Vampire Hunter Novel, Skin Trade: An Anita Blake

I thought this was a good book, yes it could have been better, and it ended to suddenly. But it was still good. I like the pissing matches with law enforcement. I think alot of is done well. She is sleeping with the monsters, alot of the rumors are true about her. It's hard to respect a girl that is sleeping with so many men. So, she has to earn professional respect everywhere she goes. I think that would be true. Now this book doesn't have the sex scenes on every page like alot of the others, am glad of this.

Only problem I really have with the last 10 books is, there is to much sex. Can't the scenes be shortened. Just say she had incredible sex with all of them, fade to black. :) then back to the story.

That's not really my problem with the sex though. It's because she is basically being raped by the people who are suppose to be her friends. She can resist so many vampire powers, but she keeps losing her free will to choose to have sex. I understand she a living vampire that feeds off of sex. But I don't like that she is so powerful in so many ways, but mind tricks are forcing her to lose her free will to choose. She seems to be getting Mind Rolled by her friends and her enemies. Asher is a good exsample.

Spoilers Below

This book starts off with Anita talking about living in the Cirus of the Damn now. Trying to be a good Human Servant. But it seems the longer she stays, the more power the men in her life have over her. She's getting or passed the point where she can say no to sex or possibly anything, everyone seems to be able to mind screw her. For Anita's character, she's about control, she doesn't like casual sex, she has to feel a emotional connection with the man she sleeps with, and she has to have free will to choose. Now, she has found herself in a place where she is losing her freedom to choose. Her friends are taking advantage of her. They are basically raping her on a daily bases. How can they respect her if they can control her free will. Jason is just a friend, and she could barely take a step back from him. If he hadn't backed off from her himself, she would have done anything he wanted. It's bad enough she has trouble thinking with a male body around, Then what Richard tried to do to her last book. This is going to break Anita. She is really uncomfortable with all the sex as it is, and she doesn't want to see herself as "slutgirl". I feel a strong need to run if I were her. To get away from people that can mind screw her on a daily bases.

Anger is Anita's friend, she has a bottomless pit of rage in her. I sort of hoped should could learn to fed on her own rage as well. She use to use that rage all the time in her life. It helped give her control of herself.

We use to know all the weapons she was carrying on herself, and theaten to use them quite often, and did use them to back up her threat. Now, she rarely uses or even has weapons.

I'm hoping that the next book will be the start of a new anita. Someone that is in control of herself again, after this book. She shouldn't have someone screwing with her control. Now that she doesn't have to shield quite so hard all the time. Because frankly, I'm getting tired of people that can so easily control someone so powerful. LKH can write all the sex scenes she wants, but lets have it be Anita's choice to have sex, lets have the sex mean something. Incubus Dreams has a ton of sex in it. But I believe all of it was her choice. She chose to have sex, for whatever her reason she had. I dislike losing respect of such a well made character, and dislike seeing her raped by her friends, bad enough if it was her enemies.

I have just read all 17 book in one months time. I've pretty much woke up started reading and when I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, Went to sleep. Then started all over again.

This has been a very good series. I've liked all of the books, but I do hope for less or no sex in future books. If I wanted to read porn, I would.

Update: 3 years later....

It's been a few years since I posted this review. I have read the series 6 times now. I understand it a great deal better now. I think rape was the wrong word here, or to strong of a word to use here.

Anita is starting to love sex a great deal, and her control over her sex drive seems very low right now. Maybe, because of her Ardeur wanting to be fed. She has a very hard time resisting sex, and the men are taking advantage of this. By getting her motor running. Which doesn't seem to take much lately. :) Same as the time with Micah in the shower. It seemed like rape, but it was the awakening of the Ardeur that cause it to happen, that prevented Anita from fighting back. Do you really think that Anita couldn't have fought back against Micah if she really wanted to. I doubt Micah would have pushed her so hard if he didn't feel the Ardeur calling him.

BLAKE GOES TO VEGAS! Our superpowered, gun wielding executioner from St. Louis gets a surprise in the mail forcing her to confront a past enemy. I don't like to spoil plot points so I'll leave it at that. Here's what made me write my first review for the store.

Hamilton finally wised up and gave us more of what the series was built on. An angry woman with a responsibility to the general public to kill stuff instead of having sex with em. I guesstimate that only 40 pages of the book was devoted to the sex scenes that have plagued the last half dozen books. There were a number of sexual encounters but all of em were limited to "quikies". halleluja!

As for the rest of the non sex parts (the other 400 pages) were suffering from blah blah blah. The beginning dialogue between Blake and the swat was agonizing. I think Hamilton has become so accustomed to the sex taking up 80% of the book she forgot how to write other genres. The ending was terribly written. How does a vampire that powerful (almost on par with Mother Dark) get owned so easily by 2 weres. Once u read the ending, u'll know what I mean. We are also left at a question mark to the fate of marmee noir.

I feel like Hamilton is still trying to live through Anita. Blake is constantly berated about her sexual relationships just like Hamilton was about her sex scenes. It feels like we were given this book to shut us up and make some cash. It seems like it was written to reduce the number of sex pages so we jaded readers wouldn't flip through a few chapters deciding whether to buy or borrow only to look at the big picture and be completely dissapointed.

I miss the creativity of the first few and I'm very happy with the reduction in sex. It could use less of the unbelievable stuff like giving a bj to some guy she doesn't know without a hint of thought. What happened to the uber prude who was strictly a 1 guy woman.

So here's the final verdict. If you liked the macho "i'm a strong woman get over speel" this part of the series may be for u. If u preferred the guns over sex of the first books, u may like this book. If you r looking for the intricate plots of the originals, its not here. It wasn't predictable what was going or what was gonna happen but it looked like she pulled an idea outta nowhere but didn't think everything through. The jinn thing comes to mind. So powerful and intertwined in the vamps power. How come they were a complete non factor at the end but spent so much time trying to figure out something about them.

I was very happy she went more the way of the old books but it seemed like she didn't have the talent or thoughtfullness of the originals in it.

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

After reading the previous book i couldnt wait to get my hands in this one. i was disapointed after chapter 3. i found it dull. all BLAH BLAH and 90% of time is anita being pissed off because they insinuate she is a slut. as for now i have no motivation to keep reading this serie.

It was great to have Edward back in the story line again, Anita representing the Marshals again, a super bad vampire out there, but I have to agree with many who feel that this just wasn't that well written. The story bogged down towards the middle with lengthy, unnecessary dialog, redundant expressions of feelings without elaboration, which sort of made these characters rubbery instead of rock solid and the book lengthy and boring where a short intense novella would have sufficed. I kept wondering 'where is her editor? why isn't she getting good feedback?' Many important storyline threads are just left dangling. I feel the author is perhaps tired of this character and it shows. I was very disappointed with it.

First, I'm disappointed in myself for buying this book... I promised myself... and then I read the 1st six chapters in the book store... the potential was there... I bought it.
The writing... My GOD! Could there have been more explaining, complaining or whining about Anita's sex life? I really don't want to listen to it anymore. And where I once loved Jean-Claude... He's not much more than a plaintiff girlfriend - more Asher's role when he first showed up. What happened to the VAMPIRES in this series? They used to be scary... They used to be fun. And while it's great that Anita has acquired all this power... It is cool... There needs to be something to fear. Something that she can't always overcome. Obstacles. It's just boring watching her screw her way out of everything (though blessedly the sex scenes were minimal in this book).
MOaD... Gone... Lamest way possible. Father of Light - Could have been a good bad guy - Gone - Also really lame. Edward - once so mysterious and cool... suddenly a warm brother type instead of the mentor killer he once was.
So... LKH wants to show character growth... Great. Anita should grow up (caring is not weakness, listening to people you care about is not weakness and ignoring some challenges is not weakness - also having control of power is good - because it clearly has some nasty little side effects for her when she ignores it). 500 yr old vampires should act at least 30... And while some men can be annoying when dealing with a strong woman - It's not ALL of them... The cops are portrayed awful in this book...
I know I'm being harsh on this book... I thought the next Edward book would be good. He always seemed to bring out the best in the Anita character... But even he seemed watered down in this book. So very very disappointing...

After wading through novel after novel in this series of what seemed like a series of ridiculously graphic sex scenes strung loosely together by plot (I get it - they're all gorgeous and good at it, everyone enjoys themselves, and everyone feels better afterward), FINALLY Anita Blake is starting to kick ass and take names again! She's not using a gun and her wits as much as her new-found, growing, abilities, but she is back to being the Anita I met in the first book. Sure, she's more comfortable with her men and that pesky ardeur is in the way, but sex furthers the plot and is mentioned as a bargaining chip or comfort or happens between chapters rather than being the only event for 5 straight chapters.

In _Skin Trade_, Anita is on police business in Las Vegas, meets up with her old friend Edward, and equally uses and is hampered by her preternatural connections.

Ms Hamilton, can we have more like this, please?

Skin Trade feels similar to OB (Obsidian Butterfly) because the "good guy" team of Anita, Edward, Olaf, and Bernardo have returned. Also, the plot is similar. Anita and her sociopathic buddies are trying to solve a slew of gruesome murders that have stumped local authorities. It was a much better book than ones such as Blood Noir. Why?

1. Though mediocre, LKH stuck to a traditional plot that had a beginning, middle, and conclusion.

2. There wasn't TOO many simpering, melodramatic, uber-beautiful men crying and slobbering after Anita.

3. Large parts of Skin Trade were not dedicated to Anita having to conduct therapy sessions with one of her many lovers (i.e. Blood Noir); that is the proverbial "blind leading the blind" situation.

4. The number of over-the-top, swinging-from-the-rafters sex scenes were kept to a minimum.

5. AND, it sounds like Anita has actually LOST one lover; it's small, I know, but I'll take it. I mean, a woman can only have so much over-endowed male action before she's reduced to porn-star roast beef. 'Just saying...

As a long time reader--and fan of earlier Anita Blake books (aka, the ones before Narcisuss in Chains)--I felt somewhat relieved that Skin Trade was not another hard-core pornographic novel. In fact, it was almost astonishing that the first sex scene came up near the end of the book; and it was TAME compared to previous sex-capades by Anita and friends.

I won't speculate or pretend to fathom the reason or motive LKH had when she wrote in the arduer for her heroine/self-reflection, but I liked Anita when she had principles. As of late, reading AB books remind me of the Watchmen movie where all the superheroes have become disillusioned, corrupt, twisted, and/or vainglorious. I dislike Anita's virtue now residing between her legs instead of in her heart.

I hope LKH continues on this path. Anita Blake's stories were great because she had principles, she stuck to them, she saved the people important to her, and she got the bad guy(s) or girl(s) in the end. At this point, Anita is like the nymphomaniac, sex addict who's finally learning to control and moderate her wild proclivities. I will continue to keep my fingers crossed on this minute progress.

In conclusion, I recommend buying this book if you can afford it in these tough economic times. I borrowed a copy from the public library--as I've done for the last four AB books, but this is the first hardcover I've decided to buy. Thank you, LKH, for Skin Trade--a brief, yet entertaining, diversion.

I wasn't expecting too much from this book to begin with, having read a spoiler or two online. I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself really enjoying the beginning of this book! No, the writing wasn't the best I had ever read (nor the worst), but it wasn't boring.

I enjoyed reading about some familiar faces without feeling like the book was being bogged down by what I would consider too much relationship drama. There were moments when the conversations dragged or the subject matter got repetitive, but it wasn't enough to make me want to stop reading.

Even the obligatory feeding scenes with Wicked and Truth didn't bother me too much. Anita is a succubus and needs to feed, anyone who is still reading this series is well aware of this fact.

Then comes the point in the book where it all just goes completely downhill. What makes this book so infuriating is that the entire last part of the book comes out of nowhere.

The case that had steadily been building up for the past 54 plus chapters is suddenly thrown out the window and switched with a scenario that makes entirely no sense at all! I really felt like someone had taken a fairly decent crime novel and cut out the ending and replaced it with an ending from another book.

Not only is the ending laughable and unbelievable, it is pretty darn offensive in the way it casually throws around such serious themes for no real purpose other than to shock the reader.

I would not recommend this book to anyone unless they want to have their hopes for the series lifted, then ultimately dashed beyond repair.

I have always been a loyal fan of LKH. Her Anita Blake books have been like crack to me and I just couldn't get enough. Then, along came Blood Noir and Skin Trade. I can't say that I've ever been this disappointed in a book before. I really had to force myself to finish it. I don't like giving spoilers, but the way one character ended, someone who has been a looming threat for books on end....you know who.......It made me want to throw the book in the garbage right that second. Now, if anything it'll become like some massive ressurection, or something stupid will have happened to where the person who was killed comes back. I'm so not even looking foward to the next AB book. She is certainly a better writer than this and I really hope she does better next time. Thank God I found the Merry Gentry series that LKH writes. Those are good from beginning to end. I started on the Anita Blakes looooooooong before even discovering the Merry Gentry books, but if I had to say it, I'd say DUMP the vamps and stick to the faries. I just hope Divine Misdemeanors isn't terrible. It's the next Merry Gentry book and I have high hopes for it. Don't write LKH off, just give it a chance with the other series she writes. I'm telling you, it's much better than the AB's now. The series took a dive after the Harlequin.

I stopped buying Hamilton's books about 3 or 4 years ago. The plots (if you could ever find them) were buried in the sex and the melodrama. I made the mistake of trying the "fairy" series... which were REALLY disappointing. A friend of mine is ever-hopeful that the Anita series will get back on track and keeps buying her books, and she talked me into giving this latest book a try. I'm not sure if it was the writing or the time-lag since reading a good book in the series, but I frankly didn't care what happened to the majority of the characters in the book - and I was relieved to reach the end.

