Vampire Hunter Novel, Hit List: An Anita Blake

I was going to give this book a three, only because LKH finally decided that sex every other page wasn't making her a great writer.

It's true, we don't have the sex filler. Which is good. We don't have much plot either, which is bad. Someone else mentioned that the murder mystery was never fulfilled. They are right. What I had hoped when I started the book, was Anita, Edward and the cops moving forward until the finale.

Not so. It starts out good and then has a flat tire when 'Suddenly it is Anita they Want' -- who cares how many die.

Second flat tire was when it was all talk and no action about 'Poor Anita and how the Marshals hate her because she has a lot of sex' -- then she goes and has sex.

Third flat tire was when they brought Olaf in. I mean honestly, who would really let this creep continue to live? AND they let him get away? WTF.

Fourth flat tire was when the ending of a book was like Anita sucking down a big ol' cup of coffee and cleaning up the Big Bad Mama.

I'm so glad I did not spend the 27.00 this book was asking. What I spent after 40 percent off was bad enough.

Warning Spoilers! After finishing the book yesterday, I still cannot believe how it ended. It's like the whole build up of Marmee Noir, and poof! She's gone. I had to re-read the ending a couple of times to see if that's how they really ended it. That, and the crime scene? Just like the other reviewer said, oo body parts, blah blah can't throw up, blah blah. I mean really! I truly love this series, but this one book SUCKED. If this was a novella and didn't include the Marmee Noir part, then I'd be ok with the crappy quality. But to have all of a sudden one tiny a** showdown with marmee noir and then she's dead? Like within one page, with only these small side characters and she's just dead? LIke that!?? WTF!??! I feel like the battle against Marmee Noir should have had it's own book with all the characters in this huge epic battle. At least have Jean Claude, Richard, and Edward more than a brief thought passing through her head.

I'm sorry but if I could return this book and actually get a refund, I would. It's like there was no life or passion in writing this story plot, like she's given up on this series. SO DISAPPOINTED!

I keep seeing "omg this is so much better than the last few!" comments in people's reviews. Unfortunately, that's not saying much. Just because something is less painful to read than another thing doesn't make it good, you know?

I've got way too many issues with this book to go into, but - putting aside the by now inevitable spelling/grammar/formatting issues that litter most of LKH's books - the ending of the novel seems very rushed and sloppy. It feels like there should have been at least 50 more pages, rather than dragging everything out, so that by the time you've read 75% of the book, *nothing has happened. The conclusion is rushed through with a deus ex machina solution. I suppose we should be grateful the heroine is at least conscious for the big defeat of the big bad, rather than waking up in a hospital and being told "oh hey, we saved the day!" Although the fact that the Big Bad, the Mother of All Darkness, the Night Made Flesh, the baddest of the bad blah blah blah blah, is defeated by, wait for it, THE POWER OF LOVE. Yup. Anita drops her shields, her harem pitch in, and show MOAD that Anita >>>> you, that MOAD doesn't know ~~~~love, and that clearly, she should just give up. Or something. I'm not sure, I may have blacked out with rage.

There is potential here. It's obvious, even through the issues littering the novel, it's obvious that LKH is trying to tell a good story. But the story is not enough, and it's overpowered by the unlikable character, the illogical writing, and more issues than a periodical archive. Simply put, it's in dire need of an editor, one who will be ruthless, and who will prune the weeds overgrowing what is, at its core, still a series with a lot of potential.

It's been said before: in the hands of a better writer, a writer willing to make her characters work for their happy ending, this would be an amazing series. Sadly, that's not whose hands it's in, and thus we end up with incomprehensible, illogical, and infuriating books like Hit List. You may ask, why am I still reading this? Because I've read all the books to date, because I'm overinvested, and because I've been on this trainwreck so long that I may as well see it through to the end. And because if I've learned anything from these books, and from LKH herself, is what errors to avoid when writing.

I'm working my way through this series and loving it. Characters make a book for me and character development, growth, and relationships make a series. This series has all that plus non-stop action, intense suspense, and a unique world view.

I'm always excited to read Anita Blake books with Edward in them. It means, there will be an actual plot like the good old days. While there was one, I didn't feel much anticipation for what happened as it unfolded. The ending was lackluster, and that's an understatement.

Anita has become the worst sort of monster. She attempts to justify her escalating inhumane actions by stating she has good intentions. Well, you know what they say about the road paved to hell.

*SPOILER*
I'm not at all surprised that the author is setting Anita up to sleep with Olaf, since she gains pleasure from raping others. Anita loses moral boundaries with every book. Currently, she's only a few degrees different from where Olaf is at now, which isn't saying much. As for Anita and Edward, seriously? I think it's ridiculous, solely for the fact that he now seems like her only true friend. I never thought I'd root for the old timer sociopath against a rookie sociopath, but here I am. Edward is probably going to get raped by Anita. I feel sorry for him already.

In her twentieth outing Anita Blake has given up chasing and killing monsters and moved to an all talk (mostly), all the time format.

The only times the talk was interrupted was by the far too few action scenes and those few scenes felt forced into Anita's soliloquy like Hamilton suddenly realized that Anita needed to occasionally wave a gun around or run through the woods or scream her orgasm to the stars. Never has Hamilton seemed so divorced from her writing and characters, there was nothing that made my pulse quicken, nothing that piqued my interest, nothing. The only scenes where I felt Hamilton even tried to inject a little interest was the two scenes with Olaf and even then it seemed more like Hamilton was pandering to those of her fans who are clamoring for Olaf and Anita to hook up.

The plot, what little there is, gets lost as Hamilton tries out a little of this, a little of that. Anita cries cause she's not a real girl, Edward might be okay with feeding the Ardeur, Olaf wants a date and "vanilla" sex, there's a new regulation which seems to make it possible for Anita to take a few of her many men when she travels out of state...... Hamilton seems to be flailing around searching for a definitive direction to take Anita and Hit List is comprised of a number of these abortive attempts to find her way. Too bad she couldn't find one she was comfortable with and she defines far too many moments as "a guy thing" or "a girl moment". As usual, Hamilton makes "a girl moment" feel like a minor sin, something to sweep under the rug, something to apologize about. We get it, Laurell, you don't much like women and you wish that Anita was a man but you can't write a main character that isn't closely based on yourself.

When Hamilton does remember the small amount of plot revolving around the Harlequin and Marmee Noir the scenes feel like she is trying to write about something she's either not equipped to handle or she is not ready to deal with. They are either too strong or too needy and it's just-awkward.

Hit List lurches along like a tone deaf Frankenstein's monster attempting the step-pause-step-pause of the wedding march.

There is no climax to this book, more like an anti-climax as Hamilton gives us another WTF ending reminiscent of Skin Trade. In both the master villains are dumbed down making it possible for Hamilton to write an ending where Anita triumphs. And all through this bland, tired, directionless mess Anita keeps talking, talking, filling in all the empty spaces in the hope that no one, including Hamilton, notices how very tired and directionless she is...

Whatever would happen if Anita develops laryngitis?

Perhaps being too happy, too rich and having too many opportunities rots one's ability to find the muse. I think the muse is stuck in some stained bedsheet somewhere. Having not liked the last two book, I read this at the local B&N and would have purchased it gladly if I could just finish the darn thing without yawning. I'm sure I will find it on Yahoo for the $2.00 it should have been sold at. I'm wondering if all her energy isn't being spent on controlling a vampire movie that has already been done to death. Loved the St. Louis, Midwest Laurell who wrote true, I thnk Hollyweird has killed the muse for good but still holding out hope for Mercy. Perhaps Laurell should write a story of how everyone has turned on Mercy now that she is queen? I'm sure she has enough material for that muse!

Off to better authors, where has Dara Joy gone to and Ms Briggs, hurry up with the release!

The plot of this one is much less muddled than Bullet. There's something about featuring Edward that means that the novels are going to be less nonsense and more plot. The ending was kind of lackluster, but a long time coming.

Quick breakdown-
50% amateurish- She gave a flat stare, he gave a flat stare, everybody using flat voices. All explicitly said in order to set the scene. The descriptions read like first books written by people who do action/adventure books about the mercenaries with their own code of ethics. What's excusable in a first book is more embarrassing in the 20th book in a series. Also a lot of questioning and soul searching.
10% sex or talking about it. Negotiations, proving everyone's favorite round heel heroine isn't just the super starts-with-S-rhymes-with-putt that my wife calls her, isn't casual about her lovers. We get it. See above. 20th book in the series.
40% fairly decent. Yes. Once you get passed the flat, serious angst of the first half, and the obligatory sex scene, it picks up a bit. The action and violence seems like Anita of old. Almost exactly like the Anita of old, like retelling a favorite story, but really, after the last 14 books, that's a swing in the right direction.

The first half of the book was boring and slow and very Mary Sue. Full of angst, self-doubt and absolute ruthlessness. The bright spots were all Edward. It really seemed like Anita was so caught up in her own head that she had to remind herself to care what other people thought.

Then the interlude intercourse. That was painful. If the first part was boring, that part was excruciating. We get it, she's the girl most likely to, but not want to until she's in the middle of doing it. Then she can accept it, and loves it and is very enthusiastic. I personally find it a complete turn off. The readers who have been defending the last several books will enjoy it and wish there was more of it.

Then the last 40 percent. It reads a lot like other books have, and is strongly reminiscent of Obsidian Butterfly. The action is slammed into very quickly, almost like the author finally got the scene she needed to write out of her way, and could concentrate on the story again. It's full of action, violence and bodies pile up.

So, it's an improvement, and there has been a lot more improvement in the last couple of books. I'm not sure if it's enough to bring back the readers who gave up after Narcissus in Chains or if it could lose the paranormal erotic crowd who has been loving the books since. At this point, the books seem trapped between both worlds and need to choose a direction rather than trying to hold both sets of readers.

in the first few books anita was a strong pretty woman who had conservitive stubborn views. she kicked butt at fighting always drewmy attention with her ability to overcome any situation and was an amazing executioner. the moments where she mourned the parts of her she lost were even ok. as the books go on things change. she starts finding love intrest and i love it. edward is introduced and i fall in love with him. but slowly sex takes over the books as well as to many lovers to count. less action and more orgy. less strong independent anita and more of a whiny "my life sucks and im the only girl in the police force and everyone thinks im a slut and blah blah blah" where is my badass vampire hunter who killed with cold eyes. i liked it when she had more guns that lovers. a few were ok. i liked jean claud and richard and even nathanial micha and jayson. bu that was pushing it. i missed the first few books. if she was going to add so much sex she could of at least not made anita a whiny whore and put more violence in..... there was no plot no character development and the once great series has fallen... why is this book so expensive yet soo bad...sorry for the typos..

Hit List does not disappoint. Anita is thrown into helping hunt down the lone tigers being murdered along the coast by the Harlequin and therefore, the Mother of all Darkness.

Her and Edward are out searching together, when of course Olaf and Bernardo are called in to help.

Olaf has his moments of "creepy" and I seriously love those moments. He meets Nicky, and realizes that if Anita can 'tame' him with her mind rolling, he is even a bit creeped out by it. After an accident with a werelioin, Olaf ends up disappearing for a little while in fear of Anita! An unexpected twist, huh!

Let's all give a warm welcome to, Ethan!

Though I really missed the main sweeties, I really enjoyed the break from it all and really getting down to the mystery. That's one of the things I love about Laurell Hamilton, she seems to know when things start to get a bit much and is able to get you back into the main point of the books and keep you seriously interested as well!

**A bit more detailed review will follow, after I re-read the books**

I won't rehash all the other reviews. I have been a fan since the series started and also have bemoaned how dreadful and sophmoric the series has become. I still read the Anita Blake series only because I like alot of the characters and want to know what develops. I also keep hoping that LKH will have gone back to writing awesome books like the first ten in the series. This is the first book in the Anita Blake series that I did not buy. I actually got it from the library. While I don't like having incomplete series on my bookshelves, I flat out refuse to pay for any more of this drivel. To any LKH fans, I would say read the book...but pass on buying it. There are too many good books out there to waste money on this.

Ok, read the book. Read it again in case I missed something. I didn't. It is lackluster. Listless.

Please, get back to Anita's real life - Zombie raising, crime investigation with real live cops. The vampires and Anita's love life can take a side seat to what she is...

And while we are at it, how about a background story on Edward, who totally fascinates me. Where and how he met Anita would be a great story. There is too much unknown about him, and he pops in quite frequently.

Waiting with unbated hope for the next book. Hope it is tons better.

I think I've had enough of Anita Blake or should I say LKH's view on the Anita Blake character. I am so tired of the sex that involves a small city and the pitty party Anita faces in each book. I keep buying the new books in hope that we get a book with a real plot, something that was what I remember why I started reading this series in the first place. Remember when Anita was just helping the vampires but resisting the acceptance of being involved with them? Everything past the Blue Moon book was a waste of my time reading but I struggled through each one of them, in hopes it would get better. I think I officially have given up on this series...what a shame. LKH has every right to bring her books and characters to whatever level she wants but I think without having a specific end in mind, her series really doesn't go anywhere. Each book lacks in plot and has the same garbage...too many lovers, too many were something or others. Enough already!

This book is one of the best in the series. There may not be the smut that was in the middle of the series, but there is the same grit that attracted me to the series to begin with. There is a story here to read that will intrigue the true fan and the new followers. This book has gone back the core of the story. There is a passage at the end of the book, that describes love, and everything involved, acceptance, compassion, and human needs. If you are looking for sex get penthouse, if you are looking for a story of compassion, faith, and mystery read this, you won't be sorry.

I gave up on LK quite some time ago but I saw the book at the library and thought that I would give it a shot. I thought to myself "hey she used to be able to write, so maybe she just fell off the bus but now she is back." And while there did seem to be more of a plot and less dry sex, there was no tension - no intensity, and if it was that darn easy to defeat the Harlequin then why did the heck did it take so long? Maybe she is just writing to pay the bills now, I don't know.
Well at least Anita got a new boy toy, like all the others, grateful for a little sex now and then. sigh....... At least I didn't buy the thing.

Good news: the pointless sex has really been toned down.

Bad news: the pointless dialogue has been upped drastically

I would like Anita to either stop griping about her issues or actually deal with them. I'm tired of crying and whining, I'm tired of all blonde people being evil, I'm tired of pissing matches with the cops, I'm tired of everybody being in love with a sociopathic weirdo. I'm tired of it all.

I get that a lot of people are ranking this four stars because the ridiculous sex got tamped down, but just because you remove something stupid doesn't mean the whole story gets elevated. It's still boring, filler-ridden and the ending is absurd.

Enough!

I was so excited when I got this book. I was able to read the whole series back to back. This was as exceptional as the rest of the books. Can't wait until there are more! It's been really hard to read anything else.

I've been a Laurell Hamilton fan for years now having read all of the Anita Blake series as well as the Merry Gentry series. Unfortunately, each new book is a new disappointment. Not only is this edition a rehash of old information, but Hamilton seems to want to tie up the whole series with a big pink bow *Spoiler Alert* (Olaf is now a shapeshifting lion and does not want to become a bride like Nicky).

The introduction of the Harlequin (in the novel by that name) was an exciting new area to explore - unfortunately if this is where that ends, what a let-down. Marmee Noir has been painted as the baddest of the bad, someone we've been led to believe could be the ultimate vampire, and Anita manages to dispose of her within three pages.

The vampires are practically non-existent in this book. All of Anita's closest friends/lovers/ardeur feeders are home in St. Louis while she's traipsing around the country looking for bad guys, complaining about the good-old-boys, again. Anita claims they don't bother her, yet there are always pages of dialog that are devoted to just that.

Apparently Hamilton has lost all interest in plot substance and is more interested in "craft"(Flirt anyone?). These last three offerings really weren't worth my time, *sigh*. It's a shame too, I used to look forward to this series.

Okay, i was late coming into the series, but i read all of them really quickly and very much enjoyed them, Flirt seemed a bit pointless, but whatever. I found this to be the least of her Anita books... very little forward movement of the plot, and now we're adding MORE characters to her harem? I have enough trouble keeping the characters we already have straight. And where were her main sweeties? This just felt like she was taking parts of her old books, with vomit inducing corpses and he-man cops and cut an pasting them into this book... very disappointed

I keep trying to find the love I have had for Anita, and was hoping this would at the very least point me in the right direction, but sadly it didnt :-(. The storyline was good, the dialogue throughout the book was lame and regurgitated. The new charecters, okay, the same issues continuously cropping up are boring. The conclusion was a complete and total letdown. The action (what little there was) was rushed and undescriptive. The big baddy that has been scaring and really tormenting Anita for several books, was not so bad when face to face. Ms. Hamilton has proven she can write so much better than this drivel, but unfortunately she seems to be more concerned with deadlines and dollar signs than telling her stories anymore. That is the saddest part.

By the gods, I'm going to pull out my hair if I hear one more ending that has Edward saving Anita's butt like a freaking god-in-a-box. All her past books had some flavor of sex, violence, and lots of vampire/wolf/leopard tensions that made it INTERESTING to learn and read. We aren't looking for another Patterson wannabe that happens to have supernatural creatures and powers. Even the author agrees that it isn't about getting the crime solved, but killing the bad guys. So, why this shift to try and write about crimes that obviously she (author and Anita) have no experience in? Yes, she has seen dead bodies, and worked with the dead.. but a crime scene is something altogether different. Don't wave your fingers at me people, yes there are usually dead bodies involved as well, but the thinking behind a cop's head or heck even a forensics geek is different then point my weapon (metaphysical, LAW, or Browning) thinking.

So, I agree with the others in saying that this is yet another filler book. **SPOILER ALERT**

She drank down the Mother of All Darkness with the power she got from Obsidian Butterfly. OK.. now what? After all this build-up, Anita wins again, but it took less than two pages and it was over?! So, you took the progenitor of the vampire species out of the picture, the darkness between the stars, and now Anita gets to go home to her sweetie-pies? *sigh*

The ONLY character development that seemed half-way interesting was OLAF. I wonder how he is going to handle being a were-lion? Oh wait, didn't Anita need a strong were-lion since she killed Haven? After all her nightmares about killing him, maybe Olaf will fill that lonely, guilty gap?

Anita REALLY needs to get over her pity-party.

I have been a fan of the series from the original release, own first editions, several autographed by Laurell, etc etc.I just finished reading this title. I actually feel that this book is more deserving of ritual bonfire than keeping as a first edition collectable.

I must say, for a 20 book series, with such character development, detailed plot development, fascination with details to explain everything to the reader, this book should have been 200 pages less and been one of those book club special edition releases. The story started out well. It was developing. Then there began the 2 page chapters, the introduction of characters in the last five pages that were never in the book before & the complete implosion of a plot line turned into a tweet size ending that so completely does a diservice to all the previous characters.

This is not a review to bash on Laurell for the sake of continuing the hate so many have laid upon her feet for the last 10+ books. This is just to suggest that, if she truly wishes to end the series, do it some justice and close it the way it deserved and not just mock all of her main characters, fans and potential new readers with an ending that deserves to be found in the bookstore clearance section for failed works than the New York Times Bestseller List.

I can't recommend this title to anyone coming in to my store nor will it be found with the other New York Times titles in my store.

I was hoping this would get Anita back on track. I was wrong. I like Edwards character, but want the dynamics between Jean Claude and Richard. All we got in the last book was an agreed group sex and no resolution to the feeling they have for each other. In this one we continue with the posturing, no one answering a question directly, everything is a challenge, male law enforcement only commenting about who she has sex with. I had to stop about half way through, skip to the end and find the resolution - 40 pages of a shoot out where nothing happens is just boring. I don't know if I'll pick up the next one if the guys aren't in it. I don't even care about Micah, Nathaniel and that lot. We need some action with or closure with JC and Richard. 20 books of dragging this along is enough.

Hit List is the newest Laurell K. Hamilton (LKH) Anita Blake novel, that is taking Anita back to her roots; no zombie raising, but back to police procedural that started off the series many books ago.

What I liked

For me, the book is a step in the right direction. The story was focused on the crime and not so much on the actual act of sex, though for those who still like LKH but were getting tired of the gratuitous and acrobatic sex scenes, rest assured, there is only one scene.

The other thing, that has been apparent in some of her past novels, was the 24 hour window of time. For some people, a 24 hour period in a novel is not acceptable. Once in a series, could be acceptable but for a while there it seemed the norm. For this story though it is a period of over three days.

