Finally getting back to the type of novel that made fans fall in love with her! This one wasn't as satisfying of an end as I would have hoped. I felt that as far as tying up all the loose ends and giving a satisfying close to the story/the case Anita is investigating that Hamilton kind of dropped the ball. The ending is just a little too simple and I would have liked everything to have been fleshed out rather than feeling like Hamilton wrapped it up into a neat little package and wussed out on giving the reader some satisfaction. Jim Butcher often wraps his entire book up in the last few pages, but the reader still feels satisfied; I can't say the same of this story.

I was thrilled to see that the content of the novel was less about erotic scenes and more about the police consultant/Marshall storylines and interplay. So much of the novel though still focuses on Anita trying to wrangle all her relationships and as far as story progression goes I feel like this book is stagnant. I don't feel that anything really progressed in Anita's life or the lives of those around her. The book just doesn't feel finished despite being over 300 pages. It will be close to a year before the next book, but somehow I don't feel like much has happened in the universe and I can wait.

I still gobbled up the book as quick as I could find time to read it because I am a confessed addict of all things in the Anita-verse. ( )

This book started out well. After reading [b:Hit List|8935153|Hit List (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #20)|Laurell K. Hamilton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1315176487s/8935153.jpg|13811777],I thought Anita was back on track. I was getting tired of books full of nothing but sex. I was ready for Anita to get back to kicking vampire butt. The first half of Kiss the Dead was police work, if a little slow. Then suddenly, Anita is having discussions about romance and love-lives with other cops. What? Then the last part of the book is all sex. We were so close to getting our old Anita back. I do like that Anita is finally happy and is almost past the drama of "I can't be in love! I can't be happy! Too many people love me and want me to be happy!" And it's always a good book when we don't have to put up with Richard's crap. ( )

Kiss the Dead is the 21st book in the Anita Blake series and it is everything that we’ve come to expect of Anita and her “sweeties”. That isn’t really a compliment. This series has become predictable and boring. Kiss the Dead doesn’t deviate from the Anita Blake formula in any way. This book has Anita arguing about and defending her lifestyle (polyamory, loving weres and vampires) to the people she works with. The arguments are the same: trite, nearly incoherent, and repetitive.

For the rest of the review head over to:

http://fictionnecessary.tumblr.com/post/24687506736/kiss-the-dead-laurell-k-hami... ( )

I don't know why I keep reading these books. Nothing happens any more. ( )

Anita Blake is back – and this one merges the early Blake (all thriller/murder-mystery) with the later Blake (all sex alla time) in an interesting balancing act. I’m pleased that she continues to develop as a character (although thank goodness, no more manifesting new animals to call this time around) – will her constantly evolving powers never cease? And how do the less powerful feel under her boots? She’s thinking about that a lot. ( )