I'm very disappointed to be crossing an auther off my list, but when I no longer am even mildly curious what is happening to the characters, it's time to say good-bye.

I can't say I like the way Anita Blake's character has fallen so far from the strong-willed woman she started off as. And even though some really hinky things have occurred in her journey from high horsed animator to high powered necromancer, this latest addition isn't as bad as all that. Sure, she does that questionably legal thing, but in truth, she only has sex a handful of times and only towards the last third of the book. My real problem with the book is the unresolved, or too swiftly resolved major plot points left at the end. If you're a die hard fan, you might just up and buy the book and be satisfied with it. If you're leaning towards leaving Anita Blake in favor of more new pastures, you might want to make this book your last. There are enough interesting things taking place to make it worth it.

I listened to this book on CD and really enjoyed it. It was great to see Anita facing her own personal daemons, inside and out. It was great seeing her work without all the men in her life (except Edward). It was awesome seeing new and different sides of Edward. I could do without Otto - the guy freaks me out (I know, he's supposed to.....). I'm looking forward to the next book because I am hoping to see how Anita changes her life once she gets back to St. Louis - if she changes it at all. I loved how this one had more story and less sex. Sure - Laurell writes amazing sex, but she also writes amazing STORIES and its felt as if the story has been lost for a bit - which is another reason I enjoyed this so much.

Because I am weird, I did notice some continuity errors (I notice EVERYONE'S continuity errors), but they weren't annoying enough to make me want to toss the book out the window.

This book starts out with great potential. The by the end it just drops. I love the fact that there is not as much sex in this book as in the others. She has gone back to action, but can she stop with all the DAMN whining. I am tired of Anita whining about getting new powers about all the men in her life. I am tired of her not accepting anything just gripping about it. The book sets up this great villain and when she is actually face to face with him it drops. I was expecting this great big fight scene and for Anita to be hurt and the villain to be dead eventually. It really makes it seem that the author just got tired of writing the book and hurried up and killed him off fast. Also I would love to have had more of her "sweeties" in this book as well. I am really starting to wonder why I keep buying these books. The writing gets more and more disappointing.

Read this book in 2 days and I did enjoy most of the book. I was glad that there was a resolution to 2 ongoing story lines and there was a fantastic villian. That said, there is alot of angst taking place in Anita's life and I'm hoping that in the next book that the author addresses the personal issues that Anita is going to have to face and stop avoiding. Anita's character needs to take a vacation from Vampire Hunting and just address her personal issues so that she can decide what to do about the men in her life. I also think that she needs to accept the "arduer" and just deal with it in a responsible manner instead of always acting like she's a victim..she decided to become a master vampire's human servant..now she needs to act like a mature adult about it and let go of her childlike ranting and wailing. Its time she addressed her family issues too...I really hope that in the next book that takes place!

I think LKH is trying to move back in the right direction with this book and I for one am grateful! The focus of the book was more on the crimes than her lovers and all their emotional baggage and entanglements *yawn* If you haven't read the book yet the following are a few of my favorite highlights without any spoilers:

1. NO Richard! No fights with him, not even a phone call, no real mention of him at all. THANK YOU!
2. JC was only a phone character but at least she showed him a little more respect than the last few books.
3. No Micah or Nathaniel!!! WOOT!
4. Introduction of some guys that aren't girly. Finally. I freely admit I like masculine men, not feminine.
5. Nothing was described as "flaccid".
6. Only 3 sex scenes, all at the end of the book.
7. I love Wicked and Truth. Fortunately their characters were not emasculated. This gives me hope.

Some things that I had hoped to see more of but are not in the book:

1. More development of Anita's necromancy.
2. Work relating to Animator's Inc.

I will continue to read the books in this series. I believe the books will be taking yet another change of direction going forward and it seems to be one that might once again capture my interest. Anita mentions more than once that she is getting tired of the same things that I as a reader am.

Like everyone else, I thought the first chapter had set the scene and that we were in for a ride like Obsidian Butterfly gave, but after Anita appears in Las Vegas, it all seemed to end up on the same treadmill, men, jerk cops, "oh why can't they understand me" woe is me lament.
For a necromancer who had an awsome plot to begin with that went right along with the Dresden Files and I could sit and read repeatedly, I am sad to say that this one just failed misserably.
I think the author needs to stop the treadmill, reign it into something manageable that adds spice and drama, but not a continuous drone of men and sex, and bring back the crime fighter, mistery solver. Everybody loves the mythos and fantasy comming to life-why did LKH ever steer off that course!
And yes, I got it from the library because I knew I shouldn't get my hopes up.

Maybe we could get something worth reading, but if the masses enjoy this trash then we will keep getting it. Hell almost anything after book 10 or 11 is worthless. Yet another installment of "Anita Does Everybody, Well Almost Everybody This Time"

Laurell K Hamilton is an example of what NOT to become as an author. You start out with a good story and then 15 books later, the rest become senseless, sex filled drivel.
Either she's not getting enough or she's getting too much and her description of the act never changes (things tighten low in my body Probably due to that bad egg salad you ate earlier). Anita has gone from super cool to super slut. It serves no real purpose for her to be bedding all these men other than to disgust the reader.
After years of people begging Laurell to get the story back on track, she still thinks the fans opinions do not count.
All I can say is, if you bought it, return it. If you borrowed it, shame on the library for allowing this garbage on their shelves.

I've been a fan of Laurell for years and have always bought her books instantly. I loved this series from the 1st book however the plot and characters have gotten completely lost in all the PORN style sex that occurs during the pages. I don't think that there is any point to the story line apart from how many differnt men Anita can 'shag' in 300pages. Very upset that a great series has been ruined.

It took me 7 days to push through this attempt. The entire time I found myself wondering what can happen to change an author's style of writing so dramatically. LKH's crafting of the first seven or so books were brilliant and then she just plain hit a wall.
I gave this novel 2 stars instead of one because it was obvious she made an attempt to listen to her readers, toning down the sex and amping up the plot. Unfortunately she only succeeded in one area and it wasn't the story line. Plus the editor did LKH no great service either. Hands were 'Waffling' all over the place and much of the writing was redundant. In truth, if you red lined the book, I'm sure it would have been cut in half ... easily.
Good try LKH and I suggest focusing more on the plot and getting rid of the editor.

I have read all the books, I'll admit I'm addicted. As much as I want to know what happens next everytime, I end up dissapointed. This book had no action. All Anita did the entire book was explain everything... omg it was so annoying. Talk, Talk they did nothing, no action. I found myself skimming just to see what would happen next. I have to stop buying them. I just always hope that she will finally realize that there are things missing. What happened to having to raise the dead? Police work? It wasn't even bad porn. Where is the editor?

This book was so boring. Like most authors, once they hit mainstream they just throw out something to say I wrote a book this year.
Anita started out as such a strong character, now she's all whiny and needing a man to save her. If I wanted to read that I could pick up any Harlequin Romance book on the shelf.
What happened to visiting the comatose men in the hospital? What new power did Belle Morte give her? What's the deal with Haven having a wife?
Is the Dark Mother really dead? A bomb? What??
The only good thing about this book was no Richard or Asher. Thank goodness, because that would have been too much to take.

First of all, DO NOT PAY FOR THIS BOOK. It's terrible. Laurell K. Hamilton needs to get a clue as well as an editor.

If you are a former Anita Blake fan, this book will disappoint you once again. You may believe that Anita couldn't sink to a new low, but of course she does. She has sex with a 16 year old. It may be legal in the state of NV, but it's still sick and smacks of molestation. Unfortunately this isn't my main problem with the book.

This book needs a plot, better writing, less repetition...well, in other words, AN EDITOR! The author can't even remember what she wrote about characters in her last novel. Pathetic. Thank goodness I didn't pay for this as we should not be encouraging bad authors.

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

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

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

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

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

There is a lot wrong with this book. There is too much talk, not enough action. The cops are all bigoted, with little clear reason, against Anita, so much that they treat her like a suspect when it's perfectly obvious that she has nothing to do with any of the crimes. The main plot flits from situation to situation without any clear resolution. The main bad guy, "Marmee Noir," who has been built up for about ten books now, suddenly gets taken out by a person or people offstage (or does she? I suspect we'll see her again, somehow...). Still, I liked it. Anita is tough, sexy and smart. The situations are baroque, weird and compelling. The sex is much more restrained and actually has something to do with the plot. The series isn't what it used to be, and that's too bad, but I still enjoyed this book. I enjoyed it more because I got it from the library. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't good enough to spend money on...

This series really gasped for breath after Obsidian Butterfly. I had hopes as Skin Trade is better written and edited than any of the others since OB. There was a glimmer, but not there yet. It is hard to support the "I am woman here me roar" attitude when she is constantly completely incapacitated by a metaphysical event every few chapters and is being taken care of by whatever man is with her at the time. At least this one actually returned to some of the original 'solve a mystery' type format even if it was a little dull. There were still bad sex scenes, but at least we did not have to read the lame excuse after excuse after rational of the character making it 'okay' to sleep with a gadzillion men. I can't even keep track anymore, and do not care about most of them at all. There are so many players even the interesting ones can sit on the bench for a long time. Even LKH, Anita, and Jean Claude are sick of it. And she really just needs to kill that Olaf guy and be done with it.

I actually liked it alot but I lostened to the audio book, it moves faster and I guess its easy to miss these complainers issues, sounds like these people r just too critical, its a book not real life, just like in real life though, some things don't get closure

WARNING! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!

The title of my review says it all : Anita is not back. She's been gone too long, and Ms. Hamilton seems to have forgotten how to write anything but repetitive and distasteful sex scenes. While it's true that there is much less sex in this book, there isn't much of anything else, either. "Skin Trade" was unspeakably dull. It moved at a pace that would make a geriatric snail on Valium look like Jackie Joyner. It took nearly a hundred pages for Anita to get from the airport in Las Vegas to the sheriff's office in the same city.

What was she doing during those one hundred pages? The same thing she always does : getting into pissing matches with any and all law enforcement officers she comes across to prove that she's the biggest and baddest of the men and talking at length about her sex life. Apparently, everyone in the Anita-verse cares far more about Anita's sex life than most of the readers do. It's brought up by every single person she meets, though she's never fired for being unprofessional when she brings her Stunt Penis along on police matters, feeds on unsuspecting police officers, or sleeps with underage boys. In one scene, Anita is told by Edward that the only reason why she still has a badge is probably because she's a woman. Not because she's The Executioner (though we haven't seen Anita kill a vampire without "loving" one to death in about 4 books now), and not because she knows how to do her job, nor because she's more powerful than all the X-men combined. No, it's because she's a woman and could sue if she's terminated. Apparently, the Anita Blake series is a fantasy in more ways than one.

What sex there is has been made worse than the author's standard fare due to the addition of underage characters and the fact that the author recycles the same three or so scenes (with variations of the same male characters) over and over again. Anita continues to get away with metaphysical rape (and to not believe that it's wrong in the slightest), though we are reminded over and over that using psychic powers to compel someone is cause for the death penalty. Ms. Hamilton seems to enjoy making rules just so that Anita can either break or ignore them completely. Anita would like us to know that 16 is the legal age of consent in Nevada. No, it's not, and I truly hope that Ms. Hamilton was aware of this. I also hope that she was speaking for the Anitaverse, and not for actual law. Hamilton insists that she does vast amounts of research for her books, yet one can rarely, if ever, tell. This could very well be a shining example of that. No matter what, it's disgusting and unnecessary. This is made even worse by the fact that Anita becomes a metaphysical sex-slavery charged version of Voltron and The Power Rangers by finding out that she's the queen of all colors of tigers at the same time. Not only can the 16 year-old literally not say no to her, but he wouldn't want to, because of course, Anita is his "queen".

Ms. Hamilton's writing style has also degraded to a point where it's difficult for me to understand how she continues to get published. Her prose is not purple, it's juvenile and ridiculous. One of the most horrid lines is said by brand-new Stunt Penis Domino : "My Queen, if by my flesh or my seed I can feed you, then feed." Another gem is said by Fluffer SWAT member Sanchez to the all-powerful Anita : "It's like if you let all your shields down, you'd burn. But it would burn black, as if the night could catch fire and eat the world."

The bottom line is that "Skin Trade" has everything wrong with it that the last several "AB:VH" books had. All women are portrayed as weak and jealous of Anita, or stereo-typical butch lesbian cops who are jealous of Anita. Any strong women other than Anita are raped, tortured, abused or murdered. All attractive men are obsessed with Anita, while unattractive men who dislike Anita are portrayed as jealous of her power and accused of being homosexuals. All of Anita's "boyfriends", Jean-Claude especially, take on the role of two-dimensional, whining, clinging, and emotionally weak girlfriends to Anita's two-dimensional, strong, stoic and seemingly uncaring "male" character. Characters attack Anita's sex life or personal beliefs for the sole purpose of allowing Anita to lecture the reader about intolerance, while Anita herself is the single most intolerant person in the series. The book, like all of the others, starts out with a plot, but loses it in a miasma of melodrama centered on Anita's sex life and her ever-growing powers, none of which she seems capable or willing to control. Anita still insists that she doesn't have casual sex, without realizing what a joke that is.

