amount of new psi-talents, especially as law-enforcement. A lot of new that kept it exciting, but confusing at the same time. ( )

I wanted to rate this seventeenth Anita Blake higher, I really did. It served its purpose - it gave me an escapist retreat from reality, plunging me into the abnormal psychosis and encounters of the protagonist. Plus the sex. I've traveled a long way with Anita, delved into some pretty dark and gruesome and twisted shit with her, but the sameness, not only of action, but also of writing and the bromidic characterization is starting to wear on me.

The one element of novelty that kept me reading coincides oddly with my own sensation of languidness: that of Anita's weariness of the violence and destruction. This theme recurs throughout the novel as Anita is mailed a decapitated head accompanied by an invite to track the killer down, vilification by law enforcement peers for her personal connections, close proximity to a sociopathic federal marshall from her past, and not to mention the looming need to feed the ardeur. Anita’s main response to all this seems to be a half-hearted attempt to pull herself up by her bootstraps and continue slogging through the body parts and blood. I get the feeling that the next logical phase Anita should enter would be a severe depression.

Wondering if this element of depression would ever be introduced is useless speculation and rather moot because the tone is pervasive regardless of whether Anita is flexing her metaphysical muscles to prove her worth to a paranormal troop of Vegas SWAT or facing the prospective sexual awakening of a multiplicity of weretigers’ powers. She evinces a languor in this novel that infected my own reading of it.

A lot of the criticism I have seen leveled at this novel revolves around the rather hurried ending. I do not really find this surprising since this has always been Hamilton’s writing style; the endings have always been abrupt and quickly encapsulated within a brief epilogue. Skin Trade does disabuse us of a potential Big Bad or two, though I think the finality of at least one of these is up for debate; however, I do not feel that this novel merits the vitriol that Danse Macabre deserves for establishing an intriguing plot and utterly failing to deliver. Yes, she could have elaborated more thoroughly without detracting from succinctness, but I did not feel completely cheated at the end.

I continue to return to St. Louis to visit Anita and her harem because I still see the potential that begat this series, and the glimmerings that shine forth amid the sex and violence and sex intrigue and fascinate me. Her world is highly developed yet still offers so much exploratory space. It helps that the boys are all really pretty too. ( )

I picked this up in Toronto when another hardcover I had planned to buy was out of stock. It made a perfect on vacation, reading on the plane, help switch timezones by staying up too late reading book.
Anita's back to solving mysteries and not having so much sex, yay! Hardly any, in fact, the hot scene in the desert felt like just enough to remind us that LKH still likes the sex0rz, but other than that, it was more about the guns and weres. :) She heads to Vegas to hunt down a vampire serial killer, as he announced his resumption of business by mailing her a head. Edward and Olaf and Bernard are there to help her out, and this book is a good follow on from Obsidian Butterfly. Anita has to deal with the Vegas tiger clan and the tigers she carries from Marmee Noir, but she's mostly on her own, supernaturally, in this adventure. I'm looking forward to the next book, hopefully it will have another mystery to solve, the same amount of sex, and the next tiny revelation about the mother of all vampires. ( )

This book takes me back to the earlier Anita Blake novels. I enjoyed the storyline and was happy with some of the twists I didn't see coming. I thought the conclusion was a little rushed and it didn't really talk about Anita's viewpoint of the situation. Anita is always analyzing and making decisions based on what she can live with later. I am wondering if this new approach isn't a glimpse into Anita's future. ( )

This 17th book of the Anita Blake series gets back to more of the executioner-type work that Anita became infamous for. In this book Anita, teamed with Edward and two other Marshals, try to track down a serial killer vampire (Vittorio) that none of the vampires can track. Anita continues to question whether vampire hunting is still a good choice for her and continues to battle her hungers. We don't get much time with any of the regular men in Anita's life, which is by turns disappointing and refreshing. Ultimately we see a showdown that may have been centuries in the making, the unmasking of old powers and possibly the destruction of said powers. I'll be interested to see if Hamilton follows up on the allusions between Truth and Wicked and Vittorio. Way more action, not much sex and possibly the start of a new chapter in Anita's life (if her questioning of everyone and everything doesn't get in the way). Definitely worth the read. ( )

Skin Trade (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 17)

by Laurell K Hamilton
Berkley, June, 2 2009.

[Reviewed by Patricia]

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, also known as the Executioner, finds a surprise package on her desk one early morning. Inside, carefully packed in ice, is a human head. Very little spooks the tough as nails, pretty as a picture, Anita, but this ugly parcel give her pause. It brings back terrifying memories of a vicious, serial killer/vampire named Vittorio. An enclosed note tells her this is his handiwork. He wants her to know! Wants her to come after him! The package came from Las Vegas, NV.

Only a short time ago she had fought and destroyed several of his undead entourage, but not until they had slaughtered more than ten people in St. Louis.

She immediately alerts the Vegas police who are not surprised to hear from her. Anita's name was found smeared in blood on a wall near a brutal crime scene that claimed the lives of members of the Las Vegas' preternatural police.

