Let's here it for a lack of pointless sex! I wasn't going to read this book because it was guaranteed to be more of the same- plot used only as a device to get from one bed (or kitchen, or bathroom, or vehicle...) to the next. But when a free copy showed up at work, I gave it a shot. What else was I to do on an eight-hour plane ride but read and sleep? And I was very, very surprised. There are only two encounters of the naked kind, they are primarily plot-relevant, and only three times did Hamilton refer to kissing Anita as any form of 'trying to climb inside my mouth'. I was also pleased because it looks like they stopped giving Hamilton's books to the junior high English class for proofreading. The grammar was much better, and while she still writes in sentence fragments, it's less distracting than usual. As always, the characters were interesting, and it was nice to focus on a few key people instead of parading the harem and their requisite emotions through every chapter.

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For all of you out there who were getting just a bit tired of the non-stop near constant sex, this book is for you. If you have missed Edward, this book is for you. If you liked Anita better when she was killing damn near everything in sight, this book is for you. Yep, for all the fans of the early days of Anita Blake, this book is for you!

This book was the last chance book. If it had been all sex, no plot, I had planned to give up on the series. Thank heaven I gave it a chance.

Anita takes us to Nevada where she meets up with Edward, Bernard and Olaf. It was very reminiscent of book 8, Obsidian Butterfly, since she was surrounded by unknown police officers and there was no sex for the bulk of the book.

They are all there to help Anita find the serial killer Vittorio, who she faced off against in the book Incubus Dreams. He has sent Anita a special invitation to see if she can stop him. While she is working against the sun to find and put a stop to him, Marme Noir has decided she wants to possess Anita and must be on constant guard against her.
We also got some up close and personal time with Wicked Truth, the twin warriors that Anita had wished up some several books back. I was glad we got some more face time with them, since they were supposedly the muscle answer to their lack of soldiers problem that was so catastrophic in nature, but then we barely heard from them ever again.

The ending felt a little rushed, but all in all a great book. Here's to hoping the next one is just as good.

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I like this book mostly because of Otto/Olaf, who is by far my favorite character because he scares the hell out of Anita. I also loved the fact that Richard was not in this book. Seriously, I am so tired of Anita collecting men, damn she really needs to try casual sex. What I did hate about this book and the 2 before it was there is no sex with Jean Claude. I could care less about all those other metrosexual pint sized men Anita is sleeping with. Does anybody remember what happened when Anita and Asher had sex, they almost killed each other from pleasure, now thats sex. Anyway, back to the book, things were tied up too compactly for my tastes, the ending was extremely anti-climatic.

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Wow - a plot and everything!

I love Ms. Hamilton's books, but it was nice to have a story line and not just 300 pages of wild sex!

I also loved the focus on some "minor" characters: mysterious Edward, creepy Olaf, sexy Wicked Truth.

And Thank God, no Richard!!! Can someone please kill Richard??? With the number of people who die horrible deaths in this series, why is Richard still hanging around?

I did enjoy this book - can't wait to see the next one and hoping that the quality of the story line continues.

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Wow! I was seriously impressed with the LACK of sex and the existence of a plot! This was reminiscent of the Early Days of Anita the Executioner/Detective, when she was more than a place for every man to park the pink elephant.

Keep it up ! Less is SOO much more!

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"Skin Trade" was a surprising change from the last list of disappointments from Hamilton. Readers will be pleasantly surprised as this installment of Anita Blake harkens back to the books of her early days. You'll find a much richer story and fewer sexual escapades in a balance that will delight disappointed fans. I had all but given up on this series, but I urge you to try it once more. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Hamilton has given me a reason to continue checking back. I hope it will for you too.

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I usually love vampire/supernatural novels, but I couldn't get through this one. So horrible!

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This is the 17th book in the Anita Blake series that is still going and going. This is the first book in a long time that reverts back to the older style of Anita that we all knew and loved; at least for some of the book. For once this book is about Anita's job and her skills as a vampire executioner; there are guns, gore, and lots of action. This was my favorite book in this series for a long time.

When Anita gets into work (yes, she does still hold a job, believe it or not) she has a special package on her desk. It is the head of the vampire executioner from the Las Vegas area. It appears that Vittorio is back to his old serial killer ways. He is trying to lure Anita to Las Vegas; of course it works. Luckily for Anita, Edward and Olaf are there to cover her back. Of course given Olaf's own serial killer profile whether or not he is a danger or protection is up for grabs. Of course as the hunt progresses Anita's metaphysical junk comes into play, we find out that Vittorio is more than we originally thought, and Marmee Noir is restless (as Marmee Noir learns of plots to destroy her physical body) and wants a new physical body.

This is, by far, the best Anita Blake book in a long while. There are lots of guns and lots of gore; lots of shooting and lots of killing. It is not, of course, the Anita of the earlier books, as she has changed as a character. In this book Anita struggles a lot with how her preternatural powers interfere with her vampire slaying. You see that Anita is getting tired of killing and you see how she struggles with the fact that she now sees monsters as people with feelings and problems. She is also struggling with how to deal with the fact that she has so many people to take care of that need her (all those guys) and never gets a moment of alone time.

Edward is excellent in this book, as always. Olaf is super creepy and bothers me as a character, but I think that is his purpose. About 2/3rds or maybe even 1/2 way through the book a lot of metaphysics starts happening; then sometimes Anita starts channeling a bit of Meredith Gentry if you know what I mean. You see a lot of the Wicked Truth (Truth and Wicked take center stage for much of the end of the book). There are many different colors of weretigers involved also. This book actually wraps up a lot of major plot points rather nicely and leaves me wondering what the next book will be about.

One of the bad things about this book (because it is by no means flawless) is that Anita spends an inordinate amount of time "proving herself" to the other good guys because she is a woman. This is something I thought we worked out in earlier books but apparently it is still an issue Anita has trouble handling. I am also not sure sometimes what all the creepy scenes with Olaf were about; maybe they were there to prove that if Anita can relate to Olaf than she is definitely a monster and can understand monsters...I am not sure. I also missed Jean Claude; he was present mainly in passing and he mainly spent time whining that Anita should have told him she was leaving. Richard is not mentioned one iota, which I actually count as a positive.

Overall I actually enjoyed reading this book and liked it. The way it ends really made me wonder what is next for Anita though. I also constantly question how long this series is going to continue; last I heard it was contracted for 22 books...if anyone knows let me know.

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I used to LOVE Anita Blake, but now all the books have so much gore and self-hatred, that I can't do it anymore. I'm bored with her books starting now. Maybe if Anita gets amnesia and isn't a sex-addict anymore, I'll pick this series back up.

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