The worst thing about "Skin Trade" was its unoriginality. While Hamilton has never given credit to those who came before her, such as Joss Whedon and Anne Rice, she did come up with quite a few interesting ideas of her own. Not anymore. The plot in "Skin Trade" bears a striking resemblance to that of Carrie Vaughn's "Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand" and "Kitty Raises Hell". Las Vegas, were-tigers, djinns. It's all been done by Ms. Vaughn, and done much better at that. If these ideas had been Ms. Hamilton's first (which they were not, as Ms. Vaugh's published manuscript predates Ms. Hamilton's by 4 months), the book would at least get points for having a decent premise. Even the one thing that Hamilton did seem to create on her own, her villain, was destroyed by her inability to to see her ideas come to fruition. It ended like every other Anita Blake novel : A gimme fight which took no skill, either of Anita's or Ms. Hamilton's. The way that Anita defeats the bad guy is so laughable that I just put the book down and decided that there was no possible way without aid of a time machine, Anita is ever coming back. In case you're wondering, she wins by giving him an epic orgasm. I'm serious.

Ms. Hamilton's attachment to her "darlings" makes it impossible for her to see what she's done to her series. She cut down the sex, but without it, as badly done as it was, there is nothing left. Rehashing the same basic plot of Anita getting more and more powerful while winding up with more and more "boyfriends" is old, tired, and was never very good to begin with. I personally do not believe that Anita is ever coming back. If you are a fan of urban paranormal fantasy, Jim Butcher, Carrie Vaughn, and Kim Harrison are all much better bets.

***EDIT***

There was a mistake made in an earlier version of this review. The text should now read: "One of the most horrid lines is said by brand-new Stunt Penis Domino : "'My Queen, if by my flesh or my seed I can feed you, then feed.'" The "under-aged" line has been omitted, as it is Cynric who is under-aged. If the store does not publish the change, please note that I am aware of it and that I did submit the correction.

Hamilton brings back Anita Blake to assist the local authorities of Sin City with their crime scene. Anita, Edward, and two other federal marshals confront the powerful weretigers of Las Vegas when Anita sense "tiger" on the corpses. The powerful dynamics of the group clash within and the federal marshals are in the thick of it.

For everyone that reads the Anita Blake series we all know that sex has filled up most of the pages leaving very little room for plot. This book was actually a breath of fresh from all that. Yes there was sex (how can she magically take that out of the books now that it has dominated most of the latest one) but on the bright side it wasn't until the end. The end does get weird you could probably skip most of the last third of the book and wont miss much, but hey Edward and Olaf returned to co-star in the book.

Edward isn't the same as he used to be in the books he now is over protective of Anita and isn't the super killer bad butt he use to be. Olaf was actually my favorite character in the book. Sure he is insane but at least he stays true to his character which is more then I can say for most of the others.

In conclusion if you're a diehard fan like me, and just have to keep on getting them because your hoping the next one is going to be like the first few books and are continuously getting let down, then buy it. If you're not diehard don't get you won't enjoy it.

Well, I am a big follower of Laurell K. Hamilton. I have read all of her books and was happy to see that (at least to me) this one was well written. The past few have worried me a bit because they seemed a bit rushed, but I thouroughly enjoyed Skin Trade. The story was stronger than its been, although many of the star characters did not make an appearance which was kind of dissappointing. All in all I look forward to more. :)

Spoiler alert:
While Laurell made a good attempt to bring back the best elements from her earlier works.... she's still kind of stuck in plotless land. Working in Edward was a good; he's one of the strongest characters from earlier works. However, the whole 'am I evil or not...oh what do I do thing?!' is getting extremely old. SUCK IT UP ANITA! I can't stand anymore. The BIGGEST weakness in this series is the repetition! "Am I evil?" "I'm not really beautiful" The best Anita Blake books focused on PLOT, not ANITA's inner demons. I can see A book of working out Anita's inner self, not 6. There are way too many themes which Laurell brings up and pricks your interest with, that she just lets die on the vine. I.E., the whole Mommie Dearest fiasco. She's foreshadowed FOREVER, and her end in this book is just way too pat. Jean Claude is completely boring at this point, the other men are as well (once again with the repetition 'all the men love HER' 'none of them have found anyone else' 'let's not forget the condom''they all NEED her' 'they're all irritating (to ANITA and the reader.' Richard has disappeared, probably because he was also repetively whiny... so other whinny unhappy men have taken his place. So please don't write an outline for the next book with 3 events and fill in blank spots with random sex anymore Puhlease! Let's get some closure on some of this CRAP so that we can get back to the good stuff! All this complaining aside, I do still find these books enjoyable. I do still buy them. I am still entertained. But, they are definitely of a much lower caliber than the earlier works. Still a fan, but come on... YOU CAN DO BETTER Laurell.

IF her PR people read her reviews they might help her from losing fans.
In short - her books have become porn with fluff mixed in with whining. What a shame. Her series was once good. Now I just skip all the crap and try to find the plot...still searchng...still searching.

Move on Ms. Hamilton or start writing for Juggs magazine. As one of your 'from the beginning' fans, I would like to see a story and less screwing. We all know how to surf porn if that is what we are looking for. YOur books should either reflect your stated current genre or be moved to the erotica crap section.

Sorry, sad but true.

I am so glad that this Anita book was so much better then the past six or seven. It seemed like she took her time with this one and really made a effort to write a story with a plot and wrap it up in a non confussing way. I still had some issues with the book. I am glad this one didnt have a whole lot of unneccessay sex in it. My main problem was when she did decide to have a sex scene in the book it was a repeat of the last book blood noir and it involved a sixteen year old child. I use the word child because that is what he is no matter if its legal in Vegas or not.

Skin Trade (2009) is the seventeenth fantasy novel in the Anita Blake series, following Blood Noir. In the previous volume, Jason and Anita were abducted and Jason was tortured by vampires. Anita got free and disposed of the vampires and then the human servant of a Master of the City. The US Marshals Service was a bit disturbed by the incident, but Anita was found innocent of any wrongdoing.

In this novel, Anita Blake is a US 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. She currently has six boyfriends plus a few more sex partners who only feed the ardeur.

Vittorio is a very old and powerful vampire. He is also a serial killer. Vittorio got away from Anita in Saint Louis and then just disappeared (see Incubus Dreams).

Maximilian is the Master of the City of Las Vegas (see Danse Macabre). He controls the New Taj casino and was a mobster before he became a vampire. His consort is Bibiani, the Chang -- matriarch -- of the weretigers in Vegas. Their son is Victor, a weretiger.

Edward -- AKA Ted Forrester -- is also a Marshall in the Preternatural Branch under his alias. He is married and has a son named Peter. He is known to the vampires as Death.

Rupert Shaw is the Undersheriff of Las Vegas. He has a grudge against shapeshifters. But he also has one of the best SWAT teams in the country.

Lieutenant Grimes is the head of the Preternatural SWAT team. He has six practitioners in his unit plus a psychic sergeant.

In this story, Anita receives a human head in the post with a note from Vittorio. While the secretary who opened the box is having fits, Anita finds a Las Vegas postmark on the package and calls the Las Vegas Police to try to find out to whom the head belonged. She is finally transferred to Shaw and learns that the head belonged to the local vampire executioner. The killer also left a note in blood on a wall that was addressed to her.

Naturally, Anita is going to Las Vegas. Her only problem is getting out of town before Jean-Claude wakes from the dead. She refuses help from Jason and the others in Jean-Claude's retinue because they don't have badges. She has to appear to be strictly business on this excursion.

Of course, Jean-Claude will be sending some people to Vegas to provide protection and food for the ardeur. He selects Requiem for the ardeur and Wicked Truth for protection. If nothing goes wrong, they will have little to do with the local police or the other US Marshals.

Shaw meets Anita at the airport with Lieutenant Grimes and several other SWAT team operatives. Anita wants to see the crime scene as soon as possible, but Shaw and Grimes play head games. Anita gets to meet the Vegas SWAT team psychics and try her strength against theirs. Then they start interrogating Anita.

Then Edward appears along with Olaf -- AKA Otto Jeffries -- and Bernando Spotted Horse. Its old acquaintances week, for all three US Marshals have worked with Anita on other cases. They have also been interrogated by the locals. Anita is getting a little peeved at the local police.

Finally, they get to view the crime scene. Three SWAT team members had been killed and seven are in the hospital under a magic sleeping spell. Anita is a little confused by the number of items that have been marked and logged, but then Edward mentions that the SWAT team had been in a firefight before they became casualties.

Later, Anita goes to the New Taj to meet Max and Bibiani. Edward has a fit when casino security takes Anita and Bernando into a shielded room before reaching Bibiani; the faraday cage effect blocks their radios. Anita and Chang-Bibi have a slight dispute, which Victor tries to moderate. Then Max shows and tells Bibiani to stop making trouble.

This tale takes has less sex than usual. Naturally, there a plenty of sexual innuendoes and risque remarks, but the physical sex play is minimized. Yet anyone who is upset by sexual references should avoid this volume.

This novel involves Anita with old acquaintances and ties up some loose ends. But it also forebodes some changes in the milieu. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Hamilton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of paranormal police procedurals, various forms of magic, and a few sex scenes.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I've given this 2 stars, as Anita didn't have sex in the first few pages. Perhaps I should have given it 3, as ol' Mr. Vanilla Cakemix (Nathaniel) was mercifully mostly absent (perhaps completely absent, I was unable to finish the book due to nausea after discovering that in Anita's world paedophilia is okay.) Yes, LKH, having sex with a 16 year old is unacceptable & you do yourself no favours by promoting it.

A better & more mature writer could have dealt with the topic powerfully but this would mean raising pyschological & moral issues that LKH appears incapable of comprehending.

Surprisingly, Anita & Olaf don't actually share bodily fluids - if ever there was a perfect partnership it would be those two. The author continues the very annoying story thread (or possibly psychological compulsion) that has everyone - male, female, gay, straight, human, animal - having or wanting to have sex with Anita.

As she's a very unattractive personality & according to the author totally lacks charm of any sort, we're left to wonder why. Large breasts can only get you so far.

Frustratingly, parts of the book are well written & this only further shows up the inane plotting & really bad character deliniation. The book flew accross the room in my house when - aw shucks - the redemptive power of lurve (or sex, with LKH they're the same thing)derailed the villian.

Get it at the library.

I admit I did enjoy the book, but I found it was missing bits and pieces. What were the "punishments" that Anita and Jason were supposed to have undergone when they got back from the end of Blood Noir? It's almost like she completely skips over months of stuff whether it's action, repentance, whatever, and goes on to this one. I really wanted to know Jean Claude's reaction when they got back to St. Louis, as well as the reprecussions of Anita making Jason her wolf. Also they mention nothing of Micah and Nathanial's whereabouts, or much of anyone else for that matter, and I was kinda looking forward to it all. She calls it a "novella" and maybe that's what it is...a taste, something to fill in a hole...but I think there could have been a little more meat to it. I do agree with one of the commentators here...I think she should stop trying to write 2 books in 1 year and just concentrate on one series every other year and make a wonderful novel like she has in the past. Also after reading some of her blog posts on MySpace, I believe she shouldn't worry about the book ratings and let her publishers handle that end, and just concentrate on the writing. From what she's posted, the ratings, whether good or bad, seem to effect her writing.

I look forward to the next Anita book, but I hope that it'll be a bit more meaty than her last two. I like seeing what's going on with her relationships, and there hasn't been much happening there lately, as well as the mystical action, and the police work -- she did a very good mix of everything in some of her earlier books, and it seems she's just gotten off track. Anyway, I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next and the direction it takes.

I actually liked this book and think the series may be headed back in the right direction. I did find myself waiting the entire book for her to suddenly lose it and start sleeping with everybody in sight, SWAT team, cops and tigers alike. It was a relief that the major sex scene was out in the desert without an audience. Somewhat disappointed that we had another all night orgy with all of the tigers but at least we didn't have 100 pages of the dirty details. I do hope that the next book is a Jean-Claude book. Interesting that he's her 'main man' yet he hasn't played much of a role in the last few books while boring Micah and Jason have had their own books. Overall I really liked the book.

So, I really liked this book. Anyone who is looking for a Masterpiece of American Literature in a LKH novel is SADLY mislead. But, if you were a fan of the beginning of the Anita Blake series then you might see the spark of some of that old Anita excitement coming back. I do hope the books continue along this line. I agree that while this book is not the best in the SERIES it is a step in the right direction. The thing about it is, LKH has created Anita to be what she is. She cannot go back - so she has to deal with the state that this character is in and the conditions with which that character lives. She's given Anita lots of things to deal with and they HAVE to be delt with, they exist. I am glad that LKH isn't just forgetting about the powers she's gived Anita - it would be weird if she was just, suddenly "normal" again.
Regardless, PROS:
This book is like, 80% about a police case which was much more interesting than another 300+ pages of Anita naked.
Edward's character is developing, a pro because he has always been some what flat IMO.
Richard was not in the book at all.
This painted a picture of cops as I have always experienced them - on a power trip and always ripe for a pissing contest - could be my small town.
I just like LKH's ideas about the supernatural community and how she writes the political side of everything.

CONS:
I agree that she did not need another man, Domino was an unnecessary addition.
Richard wasn't killed in this one (darn-it!)
I get the feeling that sometimes she is just copy/pasting things mentally - like she figures out a good way to say something and it WOULD be good - if she only said it like that ONCE.
I am a little curious about what happened to the female tiger that the police had in the interrogation room...I think that might have just been an oversight, but it confused me.

All in all I did really think this book is much improved over the last few and I hope to see even more of the future books with this much police work in them.

18 long hours of audio book, but I think the story can be told with half the time. I'm not going to waste time telling you about the plot since there's nothing about the plot worth mentioning. I can assure you that the story is not about solving murder. only 1/4 to 1/5 of the book is devoted to what is promised on the book cover, all other details was just to irritate readers. The pattern is the same with the last few books. Anita spent half her time listening to others' BS; she was ask to come to Vegas to help the local PD and then they spend all their time accusing her and impeding the investigation. The plot was mediocre, and now that I think back, I can't say that the middle part of the story lead to the conclusion. And the conclusion is like someone's perverted sexual fantasy. I was disappointed that Nathaniel and Micah weren't in this book, but Richard wasn't in it to add to the irritating conversation either. Overall, this series should end 3 books ago.