One thing I've noticed with LKH's books lately is that her stories are just long scenes of either dialogue strung together or one long scene of a single time period. While some of that was apparent with the dialogue, it is more about the actual story and not all the usual hang-ups, which was still there, but toned down a bit.

One other thing I liked is the whole Olaf dynamic. If you've been reading this series you know he is the serial killer who also works with Edward sometimes. Without giving anything away, he will definitely be causing trouble in future books and I am wondering if LKH is feeling sympathetic towards the serial killer? Regardless I can't wait to see how she will push this part of the story in further development.

Speaking of Edward, it was nice to see him in the story line, looking after and protecting Anita, but also being her partner. Having him in the story line made it fresher somehow as if he needed to be there for Anita to lean on, which she does.

What I didn't like

Her growing harem is a tad out of control. Ok way out of control. The funny thing is, we know why she collects men and sometimes women in her life, because her sense of doing the right thing, yet when is it ever going to be enough?

She is on a case and somehow, she doesn't think to bring any of her men with her to ease the arduer, (if you've been following the series, will flair at the most inappropriate times) which only makes me think that LKH thought she needed another man in her life. I just couldn't get past the fact that she is a person who must feed like a vampire yet she does not bring at least one man to snack on. Though it is explained why, her need to not be looked at as a whore, I think at this date and time, her so called ethics is shot. And we've seen what happens when her need to feed flairs up, which is why she has a harem full of men.

Another thing that has been missing from quite a bit of her novels is the zombie aspect. I miss that part of the story more so now than ever, because when I first started reading this series that was a very big part of her appeal. Not only did she kill vampires but she also raised zombies.

Now she is at a crime scene, but the investigation is put on the back burner while she and Edward deal with the man in charge who hates Anita and fights them being in charge of the investigation. Seriously while I was happy to her on the ground looking at a dead body, I'd have prefer...well more investigating.

Overall

The story arc has shifted course so much that people have abandoned this series. In the last couple of books, the shift is trying to get back to what made so many people love the series in the first place; Anita Blake as a Hunter of monsters.

It is as if the LKH has written herself into a corner and she can't get out of it, hence she throws in more men, more sex, and 24 hour days. Enough already.

With Edward being in this book, it got me to thinking, that I would love a book from his point of view. That is probably what is needed. Maybe LKH needs to get back to basics and write Edward' story, because he is not a nice man and this is where she can get her props back for being a good writer. But that is probably a pipe dream.

There is nothing wrong with sex and eroticism in a book. The problem in regards to the series is that the author seemed to do a bait and switch with the storyline.

For the first 8-9 novels it was about the monsters, their politics, and where Anita fit in the world. Now the overall series has turned into an erotic urban fantasy, leaving behind the monster story line, for sexual conflict and Anita's aggravating morals towards sex and dating.

But even with that said, I am glad I've stuck around with this series. For me the eroticism did not bother me. The lack of monstrous upheaval did. So far LKH is moving towards the monsters again; let's hope she keeps shifting that way.

I don't normally grade my book reviews, but this one gets a C+. It is not a bad read, just not where it should be especially as this is book 20, LKH should have pushed the monster hunter/crime scene investigation element more.

I'm going to try to write an honest unbiased opinion on Hit List. After reading some of the other reviews, and then the book itself, I've come to the conclusion that some fans are so angry after the direction of the last 6-7 books that they are going to pick apart every last thing Hamilton writes. Don't get me wrong, the last two books I didn't like at all. Hit List is going back in the direction of the first books though. There was one sex scene but it didn't last long. Not thirty pages long with ten pages of description of characters clothes afterwards, like in a recent book.

This was mainly a story where Anita is back to being a marshal, and Edward is featured often in the book. I would easily give the early books in this series a 5 star rating, this one would be a 3 stars where the last 6-7 would be a 2 stars and sometimes 1. My main gripe now is how drawn out the conversations often are,,,angst angst angst. The whole thing about "Anita has sex with a guy once and he never loves anyone but her, but she gets to have 15 other men to be in love with too" is flat old. It'd be great if Hamilton could think of a way that Anita could release some of these mens romantic ties to her without losing her metaphysical powers that are tied to it. I completely get that the reason Anita is now a living immortal Goddess who can almost not be killed by anything is all the powers she gained from all her metaphysical ties, but still, all the constant partners Anita has is nasty nasty nasty regardless of the "love" that happens with it.

The way in which the antagonist in this story is beaten was like a "well DUH" moment though. I had this thought 5 books ago, that this could be the way to defeat this character. But Hamilton does appear to be trying again. I miss how Anita was in her first few books. Her as a person. I'd like it if she could just end up with one partner and love him and be normal. I love the direction Hamilton is going with the "Otto" character though. I think that'll make a great book in itself.

--POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD (characters mentioned)-- Okay, before I go off on my rant I must say that I've read the entire series multiple times and thoroughly enjoyed MOST of it. I was one of those fans that would get defensive if someone started talking crap about one of the later books because of its supposed lack of originality & depth. But, now I'm beginning to understand where these readers are coming from...

Up until recently, I followed LKH on facebook & twitter (i stopped following her because all she talks about is the crappy music she listens to when writing crappy chapters, and her weight loss goals) and in the rare moments that she would actually hint at what this new book was going to be about, I got really excited. A revisit from Olaf! And scary Mother of Darkness! One would think that she was stepping back into her Mystery/Murder Novel shoes. Wrong wrong wrong.

A lot of people complain that her books have become all about sex. This is very true, but some readers (such as myself) don't mind smut. But the thing that makes LKH's smut horrible is that it's the SAME THING EVERY BOOK. Literally. The same sentences. The same 'thoughts'. With how many people Anita is sleeping with, one would think that her bedroom seductions would be a bit more diverse.

Speaking of repeating sentences... does anyone else notice how the past 5 books have been pretty much exactly the same, just with a different murder scenario & people? It's the same dialogue every time! Hell, even when no one is speaking, it's the same 'physical' dialogue. I wish she would stop being so lazy, and start getting creative!

The thing that pissed me off the most -- BIG SPOILER AHEAD!!!! DO NOT READ AHEAD, UNLESS YOU ALREADY READ THE BOOK----
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The ending of the book was the worst ending I have ever read in my life. The first thing I thought once I finished the last chapter was "...are you serious? this better be a prank. There better be a secret chapter on her website or something." To sum up my frustrations with the ending: so many epic things happened, but were only discussed for one or two sentences. She freaking killed the Mother of all Darkness! You think that would be a big freaking deal! But no. All that was said was, "The Mother of All Darkness is dead, well and truly dead, and I'd never felt power like the rush of drinking her dry." And then the next sentence goes on to talk about other crap. WTH?! What is really sad is that I didn't even realize the Mother was dead until she said that. What kind of climax is that?? Oh, and Olaf is now a Werelion. WHAT?? I love how just CASUALLY mentions these epic things, then goes on to talk about crap that no one really cares about. What the...???

Seriously. She rushed the ending. And it made me OH so mad. This book couldve been twice as thick. This had the potential to become the most epic Anita book ever. But no. Let's just mention that the most notorious villain in the ENTIRE series dies in one horrible sentence. She couldn't even dedicated a paragraph to it.

I read in another comment that she is contracted to make 3 more Anita books. Well, what the hell are those books going to be about? And how many pages are they going to be? Ten? Maybe eleven? Twelve, if you count the dedication. Save your money, because I can give you the story right now: "I'm standing over another dead body in Alaska. By myself, of course, because I'm too hardcore to bring my Triumvirate with me... even though we have the potential to control the entire preternatural network in north america. But I'm too much of an emotional masochist to really take control of that. I'd rather put myself in bad situations with vampires because it's more exciting... even though I keep telling myself that I'm getting tired of the killing. Hmm... what ever happened to my day job? I used to enjoy raising the dead. Oh! And I completely forgot that I can control vampires, because I'm a necromancer. It's funny how I always forget that when I'm fighting 'bad guys'. Oh well. I know that while I'm here in Alaska I will have to send for some of my 'live-in sweeties' to come save my ass. Because I keep forgetting that I need them in order to survive. No matter. This will all be over in a day. Well, three days, if you count the moment I black out and regain consciousness, which I know will happen. Oh look, theres a cute were-something over there. I can't figure out why I'm drawn to him. But I cant look away. My beast is stirring. Look at it pad up that dark preverbal hallway in my mind. I'll have to have sex to stop it from trying to get out. That, or go through a McDonalds drive-up. Maybe I'll have both. Sex and an egg mcmuffin. That sounds good. But wait, I cant add another boy to my line of sweeties. Hmmm... I'll do it anyway. Maybe I'll just collect one from each state. And then I'll get into arguments with police officials in each county. And in the end I will tell them off like the hardcore official that I am. Because I dont enjoy my random sexual encounters. I do this to survive. Although, I think I am in love with all of them. My life is so confusing. Whatever happened to that one lover i had? What was his name? Oh yeah, Jean Claude. I haven't seen him in years! I've only talked to him on the phone. And once in a while during a metaphysical mishap. Hmmm... I forgot to have sex with this guy! Oh no! Either my beasts are going to rise, or the ardeur is! Something's gotta give! I choose sex." The end.

"Sweeties". "Bad Guys". "I'm used to people making me try to feel small". Anyone else tired of these words/sentences (and others) being repeated through every book? Seriously, Laurell. What the hell happened to your creativity? You used to keep me hooked on these books. Now, I feel like donating my books to the library. But, I can't, because I have an e-reader. Woe is me.

Ending the rant, I must say that the one star I did give this book is accredited to one thing: i couldn't give it less stars. Seriously. I didn't enjoy one thing from this books. Even the 2 characters that I usually enjoy were no longer the awesome characters I've come to enjoy. Edward is no longer hard core. He's only looking after Anita now. He's a baby sitter. And Olaf, who now likes to give hugs and play games with his facial expressions. Ugh. I'm done.

I was eagerly awaiting the latest installment of Anita's journey. So excited, couldn't wait, read all of LKH's blogs and downloaded it to my Kindle on the day it came out, and then I started reading it...

It was meh. Was happy to see Edward and Bernardo return and even Olaf, but it was all so boring and predictable. At least this time there was less sex but I kind of missed it because the "story" did not make up for it. The ending was such a disappointment... kind of like LKH got bored with the big baddie and then didn't know what to do so just finished.

I've been a fan of LKH for many years but to have the major story arc that's been building for the last few books end so abruptly and so easily I don't know whether I will bother buying the next Anita book when it comes out.

It was just so boring! I missed the angst between the major characters who were all off screen, there was hardly any fighting, or even much tension between Olaf and Anita. In fact Anita has turned into a Mary Sue and she is so not interesting anymore. I'm sorry LKH but you will no longer be on my auto-buy list.

Just a bit of background first-- I loved the first 6 or 7 books of this series and then put it down. I picked up Hit List after I heard parts of it on Book Radio. I liked it. It was out of St. Louis and away from her harem and then, of course, Edward was in it. Love Edward! There was a plot. My only problem with it was the ending. The story built up and built up and then it was all over in a few pages. It was like you take your time and build a nice fire and it is roaring for a few minutes and then a huge bucket of water is dumped on it and it is out-- over. Can't the ending draw out at least as long as one of the sex scenes?

*note* I mention adult topics in this review.

Every time I read a new Hamilton book, I say I'm not going to read another one. Well, she published Hit List, and I requested it from the library, read it in a couple of days - and I'm actually glad I did. This one is much better then the last few. It is a little light on plot, as all the more recent ones by her are, but it's also much less sex as well (though, admitedly, Anita still talks about sex on just about every page, at least she's not actually having sex on every page). All of the main characters other then Anita are basically missing from this one, though you do at least see Edward & I am a big Edward fan.

The ending is wrapped up a little too quickly/neatly/perfectly for me: the bad guys are supposed to be so, so, bad, but without much effort or thought, the good guys are magically saved & live on to fight the good fight another day, & the bad guys are just dead & gone. That part did bother me, but all in all, I did enjoy the book, it was a light, fun, fast read. I give the book 3 stars because the book of course did have some problems/issues, but it was still worth reading, especially if you are smart like I did & borrow the book instead of buy it.

eta: fixed grammar

OK I officially give up. I've dragged myself this far and can't beare any more. This book should be used for drinking games & you have to take a shot every time Anita says 'it's a guy thing' or 'it's a girlie thing'. Pages & pages of whiny drivel about people who either instantly dislike Anita or instantly they're bonded & OMG ANOTHER guy to have sex with. Interspersed with Ted vs Edward & how one day there'll be a Showdown. (OK we get it, he puts on a front & he's a 'hard' man). Olaf/Otto & his dark serial killer eyes. Long descriptions of men's hair colours. The animals inside Anita sit up & start running up the metaphorial path inside her. Yawn yawn yawn. Oh and the occasional mention of The Ones Who Must Not Be Named & the Mother of All Darkness. No climax, more of a whimper & a fart to finish the book off. Save your money. If you really can't resist, at least read it in the voice of Stewie from Family Guy.

I was a big fan of this series in the beginning but now I just can't read anymore of this series. Hamilton needs to stick to more core characters and not add so many into the story. Every book she is picking up some lost soul to add to her clan or shall I say "harem" that it's getting ridiculous. Her core characters in the beginning of the series are not even around much in her books anymore and when they do manage to pop up, it's brief. Whatever happened to her raising the dead??!! And who wants to keep reading about tigers? I am sick of the tigers! Hamilton needs to kill this series right now. I will not read her next book, I am done with this series. I kept thinking it might get better and she will go back to what made Anita Blake great but I don't see it happening.

Don't know if it is me or what, but too many writers are writing as if they just have to meet a deadline and don't bother with a plot or decent writing anymore. This is another one that seems like the end in the downward slide to mediocracy for Hamiliton. It isn't just this series but several other writers that I used to read as well. Sad that so many that were formerly decent writers are writing anything to meet a deadline and putting their names on it. Most of these writers I will now only buy, if I buy at all, at the second hand store. Not worth the money otherwise.

I gave Bullet 1 star -- Hit List just makes 2 starts only because I can't give it 1 1/2 stars.

Over all the books seem to still be challenged by the lack of an editor. She really does need, one.

As you can see I didn't purchase this book from the store, it was gifted to me, from a person who thought that I still liked the series. Honestly I wouldn't have purchased it myself - Not 14.99 for a book that just barely reaches the word count to be classified as a Novel. (This is not LKH's fault, it's the publishing houses fault, for greed!)
There are a lot of problems with the book, which I can blame Ms. Hamilton for. However one stands out; Anita has turned into someone much different from the character we first met. When we first met Anita she solved mysteries, and helped slay the bad guys in jeans and sneakers - She didn't much care *what* she looked like because womanhood wasn't defined but what she wore, or who thought she was attractive. For me this super cool women came to an end when she was criticizing Detective Stavros for dressing to much like a man. This from a women who wore a tux to a wedding. She also had no problem with Nate packing a nighty, what happened to the t-shirts? They were cool. I guess now looks matter, and womanhood is defined by clothing and the application of make-up. Yes, this has been coming on for a long time, but I felt, this time it was the wow moment.

I also found that the word Jealous was over used, it seemed that anyone who was angry at Anita was jealous, it is (and other forms of the word) is used over 17 times.

The plot line, if there was one. Was thin - It wasn't a mystery because there was nothing solve. It was for the most part a serial segment - I am not saying that serial is wrong but there wasn't a mystery to solve - I personally like a little serial in my books -

There were a lot of *ick* factors in this book for me, that made me cringe. Would we be as accepting of a 17 year old girl who is *warded* to the live in partner of a man who was having sex with her every day she does her homework? I don't find it sexy - or appealing.

I also have issues with the way that Ms. Hamilton portrayed women in this book -

The one and only intercourse scene to me is troubling -- I thought it was more gratuitous than a part of the storyline that we the audience need to read.

There is a lot more to comment on, and I know that people will still enjoy.

I do have to say, I think for the most part, that the series is dead to me, because the next book will no longer feature a character who I enjoyed, respect, or care about.

Remember how in "Bullet," Laurell K. Hamilton set up a thrilling, exciting plotline... and then just stuffed it into a single "here's what we did" sentence in the last chapter?

Well, her twentieth Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novel "Hit List" attempts to be an edgy, gritty thriller about serial-killings by vampire spies. It's not. Hamilton has toned down the plotless sex, but it's replaced with an endless stream of really boring conversations, weapons porn, weretiger politics, and Anita waving her imaginary penis at her superiors.

Edward and Anita are called to Twilightland (aka the Pacific Northwest) to investigate a bunch of weretigers who are being killed, probably by the Harlequin. And after a bizarre fight breaks out at the local weretiger.... place, Anita realizes that the Mother Of All Darkness is scheming to steal Anita's body and make it her own. You know, the same dastardly plot as the last several books.

However, Anita's attempts to root out the Harlequin are foiled by a minor arm injury. So she drops the real federal marshals, and joins forces with Bernardo, Olaf, and some minor were-bodyguards. Can they finally stop talking long enough to catch the Harlequin? Will Anita pull a new magic power out of her butt to wrap up the worst-written subplot in the whole series?

"Hit List" is boring. Painfully boring. Hamilton has toned down the sex/politics considerably, but about 90% of this book is made up of dull, repetitive conversation. If you chopped out the subplots that go nowhere (Marshal Raborn) and the dialogue that adds nothing, the entire simplistic plot would be about thirty pages long.

And about halfway through the book, Hamilton gets bored with writing lots of human characters, so she sweeps them away and bring in the serial killers and "anime-haired" werethugs. The writing is Hamilton's usual hackneyed mixture of casual sexism, weapons porn ("Light anti-tank weapon." "It's a LAW"), and Anita posturing and posing as the Greatest of Experts and the Baddest Of Assassins.

The flimsy plot does become more exciting at the very end of the book, but it also becomes hilariously silly -- one of the bad guys randomly turns good, and Anita pulls another Deus Ex Machina power out of her butt.

As for Anita, she's typically horrible. When she isn't being arrogant and bossing people around, she's huddling in a corner crying because another marshal said something mean to her. Edward has transformed into a creepy pervert who is always trying to get Anita to feed the ardeur, even letting a strange weretiger crawl into bed naked with her WHILE SHE'S UNCONSCIOUS.

Even worse, Hamilton lays out plenty of groundwork for Anita to sleep with both Edward AND serial killer Olaf, and she adds yet another traumatized were to Anita's enormous harem. None of the other main characters make even a cameo appearance, so don't expect to see any favorites here.

"Hit List" is like swimming through sludge -- slow, boring, clammy and unpleasant. It's thankfully low on sexual content, but the endless posturing and boring conversations make it a chore to read.

The book leave much to be desired. The first chapter is heavily borrowed from previous books, so much so that I had to check twice that I have the right book, and not one I already read. It is heavy on long winded conversations about what do people think of Anita in the middle of a chase. The plot is not well thought out, and the ending feels hurried. Also, I couldn't figure how is it Anita doesn't have one phone call with any of her BFs. That said it was not a complete waste of time, and with some light editing this could make for a good finale to the series.

Warning: rant about the Anita Blake series in general about to commence.

I'm a long time fan of Laurell K. Hamilton. I started reading when she only had three books out, and despite my current frustration with her writing I have faithfully continued to read the entire series.

I don't mind reading about sex, even graphic depictions of sex. I do mind when an author starts turning a strong, interesting female character into a two-dimensional woman with a magical vagina who everyone loves and desires. The character Micah is a joke and has no real personality and the action sequences (when she has them) are sloppily written.

All that being said, Hit List was pretty good. I like the character Edward and always enjoy books with him. Anita Blake only had sex with one new man. I think my biggest complaint about this book and the progression of these novels in general is that in each one, Anita and her men take on bigger, meaner, and tougher baddies. They never fail, and Anita keeps getting stronger and stronger and with new amazing never seen before powers. A true main character hasn't been killed off in a long time. "Perfect" heroines are boring and comes off as lame wish fulfillment on the author's part ("She's not perfect! Her flaw is that she's beautiful but doesn't know it..." ugh gag me).

Will I continue to read the Anita Blake series? Yup. (unless they all start reading like Flirt) Will I continue to bitch? Probably...unless Laurell K. Hamilton can make Anita a little more accessible, slightly less slutty, and stop adding details that seem awkwardly auto-biographical.

