Back to work this week, so just a quick book review. I read this some years ago as part one of an omnibus edition of the first three in the series, ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER.
Having decided to have a paperback clear out, I wanted to read the rest of the book before adding it to the charity shop heap, but needed to read book #1 again as it was so long ago I could barely remember it.
Here is my review of that first book, GUILTY PLEASURES.
Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Anita Blake is known to the vampire community as the Executioner, so it seems a little odd when they try to hire her to track down a serial vampire murderer. She’s caught between two master vampires vying for control of the St Louis, dealing with her regular job of raising the dead, and consulting with the police of the ‘spook’ squad who deal with the undead of several varieties. What she doesn’t expect is that her friends and colleagues will also be put in danger just because they associate with her.
This first book in the Vampire Hunter series hits the ground running at speed and never lets up – from terrifying vampires, to vampire groupies and vampire wanabees, zombies, wererats, and gruesome murders, Anita navigates it all with a variety of weapons and a sharp sense of humour. One of the most impressive aspects of this novel is how terrified and helpless a puny human (Anita) is when pitted against such monsters, and yet she still finds a way to deal with them, negotiate with them, and ultimately outwit them. She has no super-human powers other than her quick mind, and this makes for a breathless, exciting, and scary read.
These vampires are definitely not of the twinkly, brooding variety, but rather the vicious right-on-the-edge-of-society type that you might be fascinated by, but would never be safe with. If this is your type of vampire, then this book is definitely for you.
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deborahjay 
Not my genre to read in, but fab review. And I love the cover! ❤
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Cheers Deb. I don’t tend to read much vampire fiction, but if I like the author from another of their series, I might give it a go, as in this case.
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I admire your adventure reading 🙂 x
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😁🤣
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Groovy review, Deborah.
I wrote a vampire book once, but it was full of my own favorite vampires, such as Count Chauckula, Count Sesame, and Bela Gigalosi.
Happy Trails!
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OMG I LOVE those names 🤣🤣🤣
I can just picture the stories to go with them!
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Doh!
I messed up my own name. It’s Hela Gigalosi. 😦
He plays bass for ‘The Groovy Ghoulies’.
Yeah, all my villains turned out really charming and likable in that one. Dang it.
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Sounds just like you…
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Good review. Not my kind of vampires!
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Lol, I can’t handle sparkly vampires, they lose their edge for me!
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Love this book – and the whole series, for the most part. Great action, excellent atmosphere, good sex … what’s not to love?
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Exactly! I’m certainly loving them at the moment, though I have heard they tail off after a while.
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They do. They go in a different direction which a lot of people don’t like lol
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I’ve read quite a few of the Merry Gentry books and stopped reading them after the sex seemed to become more important than the plot. I will keep reading the Anita Blake books for now and see where they go.
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