If you're looking for anything remotely resembling the earlier books you're in for a disappointment. Skin Trade is faux-horror involving long redundant conversations, a weak plot, and way too much grandstanding by Anita Blake. This book has finalized my decision to stop wasting my time reading about new interchangeable characters with minor roles while leaving other main characters completely absent from recent story-lines with their issues unresolved.

Oh, Anita Blake, how I loved reading thee
Through book eight what joy you gave me
But when you gave Richard the ol' heave ho
I knew it was the start of my reader woe.

I loved your charm and your humanity,
But what exactly happened to your integrity?
In your earlier books the bad guys you just shot to kill
But now everything you do needs a birth control pill.

Why was it so difficult to watch Richard chew
But it's so easy for you to rape and screw
You used to be able to solve many issues
Now all you do is whine and need tissues.

Reading Skin Trade has gotten me so mad
That I wrote this piece of doggerel that is terribly bad
But if I can get this crappy book out of my sight
Then maybe I can bleach my mind back to all right.

I've been an avid fan of Anita since book 1. I've enjoyed her books along the way, although the graphic stuff has gotten a bit deep and over the edge, not even necessary for all the graphic details. However, I've continued on reading, at times disappointed with her short Micah, and some details of some of her other books. However, as some readers have said - this is Anita back to the basics! It's her character true to trade - learning more about Edward, and I really enjoy the character to character relationship with her and him. The story is classic Anita...GOOD stuff...development of character and story line! I'm always sad when her vampires are left out of the mix (as they are sadly lacking in this story), but this story isn't meant to be about them - it's meant to be about her, and how she is learning to survive independently (more or less). I think the story is fluid, true to character, develops more about her, ties up some loose ends. Bottom line - I LOVED it! It's what made Anita the character that she is. Enjoy the book - ignore the bad press - ignore those who are looking for something else - although I'm not sure what because Laurell gives what she promises! Enjoy it! And wait for the next one!

As someone who has read all of the Anita Blake books, I thought that this last book, Skin Trade, was much better than the last couple of books. I love these books so much because of the strong kick-ass personality of Anita Blake, and in the last few books this I feel was left out. I liked Skin Trade because it kind of brought back the old Anita. I see the Anita Blake books as Anita dealing with being a vampire hunter and being in love with a vampire. However the last few books I feel have been more about Anita trying to figure out her "new powers". The one thing that does bother me a little about the books is that in every book Anita seems to pick up more and more lovers, but a reader I think she should have been able to choose between Richard or Jean-Claude and let that be that.
However this book definitely brought back the old Anita, Anita the vampire hunter. Its main focus was Anita hunting vampires, and brought back the mystery side of the Anita Blake books. If you have been disappointed with the last few books, give this last one a try.

Skin Trade is a lot like the older Anita Blake novels. In fact, the story background is very much like Book 15: The Harlequin since Edward and Olaf are in it. The story moves quickly and with much sarcasm. The end is somewhat rushed and weird (but weird is OK for Anita). One gets the feeling that Laurell Hamilton is moving Anita to a very strange place for a human in future novels but again, that is OK.

I got this book at the library as I refuse to spend my hard earned money on her books. I use to love her books, but since she started writing the Merry series it's been all downhill. What happened to the great murder mysteries? What happened to the great writing instead of going on and on and on about things? They talk and analyze everything to death. All the sex in the Merry series has bled into the Anita books. I don't mind a bit of sex, but this is ridiculous. I think Ms. Hamilton isn't writing Merry and Anita as separate characters, but has blurred them together. Save your money and check it out at the library. When she starts writing like she use to, then I'll start buying them again. I only bought two books in the Merry series and now get those at the library also.

Okay, I've read the whole series. Started to fall apart with the "ardeur". But to take a series that I assumed is about vampire hunters and turn it into so much porn. Maybe that's too much... Porn has seen better plots. Hey if its what you want fine. But don't advertise it as something else. The main character defines herself with sex, while protesting the whole time about how wrong her situation is, but chooses to use/have sex when not forced. Me thinks she protests too much.
A good series gone horribly wrong folks. Stick a fork in me. I'm done.
But a title for the next book if I may... Anita Blake THE END. I'd probably buy that one.

What a change! The story makes sense. The plot even helps me understand for the FIRST time the whole ardeur thingie. OK now Anita is a succubus, which is fine compared to all the other stupid stuff she was. Plus Edward is back sewing things together and she even has a meaningful moment with a serial killer re. possible future romance. I'm so happy! I had given up because of all the pointless nastiness and now we are all back together again. Try to catch it on the bargain side--if it stays good next time will be OK for full price.

I have read all of the books in this series, more than once, and the past few books seemed random and more about sex than any plot. The beginning of this book promised a lot more. The old team of "Marshals" are back together and are trying to hunt down a killer vampire/werething (duh), but there is great plot going on and there is more background about the other guys. Then for some reason the last few chapters flew by and the plot just seemed completely rushed. I really liked 90% of this book and thought the last 10% was rushed and confusing. I am happier with this book than I was with a couple of the past ones, but wished the last bit was more drawn out.

I hope the next one is the best.

Yes, I'm still a fan of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series and I loved "Skin Trade", book 17. I do, however, shelve the books under my erotica section and have for the last several. But I also think that the sex is part and parcel of the plot and the story arc that Ms. Hamilton has directed this series. It's her series and the stories still grip me from beginning to end.

Anita's doubts regarding Vittorio's death are proven all too true when she receives the equivalent of a gory, engraved invitation she can't refuse to come to Las Vegas, where he is apparently making himself at home now. Moreover, circumstances dictate she must move quickly and therefore, she leaves without her normal 'escort'. When she arrives in Las Vegas, Anita faces discrimination as a woman, a marshall, the human servant of a master vampire, and for her choices in lovers. Anita, of course, doesn't feel the need to proffer explanations or excuses...she has a monster to kill.

Fans of the series will enjoy 'seeing' some familiar characters as Anita works with three other marshalls readers have met before--Edward/Ted, Olaf, and Bernardo--one her mentor, one a serial killer with a badge, and one who'd like to bed her and who she's already seen naked. Life as usual for Anita. Now if only a blood-thirsty master vampire was Anita's only problem.

An entire book without much interaction with Anita's 'normal' group of men was different and I both enjoyed the difference and missed the men! Once again, Laurell K. Hamilton sucked me in from page one and I absolutely could NOT put the book down until the last page was read. She does a wonderful job of weaving the many threads involved in both this tale and her overall story arc into a flowing narrative that doesn't stutter or stop. The action continues as each new and returning character interacts with Anita, and each of those actions drives the plot further.

Now escuse me while I go sit and whimper pitifully until the next chapter of Anita's story comes out.

I've been an avid fan of Anita since book 1. I've enjoyed her books along the way, although the graphic stuff has gotten a bit deep and over the edge, not even necessary for all the graphic details. However, I've continued on reading, at times disappointed with her short Micah, and some details of some of her other books. However, as some readers have said - this is Anita back to the basics! It's her character true to trade - learning more about Edward, and I really enjoy the character to character relationship with her and him. The story is classic Anita...GOOD stuff...development of character and story line! I'm always sad when her vampires are left out of the mix (as they are sadly lacking in this story), but this story isn't meant to be about them - it's meant to be about her, and how she is learning to survive independently (more or less). I think the story is fluid, true to character, develops more about her, ties up some loose ends. Bottom line - I LOVED it! It's what made Anita the character that she is. Enjoy the book - ignore the bad press - ignore those who are looking for something else - although I'm not sure what because Laurell gives what she promises! Enjoy it! And wait for the next one!

As someone who has read all of the Anita Blake books, I thought that this last book, Skin Trade, was much better than the last couple of books. I love these books so much because of the strong kick-ass personality of Anita Blake, and in the last few books this I feel was left out. I liked Skin Trade because it kind of brought back the old Anita. I see the Anita Blake books as Anita dealing with being a vampire hunter and being in love with a vampire. However the last few books I feel have been more about Anita trying to figure out her "new powers". The one thing that does bother me a little about the books is that in every book Anita seems to pick up more and more lovers, but a reader I think she should have been able to choose between Richard or Jean-Claude and let that be that.
However this book definitely brought back the old Anita, Anita the vampire hunter. Its main focus was Anita hunting vampires, and brought back the mystery side of the Anita Blake books. If you have been disappointed with the last few books, give this last one a try.

Skin Trade has an actual plot, much less wild sex, a little less raw violence, and overall it has a point to the story. It's a vivid improvement over recent novels in the series.

So I think Hamilton is listening to her fans and tightening up her craftsmanship on a technical level -- or her editors are paying more attention. It's the story itself though that's drifting away from what fans of the first few books want to see.

We met Anita Blake as a feisty, set-in-her-ways tough YOUNG chic with a long laundry list of things she'd never do. Hamilton has driven Anita Blake to do almost all those things, and even more.

We have watched the devolution of the character of Anita Blake, not the maturation. In SKIN TRADE we get hints that Anita realizes she's grown up at last.

But SKIN TRADE devolves the character one more step while updating us on her fighting prowess in teamwork with trained killers we've met in previous novels, plus a new team from Las Vegas. So in that, it's a ho-hum, grind the crank entry in the chronicles of Anita Blake, introducing more ho-hum vampire politics, except we see Anita becoming weary of a life of hand-to-hand combat.

SKIN TRADE is not like the relaunch of the Star Trek franchise, a re-imagining in an alternate universe. That would be a refreshing direction to see the Anita Blake series go - Anita meets her un-devolved but matured self from an adjacent universe and aspires to mend her ways. Or gets catapulted into that adjacent universe and has to impersonate her un-devolved mature self!

Or alternatively, as with drug addiction, Anita finally hits bottom, looks in the mirror with matured eyes, and turns her life around. It's taken 17 novels to get this far, maybe in one or two more, we'll see Anita start to climb out of the pit she's in? I could root for her if she did that. I can't root for her success at total devolution, or even survival at this point.

Hamilton has created a fascinating universe, engaging the attention of so many different kinds of fans that they all want to write her books for her, me included! And a lot of writers are doing just that. I think the Anita Blake novels must be one of the most emulated series ever, a real leader in its field simply because the characters grab us and we want to see them do things other than what Hamilton has them do.

Skin Trade is a lot like the older Anita Blake novels. In fact, the story background is very much like Book 15: The Harlequin since Edward and Olaf are in it. The story moves quickly and with much sarcasm. The end is somewhat rushed and weird (but weird is OK for Anita). One gets the feeling that Laurell Hamilton is moving Anita to a very strange place for a human in future novels but again, that is OK.

I got this book at the library as I refuse to spend my hard earned money on her books. I use to love her books, but since she started writing the Merry series it's been all downhill. What happened to the great murder mysteries? What happened to the great writing instead of going on and on and on about things? They talk and analyze everything to death. All the sex in the Merry series has bled into the Anita books. I don't mind a bit of sex, but this is ridiculous. I think Ms. Hamilton isn't writing Merry and Anita as separate characters, but has blurred them together. Save your money and check it out at the library. When she starts writing like she use to, then I'll start buying them again. I only bought two books in the Merry series and now get those at the library also.

Okay, I've read the whole series. Started to fall apart with the "ardeur". But to take a series that I assumed is about vampire hunters and turn it into so much porn. Maybe that's too much... Porn has seen better plots. Hey if its what you want fine. But don't advertise it as something else. The main character defines herself with sex, while protesting the whole time about how wrong her situation is, but chooses to use/have sex when not forced. Me thinks she protests too much.
A good series gone horribly wrong folks. Stick a fork in me. I'm done.
But a title for the next book if I may... Anita Blake THE END. I'd probably buy that one.

What a change! The story makes sense. The plot even helps me understand for the FIRST time the whole ardeur thingie. OK now Anita is a succubus, which is fine compared to all the other stupid stuff she was. Plus Edward is back sewing things together and she even has a meaningful moment with a serial killer re. possible future romance. I'm so happy! I had given up because of all the pointless nastiness and now we are all back together again. Try to catch it on the bargain side--if it stays good next time will be OK for full price.

I have read all of the books in this series, more than once, and the past few books seemed random and more about sex than any plot. The beginning of this book promised a lot more. The old team of "Marshals" are back together and are trying to hunt down a killer vampire/werething (duh), but there is great plot going on and there is more background about the other guys. Then for some reason the last few chapters flew by and the plot just seemed completely rushed. I really liked 90% of this book and thought the last 10% was rushed and confusing. I am happier with this book than I was with a couple of the past ones, but wished the last bit was more drawn out.

I hope the next one is the best.

Yes, I'm still a fan of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series and I loved "Skin Trade", book 17. I do, however, shelve the books under my erotica section and have for the last several. But I also think that the sex is part and parcel of the plot and the story arc that Ms. Hamilton has directed this series. It's her series and the stories still grip me from beginning to end.

Anita's doubts regarding Vittorio's death are proven all too true when she receives the equivalent of a gory, engraved invitation she can't refuse to come to Las Vegas, where he is apparently making himself at home now. Moreover, circumstances dictate she must move quickly and therefore, she leaves without her normal 'escort'. When she arrives in Las Vegas, Anita faces discrimination as a woman, a marshall, the human servant of a master vampire, and for her choices in lovers. Anita, of course, doesn't feel the need to proffer explanations or excuses...she has a monster to kill.