There was too much boring talk in this book and not enough action (sexual and otherwise). I think LKH is tired of this series. I don't mind Edward, et al in the books but I really missed the JC, Richard, Micah, Nathaniel as well as the St. Louis setting. Plus, the whole story about killing MOAD was just woven around Anita's whining about how nobody respects her. Well, duh, that ship sailed a long time ago. I don't know it just felt like the end for this series. My request is don't write any more books without at least some conversation with the gang at home and please put in more action.

I like the urban fantasy/romance genre in general, though I've been indifferent to this series since the poorly constructed Danse Macabre a few years back. I happened to pick it up on the new release shelf of my library this week and gave it a read.

I pull the occasional harlequin type romance novels from the used book section of my library for brainless lunch hour reading. Compared to those, I was pleased that I still find Laurel K. Hamilton's characterizations much more entertaining than middle grade romance novel pulp (70's - 90's). She doesn't write deep and complex characters, but they're not the stock romance archetypes either. Or at least of a much more flawed and entertainingly warty variety.

It's interesting to come back to the series after a few years off. The relentless horror SheWoman Annie Get Your Gun of her first 10 books I read and reread in my 20's, and the in your face girrlpower "reluctant" (wink wink nod nod) sexual exploration/rebellion phase that 'spilled' out in the next four books in my 30's seems to have been replaced with a softer and more reserved style of writing. Hamilton still includes the violence and guns, serial killers and murder investigations, but her focus is clearly almost entirely on her character interaction instead of plot and character resolution.

Macho action and the soul searching girl-man bonding sessions? It's guy lit for chicks. Kind of like a light hearted Rainbow Six romantic fantasy...seeking a HEA with a furry multitude.

The framework around the character interaction is a police mystery. In some books this would be the plot were it more than a thin throw away description. But like a harlequin novel, the plot is the weakest element of the story. By comparison there is a /lot/ of chat interaction. I was entertained by it, so I still enjoyed the book.

I should mention that the editing was poorly done. There were repetitive odd turns of phrase, words, and character descriptions, misspellings, and blaring examples of lack of proof reading. For example, Olaf was introduced to the reader twice in two different chapters.

I enjoyed the black hat/white hat posturing between Anita and the cartoonish misogynistic Marshal Raborn. I liked the spunky yet unfortunately named newbies Karlton (Fresh Prince of Bel Air?) and Newborn (baby). I enjoyed the adorable plushy sex toy guy Ethan. I even rather liked her pet sociopath Nicky. I think my favorite detail was the progression over time of the federal laws dealing with shifters and werewolves from when I started reading the series to where they are now in the series. Nice :).

While supporting cast old and new weave their way through character hashing sessions with Anita, the main interaction centers around the long term relationship with sometime assassin Edward, and to a lesser extent her the relationship with her old nemesis Olaf.

There is a sexual tension between the three of them that for me, shouldn't be there: Olaf and Anita's because he's that twisted a character, and Edward and Anita's because it goes against type. However, I still liked the process of their relationships if not the direction.

In summary, the story is enjoyable for anyone who appreciates fluffy second tier romance novels but also wants a bit of a darker unconventional 'mantasy' twist. In that, the characterizations are meatier than you'd expect and make for a satisfying afternoon read. A good solid two stars. I took away a star each for the weak plot, the extensive poor editing, and because I know the author's capable of better, the still two dimensional characterization.

Hail Laurell K Hamilton: Queen of the Shameless Brainless.

I was hesitant to read this book because of where the series has gone over the last ten or so books, but I happened to find it in the library the other day and decided to give it a go. Now I'm glad I did. Hit List reminds me of the earlier Anita Blake books in a lot of ways in that it's driven by plot rather than just being a series of sex scenes tied together by an occasional glimpse of a story line. There's still sex here (and almost-sex), but very little by comparison, so the story shines through and is pretty darn good. While I was a little disappointed in how easily the big baddie was taken out, w/in the context of this book and the larger series, it made sense. Anita's become almost invincible. Oh, and utterly irresistible--not the best characteristics if you want your audience to relate to your protagonist, but it's definitely something the series has been leading to for a long time, so I can't really complain. Aside from the Mary Sue-ishness of the protagonist, the only real problem is how often the story gets bogged down in the same old petty conflicts Anita has been dealing with in all the books. She says she doesn't have anything to prove to anyone anymore, but as the narrator--the person who presumably gets to choose which parts of the story to include--she spends a lot of time dwelling on how she's so often unfairly characterized as a slut. I just want to tell her, If it doesn't bother you, stop telling us about it every time it happens. We women already know quite well that we will always be judged in this way. We get it.

But I don't want this review to be one long complaint. As a long time fan of the series, I plan to see it through. Anita was a great character when I first met her, and, though I don't love her like I used to, I still want to see how things work out for her. So I want to end with what I like about this book. 1. I like Edward. I like that he's becoming a real person with real emotions. I could do w/out his growing obsession with Anita, but I like that he's also kind of obsessed with his family, which is pretty cool. 2. I like how the sex didn't take center stage this time. I don't want to get my hopes up, but it'd be great if that were a sign of things to come. Anita out in the field, doing her job, and interacting with the baddies...all those things make my heart swell with happiness. Hamilton can still write action scenes with the best of them! 3. There was very little angst with Anita's harem this time. Again, I'm hoping that's a good sign for the future because maybe it'll mean that she can focus more on the job. 4. And finally I still really like Anita's voice. Yeah, everyone loves her / is obsessed with her. Yeah, she's almost completely invincible. However, we only know that from what she describes, not the way she describes it. The vocab's accessible and the sentences manageable and a pleasure to read. The books were written for normal people like me.

... Is what I kept asking myself for nearly the entire book. In fact, it wasn't until the roadblock scene at more than midway through that I was absolutely sure that I HAD NOT read the book. There were just so many wording choices and turns of phrases that are identical to what I've seen in previous Anita tales. This annoyed me to no end as much of the dialect could literally have been copy-and-pasted from the other books. This did not feel like a fresh, fully fleshed -out novel. Instead it was more of a short story fluffed up with a ton of back story and wildly unnecessary descriptions and details. Seriously, there was one point where so much detail was given about the hair of Anita's dudes that my eyes crossed. That being said, I did enjoy being immersed once again in Anita's world. The actual story was pretty good, though the climax sort of fizzled at the end. As always, this book left me wanting more... which is a good thing in this case. I'll be reading the next installment, but I'll pick it up from the library like I did this one.

Well she managed to get out of bed this time and bring in character's that made it so it wasn't a Herculean task to read. She did manage to keep the "sleeping in a pile of kitties" line, the worst in all literature but at least this time it was kept to a minimum. Still I'm not back in her camp she has put out WAY to many bad books in the last few years.

It was interesting to see Anita working as a Marshall again with Edward. However the book read more like a long short story in terms of plot. It was long enough to be a regular book but not that much happened. Too much time spent with characters we don't care about - series does not need more shapeshifters added to Anita's group. They didn't really solve the mystery either (as she does early in series) instead she gets kidnapped and the book comes to a quick conclusion. There just wasn't that much character development.

If this is going to be the first book you read in the Anita Blake series, stop right there and go buy Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter) instead. It's a better read and, as always, you can never go wrong with a series by starting from the beginning. It might, of course, give you rather unrealistic expectations for the series moving forward, but at least you'll have gotten a couple of excellent books in hand before hitting the soup of mediocrity that is Anita Blake: The 'Marmee Noir' Years.

If, on the other hand, this is not your first time at the Anita Blake rodeo and you're reading reviews you're probably looking to find out whether this latest book is more of the same or something completely different. The short answer to that is that the sex content is way down and the action content is way up, but neither of these things actually make this book significantly better or worse than the last. Of course, you might also just be trolling through reviews to find out if your favorite supporting character is featured heavily in this book. If that's the case, I'll save you the trouble of reading further with the minor spoiler that - unless your favorite character is either Edward or Olaf - you are out of luck. Pretty much the entire St. Louis gang is conspicuously absent from the proceedings with the minor exception of newcomer Nicky and a few other minor characters who show up towards the end.

That said, this review is now going to enter the spoiler danger zone so if that bothers you then you might want to avert your eyes and stop reading. I normally try to keep spoilers to a minimum in my reviews, but this particular book is rather impossible to discuss at length without traipsing merrily through spoiler heavy territory.

So, Hit List is indeed quite different from previous books in the series, but whether that is a good or a bad thing depends a great deal on your personal preferences. Hit List is primarily all about chasing down and cleaning up the last remnants haunting the enemy closet. On the up side, it does do exactly what it sets out to do by finally eliminating the overextended threat of Marmie Noir. Something that really could have and should have happened several books ago, but better late than never. I imagine that the book is called 'Hit List' only because calling it 'Kill Marmie' would have been a bit too on the mark. On the down side, this makes the book a bit one-note since it doesn't really deviate from that singular purpose in any meaningful way. And, as a consequence, the very few deviations it does make feel tacked on and rushed through. So, while I'm sure that the 21st addition to the Anita Blake series will be greatly improved by the cutting of all that dead weight, it makes Hit List feel rather heavy-handed and a bit more like something that must be endured rather than savored.

Now, please don't assume that to mean I think Hit List is a bad book. It's certainly not a particularly great book, but I thought on the whole that it was a totally decent read. It does, however, suffer from a lot of the same problems that have plagued the Anita Blake series for quite some time including unsatisfying story structure, an often repetitive and clunky narration, recycled minor characters and a certain lack of subtext. Scarcely does any character in an Anita Blake novel not feel the urge to discuss, at great length, his/her feelings on any particular situation especially if those feelings involve some particular insecurity. Of course, if these flaws were deal breakers, I wouldn't be reading the book in the first place as they've been increasingly commonplace in the past dozen or so entries to the series.

That said, there was at least one major improvement to be found in this book as Anita seems to have finally gotten the hang of managing her powers and so sex doesn't drive the narrative as it has in previous books. So, hooray for that. Unfortunately, as a result, the book ends up having a single sex scene that teaches the very important lesson that - when left to her own devices - Anita having sex with a virtual stranger is both incredibly chatty and unbelievably boring. Consequently, the scene comes across as awkward, hollow and rather superfluous.

The best thing I can really say about Hit List is that it gives me high hopes for the future of the series. Anita Blake was always been a series that was at its best when it wasn't being progressively smashed beneath the weight of the ever-escalating threat hammer. Overarching threats work really well for some series, unfortunately, the Anita Blake series is entirely too much about confrontation to ever really tolerate the looming presence of any threat for long. So, it was really long past time for Marmie Noir to finally meet her end and the fallout from her destruction has the potential to be far more interesting then the threat of her ever was.

Additionally, Anita having finally managed to sort out both her powers and her fellas is a huge plus and hopefully it will allow the focus of future books to move back around to story and character development. Because, realistically, the biggest issue with the introduction of character after character after character in the past ten or so books has been the fact that very little if any time was actually devoted to doing anything worthwhile with them. Presumably because so much of each subsequent book has been devoted to working out sexual hang-ups, repairing dysfunctional relationships and dealing with metaphysical emergencies caused either deliberately or inadvertently by good ol' Marmie Noir. Any way you slice it, it's going to be interesting to see where the series goes from here.

So, at the end of the day, Hit List (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 20) was good enough to rank as okay in my books despite its flaws and its uniquely horrible cover art. The most remarkable thing about it, however, is that it has me really looking forward to Anita Blake #21.

I would have been very upset if I had paid the absurd the store price tag for this. I got it at the library. I was very suprised to see three copies setting on the shelf...no holds on them. I will say I think it was better than Flirt (what was the point of that one?) and Bullet. The sex was toned down a lot (yippee) but could we please have an Anita novel that does not use the phrases "common fodder" or "pretty to think so"or heaven help me, "misogynist". I was also under the impression that I would get to visit the angry and yummy Richard however I am content with Edward/Ted. Speaking of which, why must ALL them male characters be either jealous or want her? I'm BORED!!

After not reading the last 6-7 books I picked this one up in "Books a Million" and read the dust jacket. It sounded like Anita was actually going to get back to what made her a good character in the first books. So I flipped it open to a random page and read. What I got was was Anita discussing penis sizes with one guy with another (at least one) nude guy in the background. I didn't go any further so I don't know what kind of sex slaves they were but this drivel needs to come to an end.

I did not buy it and won't even buy it when it ends up in the bargain bin for $2.

I have read every Anita Blake book over the last few months being a new Laurell Hamilton fan. I was instantly HOOKED and the first 6 books were fantastic. They eventually devolved into nothing more than porn, but I still really liked the characters and the fast pace (of most) of her books. This one was so boring, I actually stopped reading it about half way through. I finally made myself go back to finish it, but it was terrible. I can't say I'll stop reading her books, I only hope they get better!

I just finished reading Hit List and have to say Hamilton needs a new editor. That they allowed this book to be published is embarassing. The story was absent minded and I feel that Laurell has lost her heart. Where were the zombies that she has to raise, the pestering ghosts, ghouls, demons. All you get is I miss home, sigh or I can get hurt, Pleasuring so many men is drama. Anita is a man. Cops are just jealous. Oh and eat the darkness. Please I think I could cry this was just a poor poor turnout. I think Anita has left her. Maybe someday it will change but how could LAURELL lose the soul of her character so much. I give the story two stars because I did finish it but It is not a great read. It is a ok book I guess, but it reads like a magazine that has a lot of adds. Flip ok skip did anything good happen no. Not really

Hamilton was the first author I read in the vampire/romance genre, so out of my stupid loyalty, I purchased this book thinking that maybe she still had it. Wrong. I could not even finish the book, and that speaks volumes for me as I always try to finish whatever I start. The early books in the series were worth readying, but things have gone downhill lately, and I am embarrassed to admit that I have ever read any of Hamilton's stories. However, if you want a really great vampire/romance series that is well-written, interesting, and hard to put down, pick up The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by J.R. Ward. After reading Ward, I am spoiled and not much else compares for me. No, this is not a paid advertisement, just my opinion.

I'm a huge fan of Hamilton's work and thought this installment was plodding. There was far less action and it almost seemed as if Ms. Hamilton couldn't make up her mind if this would be an erotica novel or a mystery? So... she just skimmed through doing either one. The reader was left with a dissatisfied, "what did I read?" feeling. The series has digressed as of about 4 books ago and I miss the hard-boiled mysteries and was probably one of the few that loved the erotica angle. Now, this neutrality of content (what direction are we going anyway?) has made me kinda turned off. I will read the next one, but I don't think it will be one to pay $15 for. It'll be a borrow from the library.

I hope Hamilton decides to shift her focus to the Gentry Series instead. Anita is played out. It sounds like I didn't like the novel, I did. I just LOVED 1-15 and can't get the love back with her recent works, they're falling flat.

Solid 3 stars.

First I would like to say is that I love LKH. I have read and own all of her books and I am a true Anita Blake fan. However Anita needs a makeover. I can sum her up by saying (Too Much). She is a hot mess! For starters you can turn this series around by (1) kill off a couple of characters, way too many boyfriends and pets. She can't possibly face so much danger and strife without loosing a few loved ones preferably some of the weak, sappy boy toys. (2) Find some way to get rid of the Ardeur, it was a nice diversion but it has taken over her life. Anita is flawed yes that's why we love her but come on, the Ardeur just rules her life. It basically has turned her into a giant slut. Very tiring.

OK, it seems most of the reviews have pretty much nailed down what was wrong with the book. I'm going to add my two cents as well, because maybe someone on LKH's team will notice all the negative reviews and think it warrants a mention or two to her.

I started out reading the Merry Gentry series. While I was waiting for the next book to come out, I decided to read her other series, even though I was never really into the vampire genre. I got hooked after the first few books, and have read them all. Yes, they started to get bad, but I felt that after all the time and money I invested on reading her books, I just had to finish reading the series because dang it, I was committed! I tried really hard to be a good fan, I really did. I was excited when Divine Misdemeanors came out with the Merry Gentry series and felt that maybe this was the only series that I liked reading. Welp, after reading that abomination I've come to the realization that LKH just doesn't give a flying **** about either of these two series anymore. She's probably under contract to write X amount of books for those series with her publisher and since they're her cash cow she agrees, but has no heart in it anymore. So if anyone of any importance is reading this, here is a list of my complaints:

- Anita should just get a sex-change operation and become the man that LKH wants her to be. I'm all for feminine equality and blah blah blah, but god she really pushes it in her books. All I read is how "Anita you act just like one of the guys" or just endless paragraphs of pissing contests and "mine is bigger than yours" with the cops, etc etc etc...
- Speaking of which, the dialogue between Anita and any cop she ever meets is so entirely unbelievable it's laughable. "Oh hi, you're Anita Blake? The one that f***s all the monsters?" I've grown up in a law enforcement family and I can promise you that any dialogue and point of contention between Anita and every cop has been exaggerated to the point that I literally have to put the book down and shake my head in disbelief.
- Also, along the lines of Anita wanting to be a man... what is up with every man in her life being "pretty" with long flowing hair? She likes having Nathanial as her "wife"? I mean, *sigh* nevermind, I just have no words...
- This booked sucked so bad. In terms of general story-telling it sucked. This climax of the final battle between Anita and Marmee Noir should have been EPIC as it's been drawn out for books. BOOKS! ~*~SPOILER~*~ Basically while Marmee Noir is trying to take over Anita's body, all Anita has to do is think of the wolves (since Marmee can't control them) and her two triumvirates and BOOM, Marmee is defeated.

I feel like I might as well have taken the $12.99 I paid for this hot mess and just lit the money on fire. Speaking of fire... This series to me is like watching a plane crash. It started so high and soaring, then it just spiraled downwards until it crashed into a huge flaming pile of... well, you know.

It was interesting to see Anita working as a Marshall again with Edward. However the book read more like a long short story in terms of plot. It was long enough to be a regular book but not that much happened. Too much time spent with characters we don't care about - series does not need more shapeshifters added to Anita's group. They didn't really solve the mystery either (as she does early in series) instead she gets kidnapped and the book comes to a quick conclusion. There just wasn't that much character development.

If this is going to be the first book you read in the Anita Blake series, stop right there and go buy Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter) instead. It's a better read and, as always, you can never go wrong with a series by starting from the beginning. It might, of course, give you rather unrealistic expectations for the series moving forward, but at least you'll have gotten a couple of excellent books in hand before hitting the soup of mediocrity that is Anita Blake: The 'Marmee Noir' Years.

If, on the other hand, this is not your first time at the Anita Blake rodeo and you're reading reviews you're probably looking to find out whether this latest book is more of the same or something completely different. The short answer to that is that the sex content is way down and the action content is way up, but neither of these things actually make this book significantly better or worse than the last. Of course, you might also just be trolling through reviews to find out if your favorite supporting character is featured heavily in this book. If that's the case, I'll save you the trouble of reading further with the minor spoiler that - unless your favorite character is either Edward or Olaf - you are out of luck. Pretty much the entire St. Louis gang is conspicuously absent from the proceedings with the minor exception of newcomer Nicky and a few other minor characters who show up towards the end.

That said, this review is now going to enter the spoiler danger zone so if that bothers you then you might want to avert your eyes and stop reading. I normally try to keep spoilers to a minimum in my reviews, but this particular book is rather impossible to discuss at length without traipsing merrily through spoiler heavy territory.

So, Hit List is indeed quite different from previous books in the series, but whether that is a good or a bad thing depends a great deal on your personal preferences. Hit List is primarily all about chasing down and cleaning up the last remnants haunting the enemy closet. On the up side, it does do exactly what it sets out to do by finally eliminating the overextended threat of Marmie Noir. Something that really could have and should have happened several books ago, but better late than never. I imagine that the book is called 'Hit List' only because calling it 'Kill Marmie' would have been a bit too on the mark. On the down side, this makes the book a bit one-note since it doesn't really deviate from that singular purpose in any meaningful way. And, as a consequence, the very few deviations it does make feel tacked on and rushed through. So, while I'm sure that the 21st addition to the Anita Blake series will be greatly improved by the cutting of all that dead weight, it makes Hit List feel rather heavy-handed and a bit more like something that must be endured rather than savored.

Now, please don't assume that to mean I think Hit List is a bad book. It's certainly not a particularly great book, but I thought on the whole that it was a totally decent read. It does, however, suffer from a lot of the same problems that have plagued the Anita Blake series for quite some time including unsatisfying story structure, an often repetitive and clunky narration, recycled minor characters and a certain lack of subtext. Scarcely does any character in an Anita Blake novel not feel the urge to discuss, at great length, his/her feelings on any particular situation especially if those feelings involve some particular insecurity. Of course, if these flaws were deal breakers, I wouldn't be reading the book in the first place as they've been increasingly commonplace in the past dozen or so entries to the series.