As a US Marshall Anita easily pulls the assignment to investigate the killings. Along with her are other marshals she has worked with: cold as ice Edward; the ruthless, psychopath Olof; and the extraordinarily handsome Bernardo, the least aggressive member of the team. Like Anita they often take on the supernaturals who have gone rogue. It seems obvious at first who the villain must be, but as often happen the truth is much more complex. The powerful were-tigers are involved, as well as a mysterious other. The ancient and powerful vampire beauties Belle Morte and Marmee Noir have their own plans for Anita. Away from Jean-Claude, her vampire lover and Master of St Louis, both believe Anita to be vulnerable to their machinations.

For readers who have been longing for the engaging stories of the early Anita Blake books (beginning with the aptly titled Guilty Pleasures ), sensual stories of mystery and adventure but without two thirds of the book devoted to graphic sex, their wish has been granted. Right from the start this supernatural thriller grabs your attention and doesn't let go. I haven't enjoyed an Anita story this much in years!!

http://allbookedup-elena.blogspot.com... ( )

~*~Disclaimer: I like the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. I started reading this book knowing that I was going to like it. It is one of my favorite series’, so this review is inherently biased. That being said, if you already hate these books, this won’t be the installment to change your mind. Please take this review in the spirit in which it was written!!~*~

June 2, 2009. After months of waiting, the day finally arrived. And as promised, Skin Trade arrived on the shelf at my local Barnes and Noble. When I had it in my hands, all was right in the world.

Am I being overly dramatic? Perhaps. But I know that I am not the only one who had the date marked on their calendar. The almost empty promotional display at B&N made that pretty obvious. Which was fairly shocking, considering all of the bad press I have been reading about this book. Of course, while reading the negative critiques it was blatantly obvious that they were all written by people with preexisting issues regarding the Anita Blake series or Laurell K. Hamilton in general.

Volume seventeen (can you believe it??) of the Vampire Hunter series begins with Anita receiving a special delivery at her office. More specifically, a severed human head in a box. Gruesome, but not the worst thing she has ever seen. The post mark indicates that it was sent from Las Vegas, so she wastes no time in contacting the Vegas authorities. Upon doing so, she learns that the severed head is related to the brutal slaying of one of Nevada’s finest. At the murder scene a message was written on the wall in the victim’s blood; “Tell Anita Blake I’ll be waiting for her.”

She also learns that the murder wasn’t an isolated incident. Nor is the suspected murderer unfamiliar. It is Vitorro, a master vampire from Anita’s past. Needless to say, she hops the nearest flight west, and dives right into the thick of the investigation. Much to the chagrin of the local law enforcement. And with her old buddy Ted Forrester in tow, along with the rest of the crew from Obsidian Butterfly. We are also reintroduced to the weretigers we met in Blood Noir, as well as the rest of the Vegas clan.

One of the most surprising elements of this installment is that all of Anita’s lovers are practically nonexistent. Neither Micha nor Nathanial get a single line. Jason is regaled to a single scene in one of the early chapters. Jean Claude only gets face time via phone calls, and Richard is referred to only once. There is none of the focus on the triumnuvate that is usually so prevalent. And there are only two graphic sex scenes. It is almost as if Hamilton’s writing style has taken a trip back in time, as this edition more closely resembles the first six or so books in the series; the books that so endeared so many to the Anita Blake series.

When reading this book , I tried to find something about it that was offensive enough or writing of such poor quality to that it would justify any of the hateful things I had heard. While reading this book , I tried to find something about it that was offensive enough or writing of such poor quality to that it would justify any of the hateful things I have seen written about the book or its author. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) I was unable to do so. No, the book wasn’t perfect. Few are. However, it in no way deserved the negative press that it received from readers who have become disenchanted with the series. All in all, I have to give it four stars. And I also feel compelled to give readers some advice. If you do not like a book, whether because of its writing style or because you are offended by its content, you have the option to stop reading it. If it is part of a series, you are not required to continue buying and reading future installments. There is absolutely no reason to publically bash an author simply because what they write is not what you want to read. ( )

Let me begin my review with the caveat that Laurell K. Hamilton is definitely not for everyone. She has a lot of graphic sex and violence, and I am aware that over the course of the series she has lost a number of fans. I am aware of the literary shortcomings that will keep her from appealing to a lot of people.

Does this matter to me? Not at all. I have remained a steadfast fan of both the Merry Gentry and Anita Blake series since I began reading them years ago. I was always aware of where the weak books were in the series, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. Having said that, I can say that Skin Trade has been my favorite book in the series since about book #9, Obsidian Butterfly. Anita Blake is back to her murder investigations and is looking to kick a little vampire ass. Edward is also here, watching Anita's back while wondering which one of them would win in a fight. All of my favorite elements are here, and while the steaminess has been scaled back a bit, it is by no means gone. Developments in this book leave me both shocked and wondering what she could possibly have planned for the future entries. I missed some of my favorite characters, like Jean-Claude, Micah, and Nathaniel, but I still found this to be Laurell's most satisfying book in years. ( )

This book really got back to the crime fighting a bit. There were less "men" involved, and alot of Edward in the mix. I really liked it. This book felt more like Anita, and less like Porn.
As always though, Laurell K. Hamilton's writing and storyline were fantastic, and I'll pick up her next one as soon as it comes out. Who can resist? ( )