Fans of the series will enjoy 'seeing' some familiar characters as Anita works with three other marshalls readers have met before--Edward/Ted, Olaf, and Bernardo--one her mentor, one a serial killer with a badge, and one who'd like to bed her and who she's already seen naked. Life as usual for Anita. Now if only a blood-thirsty master vampire was Anita's only problem.

An entire book without much interaction with Anita's 'normal' group of men was different and I both enjoyed the difference and missed the men! Once again, Laurell K. Hamilton sucked me in from page one and I absolutely could NOT put the book down until the last page was read. She does a wonderful job of weaving the many threads involved in both this tale and her overall story arc into a flowing narrative that doesn't stutter or stop. The action continues as each new and returning character interacts with Anita, and each of those actions drives the plot further.

Now escuse me while I go sit and whimper pitifully until the next chapter of Anita's story comes out.

this series is basically my paranormal encyclopedia. . . it always seems like every book i read after is just a book but these are the "real way its supposed to be" hahahah. . . .definately the best vampire/paranormal series ever written i think

Most readers tend to love or hate the AB series. If you're not familiar with the LKH books, here's a quick insight: earlier books focused more on AB's professional life (necromancer/ Vampire Executioner/ police work) & later books on more of her love life (READ: Ardeur ='s sex, vanilla-ish dom/sub, sex, erotica) with the other as a backdrop. ST is the first book in a while to focus on Anita's work again. If you liked the earlier books but lost interest with the most recent ardeur-focused books, then give this latest one a try.
If you're new to the series, you can read each book alone, but you'll miss out on references. LKH does re-explain some, but not all & especially not enough to grasp the character developments through 17 books. Each new book builds upon a previous book (this book closes a plotline introduced 5 books ago).
So if this is your first Anita Blake book, borrow from a library 1st & if you like this one - check out the earlier books in the series. If you love the series (especially the earlier ones through Obsidian Butterfly), add this to your personal library.

*Closes the storyline of Vittorio introduced back in Incubus Dreams
*The end of the Mother of All Darkness?
* Olaf might even be interested in dating Anita (as in no knives & butchering).
*It's increasingly difficult for AB to fit in with non-sups (may be forced to quit police work/ Federal Marshall's program after almost shifting to tiger form in public).
*Some light is shed as to why Anita's tiger calls to the various tiger clans.
*Richard not even mentioned in book -but LKH will have to shed more light on Richard's form of the ardeur that's solely focused on Anita (introduced in Blood Noir).
*Truth gains a power up after drinking Anita's blood again. Anita's personal blood was used to bind Truth to Jean Claude, but not for Wicked. There have been references that the two brothers are supposed to do everything the same. This may come into play in a future AB book.
*Requiem doesn't return to St Louis (perhaps Truth will become JC's third).
*Two tigers return with Anita to St Louis.

[...]
Skin Trade (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 17)

I was very pleased with this book. I have been a long time fan of the series for nearly ten years now and this book gets back to some of the core ideas that i really enjoyed about Anita Blake. She is hardcore, brutal and well thought out.

Skin Trade reunites the Obsidian Butterfly group: Anita, Edward, Bernard Spotted Horse, and Olaf, who is undoubtedly one of the scariest monsters in this series. I also appreciated that Wicked and Truth were featured as principals rather than as background, they are particularly strong characters.

There's some angst: are Anita's men taking over her life, or is it that her powers are swallowing her up? Is Olaf actually developing...feelings? EeeK! Is Edward going soft? Is Anita really growing tired of being a vampire hunter?

I did feel that the ending was a bit rushed or abrupt, the confrontation between Marmee Noir and Vittorio was a bit of a let down, where it should have been Earth-shaking. I did love the new operatives that were with the LV SWAT team.

Maybe she's going to shift in a different direction? Will Anita give up her title of Executioner? Threads that were planted several books back are picked up, such as Jean Claude's slowing increasing jealousy, Anita's distaste for the job, the necessity of traveling with "food."

As a series, it is evolving, not everyone is happy about that fact, but Skin Trade demonstrated that Anita and company are growing and changing, as they should. The series and characters have to change or it'll go stale.

Considering the length of the book, it held my attention from beginning to end and promises some interesting developments in the future. Hamilton is cleaning house by clearing a few men from Anita's life. Yeah, she's bringing more home, but I doubt that they will be front-line characters in future books.

I guess you have to be an Anita fan like I am to truly love this book. Word of advice- if you are looking for a PG rated book- you need to look elsewhere. The Anita series is chock full of violence and sex just like I have come to expect and love.

Anyone who reads my review is not going to hear Hamilton get bashed. From Guilty Pleasures on I have enjoyed each novel from being something different as the last one. This is the case with Skin Trade. From the beginning the book starts out grisly. Body parts arriving as gifts and a previous character, sociopathic serial killer is on the loose. She goes to Vegas to stop the body count and I felt the investigation was Anita Blake at here finest. She becomes involved again with the weretigers and again a triangle is established. I know alot of people complain about the sex, I happen to enjoy how complex everything is getting and especially Marmee Nior. If you want intrigue, great sex scenes and various subplots, you have a winner. Thanks Ms. Hamilton!

I thought this book was a good contribution to the Anita Blake series. The insights into Anita's moral dilemmas are interesting to ponder. The book is full of action and the supernatural. I especially enjoyed the SWAT Team that was made up of men with different psychic talents. That is an interesting concept and hope that it will be elaborated on later in the series. I really like the 2 witches / Wiccans in the book. They seem to have more of a story to tell. (It was neat the way Michael "saved" Anita from the Darkness.)

By now people who have read all of the books in this series should know to expect the sex and moral contemplation. It bothers me when these people are surprised that the 17th book has some of the same stuff in it! If you don't like the books or the author, please read something else and stop bashing Laurell! Authors have to tell the story that is in them. I appreciate all of the research that went into this book. The effort to make sure that the details are as correct as possible is great. Sure I missed the regular characters, but a little Anita without them is a nice break.

I almost didn't buy this most recent book in the Anita Blake series. I thought that her work was becoming more erotica than urban fantasy/horror but I have been a huge fan of this series so I decided to give her one last chance. Anita Blake, vampire hunter and girlfriend of the Master of the City, Jean Claude, receives a grisly gift in the mail and a threat from a previous villain (master vampire) in another book. She acknowledges the threat and flies to Vegas to take him down, along with Edward, one of the best characters in this series. I enjoyed how the sex finally became background to the action (FINALLY!). Anita has to feed the ardeur through sex but it does not become a main point in the story, it becomes secondary to plot.

I thought it was a great, quick read, mostly because I couldn't put it down. My only disappointment was the very quick, easy ending. I won't give away any spoilers but I was taken aback with the ease of her victory. It's almost like Anita is becoming much too powerful to be that human anymore.

As far as I'm concerned, this series ended about 5 books back. Somewhere around book #10, this series started dying. What happened? This started out as a great series and I couldn't read the books fast enough. Now it's just dribble and pornography.

Don't waste your time on this one either, it's even worse than the previous 5. I won't be buying or reading any more books by LKH. They are nothing but a waste of time and money.

I'm a bigger fan of the early Anita Blake novels than the more recent ones. This book opens with the delivery of a head to Anita at Animators, Inc. and an invitation to find & kill a bad vampire in Las Vegas. Thus begins an interesting story line that includes the Mother of all Darkness and the relevation that there is an opposite power - the Father of the Day.

There are multiple ties to previous Anita Blake installments. Skin Trade continues stories from Obsidian Butterfly, Danse Macabre, Harlequin, & Blood Noir. In Obsidian Butterfly, Anita worked with Edward, Bernardo & Olaf to kill an old & powerful vampire. Anita is reunited with the 3 (who are all now US Marshals) in Skin Trade. There are very interesting interactions with all 3 of those men in this book. Contrary to what other reviewers have indicated, there are no sexual encounters with any of those 3 men. Instead, its more about the development of those 3 characters and the relationship(s) between them. In Danse Macabre, we were introduced to a group of vampires, led by Vittorio, who are so incredibly powerful that Masters of Cities are unable to detect their presence. Vittorio is a serial killer who has now turned up in Las Vegas. In Harlequin, the Mother of All Darkness helped to add a new lycanthropy to Anita - that of the tigers. The Master of Las Vegas has tigers as his animal to call and has been trying to get Anita to Las Vegas to make her his human servant. In Blood Noir, Anita mystically called tigers from around the country to her. Now, in Skin Trade, she reconnects with one of the tigers (Crispin) and fights her attraction to many of the tigers that are a part of the Master of Las Vegas' clan.

Vittorio is able to control elements that we've not yet seen in the Anita Blake world. He uses those elements to attack the police and his favored serial killer target of female strippers.

While there is considerable attention to the constant struggle Anita is having in her job as a vampire executioner (fighting the ardeur, fighting against the reputation she is developing as a slut with the police, and fighting being a human servant of a vampire), there is an interesting plot here with attempting to unravel the mysteries of who is working with Vittorio and where his daytime resting place is located.

Then, just as we've found out who Vittorio really is and where he is located, the story raps up to a conclusion in just a few pages. There was just something about how this book ended that prevents me from giving it five stars. After all the build up, it was a shockingly short ending for me. There were multiple new things that hopefully will be taken care of in future books. The good news for me is that I was left with lots of questions about what happened in the background (again, I hope they will be addressed in the future) like: what happened to the Mother of all Darkness? what was it that Belle gave Anita? what was the significance of the different tiger discussion? what happens now between Edward & Anita? why didn't Anita connect with Jean-Claude & Richard or even Nathanial & Damon through their marks? just who is Bibi and why was she able to have such an impact on Anita? what's the significance of finding the new SWAT team in Las Vegas and their powers? what happened to Wicked Truth? why weren't the bodyguards punished? what did Requiem decide?

Anyway, overall, this book had a very interesting story; however, I would have preferred more information in the wrap up of the story line of this book.

ok, so i have now, flicked through many negative and positive reviews of this edition to the series, so now here is my take:
my husband was abt 10 books into the series when he suggested i might like it since i love vampire stories in general. i quickly flew through those and the ones after them. quickly getting ahead of him and diving into the books that followed. we both anxiously waiting for blood noir and skin trade. and as always i was not disappointed, i enjoy the odd dark world lkh has designed...it has its moments of 'wa the hell' moments.....but every series does.anita has been an ever-changing character and continues that learning process in 'skin trade', some people don't get the psychological struggle she is constantly under...she went from one version of herself to many....adding to her in every book. she began with many insecurities...and that has not changed...always feeling like she has to defend and push power at people b/c she feels small despite her power growing...
she hates the fact that she has become so 'sex' and less 'pow' but it is who she is now, she desperately wishes she could be monogomous, but she cannot...and truly loves the close men in her life...so would she really change that part of her now....prolly not. but she does dislike the adding new so much...feels genuine guilt over the perversion she gets sucked into w/ the "ard" disease. she has become less inclined to want death around her...it is literally sucking the life out of her...and she constantly whines at herself ...which is human....and battles to retain her humanity...
"skin trade" continues that ...she tries to go after the evil w/o becoming more power/darker...and even sees she may have to die eventually to keep from goin psycho-power crazy, which shows she hasnt totally lost her morality...it has just blurred a bit...more and more.
new characters and deeper relationships with older characters are put forth to shape her into this new thing she has been steadily becoming....but it scares her...this addition of power, the "ard" and the mess it causes emotionally-physically-psychologically-morally....it is all too much...and in the book she feels less macho and more broken...but tries to be macho and prove she can still do it....whether she can is up in the air.
jean claude accepts all of it, and the others around her love her for each their own reasons...some are purely addicted to the "ard" but she does feel guilt from that....i hope she will gain more control as she goes and find a way to release some of the 'food' back into their own lives... it gives me hope for that path b/c wicked & truth dont seem like panting lovers....and agreed to kill her if she does go psycho crazy w power...she wants to make sure she gets killed if she goes bad.
i liked the fact that she went deeper down the rabbit hole with edward and even though some thought the conversations were boring...i founf it all interesting. i found the absence of richard's angst refressing...
jean claude wasnt to center of attention, which was ok...i like that she isnt defining herself as his and enjoyed the tug of war goin on btw mother night and day father.
i enjoyed it b/c i enjoy fiction as an escape...people who take it too seriously really need a life. lol =)

I enjoyed this book. The continued development of "powers and principalities" is interesting and there is the fun Smart-Alec vs. The System aspect I'm used to finding in the series. Contrary to what a few of the reviews had indicated there is far less sex in Skin Trade than in some of the other books in the series and what there is seems less gratuitous. In particular there were no lurid under-age scenes.
My only cons would be: There was less humor (tongue in cheek comments etc.), and I wish it had been longer. The ending in particular seemed a bit abbreviated.
As always the story is fast paced with tragedy, graphic violence, plenty of action and surprises along the way.

After reading the first 3 reviews i was afriad of what I was going to buy. I am going to start of with the 3 parts that I did'nt like. i didnt like how she slept with a 16yr old. hello creepy. i didnt like how the end there was no hard core anita... i mean come on killing with love what happend to shooting the hell out of the bad guy. anita facing her fears is what i so love about her. and the last part of the book was rushed. i woukd like to know what happend to the epilouge that everyone loves. i love that her relationship with edward is evolving. i hope that her and olaf can work things out. i am a huge olaf fan...