That said, there was at least one major improvement to be found in this book as Anita seems to have finally gotten the hang of managing her powers and so sex doesn't drive the narrative as it has in previous books. So, hooray for that. Unfortunately, as a result, the book ends up having a single sex scene that teaches the very important lesson that - when left to her own devices - Anita having sex with a virtual stranger is both incredibly chatty and unbelievably boring. Consequently, the scene comes across as awkward, hollow and rather superfluous.

The best thing I can really say about Hit List is that it gives me high hopes for the future of the series. Anita Blake was always been a series that was at its best when it wasn't being progressively smashed beneath the weight of the ever-escalating threat hammer. Overarching threats work really well for some series, unfortunately, the Anita Blake series is entirely too much about confrontation to ever really tolerate the looming presence of any threat for long. So, it was really long past time for Marmie Noir to finally meet her end and the fallout from her destruction has the potential to be far more interesting then the threat of her ever was.

Additionally, Anita having finally managed to sort out both her powers and her fellas is a huge plus and hopefully it will allow the focus of future books to move back around to story and character development. Because, realistically, the biggest issue with the introduction of character after character after character in the past ten or so books has been the fact that very little if any time was actually devoted to doing anything worthwhile with them. Presumably because so much of each subsequent book has been devoted to working out sexual hang-ups, repairing dysfunctional relationships and dealing with metaphysical emergencies caused either deliberately or inadvertently by good ol' Marmie Noir. Any way you slice it, it's going to be interesting to see where the series goes from here.

So, at the end of the day, Hit List (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 20) was good enough to rank as okay in my books despite its flaws and its uniquely horrible cover art. The most remarkable thing about it, however, is that it has me really looking forward to Anita Blake #21.

I would have been very upset if I had paid the absurd the store price tag for this. I got it at the library. I was very suprised to see three copies setting on the shelf...no holds on them. I will say I think it was better than Flirt (what was the point of that one?) and Bullet. The sex was toned down a lot (yippee) but could we please have an Anita novel that does not use the phrases "common fodder" or "pretty to think so"or heaven help me, "misogynist". I was also under the impression that I would get to visit the angry and yummy Richard however I am content with Edward/Ted. Speaking of which, why must ALL them male characters be either jealous or want her? I'm BORED!!

After not reading the last 6-7 books I picked this one up in "Books a Million" and read the dust jacket. It sounded like Anita was actually going to get back to what made her a good character in the first books. So I flipped it open to a random page and read. What I got was was Anita discussing penis sizes with one guy with another (at least one) nude guy in the background. I didn't go any further so I don't know what kind of sex slaves they were but this drivel needs to come to an end.

I did not buy it and won't even buy it when it ends up in the bargain bin for $2.

I have read every Anita Blake book over the last few months being a new Laurell Hamilton fan. I was instantly HOOKED and the first 6 books were fantastic. They eventually devolved into nothing more than porn, but I still really liked the characters and the fast pace (of most) of her books. This one was so boring, I actually stopped reading it about half way through. I finally made myself go back to finish it, but it was terrible. I can't say I'll stop reading her books, I only hope they get better!

I just finished reading Hit List and have to say Hamilton needs a new editor. That they allowed this book to be published is embarassing. The story was absent minded and I feel that Laurell has lost her heart. Where were the zombies that she has to raise, the pestering ghosts, ghouls, demons. All you get is I miss home, sigh or I can get hurt, Pleasuring so many men is drama. Anita is a man. Cops are just jealous. Oh and eat the darkness. Please I think I could cry this was just a poor poor turnout. I think Anita has left her. Maybe someday it will change but how could LAURELL lose the soul of her character so much. I give the story two stars because I did finish it but It is not a great read. It is a ok book I guess, but it reads like a magazine that has a lot of adds. Flip ok skip did anything good happen no. Not really

Hamilton was the first author I read in the vampire/romance genre, so out of my stupid loyalty, I purchased this book thinking that maybe she still had it. Wrong. I could not even finish the book, and that speaks volumes for me as I always try to finish whatever I start. The early books in the series were worth readying, but things have gone downhill lately, and I am embarrassed to admit that I have ever read any of Hamilton's stories. However, if you want a really great vampire/romance series that is well-written, interesting, and hard to put down, pick up The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by J.R. Ward. After reading Ward, I am spoiled and not much else compares for me. No, this is not a paid advertisement, just my opinion.

I'm a huge fan of Hamilton's work and thought this installment was plodding. There was far less action and it almost seemed as if Ms. Hamilton couldn't make up her mind if this would be an erotica novel or a mystery? So... she just skimmed through doing either one. The reader was left with a dissatisfied, "what did I read?" feeling. The series has digressed as of about 4 books ago and I miss the hard-boiled mysteries and was probably one of the few that loved the erotica angle. Now, this neutrality of content (what direction are we going anyway?) has made me kinda turned off. I will read the next one, but I don't think it will be one to pay $15 for. It'll be a borrow from the library.

I hope Hamilton decides to shift her focus to the Gentry Series instead. Anita is played out. It sounds like I didn't like the novel, I did. I just LOVED 1-15 and can't get the love back with her recent works, they're falling flat.

Solid 3 stars.

First I would like to say is that I love LKH. I have read and own all of her books and I am a true Anita Blake fan. However Anita needs a makeover. I can sum her up by saying (Too Much). She is a hot mess! For starters you can turn this series around by (1) kill off a couple of characters, way too many boyfriends and pets. She can't possibly face so much danger and strife without loosing a few loved ones preferably some of the weak, sappy boy toys. (2) Find some way to get rid of the Ardeur, it was a nice diversion but it has taken over her life. Anita is flawed yes that's why we love her but come on, the Ardeur just rules her life. It basically has turned her into a giant slut. Very tiring.

OK, it seems most of the reviews have pretty much nailed down what was wrong with the book. I'm going to add my two cents as well, because maybe someone on LKH's team will notice all the negative reviews and think it warrants a mention or two to her.

I started out reading the Merry Gentry series. While I was waiting for the next book to come out, I decided to read her other series, even though I was never really into the vampire genre. I got hooked after the first few books, and have read them all. Yes, they started to get bad, but I felt that after all the time and money I invested on reading her books, I just had to finish reading the series because dang it, I was committed! I tried really hard to be a good fan, I really did. I was excited when Divine Misdemeanors came out with the Merry Gentry series and felt that maybe this was the only series that I liked reading. Welp, after reading that abomination I've come to the realization that LKH just doesn't give a flying **** about either of these two series anymore. She's probably under contract to write X amount of books for those series with her publisher and since they're her cash cow she agrees, but has no heart in it anymore. So if anyone of any importance is reading this, here is a list of my complaints:

- Anita should just get a sex-change operation and become the man that LKH wants her to be. I'm all for feminine equality and blah blah blah, but god she really pushes it in her books. All I read is how "Anita you act just like one of the guys" or just endless paragraphs of pissing contests and "mine is bigger than yours" with the cops, etc etc etc...
- Speaking of which, the dialogue between Anita and any cop she ever meets is so entirely unbelievable it's laughable. "Oh hi, you're Anita Blake? The one that f***s all the monsters?" I've grown up in a law enforcement family and I can promise you that any dialogue and point of contention between Anita and every cop has been exaggerated to the point that I literally have to put the book down and shake my head in disbelief.
- Also, along the lines of Anita wanting to be a man... what is up with every man in her life being "pretty" with long flowing hair? She likes having Nathanial as her "wife"? I mean, *sigh* nevermind, I just have no words...
- This booked sucked so bad. In terms of general story-telling it sucked. This climax of the final battle between Anita and Marmee Noir should have been EPIC as it's been drawn out for books. BOOKS! ~*~SPOILER~*~ Basically while Marmee Noir is trying to take over Anita's body, all Anita has to do is think of the wolves (since Marmee can't control them) and her two triumvirates and BOOM, Marmee is defeated.

I feel like I might as well have taken the $12.99 I paid for this hot mess and just lit the money on fire. Speaking of fire... This series to me is like watching a plane crash. It started so high and soaring, then it just spiraled downwards until it crashed into a huge flaming pile of... well, you know.

This installment sees Anita back in the field as a US Marshall along side Edward hunting a killer. Its nice to see Anita in a "normal" situation again for the first time in many books. The fact that tracking and fighting killers is "normal" for her says a lot about the series. I probably would ave only given this 3 stars but it gets an extra star when compared to the most recent books as it was a good change of pace as it at least gives a glimpse of Anita as she used to be.

The ardeur is still there but only an issue briefly. While I did miss Jean-Claude and Jason it was nice to get a break from almost all of the other men in her life (and endless descriptions about them) and in exchange we get to see Edward whose character continues to develop. I really enjoyed seeing more of the relationship between him and Anita who finally seem to acknowledge that they are good friends and less ambivalent towards each other. They have always respected one another professionally but it was interesting to see Edward be a little less dark and cold and finally seem like he may not be able to kill Anita if it came down to it.

The end was a bit confusing and rushed and the plot a little lacking but it was still an enjoyable read. Yes these books can be a bit ridiculous and over the top at times but most people reading these are 20 something books in and can't really be surprised. If you wanted something more realistic and even well written you would have given up and abandoned the series by now. These books are just and entertaining read to catch of with Anita Blake and her completely ridiculous messed up situation of a life and I will gladly read the next one though it will probably make up for the relative normalcy of this installment.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was great to have Anita back in the field. Although I missed some of the characters, I did enjoy there being fewer people to deal with. It seemed like there were less physical descriptions of outfits and hair etc. than in previous books (which for me can bog down the plot a bit).

I have read every book in the Anita Blake series and continued to enjoy the series when it shifted to Anita overcoming the conflict through sex more often than violence. Even so for the last couple of books my enjoyment had waned. Anita as a character seemed to be swamped by her ever increasing powers that she couldn't quite entirely accept or control. For me, Anita and the plot seemed to get a bit lost in the sheer volume of repetitive sex scenes and long winded descriptions of the ever increasing cast of characters. I have nothing against Anita having sex but after a while it gets a bit boring.

In Hit List it felt like there was a shift back towards Anita being Anita, having more self-acceptance and control. It's a pity Anita didn't take more of a proactive approach to 'investigating' or 'hunting' and that the resolution was so quick and abrupt. I do think aspects of this books plot could have been expanded further but overall I'm hopeful that this is a sign of a move towards a more balanced approach.

If Laurell could develop all of the characters own lives a bit more so they don't all have to feature in every book Anita is at home for, thus limiting the need for so many sex scenes and physical descriptions, the series may regain its earlier brilliance.

I think this book is an enjoyable read and hopefully a sign of better things to come.

I would not call myself a fan of this series by any means. I have read every single book in the series, because I am clearly both a masochist and obsessed with watching trains fly off the track, on fire, covered in bees, and hurtling rapidly towards Cthulhu. This installment has made a terrible series go from "terrible" to "holy god, this is the worst thing has ever happened to humanity."

Save yourself the pain, is what I'm saying here. I mean, if you're going to read it, you're going to read it -- whether you're like me and invested despite the horror, or you are a genuinely puzzling and strange human who actually enjoys these monstrosities. There's not much I can do to stop YOU. However, if you have never picked up anything by this author, seriously, just leave now. Don't do this to yourself. Here lie madness, and the kind of unmitigated rage that will make you want to punch the closest living thing.

I think it might now be my personal crusade to destroy all evidence that these terrible books ever existed. And by crusade, I mean I'm not actually going to do anything because I'm pretty lazy, but I will fantasize the hell out of a world that is free of Anita f**king Blake.

I'm shocked to say that I really liked this!!! I've had some serious issues with this series in the last few years to the point that I've nearly walked away more than once. In this book Anita is away from her many men in her role as a US Marshal. She's working with one of my favorite characters, Edward, to find out who's killing weretigers not tied to any clan. It turns out to be The Harlequin who are trying to kill any gold tigers and draw Anita away from her protection so she can be kidnapped for Marmee Noir.

One of the big pluses for me with this book is that Jean-Claude, Richard, Micah and Nathaniel make only a teensy-tiny appearance toward the very end of the book but that's it. I loved it! This felt more like the Anita of old who's out finding the bad guys and ruthlessly killing when needed rather than playing musical sex partners. It's not a constant whine fest between the men over who's getting her attention and her blaming the ardeur for adding another new partner. She does add one more person this book but it made perfect sense to the plot, there was genuine attraction between them outside of the ardeur and the sex was hot but not overdone. If I remember correctly there was just one sex scene! ONE! This book also really deepened the relationship between her and Edward and except for one brief and interesting exchange this wasn't remotely sexual. It was a revelation to realize how much Edward respects and relies on her and the lengths he'd go not to lose her. This becomes very apparent when Olaf joins the team later in the book. He's still as obsessed with Anita as always and it escalates even further. He is one of the creepiest characters I've ever read and by the end of this he becomes an even bigger threat to Anita.

Perhaps my standards for this series are so low at this point that it affects my judgment. Don't get me wrong, there are still some big issues with the series but this was a vast improvement for me. All in all this was a great read and I demolished it in one day on the train. There are some interesting character and plot developments which will change things for the next book. I'm happy to say I'm looking forward to it for a change!

I really enjoyed this book. It took me back to why I loved the series...Anita Blake kicking butt instead of one sex scene after another. I lived seeing Edward and Bernardo. I even almost liked seeing Olaf. What didn't I like: there was dialogue that got to be repetitive, the were a few grammatical errors, and the one true sex scene referred to male General is as 'bits' - seriously, find something more relevant to call it but, please stop with the male 'bits' thing. It was annoying.

The next book coming,
I thought to re-read hit list
I shouldn't have though

I had forgotten
The crappy, whiny talking
and the tons of men

What Anita needs
Is shock therapy and pills
Her men 'enable'

I picked up this book and couldn't put it down. Edward is my favorite of Anita's entourage, so it was nice to see so much of him. The plot was good, well paced, but the ending seemed a little rushed.

Looking forward to the next book!

Anita Blake and Edward have been called in to investigate a slew of killings that have the mark of a serial killer. This draws Anita away from the protection of Jean-Claude and out into the open for the Mother of All Darkness and her henchmen The Harlequin. I smell a trap for sure!

Anita has always progressed in her character from one book to another in this series. Still deep down we feel how much she is still that small town girl who is unsure of what she is doing. We see a lot of resentment from men towards Anita. As she puts it, they think she is sleeping with everyone so they hate her because she is slut or she just hasn't slept with them. Very hard to work when you have those feelings directed towards you. Anita, of course, perseveres with her quick wit and straight forward in your face attitude.

I miss the comfort of Anita with her group of merry men (as I call them). Having the story take place away from all the other characters and only inject a few familiar characters made Hit List fall short for me. We end up being introduced to more minor characters that play an intricate part in the ending. Olaf is also brought back and might just have a more starring role in books to come. Not entirely sold on this installment but hopefully Hamilton gets back on track with her next one.

I have been a Laurell K. Hamilton fan for a long time. Unfortunately, I keep hoping that the characters will evolve somehow and the plot will be something new and interesting. I'm a little tired of Anita thinking that every guy is jealous of her because she is a "itty-bitty" killer. The constant feminist theme has become dull. Frankly Laurell could spend energy figuring out how to get Anita to grow up a bit.

Twenty books into any series, you hope the author has found something creative to say about the main characters, has some ongoing storylines, and has at the same time an interesting and immediate problem for them to solve. Unfortunately, "Hit List" doesn't have any of these things. If you've read any of the past books, you already know about Anita Blake's issues with male authority figures, and the unorthodox lifestyle that puts her at loggerheads with those who see her "sweeties" as monsters. Even though this book sees the destruction of a major foe, that's an afterthought. The book is all about Anita's superiority over every male figure in the book. Other women are either anorexic, pathetic male wanna-be's, clingy, weak SO's, or stereotypes. Anita, on the other hand, is the most experienced, the most accomplished, the most powerful, and the sexiest person around.

The only ongoing storylines are the same old, same old: Anita refuses to take care of the ardeur by something as simple as eating regularly and making sure that one of her previous sexual partners is at hand, so she has to rush out and grab another man to join the ever-increasing harem. And she gets what she needs through out-and-out blackmail. Constant wangst about various of her "lovers," as well as wangst about the one she had to kill in the previous book (although calling him a "lover" is way too generous.) Anita doesn't WANT to have to have sex with Edward and Olaf, but she's helpless to stop herself from being maneuvered ever closer to those corners-a typical Hamilton plot device; the heroine doesn't ever have any choice except to move farther and farther into the morass of sex and violence.

At the same time, the immediate storyline isn't much of a story. The bad Harlequin are killing off unaffiliated weretigers. This is most likely so that they can lure Anita out into the open and let the Mother of All Darkness take over Anita's body. The solution to this confrontation, set up over most of the series, is completely lacking in drama and suspense.
An awful lot of this book is wasted on confrontations with the same people over the same issues, and endless discussion of how good Anita is at everything-better than the best man, so completely without feminine weakness. At the same time, she makes sure early on that we know that she is a wildly sexy full-figured yet petite woman with curly hair, who has the great advantage of not being a white woman (because she couldn't possibly have that nice curvy behind if she were). So she's the best man, and the best woman, and the sexiest person, and the most powerful necromancer/shapeshifter/vampire out there. There can't be any pinnacles left to scale-maybe that's why the book just ends. There's no high point, or maybe just no point.

Another pallid entry at best in what used to be a gripping series. This story has been written over and over and over, Ms. Hamilton. Give us something with some color, some fire, some plot.

Hum,I read the book yesterday.Quite a good thing I did ...Or so I thought.As a French girl,I started the Anita Blake series in French but since there had been so much troubles with the french publishers (who did not want to promote this series anymore until the "Twilight Fever",I had to start reading it in English (Yes,I survived!)...I was quite pleased with the earlier novels (being ,when I started,a seventeen-year-old who wanted blood and strong heroines )but I have to be honest about this one (I won't bother commenting on the past 10 books),how shall I put this? It was...Not a big deal.Not a big deal at all.
Okay,Laurell K.Hamilton has managed to reduce the amount of sex in this one (at last) and truly I thank her for that since as much hormonal as I may be (teenage girls...)I definitely was sick of the copious amount of sex that lead nowhere but in the depths of Anita's body. I'm neither a gynaecologist nor a speleologist.
But (yes there is a but) *Attention!!! Spoilers * did she really need to add another man to what some readers call "Anita's harem"? she could have brought "food " with her but let's say it was a necessary evil.Did this man need her and her only to discover how rare his kind was?
I was quite annoyed at some comments saying that her v... was the key to unleash her lovers' powers not because I thought that they were harsh on her but because it is true and I think that using that device is a lazy and common way (who said Merry Gentry?)to avoid thinking harder.
Well the chapter on erotica is closed!Let's deal with the real plot.
Marmée Noire...Fleeting apparition stop not that much of a badass stop...Too much blabla.
The Investigation.I think that it could have been so much better if there had actually been some action.No I'm not a writer and I won't give her advice as to what to do with Marmée Noire.No,I'm not mean and I will by no means (huhu) compare her to other writers,but the fact is that there's not so much rhythm,and fast-paced action.You have a murder,you have the killers (doesn't not take a special genius to figure that out) whom you wish you did not know (...)and that's all,the confrontation is set and you're left wondering why you've read all the pages before.That 's definitely not good.I felt nothing ,I wasn't even tired just indifferent.I thought that by removing Anita from her lovers,town,sexual relationships and whatever she has would be enough to improve the quality of the book.It did ,a bit,but not enough for me to bother reading another dull volume of this series.Not too much sex was the only positive point of the book.Let's hope for the sake of the people who will go on reading ,that the next one will be more interesting.

I hope my English is not too bad and that my review will help.
Bons baisers de France.

Hit list is book twentieth (yes, you read right) in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton.

Anita is in Seattle working as a U.S. Marshall in a serial killer investigation. Weretigers with no-clan affiliation have been killed in a grotesque matter, the assassination had occurred in different cities of the Pacific Northwest, faraway from Anita's home. Edward is also helping with the case as an U.S. Marshall. Anita and Edward know The Harlequin has committed the murders, but that is information they cannot share with the police or anybody for that matter. The problem is they need to work in-group with the other officials assigned to the case, many of them being rookies.
After some consideration Edward gets to the conclusion that the murders happened to get Anita away from Jean-Claude and her other men, putting her in a more vulnerable position for and easy attack. And of course, Mommy Dearest is behind this. She is the most interested in getting her hands on Anita.