I love this novel. We get back to the original Anita more, with more plot and less sex. In fact, there isn't even sex until over half way through the book, which is amazing for the later anita books. We get to spend time with Edward solving a case in Vegas. We see a softer side of Edward, one that he only gives to Anita, Donna and the kids. I really enjoyed this book, and anyone who had doubts about the series after the last book, blood noir, give this one a chance!! I ill say that anita is still colder and doesn't seem to have moral or care when she kills, but after everything that's happened, and with her needing sex, we cant really expect that to change.

I love this series, and I love these characters. However, I must say that this book seemed to be missing the magic touch. Usually, no matter how fantastical the situations, how gory the violence, or how detailed the sex is...I am completely there with the book. This is the first one that somehow lost me midway. Anita just doesn't seem to be herself lately. Maybe that is just the character changing. Or maybe it was just me, but I expected more. When I didn't get it, I was kind of disappointed a bit. Good book though.

DO NOT waste your money on these books. The first 6 are terrific. Anita fights the monsters, she has morality, she gets frightened. Now she screws anything that moves, and over & over & over. No plot, story line, just sex and its just the "BEST" sex with everything she screws. Its sad, and not worth your $. If you have to read this garbage pick one up at a yard sale soon. Nobody is going to hold on to these.

Let's face it: if you are reading the seventeenth book in a series, you are going to be a fan of it and will have read the previous volumes. You will be familiar with the characters, the milieu and know what to expect - or think you do - and will be plunging in to the novel's world to catch up, and see how the author moves the overall plot forward. The question you will want answering is: does this installment do what you expect? Does it surprise, or disappoint? Well, the answer to these two questions in the case of 'Skin Trade' is a little bit of both.

Laurell K. Hamilton has taken her heroine, Anita Blake, on quite a journey in the course of the previous sixteen books: while remaining an indomitable and courageous crusader against evil in all its forms, Anita has changed from a lonely single woman who went to sleep clasping a stuffed penguin in the first volume, to a mortal succubus who literally has to have sex frequently to survive. Luckily, she's also blessed with a succession of improbably gorgeous lovers who are only too willing to oblige. The novels have changed from relatively 'straight' horror adventures at the outset, to erotica, to explorations of the intricate relations between Anita and her lovers, and between the various groups of vampires and shapeshifters with which Hamilton populates her world. This has led to some criticisms from fans that the more recent books haven't been true to the initial vision - there is some truth in this - but, people mature and change as they grow older, and it would be tedious for Anita to remain ever unaltered, like an insect in amber.

In 'Skin Trade', however, Hamilton breaks away from the relationships, political and otherwise, and takes Anita back to straightforward vampire hunt. Vittorio, a vampire serial killer, who last made an appearance in book twelve, Incubus Dreams (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 12), sends her a macabre invitation to come find him in Las Vegas, in the form of the severed head of a murdered vampire executioner. Anita has no choice but to go after him, even knowing it is almost certainly a trap. Once there, she has to handle hostility from the police, machinations by the local weretiger queen, who would like nothing more than to see Anita married to her son and part of the pack, and relations with her fellow vampire hunters, among them her long-time friend and mentor, Edward, and the serial killer Olaf, who has developed an unhealthy interest in Anita herself, and actually tries to court her, in his own twisted way. All this, while also trying to locate Vittorio, and find out what other supernatural surprises he has in store, and resisting the continued attempts by the Mother of All Darkness to possess her.

With everything that Hamilton has packed in to this volume, it makes for an involving read, and the absence of both most of Anita's steady lovers and the political to-ing and fro-ing makes for a refreshing change after the last few books. I wouldn't exactly describe it as a return to form, but it is closer to the type of tale that made so many people fall in love with Anita Blake in the first place. Hamilton has also toned down the quantity of sex somewhat - a disappointment for some, I'm sure, but a relief for others. Anita is as tough as ever, ready to do whatever it takes to protect the innocent - human, vampire or shapeshifter - while struggling with the conflicting nature of her dual roles as vampire executioner and human servant to a Master of the City.

Hamilton's writing is as good as ever, although the novel lacks some of the more visceral descriptions and images of the earlier books, and most Anita fans won't want to put the book down until they've finished it, I'm sure - I know I didn't. If I have any criticisms, it's that the denoument seems a little anticlimactic, with a major plotline which has continued over several of the previous books seemingly disposed of in a couple of sentences. Then again, I wonder if that is truly the case...

In conclusion, then, 'Skin Trade' is a welcome addition to Anita's adventures, and a promising sign for volume eighteen, for which I'll definitely be putting in a pre-order.

I have liked all of the Anita Blake books, although some are admittedly better than others. This wasn't the best book in the series, but it wasn't the worst either. It was actually shaping up to be really great, but the ending was rather anticlimactic and in the end the entire book suffered for it. It felt like action that should have had at least 100 pages got only 20 instead.

Anita is finally back! Off in Vegas with Edward, Otto and Bernardo up against the serial killer Vittorio. Anita spends less time arguing and proving herself as a top debater (instead she just arm curls 3 times her body weight) and she finally isn't the ONLY powerful psychic that can join in the fight. She gets to fight and strategize just like she used to with Dolph, she acts as a member of the team with the SWAT guys and stops being the one woman army. Yes there is sex, OF COURSE there is going to be sex she is a succubus but the first 2/3's of the book are sex free. Yes there is a tiger free-for-all but it is plot related and finally makes sense with Marmee Noir's obsession for the large kitties.

I was close to giving up this series like so many others but after this book I am so glad I stuck it through the last 3 softcore porns because I am now eagerly awaiting book 18!

The First Anita Blake book that I picked up was dance Macabre and I very quickly figured out that I had to go back to the begining and get that back story. I love the books. The flavor has definetly changed from the first book though.
The one thing that i found missing from this book though was interaction with anyone back in St. Louis. one conversation with Jean Claude and one with Jason and that was it. that was the only disapointing thing to me I did get a little annoyed that the day seemed to last forever. I would say that the whole book took place in basically in one day. thats it, which is a bit percular.
Also, all questions about Anita's future with Marmie noir are answered in this book, but I do feel like it was a quick endingfor both that plot line and the book.

After Ms. Hamilton's last effort, I had given up on ever seeing another book from her that actually had a good plot. While this one only has the one (unlike her first three books that had two plots running throughout), it is still a good read. And....no sex until page 376! Unbelievable! And yes, interesting as it is well written. The lady has talent. It's good she's back in form.

For those of us waiting for LKH to return to her former glory, this book is a huge disappointment. I read somewhere that it was reminiscent of her earlier (good) books, but it's not. It's just the usual junk she's been putting out for the last several years.

Don't waste your money or time. If you just *have* to read it (you'll be sorry), get it at the library or borrow from a friend.

I only way I can stop from heaving chunks over Anita is to pretend she died as soon as she came back from New Mexico, and she has been invaded by a nymphomaniac body snatcher. I sat in Barnes and Noble today and read Skin Trade. It cost me nothing but time and I still have a feeling of wanting my money back.
Honestly I used to be mad at Laurell for living her midlife crisis fantasies through what used to be a GREAT series, but I now think she just doesn't know any better. I want to pat her on the head and say 'there there dear' like she's my elderly aunt.
At the beginning of the book it seemed like she was trying to get on track. I liked the premise, I always thought Vittorio would come back and she went off by herself. (Remember dear fans when Anita wasn't joined at the crotch to anyone else...sigh) She was going off to fight bad guys with no one at her side by Edward, how could this not be Laurell's road to redemption? But of course it was just the chocolate in my frappacino giving me false endorpins. Anita then managed to go to Vegas, get way to lovey dovey with Edward (no sex but they should not ever touch except maybe to shake hands), mentioned dating Olaf without saying or implyuing over my dead body, tell Bernardo she might use him for back up sex, sleep with Crispin again, sleep with four other tigers she barely and/or didn't know incl a sixteen year old (you read that right apparrently pedophilia is now acceptable) sleep with Wicked & Truth. I don't know if I left anyone out. I will give Laurell this most of the sex happened towards the end of the book.
But waiut I hear you dedicated Anita fans now...'Well if it happened at the end of the book then I'll just read it for the fight scenes at the beginning. No you won't simply becasue there were no fight scenes. Anita goes to Vegas and whle tracking down the bad guys she...looks, talks, sniffs, walks, points but no fights. And at the end she defeats the bad guy with...the power of love. Thats right not silver bullets or knives but love. She gives him his first orgasm in who knows how many years and that breaks his hold over the tigers. THen THEY attack him while she watches.
So the moral of this review is FOR GOD'S (GODDESS'S) SAKE - DO NOT SPEND YOU MONEY ON THIS BOOK. IF YOU CAN'T RESIST (I SWEAR IT IS LIKE A CAR CRASH) GO TO BARNES AND NOBLE ENJOY A FRAPPACINO AND A MUFFIN WHILE READING IT AND THEN LEAVE THIS PIECE OF @#$% WITH THEM. It's for your own good.

This book definitely reflects more of Hamilton's earlier writing style, less sex, more cops and suspense. The plot lines successfully carry over throughout the series but the focus has shifted back to the bad guys and not the internal dilemma Anita has been having for the last few books. Its still wonderfully written and intriguing where you can't wait to see what happens next. Hamilton's characters are also detailed and have depth that you can love them or hate them, or both. Personally, I can't wait to see where the continuous plot line takes us next, specifically with Marmee Noir.

In book six, The Killing Dance, Anita has sex with a character for the first time. LKH has said that her ex-husband told her that she ruined the series by having Anita sleep with someone. I think she writes books filled with sex to prove her ex-husband wrong. She can write all the bad porn she wants, and the trash still sells.

LKH didn't ruin the series in book six, but she did ruin it several books ago. I don't think she will ever write like she did in her earlier books. It is time to give up on LKH and stop buying her books.

I really liked the Anita Blake books when i first started reading them. However, at a certain point (and anyone who has read the books knows what I mean) they stopped being worth reading. That didn't stop me from trying however because the characters were such that I liked to learn about. In this last book I finally felt like there was something new to learn about. With Blood Noir we began to see a plot again mixed with sex admittedly, but a plot. In Skin Trade we finally see another well thought out story. It still isn't quite up to par with the beginning of the series but it gives me hope.

Maddy <3

Amongst the vampire and shifter communities vampire executioner Anita Blake is notorious for her dead count; no one in the profession comes remotely close. However, recently she has had a catharsis of sorts as those she assumed are evil monsters may be the victims of a zealous bias by human society who has fears of the paranormal. Part of her mental revision is who she socializes with, which has led to the Federal Marshal Service no longer trusting her in spite of her record.

However, Anita has no doubts that the serial killing vampire Vittorio who recently left St. Louis deserves death. He has begun taunting her sending her a victim's head via the post office. She takes up his gauntlet heading to Las Vegas where the package came from to confront him. In town are Federal Marshal Edward and serial killer Olaf; both want Anita. In Sin City, the sheriff wants Anita to leave while others like Crispin the were-tiger and Marmee Noir the creator of the vampire lines have uses for Anita; all hell is converging on Anita.; other supernatural entities have a use for her as well.

SKIN TRADE is the best Blake urban fantasy in several years as the story line is a throwback to the earlier supernatural detective thrillers. Sex is limited instead of dominating and what there is enhances the storyline instead of owning the plot. Fascinatingly except for Edward there is no direct appearance of any other recurring support character as Anita using her brain more than her brawn and struggles with being the foci of the Vegas paranormal community.

Harriet Klausner

I am a huge fan of the Anita Blake series but this one is not her best. I sorely missed her hearthrobs Micah and Nathaniel. I missed all her mainstay lovers who were not in this book. It centered way too much on the policework and not enough on the steamy sex that is her hallmark. I could not feel anything for the motley assortment of men she used to feed the ardeur while on assignment in Las Vegas. The only characters Hamilton brought back this time were Wicked and Truth. So dissappointing not to have old familiars like Richard and Micah in this story.

Anita Blake is true to character in Skin Trade. She uses her talent, strength, resolve, power and sexuality to capture the best clues to capture a vampire serial killer.
The only hinderance to the story is the storyline with the Vegas PD and how they keep giving Anita a hard time. I enjoyed this book as I enjoyed the last book by Charlaine Harris.

Wow just my 2 cents, but this book was great! I loved LKH early books, but the last 3-4 were just pure smut! I like a few yummy sex scenes but when all there is to it is sex, then I get bored and end up skipping through the pages. I want to read a story with a strong plot and interesting characters, not just bed partners. This book had a great plot, and only a few ardor feedings. It reminded me of her old works, like circus of the dammed. Anyway I really loved it and hope she writes more like this one. The ending was really well done, she had some interesting hints of where Anita's character could go from here, and I for one am hoping for a pregnancy! LOL.

Unlike many critics of Ms.Hamilton;I find that the increase in sex is a necessary part of the plots, What part of succubus is not understood? I don't see anyone complaining about to much blood sucking.........
Some of the loose ends mentioned would be tied up if some people would reread the book. I found this more in the style of her mid to older books and read it fro.m start to finish in one sitting.
Keep them coming Ms.Hamilton.

Anita finds out more about herself as well as her animals within. It held one disappointment for me where Marme Noir is concerned but it will be interesting to see what happens now. I find it is much like the last book ... a lot of chapters to wade through until you finally get to the action; and then when it's there it's over far too soon and leaving you feeling there should have been more. At least the sex was limited and not overly graphic this time. Inuendo goes a lot further than actual DETAILS with me.

Skin Trade was everything I would expect from Laurell K. Hamilton. It was fun, adventurous and detailed enough for anyone's imagination to thrive. In this book, Anita, again, meets up with "Otto", alias Olaf and the relationship between the two personalities is hilarious and extremely enjoyable. Of course, she is also working with Edward, as Ted Forrester and their relationship grows as well. You learn a bit more of Edward, not everything of course, but some, as they work together to fight a foe she met some time ago...the vampire that got away. A human head is quite a lure, and one she can't ignore. Read this book...you won't be sorry you did. I had trouble putting it down.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I really enjoyed Skin Trade. It's a fun read that is sure to please Anita fans.

I think a lot of people are critical of the series, but it is an evolution. You can't write 17 books without having the main character, supporting cast, and storyline develop over time. Some folks seem critical that book 17's Anita is not the same as book 1's Anita, but I like that she's changed and I think it makes the series better. I'm looking forward to book 18.

This book is definately a good read, and as I have read all her others I was becoming a little bored with all the sex and no action so this was a well needed change of pace. Even if you haven't read her previous works this is still a good read and easy to follow without a lot of background from other books.

If all you people hate this book so much go find a series of books that fits your tastes. Come on, this is book 17 in the series and you would not have picked it up and read it if you did not like the series. I do not think that half the people that are writing reviews for this book even read it or the last 6 books. This one does not have half the sex in it that the last 5-6 did. In fact there is no sex in it till about 400 pages into it and it is only 485 pages long. I was very happy with his book she gets back to the murder mystery side of her writing and that is one of the elements that made this series great. My only wish is that she would get the fourth mark and be able to shift into all the different animals that she has inside her. I also think that it would be cool for her to quit being a marshal(for at least one book) and for her and Edward to go freelance monster hunting. Hint hint Laurell!

I have mixed feelings on this Anita Blake book. It was definitely an improvement over the last two. My worst gripe is the mother of darkness. Laurell has been building Anita's powers in the books, to what I was hoping a smack down with the Vampire Queen. It is revealed in this book, two critical things. 1. She wanted either Anita's body or a child of Anita's. 2. Edward had been offered a contract on this deadly vampire. Now this would be a perfect teaser to the next two books. Instead someone else has took the contract on the Vampire Queen who is powerful enough to affect Anita from Europe. Yet she is powerless to protect her body from a bomb. Her fate is unknown, only that a bomb was set off where her body is resting. Now she might turn up in another body sometime. But the fight between Anita and the Mother of All Darkness will not be as strong as the last few books have been building up to. Also we lost the possible book of Anita, Edward and Olaf going after Mommie Dearest.(Which alone sounds like a great book.)

I also wish that she had started the book a little further back. The time lapse between Blood Noir and Skin Trade indicate a lot of changes which we have only vague refrences to.

The over all book was much stronger than the last. I hope the next one will let Anita deal with her issues in St. Louis. The situation with Dolph has been dangling for to many books. How Anita is dealing with living underground? How was she and Jason punished for leaving with Jean Claude's permission in Blood Noir. Did Jason's friend from Blood Noir come visit?

People have strong feeling on this series. The ones that enjoy it will continue to buy it the one's who think they are authorities on it will gripe because it does not fit their notions of what the series should be.
Laurell writing style has changed and in someways gotten stronger, but one thing the critics are wrong about is that she has ruined the series.

These books are her creations and she is the ultimate decision maker on how they should go. No one is forcing anyone to buy these books. You don't like them stop buying them. If you buy them and don't like them trade them off or sell them on ebay. Whinning about how the series has changes just gets old.

I am not sorry that I bought the book I always enjoy reading her Anita Blake Series. I am looking forward to the next one.

For a while, I was really worried about what LKH was going to do with poor Anita. It seemed as if there were simply too many complications in the long term storyline to ever make sense or give me any closure. I feel a bit better now, although there is still a part of me left going, "Hmmmm..." Allow me to explain.

First, a brief run down: In this book, Anita is reunited with the delightfully nefarious Edward and his two favorite partners, Bernardo and Olaf. If you were hoping to see some resolution in regards to things in St. Louis, you'll be disappointed. They're off to Vegas, baby, and she's finally got to face down the sociopathic serial killer/vampire Vittorio. Many of Anita fans' favorite characters only make brief appearances, but LKH, as in Obsidian Butterfly, manages to draw you in to the new location and its people so that you don't mind too much. Anita gets the chance to work with a special branch of Vegas Law Enforcement made up of psychics, deal with the Master of the City of Las Vegas, Maximillion, his wife, and confront those tiger issues she's been having. As usual, Anita collects a few new men and the ardeur rears its ugly head...but with a purpose. LKH has toned down the sex scenes, and while they're present, they lack her usual erotic flair.

Now, here's why it only gets four stars from me: First of all, I'm picky. A five star book ought to be one that leaves me in awe at the end and I can't say LKH has managed that. I was enthralled through the entire book, stayed up all night reading it and never did set it down. Yes, folks, this means the blasted thing even went to bathroom with me. I can't help it, I absolutely love Edward. As Anita often says, he just flat does it for me. Olaf is creepy, but I like the fact that Anita is forced to deal with him.

I'm a sucker for details. I wish LKH would have elaborated on the men that made up the psychic SWAT team Anita got to play with. I thought that was an intriguing concept, but truthfully, delving any further might have been unnecessary in the overall scheme of things. In the books where Anita ventures away from St. Louis (Blue Moon, Obsidian Butterfly, Blood Noir) I always find myself missing those I consider main characters: Jean Claude, Nathaniel (whom I adore and would gladly take as my very own "special" kitty), Richard, etc. This makes two books in a row now that Anita's everyday life has been avoided. I want to know what's going on back home. I want to know how her "sweeties" feel about everything that happened in the previous book (Blood Noir). LKH is really bad about making you wait two or three books before she finally confronts an issue. For example, poor, pitiful, constantly-almost-dying, Damian.

Somethings I feel like I finally understand, and that left me satisfied, and wondering if it really took the series this long or if I was just a bit slow. LKH isn't ignoring old storyline plots or neglecting relationships like I used to think she was. She's taking her time, making us wait a couple books, and while that is horribly frustrating for me, she IS getting to it. It's just a matter of whether or not you have the patience to wait her out.

All in all, it was a good book. It was nice to see the realism of Anita trying to reconsile her metaphysical abilities with police work. It makes things difficult, as it should, and watching Anita deal with that was refreshing. I like a taste of realism with my fantasy. The big fight at the end was...a little anti-climatic, and the Epilogue was the same. I was left wanting to know MORE, but isn't that the point? If she tied up all the loose strings, I wouldn't be left chomping at the bit hoping for yet another installment in the series.

I'm a little concerned on who the Big Bad Guy is going to be in the next one. I'm not sure how much wiggle room LKH has left herself and Anita, but it will sure be interesting to find out.

This book is the best one since OB. I love it when edward is in it, and that was the only reason I bought it. I have been reading most of the last few from the library. But I'm glad I purchased it. I think she did a great job this time.

The first LKH title in years to not be 90% sex. I hope this continues and maybe the next Anita Blake book will be EXACTLY what we've been missing. I do credit LKH for continuing to be a step above other authors in this genre in regards to how she writes. Thank you LKH for not assuming we adults have never read a book in our lives.

WITH THIS BOOK IT SHOWED THAT THE OLD ANITA BLAKE WILL NEVER BE BACK IN THE SAME WAY SHE WAS IN THE EARLIER BOOKS. ANITA BLAKE HAVE BECOME OLDER NOT BY AGE, BUT WITH LIFE AND WITH GETTING OLDER YOU WILL CHANGE. THIS BOOK WAS A GOOD BOOK. I THINK SHE IS STILL TRYING TO FIND HER PLACE INBETWEEN HER LIFE, JOB, WORK, AND THE POWER SHE IS COMING INTO. IF YOU LIKE THE ANITA BLAKE BOOKS THIS WILL BE A GOOD BOOK TO PUT WITH ALL THE OTHERS.
Skin Trade (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 17)

This book explains a lot about her relationship angst that she needs to come to terms with. Good book but we need more on her life with her guys they have not been in the last two book. We need more with her guy especially Richard who was not in this book at all.

This book was well written. I read the whole book in one sitting. I truly enjoy the whole series and look forward to each and every book. The middle books of the series tend to have alot of sex and arduer induced scenes. This series is evolving in a manner that is the true hard Anita that drew the interests of so many. Without giving anything away, Anita is challenged again and again but also addresses the increased issues of Sexism in law enforcement and perception while battling the "bad vamps and Supes".

You will enjoy this book as the author has created a very good story line and world that encompases danger, fantasy and great plots all in one.

I liked this book. Though the end did seem a bit fast compared to the build up but overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. Olaf is back and kickin'! Major things happen in this novel so I'm wondering what will happen next since certain important aspects have changed. The sex wasn't as prominent in this novel as it was say in Incubus Dreams or the two after that one so it's not a big deal. I can't wait for the next one! :-)

For a while, I was really worried about what LKH was going to do with poor Anita. It seemed as if there were simply too many complications in the long term storyline to ever make sense or give me any closure. I feel a bit better now, although there is still a part of me left going, "Hmmmm..." Allow me to explain.

First, a brief run down: In this book, Anita is reunited with the delightfully nefarious Edward and his two favorite partners, Bernardo and Olaf. If you were hoping to see some resolution in regards to things in St. Louis, you'll be disappointed. They're off to Vegas, baby, and she's finally got to face down the sociopathic serial killer/vampire Vittorio. Many of Anita fans' favorite characters only make brief appearances, but LKH, as in Obsidian Butterfly, manages to draw you in to the new location and its people so that you don't mind too much. Anita gets the chance to work with a special branch of Vegas Law Enforcement made up of psychics, deal with the Master of the City of Las Vegas, Maximillion, his wife, and confront those tiger issues she's been having. As usual, Anita collects a few new men and the ardeur rears its ugly head...but with a purpose. LKH has toned down the sex scenes, and while they're present, they lack her usual erotic flair.

Now, here's why it only gets four stars from me: First of all, I'm picky. A five star book ought to be one that leaves me in awe at the end and I can't say LKH has managed that. I was enthralled through the entire book, stayed up all night reading it and never did set it down. Yes, folks, this means the blasted thing even went to bathroom with me. I can't help it, I absolutely love Edward. As Anita often says, he just flat does it for me. Olaf is creepy, but I like the fact that Anita is forced to deal with him.

I'm a sucker for details. I wish LKH would have elaborated on the men that made up the psychic SWAT team Anita got to play with. I thought that was an intriguing concept, but truthfully, delving any further might have been unnecessary in the overall scheme of things. In the books where Anita ventures away from St. Louis (Blue Moon, Obsidian Butterfly, Blood Noir) I always find myself missing those I consider main characters: Jean Claude, Nathaniel (whom I adore and would gladly take as my very own "special" kitty), Richard, etc. This makes two books in a row now that Anita's everyday life has been avoided. I want to know what's going on back home. I want to know how her "sweeties" feel about everything that happened in the previous book (Blood Noir). LKH is really bad about making you wait two or three books before she finally confronts an issue. For example, poor, pitiful, constantly-almost-dying, Damian.

Somethings I feel like I finally understand, and that left me satisfied, and wondering if it really took the series this long or if I was just a bit slow. LKH isn't ignoring old storyline plots or neglecting relationships like I used to think she was. She's taking her time, making us wait a couple books, and while that is horribly frustrating for me, she IS getting to it. It's just a matter of whether or not you have the patience to wait her out.

All in all, it was a good book. It was nice to see the realism of Anita trying to reconsile her metaphysical abilities with police work. It makes things difficult, as it should, and watching Anita deal with that was refreshing. I like a taste of realism with my fantasy. The big fight at the end was...a little anti-climatic, and the Epilogue was the same. I was left wanting to know MORE, but isn't that the point? If she tied up all the loose strings, I wouldn't be left chomping at the bit hoping for yet another installment in the series.

I'm a little concerned on who the Big Bad Guy is going to be in the next one. I'm not sure how much wiggle room LKH has left herself and Anita, but it will sure be interesting to find out.

This book is the best one since OB. I love it when edward is in it, and that was the only reason I bought it. I have been reading most of the last few from the library. But I'm glad I purchased it. I think she did a great job this time.

The first LKH title in years to not be 90% sex. I hope this continues and maybe the next Anita Blake book will be EXACTLY what we've been missing. I do credit LKH for continuing to be a step above other authors in this genre in regards to how she writes. Thank you LKH for not assuming we adults have never read a book in our lives.

WITH THIS BOOK IT SHOWED THAT THE OLD ANITA BLAKE WILL NEVER BE BACK IN THE SAME WAY SHE WAS IN THE EARLIER BOOKS. ANITA BLAKE HAVE BECOME OLDER NOT BY AGE, BUT WITH LIFE AND WITH GETTING OLDER YOU WILL CHANGE. THIS BOOK WAS A GOOD BOOK. I THINK SHE IS STILL TRYING TO FIND HER PLACE INBETWEEN HER LIFE, JOB, WORK, AND THE POWER SHE IS COMING INTO. IF YOU LIKE THE ANITA BLAKE BOOKS THIS WILL BE A GOOD BOOK TO PUT WITH ALL THE OTHERS.
Skin Trade (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 17)

This book explains a lot about her relationship angst that she needs to come to terms with. Good book but we need more on her life with her guys they have not been in the last two book. We need more with her guy especially Richard who was not in this book at all.

This book was well written. I read the whole book in one sitting. I truly enjoy the whole series and look forward to each and every book. The middle books of the series tend to have alot of sex and arduer induced scenes. This series is evolving in a manner that is the true hard Anita that drew the interests of so many. Without giving anything away, Anita is challenged again and again but also addresses the increased issues of Sexism in law enforcement and perception while battling the "bad vamps and Supes".

You will enjoy this book as the author has created a very good story line and world that encompases danger, fantasy and great plots all in one.