Hit List was better than what I was expecting. It's as if Mrs. Hamilton tried to go back to Anita's roots, where the books were better.

The Anita in this book is a grown up one. She has learned to control more the "Ardeur" and doesn't have to feed it all the time...finally! She is coming to terms accepting what she had become, even though sometimes when people call her thing to her face she gets really affected. She doesn't want to be the monster people picture her to be.

Anita's main squeezes were conspicuous by their absence. There are just some mentions of Jean-Claude, but nothing mayor, not even a phone call; same with Nathaniel, Micah, Richard and the others.

We learned a lot more about Edward, as always he is a person Anita can count on, but now their relationship is more intimate, I don't mean they are having sex, because they are not and I don't think they ever will (I hope), but there is a deep connection between them, almost as family ties. He wants to protect Anita doesn't matter the cost; he really cares for her and demonstrates it all the time. Edward has changed a lot too, now he has a family and that had made him more human.

We see characters from previous books, as Bernardo and Olaf. Bernardo is the same nice guy, good friend, and handsome flirt. And Olaf is still the psycho creepy serial killer. As always he is interested in Anita, maybe now more than ever. He is even considering having "vanilla" sex if she accepts and starts to date him. He is also testing Anita in different ways every time he can. There is a big and interesting twist in regards to Olaf. I don't know what Mrs. Hamilton has planned for him, but I just can guess it's something big.
Nicky also makes a short appearance; he is still Anita's bride (as Dracula's). There are some mentions of his past that let me wonder what is behind that and why it was brought to the story.

Maybe you won't believe me, but this book just had one sex scene, no, I'm not lying to you, just one, no, not one scene of Anita and twenty partners, just one, yes, just one scene with just one partner. I know it's almost impossible to believe, but I'm glad Hit List broke with the orgy marathon rule of previous books. The protagonist of this scene is a new character; his name is Ethan, he is a mixed weretiger. He is a sweet guy who wants to be accepted and to feel he belongs somewhere. He is cute and hot and is going back home with Anita to add to her collection of sweeties (lucky girl).

I really liked Hit List, it wasn't great but it was good. There are still certain problems that repeat in many of these books like Anita's predictability, she acts the same way all the time. We know what she is going to do before it happens because it's always the same thing. There is no surprise factor anymore in this series. Also there is always the male character that hates Anita and picks on her, but at the end nothing happens with him. At least in this book Anita is back to be something more than a public coochie.
The story was a continuation of the plot with Marmee Noir, we had a build up of this story for couple of books and finally is resolved in this book. I was planning to give it a 4 Paws rating, but when we get to the end it lost half a Paw there, because the end was completely rushed, as if Mrs. Hamilton had a maximum number of pages allowed and was writing and realized in the middle of her inspiration that she just had couple of pages more before reaching her limit, so she just went and end it with a machete. Also Marmee Noir is supposed to the most evil and strong bitch in the whole universe and Anita finishes her in a very simple and easy way. I was like... for real? After all this that's it? As I said before it was a spectacular machete end.

In the last books of the serie, there was a lot of sex, often useless. In this one, only one : it's better. But what about the story ?! There is nothing, it is empty ... the only interesting part is the final ... 300 pages for nothing : Shame on you ! I love Anita Blake, i love this amazing world. But the writings are more and more poor !

I purchased "Hit List" wanting to love it. I wanted to see Anita and Edward in action like the good old days and sadly, it was a mediocre effort. Granted there was far less sex than in previous installments and that was a blessing, but the action was tired and predictable. The Mother of All Darkness was far less than scary and the ending whispered of Anne Rice. I will say the Olaf twist has me looking forward to another appearance by our favorite psychopath. The descriptions were repetitive and at times it seems as if things are being forcibly moved forward instead of flowing. I don't totally dislike "Hit List" but it seems as if the magic is simply not there.

This book was very good, I loved how it was put together. I also loved the characters that are mentioned in the book. Edward becomes a little more real to me. I know many of you feel that Ms. Hamilton has taken a turn for the worse, but in all reality I have loved the books, yes there is lots of sex, and what not, but most people read so that they can escape to a totally different world than what we live in. I loved this book as I have all her books. I even have all my co-workers hooked on these series. We are all in agreement we love the sex scenes and we love these books KEEP THEM COMING!!! Can not wait to see what happens next with this group of people!!!!!! :)

I just finished this book, and I am so disappointed. I can't believe I paid money for this book, it is awful. There is no good storyline, I just wanted to stop reading, but I finished the book. I don't know what has happened, I love this series, and I love the character of Edward, but this time was a complete miss for me. I miss the dynamics between Jean-Claude, Richard and Anita, there was nothing like this in this book. I really will think before I buy the next book in the series.

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tale

Quick & Dirty: Anita is back with an actual plot and less sex, in a dark horror story that may appeal to early fans of the series.

Opening Sentence: The main piece of the body lay on the ground, on its back in the middle of a smooth grassy field.

The Review:

Hit List, the 20th book In the Anita Blake series is a definite improvement to the long suffering series. Hit List finds Anita in Washington State following a series of brutal murders against shape shifters without packs. Working as a U.S. Marshal, Anita has teamed up with fellow U.S. Marshals Ted Forrester (Edward), Otto Jefferies (Olaf) and Bernardo Spotted-Horse to solve the murders.

Anita is also a vampire hunter, an animator and a succubus. She has left all her men back in St. Louis, men that she may need at any time to control her hunger. On the job, Anita is facing prejudices against her love life. Anita is also dealing with several issues in her life, the main one being burn out, she is tired of all the killings, tired of tracking killers and tired of being hunted by her enemies.

Edward helps Anita to realize that the killers are The Harlequin. The Harlequin are the vampire equivalent of judge, jury and executioner and they are working for the Mother of All Darkness, a very old and powerful vampire. The Harlequin have lured her away from her men, her home and her support structure. They are hoping to catch Anita so the Mother of All Darkness can take over her body. Anita has power over the dead and she can control many types of shape shifters and that power would make the Mother of All Darkness unstoppable. The ultimate battle between Anita and the Mother of All Darkness comes to an end.

Edward is a major character in Hit List. Anita and Edwards' relationship grows. Olaf is still a sick, sadistic bastard that for some reason I want to see more of (a showdown with Anita would be nice). Bernardo, the smart, sexy Indian is really just along for the ride, but I really enjoy his character. He is a light in the darkness of the series.

The complaint about the last nine or so books in the series is that there is little to no plot and the books should be reclassified from Urban Fantasy to Erotica. Hit List does have a plot, it is not strong but there is at least a story going on. The erotica portion has been tamed down, as Anita adds only one man to her long list of lovers.

There are a few problems with Hit List. One is repetition, people are always asking "What do you mean?" and "Why is that?" for things that really need no explanation, or have already been explained. Several characters come off as whiney, Anita included. Another problem is that subjects are not dropped; they are beaten to death so many times that it becomes absolutely annoying. Unfortunately, the main subject that is on everyone's mind and will not go away is the subject of Anita's sex life. She definitely has an interesting sex life, but the fact that people make a huge deal out of it seems really unrealistic and the fact that the subject comes up time after time after time. These people need to worry more about the serial killings than someone's personal life. The last problem I have with the book is the ending. It is extremely rushed. The book was almost over when anything happened and the final battle happens in the blink of an eye in the second to last chapter.

Overall, Hit List should appeal to fans of the first ten books in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. The atmosphere is dark and the tension levels run high. There is quite a bit of action with The Harlequin so the story isn't entirely slow. I do not recommend this book, for first time readers of the series.

The Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series:

1. Guilty Pleasures

2. The Laughing Corpse

3. Circus of the Damned

4. The Lunatic Café

5. Bloody Bones

6. The Killing Dance

7. Burnt Offerings

8. Blue Moon

9. Obsidian Butterfly

10. Narcissus in Chains

11. Cerulean Sins

12. Incubus Dreams

13. Micah

14. Danse Macabre

15. The Harlequin

16. Blood Noir

17. Skin Trade

18. Flirt

19. Bullet

20. Hit List

21. Kiss the Dead

FTC Advisory: Penguin/Berkley provided me with a copy of Hit List. No goody bags, sponsorships, "material connections," or bribes were exchanged for my review.

I'm an Anita fan that got tired of the aredure (sp?) storyline. I felt the books were becoming more erotica (not that I don't read erotica) and less about Anita the vampire hunter. So, I bought Bullet and Flirt when they first came out in hardcover and didn't read them until 2 weeks ago when I was looking for something to read. today is 12/20/12 in case you wonder how long they have been sitting around collecting dust unread. Now that I was update to date I needed to read Hit List. I was leery about buying it because of the reviews were awful. I enjoy Anita stories when she is working a case with her sweeties in the background. I don't enjoy a book devoted to the sweeties' issues and ardure. I'm glad I trusted my gut. This was the first Anita book I enjoyed in a long time! I like her interaction with Edward, Olaf and Bernardo. I enjoyed the introduction to new characters. I like her trying to solve the crime. I liked this book!! Yes, somethings did seem to resolve themselves in one paragraph, which is why I gave 4 stars instead of 5.

I have no idea why all the bad reviews. I understand that her last 6 or 7 books have been pretty bad, with 2 of them being 3-4 stars, but the rest 1-2, but this one was very much like the beginning of the series, which is what we all fell in love with. There was only 1 sex scene. Anita, Edward, Olaf and Bernando were back together solving crimes. Olaf is crazier than ever. The Mother of Darkness finally gets hers. There are heart stopping, chase action scenes.

I think that anyone who has a complaint about this one, should just quit reading the series, as nothing LKH could do could live up to your expectations. Anita is powerful, get over it. If you expect her to get weaker, not be snarky and confrontational and not have sex than see my previous suggestion. These things are Anita Blake. Quit reading and expecting a different outcome. I personally like that she is powerful enough to overcome the baddies thrown at her. I like that it isn't just her that overcomes these bad things, but it takes the people she loves in her life. Not just her lovers, but her friends and co-workers too. This is where her real strength lies.

I have left bad reviews for LKH before, but this time I have to say, Welcome Back LKH. I love this book.

For many years I automatically bought the Anita Blake books as soon as they were available. Somewhere along the line the books ceased to have any real plot beyond seeing how many different/new sexual partners Anita could take on. Because of the quality of the early books, I keep hoping Ms. Hamilton will get tired of this phase and move on so I look at her new releases. Unfortunately this one is still all sex and little plot so I left it on the shelf. If that is what are looking for, buy it. Otherwise, don't bother.

Not really too much to say about this one - the story begins with Anita and Edward investigating some killings by the Harlequin. Along the way Anita has to defend her morals and gender against sexist cops, feed the ardeur of course gaining yet another lover) and spend some time with Edwards sicko friend Olaf.

Probably the most disappointing part of this novel is that despite being mostly action orientated (as all the novels away from St Louis and with Edward are) the most deadly thing to happen to Anita is to have her arm poked by a tree.

I'm not sure whether this means that Anita will now have a new strain of lycanthropy in her blood, or possibly pick up a scrubbery as her next partner, but the drama does fall a little flat even when Edward busts out a rocket launcher.

The best bit of this book is the end (not trying to be funny here) where Laurell puts an interesting twist on the whole Olaf thing, worth reading to find out what this is.

First, this kind of book is not my genre. Still, with a good plot, I could imagine the possibility of vampires. The first part of the book was intriguing with creatures I had never heard of. Then, the plot deteriorated. With a few suspenseful moments, most of the book was too sexual. It felt like a pseudo pornographic romance novel. The characters were far too into themselves and not into the crime to make a good read. I would skip this author and look for something more uplifting and intellectually challenging.

I like books about vampires and werewolves. I'm just glad there wasn't as much sex in this book and a few of the earlier ones. The first books started out really good, then they started to be all about sex. I'm glad Ms. Hamilton decided to take some of the sex out. We'll see in the next two, I guess.

I admit I abandoned this series about a half-dozen books ago, and just picked up this new one on a whim. Didn't seem like I missed much -- there were some new names, all adequately described that I didn't feel like I needed to read the intermediary books to catch up.

That said, Edward (one of my favorite members of the character cast) gets a lot of space here, and I really enjoyed that. There wasn't an overwhelming amount of angst; Anita mostly seemed to be dealing with her assorted complications. The plot started off seeming more interesting than I thought it ended up resolving, so not the best of all possible books. But a pleasant quick read and revisit to a fictional landscape I'd given up on.

I`ve grown tired of LKH using filler in her writing. Her long boring descriptions of what people are wearing ect..., repitition on so many levels. Passing short stories off as novels at a novel price. I now buy used books or find them free on the net.

Yay! finally wait is over and I read twelve book in the series. Yeah I finished but I want to read more and this is not possible :( I kind of miss Anita in charge. This book contain much of that. Anita little bit sore of her lost of Haven and in the few scene feeling over come her and make me sad again about the things what happened in the Bullet.

I was loved Haven but Anita underestimate him and almost Haven kill her most beloved. And with that reason I couldn't forgive her. Anyway new man come in her harem. I like him, his name is Ethan and he can form 4 different type of tiger.

Yeah Ethan is cool and quite because he keep away with his pack they didn't even touch him because he is not poor tiger. And he feels lonely for some a time but Anita took away that feeling and make him happy first time in a two year. But he is a little jealousy issue, for in time that will less I think.

Edward all around the book at least 3/4. But in this book Edward different then the other books. He over protective against to Anita and love her than the shows everyone feeling toward her. And I love him - not a fanatic - but like Anita's he creep me out! He can act 2 different role and switch between these in the instant! I really will never get used to such a thing.

This books contains one and long sex sciences. And in the sciences Anita sex with Ethan.

J.C and the rest of Harem in the St. Lois go on their life. But in the final scene J.C show up Anita's mind and says "Ma petite" yeah I felt relief :D However I doesn't like J.C's preferences but I do like him he is the my first love in the series.

And Olaf get hurt by werelion and infected. He will turn a werelion next month but don't worry he will never come after Anita at least he says so.

Well finally Mothers of All Darkness dead ! Yes truelly dead! Anita and metaphysical bond with her took energy for Mother of All Darkness. But questions wandering my mind.

What happening in the after? Who will be the next enemy? etc. etc.

This is one of my favorites. The level of detail she writes with is astonishing and her character development is like no series I have read before.it has a lot of elements and is very intellectual. Excellent read.

15 dollars for an e-book that I don't even really own? Laurell,I sm thoroughly disappointed in your pricing of this e-book. The actual book is only 17. You priced this at double all of your other books. Why is that? Maybe you are missing the point of why e-books are cheaper. Now I will borrow this book from the library for free. Smooth move, greedy much?

I'M TRYING NOT TO SPOIL BUT I DO REFER TO SOME SCENES IN THE BOOK

I was explaining why I was disappointed with the book and my son said, "so they just killed an innocent tree for nothing." That about sums it up. It had some potential at the beginning. However, you can only hear the same phrases so many times: throwing up at the crime scene, my stepmother doesn't like me, all the police are picking on me. It was a though you almost had a plot up until we got to the hospital and then bam, bam, bam, the end. Where was JC, Michah, Nathanial, Jason, Asher, ANYONE!!?? I love Edward, which is why it had potential, but some of that was weird also. The end was rushed but not awful. It needed another 150 additional pages of plot developement.

LKH seems to have become a burnt out author held hostage by her publisher. Hit List is typical, standard, a little boring; riddled with plot holes in a weak plot. Reads like a fanfic of one of the earlier books.

If you're a big fan of the beginning of the series, you'll be let down.
If you're more of a fan of "later Anita", this is pretty par for the course. Ok, but nothing new.

What happens? *MILD ALMOST NOT REALLY SPOILERS*
Background info dump. A glossed over crime (we come in at the last scene, not really knowing about the others). No mystery, we know who did it. Relationship issues. A moderate hotel action scene. Relationship and work troubles. Good action scene with Edward & Marshals near the woods. Sex. Relationship issues. The main conflict is the last 10 pages. The aftermath is nil- a blink. Anita wonders about her boys back home. Then the standard last page relationship wrap up.

Police-Anita fans: Little to no CSI, military, or cop procedural.
Kick-Ass Anita fans: 1 new weapon, little to no physical fighting. Bonus for Edward, even if he's a little fluffier than he used to be. Nice Olaf scenes.
Mystic-Anita fans: Some basic psych work. No animator, paranormal or supernatural elements except accelerated healing and the ardeur. A psychic is mentioned, but not seen.
Ardeur-Anita fans: If you're reading this series for the sex, there's some tension, 1 sex encounter. New harem addition. Vanilla sex, physical but not emotional details. Standard. Nothing new, scandalous, or really sexy. Minus- No Boyfriends, minor appearance by a harem boy and long distance JC.

*In reviews people have said, "forget 50 shades of Grey, read this!" Makes me sad as an Old Anita fan, but also because the sex isn't even that good- it's short, quick, vanilla, and forgotten about quickly. It's a plot tool Anita enjoys- how enticing! Want BDSM or erotica, I have better recommendations.

So why ever you're reading this, I hope you get more out of it than I did.

This book doesnt compare with the story of the first 10 books by any stretch of the imagination. Her last few books became more about the sex and relationships and less about her outside the bedroom. I for one am very happy to just have the characters with clothes on for most of the book. This book actually had a story line, characters that she isnt screwing and wasn't half bad. If she stays focused in this direction again, I am hopeful that I won't have to give up my one guilty pleasure.

This book started strong. It took us back to the old Anita that solved crimes and killed bad guys. Love Edward. Anita managed to whine a minimum amount of time. The final defeat of the big bad was disappointing. LKH reused an old plot device and made this entire book unnecessary to overall plot. Everything up until that point, good to go. Minimal sex and internal dialog about sex/touchy feely s***. Overall, glad I stuck it out and read this book, despite my lack of love for the last several in the series.

My Blurb:

Anita and Edward are called in by fellow U.S. Marshall's to help in a serial killer case. They suspect the serial killer to be a Were and only Anita and Edward can help solve this one.

As it turns out this is exactly where Anita and Edward need to be as they learn from the first crime scene that it is in fact a Were killing other Were's. That can only mean one thing.. The Harlequin.

Lets Talk About It:

Anita Blake is back.... almost.

I really really liked this book.. I stayed up til 3am reading, devouring it. Edward/Ted was in it, Olaf/Otto was in it and that means that there will be some nifty bloody killing going on right? WRONG.

Most of this book was tied up in getting to the bloody killing that never happened. Anita and Edward are working on a case, there are issues with the other Marshals not liking Anita's rep for sleeping with the 'Monsters' they track, then there's the big bad Mama o Darkness out and those who shall not be named (Harlequins) tracking Anita. That sums up this book and like.. the last two.

The first half the book, like I said, I devoured and all the while I'm thinking 'Yeah Anita's back!!' because we've lost her. Yes, the Anita in the first ten or so books is waaaaaay different than the Anita we have now. So I'm thinking she's back but then what... Edwards lovey dovey in spots, Anita is distracted and home sick... huh? What happened to solving the murders? Or defeating The Mother of All Darkness? Ahh... yes.. that we get to 20 or so pages before the book ends.. the rest is tied up in Anita's relationships with everyone. Olaf, Nicky, Domino.. you get the point.

And then the last 3 pages are dedicated to tying up all the lose ends.

Anita Blake stories are like... (and I think Anita and Laurell will LOVE this) getting down and dirty and NOT feeding the ardeur. Yes, all that foreplay with no climax leaving you frustrated even though you've enjoyed it all.. but without the proper ending it's still frustrating.

I also missed having some of the characters I adore being in the books. I swear Jean Claude, Richard (even though he's a drama queen), Nathaniel, Micah, Jason (and many more) who were huge parts of the earlier and mid to late books of this series have been MIA. I will say Laurell has an a way of making me adore the characters she creates. Ethan, the newest addition into the mix, has quickly put himself into the top 5 men of Anita's.

Overall this book is MUCH better than the last two, Bullet and Flirt. A lot closer to the Anita books that captivated me in the first place but still not quite there yet. Now I await the next in the series because love it or hate it I'm a fan!