I liked this book. Though the end did seem a bit fast compared to the build up but overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. Olaf is back and kickin'! Major things happen in this novel so I'm wondering what will happen next since certain important aspects have changed. The sex wasn't as prominent in this novel as it was say in Incubus Dreams or the two after that one so it's not a big deal. I can't wait for the next one! :-)

Good action, new characters, new creatures, good plot, develops the series and answers questions left from previous books, has Edward and Olaf as central characters, leaves you wanting more! It was a must read, and I couldn't put it down.

most people reading this series are complaining that anita has turned into a, well, she inherited jean claudes incubus, so you know. this book, laurell takes the focus off of that part of her life and gets back to the core of why people liked anita to start with...the vampire hunting and slaying. we get a better look into her head and how she is truly dealing with the changes she is going though. i hope that laurell continues these types of story lines.

It sounds pretty hardcore: a severed head appears on Anita Blake's desk, and she goes on a hunt through Las Vegas for a depraved, insane vampire serial killer. For most authors, it WOULD be hardcore.

Guess what Laurell K. Hamilton does: sex, angst and endless bickering. The seventeenth Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novel "Skin Trade" starts with promise and has moments of potential brilliance, including a menacing new villain. But between those points, she packs it with icky sex, endless whining and bickering, rancid misogyny, and constant reminders that her Mary Sue is the most awesome person ever.

Anita receives the aforementioned head in the mail, and learns that it's from Vittorio, a vampire she allowed to get away because she was too busy having sex. He's killed a bunch of cops, and he wants her to come to Vegas for a showdown.

So Anita heads to Vegas with her arsenal of phallic weapons, the assassins Bernardo and Edward, and psychopath Olaf. Of course, the local cops and SWAT team are unimpressed by her and her reputation as a lover of all things furry/undead, but naturally Anita silences all critics with her manly demeanor and snarky remarks. And when she investigates the bodies (with Olaf's revved-up help), she senses the presence of tiger in the wounds.

It's a pretty touchy situation, since the tiger queen of Vegas wants Anita to have sex with some new tigers -- and Anita's rainbow of internal tigers is selecting hotties left and right to feed the ardeur. Unfortunately the MOAD is also on Anita's doorstep, intent on getting a new body since her old one is broken -- and it turns out that Anita has underestimated Vittorio's true power, and his ancient nature. Cue sex.

"Skin Trade" is one of those books that sounds awesome in theory, but the actual plot (what little there is) is tissue-paper thin. While Hamilton sprinkles in some metaphysical disasters and supernatural threats to keep things interesting, most of the book is long chapters full of bickering, whining, and Anita proving that she is the Biggest Toughest Strongest Butchest Macho Man ever to squirt testosterone out her ears.

Halfway through, the plot dies. Then the story is crammed with a steady stream of sexual negotiations, icky sex scenes with a half dozen new boytoys, and Anita's endless whining about her internal zoo (very Freudian!). The chapters leading up to the climax actually introduce a genuinely spooky new villain, and a potent thread to Marmee Noir... but apparently Hamilton gets sick of actually having a villain, so she flushes a promising storyline right down the tubes.

Hamilton's writing has gotten no better -- the weretigers' powers are described as having "crunchy goodness" like a Snickers bar, and her dialogue ranges from pompous ("The grenades aren't what make me scary, Shaw." "What does?" "That I'm willing to use them") to hilariously horrible ("My Queen, if by my flesh or my seed I can feed you, then feed" -- like a pornographic version of "Lord of the Rings").

And Hamilton dials the rancid misogyny up to eleven: all women are evil and/or nasty, lines like "Stop being a girl!" are casually tossed off, and the one strong woman we see is degraded and tortured. But the most disgusting event in this book is a weretiger orgy where Anita has sex with a sixteen-year-old... which, Hamilton claims, is okay because he's "legal."

As always, Anita has all the charm of a power sander (but fewer brains), countless convenient magic powers, seething hatred of both men and women, and a tendency to snarl accusations of sexism if someone even looks at her wrong. Hamilton tries to give her some fears and vulnerabilities, but these are forgotten almost instantly -- she's clearly more interested in letting us know that her Mary Sue is the rarest kind of tiger there is, AND the potential queen of them all.

None of the other characters really seem like more than cardboard standouts, especially since none of Hamilton's regular characters makes more than a cameo appearance at best. As for the vampire brothers Wicked and Truth, they seem to be there to fuel Hamilton's fantasies of a threesome with Legolas and Aragorn.

"Skin Trade" has a few moments of potential brilliance, but their presence only makes this sad drippy swamp all the more desolate. Disgusting, boring and frequently laughable.

This brings Anita Blake back to her action packed police work we all loved! At last!

This could almost be a sequel to Obsidian Butterfly. We get all the same characters: Olaf, Edward and Bernardo Spotted-Horse. This time, they are in Las Vegas, hunting down a vampire that wants Anita dead, and has been killing police officers to get her attention. (in addition to sending Anita the head of one of the officers)

Anita's lovers, Jean-Claude is mostly absent in this book, as are Micah, Nathaniel and Richard isn't even mentioned. There is a phone conversation with Jean-Claude, twice. Besides that, we don't have any new developments involving Micah or Nathaniel, but we do know that Anita (and Micah and Nathaniel) have moved in with Jean-Claude at Circus of the Damned. She mentions missing living at home.

Let's talk about the action. Anita has returned to doing hard core police work. She has to deal with Olaf's creepy advances, which involve dead bodies in the morgue of course alongside a very disturbing case.

Ok, I gave the book 4 stars because in the last third, Anita has sex. Yeah, with more new people. Without spoiling anything, this was what brought the rating down. I am tired of Anita sleeping with new men all the time. It isn't right. She has a hoard of men she can choose from, and she always ends up looking to a stranger. I found it out of character for the last few books, and it doesn't do anything for me. AT least in this novel, it isn't so detailed, and doesn't go on for pages and pages. She gets down and dirty for a page or two, and that's it!

However, despite the random sex with strangers, the book was very well done and almost as good as Obsidian Butterfly, which was one of the best books in the series.

If you've been avoiding Anita because of her rampant hormones, give this book a chance. It really is a good Anita Blake book, and I give Laurell K. Hamilton props for finally bringing the essence of Anita back. I am actually going to read it again! And I will be looking forward to the next book!

I am 2 hrs away from finishing this book in audio format and I can say that I loved it! There was just enough sex to keep it interesting, but not too much to take away from the story. The interaction between Edward, Olaf and Anita is always great. The in depth peak into what Anita has to go through to get a job done dealing with the locals is insightful. This is a must Read!

I have read many of the reviews posted and I feel folks are pretty hard on LKH. I love her books and Skin Trade was wonderful. The sex was less in this book than the others and the adventure was fantastic. Great read!!

dear writer
your first 10 books are amazing
after that all goes to hell
please stop writing and also kill anita blake series that will come out in 2010
i hope it fails
all this said i dont mean you any bad thoughts
i hope that you can step back and take a break. why not start writing about anita blake i fell in love with a real detective like sherlock only bloodier
if not just so you know i am not buying blood noir or skin trade
thank you very much

It is very popular to hate on this series and Laurell K Hamilton. I do not understand it. At the end of the day, Laurell writes urban fantasy better than anyone else.

This book is not the best in the series, but it a worthy addition. It reads quite a bit like Obsidian Butterfly (which is the best in the series in my opinion). You have the return of the team of Anita, Edward, Olaf, and Bernardo.

Laurell K Hamilton does a good job exploring the dynamics of Anita's interactions with her fellow marshals and the other officers she finds in Vegas. The dialog is sharp and actually caused a physical chuckle at one point for me.

Skin Trade moves like an Anita Blake book should. It is a pace that keeps you going, but with enough restraint to make it easy to absorb.

There is sex in the book, but it does not come until the end and truly,it isn't all that much.

And Laurell K Hamilton does a good job of showing and dealing with Anita's internal struggle with her job and herself.

This IS a GOOD book. Well worth reading. This series is FAR from over.

I am totally in love with this book, it is seriously my #1 fav. Anita book followed closely by Obsidian Butterfly and Blood Noir.
The interactions with all the various cops were really interesting but I have to say I loved that Edward is back! Aside from Jean Claude, I love Edward or Ted the best. The men were another reason I enjoyed this book, no complications with all the emotional crap with the guys, and while I wish there was more Jean Claude, the scene with JC was pretty revealing. Also there's a scene with Wicked and Truth that was also quite interesting, especially with understanding Anita's mindset and how much she really does care for the people in her life.
I honestly though that this book was very good, although I do feel the ending was a bit rushed.
I almost didn't read it based on the reviews of a couple of people who had ARCs but I'm really glad I did. And I most definitely encourage ppl. to go and read, don't purchase if you're rly not sure but check it out from the your library, it really is not as bad as ppl are making it out to be.

After reading Skin Trade today, all I can say is ... Wwwwoooooww[...] (And I mean that in a good way.) There will always be a few out there who hate the way Laurell K Hamilton writes. It may be because they don't like the way her characters change (some that her characters change at all) or they don't like how her character deal with emotional issues or they don't like the pacing of her novel. I for one love the series.

I can be honest and say that I haven't thought each book was worth 5 stars but this one truly is. In this book, Anita is on the hunt for a serial killer from her past. We meet up with Edward again and get more insite into his friendship with Anita. Anita does her best not to add any men to her family while dealing with the restrictions her magic places upon her. There are SWAT teams, Wiccan priestess and Ancient vampires, Oh my! Ms. Hamilton does a great job of keeping us interested without overloading us with characters. And there are many new plot lines available. There are lots of twist and turns and you won't be able to turn the pages fast enough to find out what happens next.

On a side note, I have always loved when the "regular people" see what the superhero can do. When Lois Lane finds out who Superman really is; when MaryJane first swings on a web with Peter Parker. We get a small taste of that in this book and I loved it! Buy it, Read it and Enjoy! Then eagerly wait with me for the next installment.

What can I say about this book that won't completely give away the whole story? Anita goes to Vegas and kicks ass. Well, we also get to see a whole new side to Edward. We get to see his Ted mask. And believe me, that's a story worth delving into. He's a badass emotionless assassin every other day of the week, but in Vegas, we see hat tippin, cowboy boot wearing, straw chewing, good mannered family man Ted. And Olaf. The Villain/hero/psycho with the tight leash you love to hate. Or is it Hate to love?? You just never know. I didn't love that Anita has gotten more and more whiny with each book. It's like a dark tunnel that only gets darker. I can only hope that she gains acceptance with her lot and the books stop whining so much, and maybe don't spend half the book questioning how much of her life is really true. She's pretty and the men want her. I think by now, she should just accept it and stop questioning that.

Here is my biggest complaint about this book - I have no idea how it ends! I would have loved to have finished the book but the book that I had was a misprint because instead of the ending of the book, parts of prior chapters were printed instead. The book I have literally goes from page 438 to 375 and then repeats from page 375 to 438 and ends there so as much as I would love to know what happened I do not know! I understand now why I found this on a bargain used book sale for $4 and yet, I still paid too much. As a reader, I cannot even voice how frustrating it is to find an error like that in the book, that's worse than the occasional grammar or spelling mistake, the entire conclusion of the book is missing! So, at least you know this will be a spoiler free post.

I can only rate the first 3/4 of the book. I thought that story line was okay but the characters were not very fleshed out. I really loved the first half of the book, in fact, I did not want to put it down. The tension between her and the cops, between her and Olaf, and even the dynamic between her and Edward was excellent but then it started to fall apart as we see Anita begin to fall apart. Just because she, as a character, is struggling does not mean that the writing has to backslide, but I felt that it did. Despite this, I do want to read the earlier books in the series because I have heard so much good about them, but this book just was not that good of a book to me. I could see glimmers of why they are so popular, flashes of why Anita is such a good character, but they were only flashes.

Skin Trade has an actual plot, much less wild sex, a little less raw violence, and overall it has a point to the story. It's a vivid improvement over recent novels in the series.

So I think Hamilton is listening to her fans and tightening up her craftsmanship on a technical level -- or her editors are paying more attention. It's the story itself though that's drifting away from what fans of the first few books want to see.

We met Anita Blake as a feisty, set-in-her-ways tough YOUNG chic with a long laundry list of things she'd never do. Hamilton has driven Anita Blake to do almost all those things, and even more.

We have watched the devolution of the character of Anita Blake, not the maturation. In SKIN TRADE we get hints that Anita realizes she's grown up at last.

But SKIN TRADE devolves the character one more step while updating us on her fighting prowess in teamwork with trained killers we've met in previous novels, plus a new team from Las Vegas. So in that, it's a ho-hum, grind the crank entry in the chronicles of Anita Blake, introducing more ho-hum vampire politics, except we see Anita becoming weary of a life of hand-to-hand combat.

SKIN TRADE is not like the relaunch of the Star Trek franchise, a re-imagining in an alternate universe. That would be a refreshing direction to see the Anita Blake series go - Anita meets her un-devolved but matured self from an adjacent universe and aspires to mend her ways. Or gets catapulted into that adjacent universe and has to impersonate her un-devolved mature self!

Or alternatively, as with drug addiction, Anita finally hits bottom, looks in the mirror with matured eyes, and turns her life around. It's taken 17 novels to get this far, maybe in one or two more, we'll see Anita start to climb out of the pit she's in? I could root for her if she did that. I can't root for her success at total devolution, or even survival at this point.

Hamilton has created a fascinating universe, engaging the attention of so many different kinds of fans that they all want to write her books for her, me included! And a lot of writers are doing just that. I think the Anita Blake novels must be one of the most emulated series ever, a real leader in its field simply because the characters grab us and we want to see them do things other than what Hamilton has them do.