Melissa
Reviewer for 1000 + Books to Read

Have you all seen her interviews off late? She has become so arrogant since I first started reading her 9 1/2 hrs ago.. She has basically admitted to writing them because "Vampires and Sex sell".. I stopped reading after OB - kids and sexual violence don't mix and are just wrong.. Stepped over boundaries. From Micah to Bullet she has gotten worse and worse.. Such talent.. I'd have to say the last 5 books in the series were so short they could of been one book. Very sad. I will not purchase this one.. Come on Mrs Hamilton - just stop or stop being so greedy and arrogant.. Your losing fans and respect..

Being a Die Hard Anita Blake fan, I have suffered thru the last 4-6 crappy books hoping that she would finally bring back a true plot! I was wrong. I can also say I have never been so dissapointed in the way a book ended before.

I received my pre-ordered copy of Hit List in the mail yesterday and finished it before I went to sleep. I'll be re-reading it after I finish this review. (I hid it to keep my roommates from sneaking off with it.)With the wonderful twist ending, I'm already waiting for the next one. Laurel's facebook page has lots of other reviews from people who are reading it already and loving it!

I am loyal to the tee, especially to my favorite authors. But I'll be honest. I haven't picked up this novel because the last one was an utter disappointment. I used to love Hamilton and her two series. She used to be my favorite author, but lately her stories are so redundant that it's sad. It's clear why she has writers block. I'd have it too if I had to write the same thing over and over just in a different way.

After reading the reviews for this book, I doubt I'll pick it up. I'm over the same plots, same characters in regards to her Anita Blake and Merry series'.

My opinion... start a new story! It's not a secret as to why beloved television programs end after the 5, 6, 7, etc. season. The best ones end it before it spoils. Hamilton has passed this point, but she can at least give it a dutiful resting place if she were to end them and start anew.

As a reader (but not buyer) of Anita Blake I just want to remind everyone why we buy these books, we have come to expect a ton of orgies, unapologetically disgusting scenes in which there are five men (sometimes more, and oftentimes in various levels of shifting) converging on Anita and doing the naughty. We have come to anticipate poor plots held loosely together by the thread that is Anita's harem, and of course let's not forget her resounding constant whining or nagging about said men, or her purity, or virginal innocence (lost forever), which she will never have along with her white picket fence... excuse me black rod iron fence (I think that was quoted in book 9, or 11, maybe 17?)

Now a quick demographic about your readers, as you know we are all prudes, but secretly in the closet skanks, we are the creators of the 131 discussions running on the Hit List page about how we pretend to hate LKH and Anita when secretly we are jealous because we are all sticks in the mud and should just stop reading, oh and of course complaining. We are used to gasping out loud in Borders as shudders wrack our body when we read about the queen of bestiality, the amazing super woman who has at least 1-2 new men per book, has relations with 16 year olds, because it was legal in Las Vegas, and the magnitude that is Anita's.... you know what.
This is about what one loyal stick in the mud prude thought about this book,

Hit List was about a Serial Killer, a serial killer and of course the Mother of all Darkness... I mean she's bad a** how could she not be involved? The thing is that she wasn't killed (of course not, no one stays dead in Hamilton's worlds) her body was destroyed but with the help of The Harlequin she wants Anita's body (although why she would want that nasty... I have no idea... `The power duh, she wants the power, Anita is clearly all powerful necromancer/necrophilia loving/mind-awesome/were leopard queen/were wolf loving/omnipotent/clearly more powerful and sexy than any human should be type of person who wouldn't want to be her?').

With this plot driving the book forward (attempting) all I can say is that Hamilton clearly was told to reign in the sex, amp up the mystery and blood or they wouldn't produce Anita Blake book 69 (scary huh?) I say this because it is Obsidian Butterfly-esk, I mean she used almost the same formula with different villains and locations. (added with sex and boring convos of course) We have Edward, we have Olaf, we have blood, we have violence... in fact parts of the book were actually bearable because Anita was more focused on the killings then how no one understands why she's acting the way she is and why she just feels so darn [insert any description] about [insert random guy name]. Interesting.... Anita not acting like Anita? Or is she acting like pre-lobotomy Anita? Hah! She still whines, any form of sex requires ton of negotiations or at least dialogue, not to mention she talks about boring stuff all the time.

I can't give this book higher than 1 stars because frankly the writing still wasn't good (you'd think after 20 books??) and if this is indeed an Obsidian Butterfly than I shudder to think what the next Narcissus in Chains would be.......

Oh and I just want to say to those of you that SCOFFED at my last Anita Blake review where I said that Anita and Edward were pawing at each other (you're so wrong that was a tender moment, Edward would never be with Anita!) I just want to say na na na boo boo! I was totally right! Completely Right! Hah!... First comes pawing, then Edward offers his body to Anita is she needs to feed!

This book started strong. It took us back to the old Anita that solved crimes and killed bad guys. Love Edward. Anita managed to whine a minimum amount of time. The final defeat of the big bad was disappointing. LKH reused an old plot device and made this entire book unnecessary to overall plot. Everything up until that point, good to go. Minimal sex and internal dialog about sex/touchy feely s***. Overall, glad I stuck it out and read this book, despite my lack of love for the last several in the series.

My Blurb:

Anita and Edward are called in by fellow U.S. Marshall's to help in a serial killer case. They suspect the serial killer to be a Were and only Anita and Edward can help solve this one.

As it turns out this is exactly where Anita and Edward need to be as they learn from the first crime scene that it is in fact a Were killing other Were's. That can only mean one thing.. The Harlequin.

Lets Talk About It:

Anita Blake is back.... almost.

I really really liked this book.. I stayed up til 3am reading, devouring it. Edward/Ted was in it, Olaf/Otto was in it and that means that there will be some nifty bloody killing going on right? WRONG.

Most of this book was tied up in getting to the bloody killing that never happened. Anita and Edward are working on a case, there are issues with the other Marshals not liking Anita's rep for sleeping with the 'Monsters' they track, then there's the big bad Mama o Darkness out and those who shall not be named (Harlequins) tracking Anita. That sums up this book and like.. the last two.

The first half the book, like I said, I devoured and all the while I'm thinking 'Yeah Anita's back!!' because we've lost her. Yes, the Anita in the first ten or so books is waaaaaay different than the Anita we have now. So I'm thinking she's back but then what... Edwards lovey dovey in spots, Anita is distracted and home sick... huh? What happened to solving the murders? Or defeating The Mother of All Darkness? Ahh... yes.. that we get to 20 or so pages before the book ends.. the rest is tied up in Anita's relationships with everyone. Olaf, Nicky, Domino.. you get the point.

And then the last 3 pages are dedicated to tying up all the lose ends.

Anita Blake stories are like... (and I think Anita and Laurell will LOVE this) getting down and dirty and NOT feeding the ardeur. Yes, all that foreplay with no climax leaving you frustrated even though you've enjoyed it all.. but without the proper ending it's still frustrating.

I also missed having some of the characters I adore being in the books. I swear Jean Claude, Richard (even though he's a drama queen), Nathaniel, Micah, Jason (and many more) who were huge parts of the earlier and mid to late books of this series have been MIA. I will say Laurell has an a way of making me adore the characters she creates. Ethan, the newest addition into the mix, has quickly put himself into the top 5 men of Anita's.

Overall this book is MUCH better than the last two, Bullet and Flirt. A lot closer to the Anita books that captivated me in the first place but still not quite there yet. Now I await the next in the series because love it or hate it I'm a fan!

Melissa
Reviewer for 1000 + Books to Read

Have you all seen her interviews off late? She has become so arrogant since I first started reading her 9 1/2 hrs ago.. She has basically admitted to writing them because "Vampires and Sex sell".. I stopped reading after OB - kids and sexual violence don't mix and are just wrong.. Stepped over boundaries. From Micah to Bullet she has gotten worse and worse.. Such talent.. I'd have to say the last 5 books in the series were so short they could of been one book. Very sad. I will not purchase this one.. Come on Mrs Hamilton - just stop or stop being so greedy and arrogant.. Your losing fans and respect..

Being a Die Hard Anita Blake fan, I have suffered thru the last 4-6 crappy books hoping that she would finally bring back a true plot! I was wrong. I can also say I have never been so dissapointed in the way a book ended before.

I received my pre-ordered copy of Hit List in the mail yesterday and finished it before I went to sleep. I'll be re-reading it after I finish this review. (I hid it to keep my roommates from sneaking off with it.)With the wonderful twist ending, I'm already waiting for the next one. Laurel's facebook page has lots of other reviews from people who are reading it already and loving it!

I am loyal to the tee, especially to my favorite authors. But I'll be honest. I haven't picked up this novel because the last one was an utter disappointment. I used to love Hamilton and her two series. She used to be my favorite author, but lately her stories are so redundant that it's sad. It's clear why she has writers block. I'd have it too if I had to write the same thing over and over just in a different way.

After reading the reviews for this book, I doubt I'll pick it up. I'm over the same plots, same characters in regards to her Anita Blake and Merry series'.

My opinion... start a new story! It's not a secret as to why beloved television programs end after the 5, 6, 7, etc. season. The best ones end it before it spoils. Hamilton has passed this point, but she can at least give it a dutiful resting place if she were to end them and start anew.

As a reader (but not buyer) of Anita Blake I just want to remind everyone why we buy these books, we have come to expect a ton of orgies, unapologetically disgusting scenes in which there are five men (sometimes more, and oftentimes in various levels of shifting) converging on Anita and doing the naughty. We have come to anticipate poor plots held loosely together by the thread that is Anita's harem, and of course let's not forget her resounding constant whining or nagging about said men, or her purity, or virginal innocence (lost forever), which she will never have along with her white picket fence... excuse me black rod iron fence (I think that was quoted in book 9, or 11, maybe 17?)

Now a quick demographic about your readers, as you know we are all prudes, but secretly in the closet skanks, we are the creators of the 131 discussions running on the Hit List page about how we pretend to hate LKH and Anita when secretly we are jealous because we are all sticks in the mud and should just stop reading, oh and of course complaining. We are used to gasping out loud in Borders as shudders wrack our body when we read about the queen of bestiality, the amazing super woman who has at least 1-2 new men per book, has relations with 16 year olds, because it was legal in Las Vegas, and the magnitude that is Anita's.... you know what.
This is about what one loyal stick in the mud prude thought about this book,

Hit List was about a Serial Killer, a serial killer and of course the Mother of all Darkness... I mean she's bad a** how could she not be involved? The thing is that she wasn't killed (of course not, no one stays dead in Hamilton's worlds) her body was destroyed but with the help of The Harlequin she wants Anita's body (although why she would want that nasty... I have no idea... `The power duh, she wants the power, Anita is clearly all powerful necromancer/necrophilia loving/mind-awesome/were leopard queen/were wolf loving/omnipotent/clearly more powerful and sexy than any human should be type of person who wouldn't want to be her?').

With this plot driving the book forward (attempting) all I can say is that Hamilton clearly was told to reign in the sex, amp up the mystery and blood or they wouldn't produce Anita Blake book 69 (scary huh?) I say this because it is Obsidian Butterfly-esk, I mean she used almost the same formula with different villains and locations. (added with sex and boring convos of course) We have Edward, we have Olaf, we have blood, we have violence... in fact parts of the book were actually bearable because Anita was more focused on the killings then how no one understands why she's acting the way she is and why she just feels so darn [insert any description] about [insert random guy name]. Interesting.... Anita not acting like Anita? Or is she acting like pre-lobotomy Anita? Hah! She still whines, any form of sex requires ton of negotiations or at least dialogue, not to mention she talks about boring stuff all the time.

I can't give this book higher than 1 stars because frankly the writing still wasn't good (you'd think after 20 books??) and if this is indeed an Obsidian Butterfly than I shudder to think what the next Narcissus in Chains would be.......

Oh and I just want to say to those of you that SCOFFED at my last Anita Blake review where I said that Anita and Edward were pawing at each other (you're so wrong that was a tender moment, Edward would never be with Anita!) I just want to say na na na boo boo! I was totally right! Completely Right! Hah!... First comes pawing, then Edward offers his body to Anita is she needs to feed!

Anita is back! Hit List by Hamilton (book 20) is sooooo much better than the last several books in the Anita Blake series. Not only does she make it out of bed, she only has sex with one person! Anita was a good character for the first 9 books before the author got carried away with the sex scenes. Only one more book left in the series, I think, which is good because while this book was much, much better than the recent ones it still has a ways to go before being as good as the first books.

I appreciated the new characters, didn't even miss "the guys." It was good to see Edward too, he's definately evolving.

Not to give anything away but I was a little disappointed by the ending. Really, that's all they had to do to?

I have been a diehard fan of LKH but the last book was disappointing to put it mildly. I wish I'd read the reviews first but have to admit I probably would still have wanted to see for myself. It was filler and filler only. Please don't let it end this way!

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of Laurell K Hamilton's work. Love Anita Blake and Merry Gentry. That being said I think she needs to consult with her "old" muse again. Her first 15 or so were great (even with all the sex) and here lately they have been just ok.

I understand that she cannot please every fan and I am even ok with all the sex that's in them (even though sometimes its a little overkill). However, I HATE that she keeps adding more men to her bed. Why can't she just appreciate the men she has. I want to know what's going on with those guys not these new men that I could care less about because they aren't as developed as her original men.

On to this book: My disappointment in the book is stated above. The thing I loved about this book is Edward. He is one of my favorite characters in her books so having another book with just him and Anita was ok with me. She did a little more developing of Edward which I enjoyed because he always seemed like a machine to me. I like that Anita and Edward's relationship is progressing as well.

In conclusion, I didn't hate this particular book I just hate the direction the storyline is going. I want more of the original guys and less of this crazy weretigers crap!!

I came to start reading the Anita Blake series late in the game. I think L.K. Hamilton was on her 9th book when I started reading the first one. This series has made me laugh, cry, fear, love and yes-get horny. LKH has still got it.
I agree with some fellow reviewers that it does seem like she threw a couple of love scenes in there to keep a few of her readers happy- I think unnecessarily. the character's (Anita Blake) full time job is as an animator-raising the dead for money. And, with her increasingly frequent U.S. Marshal duties hunting monsters, it's getting harder for her to keep her private life fulfilling. I think LKH was taking a breather on the relationship front. She's developed all of her characters so well that people want to read more about theme with each new book release. There's just not enough pages.
Anita Blake's now incredibly hot love life was not what drew me to this series, anyway; it was Ms. Hamilton's unique & brilliantly written plots and subplots. Hitlist has not disappointed me. This tough and gritty installment of the Anita Blake franchise is hard-hitting with intellectual plots and some humorous "Barney Fife" moments. It was interesting to see how Anita interacted with fellow U.S. Marshals in the field during a hunt.
LKH has the problem that all great authors have in that her fans think her books are too short. Mind you, the book could be 600 pages-and it would still be too short; we wish to read more. Give us more, Laurell.

Okay, it took me a few days to organize my thoughts but here goes.

First I want to say, "Kudos, Hamilton, for going back to action and plot." I truly have missed them in your previous novels. Thought there wasn't as much plot as some of the earlier books in the series, it was better than what the past few books have offered.

With Hit List, the Anita Blake that enthralled me and kept me turning page after page when I should've been resting, came back. The focus wasn't on her personal life and her "honeys" as it was on her skills and efficiency as a Federal Marshall working on preternatural cases.

It was enjoyable to see more of Edward, Olaf (that man truly creeps me out) and the return of others from previous novels. I won't say who, but it was a nice surprise.

It was nice not to get smacked in the face with Anita's sex life and for that I was grateful.

All I can say is I agree with eeveryone else in saying that I am VERY disappointed with the book. I too am a great Laurell K Hamilton fan but this book was sad and lacked all of the best characters we all love. It was very boring. Hope the next one is much better.

I've read every book in the Anita Blake series, fervently praying they would get better. This one does, but the problem is by going back to the style of the first few books, it is too little too late. The investigation was interesting, the actions scenes a bit rote (there are only so many ways to fight things faster than you can see really), the sex is LKH sex (things tightened down below about 20 times), I missed the core characters from St. Louis but loved getting to see more of Edward, and basically...One of the biggest reasons I liked this book so much was because the previous books had been so bad.

Upon reading this Anita Blake book I have to say this it was less on the sex and more of the intrigue and action. It was written in typical LKH fashion with lots of detail with the characters. I totally love the Olaf cliff hanger. LKH in my opinion is one of the most imaginative and creative writer's that are out there today.

I am a HUGE fan of this series, although I do miss the olden days when there was more necromancy and less sex- LKH is such a great storyteller, with a lot of rich detail and great characterization. Of course, there is nothing wrong with well-written sex scenes, but the books have taken a big detour from where the were in the beginning- The series took-off in a COMPLETELY different direction after Obsidian Butterfly. I happen to love all of Anita's tangents, pre- and post- ardor-stricken.

LKH Fans will not be disappointed, Anita is the bomb!

How do her reviews average out to 3 stars when 9 out of 10 of us have given her 1 star on her last five books! Stop with the madness. Once again, picked up at the library and it was an unreadable mess by LKH.

I was really looking forward to this book. I thought Bullet was so spectacular and that her followup would rival or surpass this book. Not to be. It was a fine book going back to the old school Anita but it just didn't have what I expected. No Jean-Claude, Richard, etc... no real twists or turns and it tidyed up too easily. At least the Olaf angle (won't spoil it) leaves something to look forward too. At least we didn't have three chapture sex scenes, I'm good with that. Maybe what we think happened in this book didn't really happen and there will be more to it in the future.
So for me although an okay book it did not meet my extremely high expectations. Yet I love her characters and her world so I am this time cautiously optimistic the next will be great.

I enjoyed this book more than any of the others that have come out since Obsidian Butterfly. It almost had the feel of the first couple of books, the ones that got me hooked an kept me hopefull for so long. On the flip side it felt watered down. To many people, to many things had to be covered to give any real room to the plot of the actual story this book was supposed to be about. New characters were hollow. Old characters were for the most part barely in it, but that is a mixed blessing, one persons emotional baggage is enough. And yah once again the ending was rushed and phoned in, but no big surprise, its the way all the books are. This books biggest problem was the complete an utter lack of any real detail....no crime detail, no man hunt detail, hell not even enough detail that I could tell it took place in my hometown, exept for the fact that she mentions the name of the city

The Anita Blake series turns 20 and Anita Blake hits back. I enjoyed the book but it was nothing special for a 20th volume. Just more Anita killing some of the bad guys and cozying up to the rest. It is what Anita is and what she will always be, people expecting something new and different need to seek another author.

This was ok, better than several of the Anita Blake books. The plot is not as deep as several of the earliest works. The ending is abrupt. I would read it if you really liked the Anita Blake books. The mother of all darkness plot line just ended. Without previous exposure to the characters involved remove a star! good luck finding good literature.

I've read all of the LKH books. What the heck happened to this one. I could hardly make myself finish this thing. Usually I can't make myself put the book down. I'm sorry I spent my money on it. Very disappointed.

If you enjoy the Anita Blake books where she's more Vampire Executioner/ Federal Marshal than succubus, then you'll enjoy "Hit List". This book finds Anita working with Edward and other marshals in the Northwest, trying to catch the killer(s) of weretigers. I'm not going to lie and say that there isn't any sexual content, because there is. Unlike her last book, where that was the main topic, this book has it as a secondary topic to her duties as a Federal Marshal with the Preternatural branch. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say that you meet some new characters, catch up with some old characters and that includes the villain(s) as well. Those who want to read about Anita's primary group of men at home (Jean Claude, Nathaniel, Micah, Asher, Jason, Richard, Damian, etc...) will be disappointed because they don't appear in this book but those of us who enjoy Edward will be thrilled as he appears in much of this book. I really recommend this book to people who enjoyed "Obsidian Butterfly", "The Harlequin" and "Skin Trade". In my opinion, Laurell K. Hamilton resurrects the formula between action and sensuality in "Hit List" that hooked her fans in her earlier books.

I am semi confused by the comments on this book. I almost did not buy it due to them but I have been a loyal fan and will so far.
Throughout Anita's passage in life its great strong female to too much sex, yada yada. I read this book in stages vs my usual 2 day run... I can take cheese and see somthing in it and also see cheese and cry HORRIBLE...
I found this story to be more than the lets go get the bad guys. Anita and her so off the top friend Edward had a serious play and pretty much or as much as the two can, a serious talk about what they mean to each other.
Anita also gave more thought to the men in her life, to being who she is, to continue to accept herself, still find she can kill someone but also care a hell of a lot.
And the big bad scary O was brought back in, he needs to be somewhere, to just put him in one book and not address it again would be silly as well as ending the book with that chapter closed.
AND FINALLY one thing that did bug me in previous books was her connection to J and R and when away and in distress they didnt speak to her, call out like they always had.
This time they did and I guess the layers made that part make more sense to me...?
SO I would not write this book off at all. It may not make you all blushy or feel like kicking female boot but if you step back, it was very insightful. At least for me.
TY Laurell, I will continue to look forward for more to come. After so many books many do end them, I dont know if this was like some said, I don't think so. You gave me insight into things unsaid and made friendships known, loyalties layed down, thoughts to ponder and made Anita go there so she can continue on...

I'll start this review off with the disclaimer that I'm a fan of both the Anita Blake and Mercy Thompson series. The Anita series is heavy on the dark-and-twisty and hot sex, whereas the Mercy series focuses more on straight up intrigue, sweet romance, pretty much everything that makes it much more a series about a fairly normal girl (albeit still a shapershifter) in a fantastic world. I like both series. Which I read at any given time depends on my mood. The Anita Blake series isn't perfect, and has had plenty of ups and downs, such as straying away from the mystery solving and crime fighting that initially launched this series, to focusing more on seemingly random or thinly-plot driven sex with new characters every book. Not that I mind random sex, so long as it's written well, and LKH is pretty good at writing sex. Anyway, this is what I liked and didn't like about Hit List...

#-----NO REAL SPOILERS, BUT MAY QUALIFY-----#

I love Edward (aka Ted), and he's back, along with Bernardo and Olaf (creepy guy, that one). Obsidian Butterfly and Skin Trade were my absolute favorite books of the series, both of which also involved the aforementioned Federal Marshalls. I love the complexity and mystery of Edward's character, the playful nature of Bernardo, and in a twisted way, the twisted mind of Olaf (he freaks me out, so it's kind of exciting to read how he gets under Anita's skin, more so than even the villians do, in my opinion). This is the third book where they are back together again, trying to stop a string of murders from getting worse.

Anita can be a flat character at times, refusing to evolve as a person here and there in the series, sometimes for more than one book in a row. She evolves here. Anita is learning to cope with her powers, to get by day by day with them, but things continue to get interesting for her. Not only does she grow as a person in Hit List, her powers do too. I won't spoil things for you, but her abilities just keep getting more interesting, and not necessarily in her favor either. There were a couple of times where people around her respond in such a way that I had those "oh crap" moments, wondering if her powers are beginning to outgrow her, determine who she is, change her direction in life, her view of the world. Not sure if this was intentional by LKH, but Anita's character seems at risk of being changed by her powers without even being aware of it.

Nicky, Anita's werelion Bride, is back in this book. Honestly, I was never very attached to him, largely because I just wasn't impressed with his first appearance in Flirt, but here, he shines. He really comes into his own. I found myself attached to him, worried about his future, and happy to see him again. At the same time, Nicky creeps me out much the same as Olaf does. There is something dark about Nicky, something Anita never truly had the chance to discover.

Having mentioned Nicky, that brings me to Ethan, a new character in the series. His appearance is...meh, much as I felt about Nicky's. Who knows, I may get attached to Ethan too, but for now, he's just like Nicky was, a brand new character without any unique characteristics that make him stand out in such a big crowd.

Bernardo proves himself to be just as cocky as always, but it's the playful kind, and I enjoy his presence because of it. Yeah, he still wants to get Anita in bed, but within a book or two more with him, I see him getting to the point where sleeping with Anita would be wrong. He seems to like her more as a friend now, than anything else, which is just fine. There's some good chemistry there. He can be pretty insightful in regards to Anita lately, somewhat like the psychic Marianne (not sure I'm spelling her name right). In other words, he's helping Anita cope with the changes in her life, at least in regards to the impact of those changes on how she perceives herself.

Edward...my oh my, Edward. There are a lot of opinions about the possible romance angle between Edward and Anita, and from what I can tell, most readers are on the "hell no, never" side of the fence. Personally, I could see them as a great match one day...much emphasis on "one day, but not today". Why? Edward is damaged, badly. This character has been torn up again and again and again. He has the capacity to love someone, but he doesn't understand what he's feeling. He has revealed more about himself to Anita than anyone else in the world, at least as far as we readers know, and that is very uncharacteristic of him (pointed out many times by Bernardo and Olaf). I have no doubt that Edward truly loves Anita, but neither do I have any doubt that Edward doesn't truly understand what that means, to either him or her. Edward is evolving, growing, and it's a special treat that I get to watch him do so.

As for the rest of the book, there's a little sex (by far not LKH's best, but passable), what I found to be really hot not-sex (cuddly stuff, the kind that can lead up to great sex, and was just really well written without being overdone), a lot of the usual metaphysical and unexplainable- by Anita - cuddly behavior towards the shapeshifters (those she carries animals off, at any rate) but still managed to creep me out a little (in a good way), well written action, and very well written social tension. Not sure what it is about LKH, but that woman seems to know a lot about social tension, like being misjudged early and quickly, presumptions made about her, etcetera. I get the distinct impression she's writing from personal experience here, and it works for me.

My big disappointment? The big bad villain. I've never been impressed by Mommie Darkest. Belle Morte? Yeah, I liked her early on, and after Bullet, I like her even more (though not sure if she's really a villain now), but I've just never been afraid for Anita of MD. The Master of Beasts? He's pretty scary, in that he has such incredible control of shapeshifters in general, and Obsidian Butterfly herself is frighteningly powerful. But, and this is what gets me, Olaf is a freakier character than every villain to date, freakier than even Chimera, and that guy was certifiable (though I think OB runs a close second to him). Having said all that, The Harlequin were well written, dangerous as all getout, sometimes flat, but excusable for the most part, since they really weren't the main focus, in my opinion.

Personally, I think Hit List is about growth, evolution, maturation. Many characters revealed more of themselves this time around, became that much more real to me, that much more believable. I finished the book somewhat proud of Anita, fond of Nicky, respectful of Lisandro, amused by Bernardo, terrified of Olaf, and the big one for me, so very sad for Edward. There's no great big reveal in here about Edward, but there are enough hints that I can't imagine a person like that living day to day in anything but pain.

All in all, I liked Hit List, almost as much as I liked Obsidian Butterfly and Skin Trade. Definitely one of my favorites of the series.

Hit List (2011) is the twentieth Fantasy novel in the Anita Blake series, following Bullet. The initial work in this series is Guilty Pleasures.

In the previous volume, Richard was shot. Then Anita shot Haven. Jake brought the surviving pureblood gold tigers to Anita.

Two males were offered to Anita. Anita proved that she was a master of tigers. She also demonstrated that she could break the bindings of master vampires.

In this novel, Anita Blake is an U.S. Marshal in the Preternatural Branch. The vampires call her the Executioner. She is also a necromancer at Animators Inc. as well as the human servant of the vampire Master of the City of Saint Louis.

Edward -- AKA Ted Forrester -- is also a Marshall in the Preternatural Branch under his alias. He is living with Donna, who has a son named Peter and a daughter named Becca. He is known to the vampires as Death.

Olaf -- AKA Otto Jeffries -- is an U.S. Marshal in the Preternatural Branch. He is a psychopathic serial killer, but is not allowed to kill within the USA.

Bernando Spotted Horse is an U.S. Marshal in the Preternatural Branch. He is also an Amerindian.

Raborn is the local marshal in charge in Seattle. He is not happy with having Anita on the case.

Laila Karlton is a regular U.S. Marshal. She is also working the case.

Newman is another regular U.S. Marshal. He is even more inexperienced than Laila.

Tilford is also a regular U.S. Marshal. He is experienced in normal cases, but does not have any exposure to preternatural incidents.

Mother of All Darkness is one of the oldest vampires. Her body has been destroyed by fire, but her spirit survives. Mother Dear wants to possess Anita's body and talents.

The Harlequin were the executioners for the Vampire Council and the guards of the Dark Mother. Anyone mentioning their names risks assassination. Now some are still working for Mother Dear, but others have abandoned the Council and the Mother of All Darkness.

In this story, Anita and Edward are assisting other marshals and local police in a series of killings of clanless weretigers. This is the fourth case in four cities and Anita is missing her menfolk. The worst part of the case for them is that they know who is behind the killings, but can't tell their associates.

The Harlequin faction supporting the Mother of All Darkness is trying to capture Anita for their mistress. Anita and Edward don't want to speak their name out loud and definitely don't want the Harlequin after their associates. But holding back this information is not helping the investigation.

Raborn calls Anita into his office and makes clear his displeasure with her presence. Luckily, she is not within his chain of command and he can do little more that harass her. Anita gives as good as she gets and then leaves his office thoroughly irritated.

Anita and Edward decide that the case is being handled improperly. Otto and Bernardo know what they are doing, but the regular marshals -- including Raborn -- have too little experience with preternaturals. They decide to convince Newman and Laila to pass on their warrants to the more experienced marshals.

The marshals are spending the night in Tacoma and Anita shares a motel room with Laila. Since she has never been on a vampire hunt, Laila asks Anita questions about her experiences. Anita tells some things about such hunts and asks for Laila to sign over her warrant. Laila refuses and they both go to bed.

Later, a werewolf comes into the room and pulls Laila off the bed. He is very fast even for a were creature. Anita keeps him covered, but he still gets out of the room without being shot.

Laila has been wounded by his claws. She is taken to the hospital and treated. She is checked for lycanthropy and the test is positive. She is more worried about losing her badge than becoming a werewolf.

Higher management decides to reshuffle the warrants, but they pick Newman as the boss. He decides to use dogs to follow the vampires and weres. Edward and Anita try to tell him that most dogs are afraid to follow the scent of preternaturals, but he ignores them.

This tale has a psychic brought into the case and the marshals head out to the indicated spot. Tilford calls Anita and Edward as they are driving back from Seattle and tells them the location. Edward speeds up to meet the others, but is cut off by the Harlequin.

Anita and the Dark Mother have a close encounter. The next installment in this series is Kiss the Dead.

Recommended for Hamilton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of preternatural creatures, police investigations, and a very experienced vampire hunter. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

i dont really understand all the bad reviews for this book. But each is to their own opinion, there are times I dont like books that get fantastic ratings.......Anita Blake is in the top few of the many series I read and really love. I thought Hit List really was a good mix of the old and new more "grown up" anita blake. While we didnt get her usual men in this story, Anita was back to being a marshal, solving crimes. And one has to admit that with that many lovers, I think Laurell does a good job rotating them for the stories. I also liked that the book wasnt soooooo sex/orgy orientated, with everyone debating or arguing before they finally get to it. I do like some lov'in in my books and I thought she did a good job in Hit List, no long debate etc, Anita really is "growing up" she was able to care about some one new, make some love, and not get so bent out of shape over it. I also liked how "grown up" again anita was about a certain male marshal giving her a hard time. Like she pretty much said, she had all ready proved herself time and again, anything he said didnt really matter. It made reading the book so much better than a few of the others. I felt this book flowed well, had a crime, some good action, some lovin, and a new villian to worry about for future books. I only gave it four stars because I felt the final battle seemed too easy or something edited out?? And I also wish Anita would of had time to give that red tiger queen a kick in the butt, lol.

For an Anita Blake book set outside of St. Louis, with Anita away from most of her people, I really enjoyed Hit List. Anita teaming up with Edward and Bernardo again delighted me. Even Olaf/Otto being there didn't make me cringe as much as usual. As much as I love Anita on her own turf, surrounded by her sweeties (god, I do hate that term), Anita in Tacoma ranks right up there with Anita in Las Vegas (in Skin Trade). Not for the secondary characters this time, as with Skin Trade, but for terms of big deal plot progression.

Anita's hunting a serial killer. Or several. All she really knows is that they are Harlequin, which means she can't exactly explain what's going on to the local authorities. The marshal in charge despises her, she desperately needs to find someone to feed the ardeur, and The Mother of All Darkness wants to claim Anita's body for her own.

There is a lot going on in Hit List, enough that I had to stop and think a minute at certain points. The sex was there, as always, but primarily for plot progression and as hot and steamy as always. Everything in the last few book s kind of came to a head here in the end of Hit Kist, and it was almost totally satisfying. I probably would have only enjoyed it more if there had been more in the way of Jean-Claude, Asher, Damian and Nathaniel and less random bodyguard/food for the ardeur weres.

I can't end this review without mentioning the cover. It's hideously god-awful. Worst Anita Blake cover ever. If I was new to the series, I never would have given the book a second glance, never mind take it off the shelf.

Please note -- I am not going to summarize the plot line, or basic story, as that has already been done. If you want a summary, check out LKH's web-site for sample chapters, or blurbs; or check the publisher's site.

What I am going to address are the reasons I felt this was a strong story, and it involved a number of what I consider to be old friends, as far as characters go. In many ways, this book represents a return to Anita Blake, monster hunter, and hunter of things that hurt humans and others. She is in detective mode for a good portion of the book, and working with Edward, to boot. As I have from the beginning, I love the camaraderie between Edward & Anita, the way that they fall into a team so easily, and so naturally in all of LKH's books. For those of you who have hung in for the revelations about the ardeur, and what this meant for Anita, Jean-Claude, and Richard -- here's what I have to say: Hit List brings back the tension, suspense, and action of Obsidian Butterfly. That book also involved an out of town mystery, and to this day, I still feel it is one of the all time GREAT urban fantasy books out there. Hit List contains many similar elements, but also brings in some of the newer plot threads, as well as winding up certain story lines. Hit List is Anita Blake at her best -- HER NEW BEST, as a more well-rounded character, who continues to struggle with the demands of the ardeur, and her paramours -- as honorably and courageously as she can. In many ways, I personally felt that the ardeur was a curse that was almost ironically perfect for Anita Blake. Prudish, easily embarrassed, and convinced love could only be experienced between two people at a time -- what could be more challenging for this character? To be forced to have sex, to be forced to feed on others energy like a vampire, and to have NO choice but to find a way to live with this, or die, and take Richard and Jean-Claude with her.

So, for those of you who loved the old Anita Blake -- I say here is the new and improved Anita Blake: still deadly, still honorable, and back to fighting the monsters with Edward, and dealing with the dangerous Olaf. It is a strong work, and I think it is well worth the read. As my financial status is not good at the moment, I had to get it through the library -- but I think it is well worth the money. Check it out, meet this ANITA, who has grown from an inhibited, angry young woman into someone far more intriguing. That's my opinion, for what it's worth.

Well I cheated and listen to the audiobook from the library, but it was a very amazing book. I lost intrest some books ago because of the repetitive statements in the story and that it wasn't action pack like it use to be. This book brought my intrest all back, and the way it was put together I didn't want to stop listening to it. I like the humor added into the story, and how Edward and Anita's relationship developes. Also that this book has scaled down to one good sex scene, and the way she describe the weapons, how they used, and feel in the characters hands were nicely done. (Loved the rocket launcher scene!) I don't think the Anita series will be as good as the begining but I like the maturity this book became. I advise listening to the audiobook sometime, it brings out the personality of the characters and story better then some of these critics wanna be will ever understand. Can't wait for the next book, I will cheat again and listen to it too.

I enjoyed this book despite the past reviews.
I felt that LKH went back to what made me like her in the first place. You know, the story. Crime solving, ass kicking Anita.
I was ready to say enough with the last book. Her books had, to me, become commandeered by that damn ardour, leaving little, or no room for plot. I was sick and tired of it. The only reason I decided to give this book a chance, was all the time I'd invested in the past books.
I was prepared to once again be disappointed, just like I was disappointed in Flirt and Bullet. Which is why I decided to read a few chapters at my local bookstore, before purchasing.
To my surprise, I found myself enjoying Hit List. The only part that I felt was lacking, was the end. She could have stretched out the drama and elaberated a bit more in the epilogue.
Thank you LKH. Keep up the good work.

When I thought of how many stars to give Hit List, I wasn't quite sure what to do.

It was good, I enjoyed it, finished it in one day, and am anticipating the next book.

The things that I didn't like were too much detail that I skimmed and at the very beginning (and a couple other parts) felt like I was reading a previous book (or that I'd already read this book before although I knew I hadn't).

Overall, it was a good read and I recommend it to Anita Blake fans and ones that haven't read an Anita Blake novel yet (though if you haven't read one, I do recommend reading them in order first).

Actually I was beginning to lose hope on the Anita series and I believed that this book would cement that thought, but luckily that was not the case.
I was happily surprised to see Anita away from all the men (It had gotten to the point where there are way TOO many).
Edward being present in the whole book was a nice plus.

I read a lot of the reviews here and I think LKH is getting the short end of things. Admittedly, the last several books were horrible, but this book was much better. I think LKH has a great platform to revitalize the book. Everything is set up to create a great series as it once was. I was most happy about their being one R-rated (not a XXXX) sex scene. The action was great. The audio book version of this book is fantastically done. It's like an audio/movie with music and sound effects.

Having said that. We need something to happen in the series. Its really dragging. And Laurall please go back to the basics with Anita fighting new types of monsters. What happened to creativity? I'd rather read about Man-Lizards or some super creature that feeds off of vampires than know everything there is to know about a crime scene or the specs of a gun. I have FOX new for that. But I will say again. Everything is set up for the series to get really good. Lets home it does.

I read the Anita Blake series up to volume 15 several years ago. I read them in the period of 3-4 weeks so you can imagine how that concentrated the sex and violence. I like them but got bogged down by the increase in both of these. The first few volumes are so good that I started rereading them. With the cushion of a few years I began to notice different elements. The sex and violence didn't take up as much of my attention and I could pay closer attention to other details like the development of relationships. I had read them so fast the first time there were whole plot arcs I didn't remember so it was almost like reading a new series. I will admit that I do skim through some of the long, rambling description passages. And some of the repeated elements like the local cops never respecting her because they are jealous or suspicious of her because of her involvement with the monsters are getting a bit old but might be harder to take since I read the volumes pretty much back to back. I understood some things better the second time around and was more tolerant of the personality traits that annoyed me the first time. I was able to enjoy the by-play between the characters, which LH does really well. I'm glad the series is continuing but I will agree with other reviewers that the quality from one novel to the next is very inconsistent. Some are very good and some seem like it was a quick throw-together because the deadline was looming. Hit List for me was somewhere in the middle. I enjoyed it but it wasn't the best book in the series.

What a bore. I am tempted to count how many times the characters in the book say "what do you mean?" I swear someone asks that every other page. Mostly boring dialog. Very little action. A huge disappointment.

This review is really for those who have been reading her Anita Blake novels from the beginning. That said, I'll make it brief!

Not a bad read as compared to the last four of the series pumped out (no joke intended)! Specifically, there were not the crazy multitudes of sex scenes in this outing as compared to that what seems to have populated her more recent writings. The fact that she stayed on a more reasonable storyline focusing on items other than sex is a big plus and kept me more engaged than the more recent books she has written. I love the sexiness of her character, Anita, but really love the paranormal aspects, dark twists and character development that have been the foundation of her previous writings within this series. It seems that in the Anita books that reflected a balance between the supernatural, character development and sex scenes, the pace was faster and more emotion was imbued which left me more empathetic for the challenges she faced as well her characters. ...at least that's how it was for this dedicated fan and series reader!

Let's hope the direction initiated in this book continues in her future writings but are coupled with more character development, suspense and, of course, darkness!

I enjoyed this book. There was the typical sex scenes that have become normal with Anita Blake, however, there was no so much that it over powered the book like we have seen in the last few years every now and then. There was not any Jean-Claud, Richard, ect or any of our normal men, so that was sad, however, there was a whole book of Edward and that is always enjoyable for me. I like seeing Anita away from her guys sometimes, and I love ho her and Edward have become so close over the years. This is a good book for fans of the series, who dont mind the lots of sex or the "new" Anita ( as she is nothing like the original books, but come on people that was 25 years ago!) but since it is more than 20 novels in, someone who has not read up until now would have no idea what was going on, AT ALL.

I thought this book was amazing. As a Anita Blake follower since the beginning I was so happy to have her back on police work in this book. I was getting sick of all the sex and vampire bull that was going on in the last 8 books or more. Finally we have closer, we are getting back to what Anita use to be, what I fell in love with in the beginning of the series. I'm happy to have some sex in books, but in some of the last books there was sex almost every other chapter! Way to much, where was the story line. In this new book there is a good balance of everything. On top of it we get a lot of Edward, who doesn't love Anita's best friend and deadliest man alive. The only thing that I didn't like about this book was that the end seemed rushed a bit. In the last 30 pages in is all wrapped up just a little to quick. The author could have taken her time here a little more and given the readers a little more for their money. Considering that the new book in hardback is almost $30 for 320 pages. But I think we are finally getting back on track with the story line and letting the story line grow. For to long have we been stuck on the same things over and over. A great read, interesting and feels like what Anita was in the beginning, a women who kicked vampire butt and had a smart answer for everything and everyone. Thank Laurell K. Hamilton for getting back to what matters.

This book is just as beautifully written as the other 19 books of this series. I love that Anita Blake, even with all her supernatural powers she seems to get with each passing book, is still undeniably human in her morals. She knows what she must do, but isn't always happy about it. In this books she is following a trail of were tiger serial killer. She has Edward, Bernardo Spotted-Horse, and Olaf (unfortunately) by her side to fight the mother of all darkness a power she can't just kill, like they are so used too.

I fell in love with this series when I was 19 and my roommate at the time had guilt pleasures. I have read each book at least 10 times, and will probably read them 10 more. This is a vampire and werewolf fiction like no other. In this world the monsters no longer hide in the shadows. They are in the media, and own clubs and restaurants. They are teachers, scientists, and even doctors. Each book has a new mystery and shows you just a little more of this woman known as the executioner. Sometimes it's gritty and sad, and sometimes it is funny and silly. This is not twilight, it is more adult then most books I read. It has sex, and cussing, and violence. But the world that this book is located calls for it.

Hit List made me feel sorry for a woman that can't really go anywhere by herself because she loses just a little of that shield, she so expertly put up. But at the same time, I again saw a fierce woman that could do anything she put her mind too, even when she herself didn't think she could do it. The only problem I had with this book is Olaf... I never really liked this character, and I have a feeling he is an even bigger danger now. These books show something that I have never seen put this way. They show that love comes in many sizes, packages, and ideas. It is not what the world put out there, the true meaning of love cannot be put in a box, like we all sometimes do. Love is not a feeling it is an action.

A well written addition to her saga of Anita Blake but pretty tame on the sex scenes unlike other books in the series. While I enjoyed the book, when I was done I felt a bit disappointed. Their is no interaction between Anita and Jean-Claude or Richard or any of the other usual cast of characters. This was solely focused on Edward and Anita as US Marshals. Pretty vanilla overall. If your looking for excitement and an adrenaline rush this doesn't do it. All though it does develop your knowledge of Edward and Anita more in their role of US Marshal. I think it's still worth a read.

I enjoyed this book. It seemed to clear up some loose ends from previous books and the knots were quite nice. I know that others have been put off by the sex in previous books, however, I view it as an interesting way to infuse growth into a character that was both cold and lonely. And, quite frankly, how interesting would the series be if all she did was catch criminals but had nothing else in her life but a stuffed penguin. If LKH had continued this storyline, I can see Anita coming home and eating a bullet, the end. But with the men, Anita finds that she is capable of love and all of the issues surrounding love. Albeit times ten. But with Jean Claude being an incubus and one of the lowliest masters, per the European counsel. How else was he to gain power? As said in several books and I'm paraphrasing "... if your only tool is a sex, all of your problems seems to be sexual...". Simply put... JC's tool is sex, thus, the storylines made sense to me and the sex was just the authors way of trying to get readers to understand the true meaning of the mind of a succubus/incubus as opposed to simply saying, JC is an incubus without giving the reader an idea of what it truly means. If you've read each book, you know what it means.

It seems like LKH has established a well rounded life for Anita, and judging by this book, it seems that she is moving on to Anita catching crimes, necromancy and other hiccups that will occur when one juggles so many men. Thus, if you're an Anita fan of old, you'll enjoy this book as the sex scenes are minimal and there is loads of Edward and Anita action with a touch of Olaf and Bernardo.

Like many readers, I have followed these books from the beginning. It was with disappointment that I originally passed it up due to the veracity of the negative reviews. If you've read this far in the reviews you have read enough general and perhaps explicit plot summaries, so I will just say that I was very pleasantly surprized when I broke down and bought the book anyway. It was a nice change to get away from the large cadre of 'regular sweeties' and non-stop and increasingly extreme sex scenes. The book had some interesting, if not terribly developed, plot lines that because of these introductions can now allow Hamilton to introduce possible new directions into the series.

No author can please every fan, but i have to say for those who have complained about the amount of sex, well you should not be complaining about this book. I love how you get to see more of Anita in this book, with less main characters Anita really shines in this book. You get to see just how attached to some of her people she is, get to feel with her the longing for her family. Many think that all the men we have lost anita well i think this is the start of Anita taking her own again. Her connection to those she is attached to is so evident in this book you can fell it through the page. Those who have ever been in such an intense love know that feeling in your gut when you are next to someone you totally love. That is Anita's double edged sword. I don't think many readers get that. She may talk of others addicted to the adore but i think the Adore addicts her to some people. It's not just the sex though but the attachment to them. Take for example her connection to some of the Tigers. I won't give too much detail but the way lkh describes them together not during sex but near each other, the distraction simply by being there the longing the need to be close to them.
Then you have the all powerful Edward and honestly this book you got to see a human side to Edward. I do like him as the bad ass sociopath i won't lie, but it was wonderful to see there was more too him.
Bernardo didn't really have to major of a roll int his one, and though Olaf's part was smaller compared to Obsidian Butterfly he still left me creeped the hell out.
You can also see where AB is starting to find places for some of the men in her world and others outside like Requiem.

Hit List was a great read and left open for so many new things to come in the following books. LKH doesn't disappoint. I for one don't mind all the sex but this was a nice change too. I look forward to returning to JC Nate Micah and a few others i particularly like. Jason and i do miss cookie monster even if he was a world class jerk! I hope to see some of the old crew, Cherry, Zane, Stephen, Gregory, Shang-da, Jamil, sylvie, Merle,Vivian and Violet. Caleb i never cared for but him too. AS i ADORE the wicked Truth really hoping for more of them and a local book this next one. Keep up the good work. Sorry if i gave to much away for some, i tried for no spoilers

I am a huge fan of Laurell K Hamilton's writing style and have followed this book series from the beginning. Like many others I was initially unimpressed with the succubus addition of Anita's base character, because it was such a departure from early Anita's ideals/morals. I think this book is the first where we are finding a strong balance between the two aspects of Anita. Similar to Flirt, which while very short, got back to the basics of Anita doing what she does best, using the metaphysical in combination with attitude and crime fighting ability.

I think this was a very nice marriage, and as I liked Obsidian Butterfly it was completely fine that this had the echo of that older book. The monsters and plot are different. I think Anita's cast of characters is so large at this point, people need to let go of their disappointment about not seeing every character in every book, otherwise it would end up being a list of Anita says one line to Richard/Micah/Jean Claude/insert 30 other characters that have been given time to shine over this 20 book series.

I didn't think I would like this book. I have been disappointed with the story line in the last 5 or 6 books. I feel they have gotten away from why I liked Anita Blake. Don't get me wrong a little sexiness is good but not one continuous orgy. In this book LKH gets back to what Anita does best. Fight the bad guys. Also Edward(Ted) is back to help. Along with Bernardo and Olaf. There is only mention of Jean-Claude and Richard in this book so I did miss them. In the end I am excited for the next book.

Spoiler Alert!

Though the author seems to have backed away from some of those hormone-soaked scenes, this book delivers plenty of heat. There's forshadowing of old relationships taking a new turn and readers are left with a suspicion that new villians are just on the horizon. The main character doesn't show much personal growth on this one, but there are fewer pages devoted to the herion's inner struggle, so the story is able to advance more smoothly.

If you're a true fan, this book will feel like a quick fix before what could be a really exciting new chapter of Anita's life. This reader's only complaint is that this book sees a deadly long-time foe defeated with little or no personal cost to the main character.

I so enjoyed this series until Anita Blake books just became all about sex. I skip the sex and it was getting to the point where I didn't have much story to read. I don't know why LKH chose to make Anita a common wh**re instead of keeping her stories exciting with adventure. This new book was a wonderful taste of the good old days when her books were unigue and fun to read. Please, please, please LKH re-read some of your earlier works and take us back to the good old days of creative writing instead of tasteless, yawn, common porn.

Hit List is the latest book from the Anita Blake Vampire Executioner series. This dark world has vampires, lycanthropes of many types of animals, psychic, and necromancers living out in the open but still dealing with prejudice people and laws.

Anita is the Master Vampire of the St. Louis' human servant, carrier of multiple lycanthropes but does not change shape, a succubus that feeds off energy from sex and anger, and a necromancer. She is also the lover of many men that are either Vampires or lycanthropes specifically due to the need to feed off sex to keep living. Furthermore, she has always been a vampire executioner until the law changed to give her a US Marshall's badge to hunt vampires.

She is using that badge in, "Hit List", to investigate the latest mutilated body of a were-tiger found in Seattle. The string of murders has spread across country with her and Edward, vampire killer and uses alias US Marshall Ted Forrester, following to try to find the people responsible, The Harlequin. These vampires and lycanthropes are the scariest and deadliest killers that use to discipline all vampires in the world until the Mother of All Darkness; oldest vampire controls the dark, cats, and the Harlequin took back her army. While on the hunt Edward and Anita figure out that these murders are simply bait to get Anita away from her home so the Mother of all Darkness can posses Anita's body as her own. The duo must deal with inexperience Marshalls' in-charge of the hunt, belligerent co-workers, and Anita's need to feed to keep up her strength.

Laurell K. Hamilton has suspenseful action with humans, vampires, and lycanthropes attacking and helping each other along with humorous dialogue, and characters with emotional depth. The sexy scenes always have love, emotion, and talking which is refreshing and addicting to read. One of the great things about this series is the detailed paranormal world you live in with Anita during the novel. She is a surprisingly sexual, honest, caring, and selfless person due to her love for the many men in her life but that don't stop her from being the killer she needs to be to survive.

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I am a diehard fan of all of this womans work for awhile yes it did turn heavily towards sex but there was a reason and over the last couple of books we have moved away from that and distanced ourselves from many of the men in her life so their arent as many names to remember. this has occurred over the last 3 books at least and frankly i enjoy it seeing how much the character has evolved and yet remained the same it is as complicated as real life.

this book is fantastic because it rationalizes reality and fantasy into something dark and natural. these books have never been for children they are not twilight or harry potter they are an original thought which some writers seemed to follow.

the character building has always been creative if you go through the books you see a changing point in each of them you learn to love, hate and endure certain characters.

I usually read her books within two days at sometimes within less than 1. fantastic book good read you have to understand this is not a pg book.

I must admit that after the last few Anita Blake books I was kinda hesitant to pick up HIT LIST. I'm all for Laurell's sex scenes but BULLET was pretty much all orgy sex and I was thinking HIT LIST would be the same and I really missed seeing Anita in action... hunting, fighting, killing bad guys or even using her necromancy skills. You might be shocked but I can honestly tell you there was only 1 sex scene in HIT LIST, we have kick ass Anita back!!! Not only that but only 2 of her lovers are in the book and they are only in the last few chapters. I loved her with Edward again, they make an awesome team and I love seeing them in action. Olaf made a few appearances and he is as creepy as ever. I have a feeling he will be a major player in an upcoming book and I think it will be Edward and Anita hunting him down to kill him finally. We have a new Shifter in the picture. I really enjoy Ethan. He seems like he will make a great addition to Anita's group. My only complaint is the ending. I felt like it was missing something/happened to fast/just lacking, after all the difficulties The Mother of All Darkness has caused it just wasn't a fulfilling for me. To sum it up HIT LIST is full of action OUTSIDE of the bedroom so if you missed the old Anita grab yourself a copy.

Like many readers of this series, I almost gave up on them because of the sex. Unlike a lot of the reviewers of this book, I really enjoyed Hit List. I appreciate that the author only had one sex scene in this book and it was not overly done. I also like that she brought Anita back to more crime fighting action in this book. I did miss some of the seasoned characters but enjoyed where she took the ones that were included as well as the new one she introduced. My only disappointment was with the ending. It was fairly anti-climatic...but on the upside, it leaves a lot to expound on in future books. Thank you, Laurell K. Hamilton, for bringing back my zeal for this series. I, for one, appreciate it and am looking forward to the next book!!

Anita is one of my all time favorite characters and this book reminded me why. I love that she is so imperfect, all her flaws and internal conflict, but also that she is a kick-butt strong female character, often more powerful that she realizes. I love the many sides of her life, past and present. I really love that this book took a step back to some of that, with her doing police work. I would love even more in that direction, her actually knocking out a necromancer job or two. I'm really excited at what may come next.

Another reason I also liked this book is Otto. It's funny out of all the monsters in LRH's series, Otto is one of the most scary for me and I don't even fit his profile. :) I won't spoil it...... but am looking forward to Otto in the next book and any new "big scarys" to come Anita's way. I'm looking forward to finding out how Anita's changed by what's happened to her in this book. I'm looking forward to the whole "Edward's changing" aspect too.

For me, this was a changing point in the series, and a positive change. Anita has the potential to go so many ways.... I can't wait.

Hit List is book twenty of the Anita Blake series. We see a return to some of the orginal qualities most of us were so drawn to. So many other's have gone into great detail regarding the synopsis of the book so I'm just going to give my preception of what I read and let you read the book or the synopsis of it elsewhere.

I have loved this series from book 1 to book 20. I've listened to others say their piece regarding the different powers, sex and large groups of males that dominate this series and secretly I've loved every page of it. That's just me. Edward and Olaf are not my favorite characters in the LKH universe. I missed Anita's men. The book wasn't the same without Jean Claude, Richard, Micah and Nathaniel. I'm glad that she met Ethan though, he seems as though he might turn into a decent character.

What bothered me was that there were places in this book were Anita talks to Ethan like he's a child. There were several pages where my lip was curled up in disgust at the 'I'm going to go catch the bad guys now, ok honey?' We're talking about a grown man here, was it really necessary for her to have to talk to him like he was five? She'd just fed the ardeur with him...I mean, come on! I get that he's emotionally scarred and wounded from the years of rejection and abuse it just didn't come across as well as it could have.

After so many books devoted to worrying about Marmee Noir, the fear of her power and that of the Harlequin, this book seemed almost anticlimatic. Anita was able to defeat her but we don't see the increase in power to the different triumverate's nor do we get any real conclusion about what's going to happen now. The scene were Anita swallowed her essence was great but lacked depth and it was one of those things that could have been off the chain intense had LKH chosen to play it up. This was the biggest evil we've seen in this series to date and Anita just swallows her power like it was nothing. There should have been something, some resulting power surge, a struggle, SOMETHING!!! There wasn't even that much fear from Anita herself or even that much of a threat to the triumverate's. It was just as though she plugged into them and sort of whispered 'I'm in trouble, guys' and their power just flowed to her to help her swallow more darkness.

In each book, Anita become's more and more powerful. I'd really like to see LKH allow her to take the 4th mark, but it seems as though she's setting her up to be a master 'vampire' in her own right. I'm not sure how that will work out or if she's even going to go in that direction.

There were several places in the book were LKH told us about what was happening instead of showed us. I wonder if that is from all the hit's she's taking from her 'fans'.

Laurell, Anita Blake is your vision, your creation. Don't lose focus of were you want to take her and this story line just because a bunch of people are telling you they hate where the series is going. They're still buying the books aren't they? They're still reading them and making comments. Just keep doing what you're doing and don't let anyone shake your confidence in your skill as a writter. Both the Anita and Merry series are gold and I for one will always be a fan.

After Bullet I did not have high hopes. The Anita Blake books have long devolved into fluff around BDSM group sex scenes. Bullett was pretty hard to take. Of course you keep reading for any little taste of those characters you have come to know and love. Thankfully, Richard had finally gotten his act together but Anita seriously needed to borrow Richard's therapist. She allowed any man, beast or vampire in whining distance to complain his way into sex with her whether she wanted it or not. Therefore, imagine my surprise that in "Hit List" not only is there very little sex, it is with one (count them - one)partner. In addition, she is back to her real job of crime fighting (I know, the zombie raising is her real, real job but how far can that take a storyline?). Hit List is the Edward and Anita show with none of her regulars and little sex. It's is a welcome break - thank you LH. I know we miss JC and Richard (I could certainly stand Nathaniel and Asher meeting an untimely end, though) but this demonstrated that she is still doing things in her life that don't involve them. I wouldn't have minded a phone call or two with her men though...And finally, finally she has the ardeur under control.
POSSIBLE SPOILER!!!
The Olaf twist was genius and a great setup for future books. Nicely done!

I liked this book overall but I am finding the newer books a little rushed and shorter than the older versions. OK-my husband has started reading the series and loves it too. We are considered very straightlaced but we do know how to divide reality from fantasy and I think many people are not able to do that. I enjoy a good writer no matter what they write. Laurell K. Hamilton is an excellent writer. Slow down a little and make the books more intense and longer. That is what most readers want. Anita is a good character and many of the other characters are very interesting as well. That is good and we only want more for our money. Everyone wants that. Brenda in Orlando

I have been reading these books for some time and for me I think it's interesting how LKH is abule to develop new strengths for Anita Blake. I also like how the sex scenes are tasteful, but they do seem to be wordy/lengthy.

In this book I was grateful for less of the "feelings" talk...I just skim over most of that anyway. I think that the the story had enough character development but have to agree that the plot is getting to be cookie cutter with her more recent books.

All in all, I dig them and look forward to more.

Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series is the ultimate guilty pleasure read. Hit List is book 20 in the Anita Blake series, and after a roller coaster ride of ups and downs in recent books, Hit List is a hit.

In Hit List, Anita Blake is on the road in Seattle as a US Marshall, hunting down the Harlequin. Edward, fellow killer, US Marshall, and friend is with Anita, also helping track and kill the underlings of the mother of darkness. Anita has developed much more control over the ardeur, and therefore is on her own in Hit List; her harem of "sweeties" is back home. While Anita's men are endearing and were missed in this book, it was great to see Anita back in action, hunting the bad guys with the cops and Edward.

The most surprising (and perhaps refreshing to some readers) part of Hit List was the significant reduction of sex. After so many books being filled with sex, Hit List was quite tame comparatively. One point of contention in this novel was that after all this time, Anita still analyzes every relationship and hates having to feed the ardeur. Part of this is just her character, but there is hope that she will continue to become more comfortable with her new metaphysical powers and relationships.

Olaf was also back in action in Hit List. Olaf continues to be a creepy character, but he brings an intriguing side plot to the story. The conclusion of Hit List sets up plenty of exciting and promising story lines for the future. Hit List brings back the feel of earlier Anita Blake books, very urban fantasy, but with a bit more of the romance and the heat. Many readers will be eagerly looking forward to book 21 in this thrilling series.

It's true that this book is set away from most of Anita's support group, but isn't that what the people who've been down on the direction these books have taken wanted? I've liked the new direction, which to me was more about interpersonal relationships and I do miss Micah and Nathaniel but it was great to get back to the true Vampire Hunter sense and I like the new people we met. I don't like the sound effects that they insist on doing in the more recent audio books but the story is great, non-stop action (or hardly any breaks). I like knowing what's going on with Ted/Edward and Bernardo and of course that means the creepy Olaf comes into play. The ending was excellent. We have to deal with the Mother and the Harlequin. In Bullet we found that the Harlequin were divided between those who wanted things to go back to the Mother in charge of all and those who wanted her gone. This book is all about that fight. It seems like it should be good for everyone, but the reviews out there make it obvious that lots of people are still unhappy. I'm just not one of them.

4.5/5 STARS
After reading all of the negative reviews of this book, I almost didn't read it. I agreed with most fans that the series was headed in a downward spiral, but I had to give the book a chance. I'm so relieved I did! For everyone who enjoyed the Anita Blake series before all the sex and romantic drama, you will love this book. Since most of Anita's main lovers aren't in this one, some of the best side characters get fleshed out a little more. The action scenes will keep you turning pages, and the sex scenes (which are much tamer than the past) will get you hot. While the climax was a little less epic than I would have hoped, the simplicity of the resolution didn't bother me because the message was powerful enough that it didn't need more drama. "Hit List" has renewed my faith in the Anita Blake series, and I can't wait to see where it goes next!