Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Title: Blood Noir
Author: Laurell K Hamilton
Publisher: Penguin Group - Berkley
ISBN: 978-0-425-22219-5
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
Pages: 340
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by: Amy Ramsey; www.trinagon.blogspot.com

Jason is a werewolf and Jean-Claude’s pomme de sang He has agreed to travel back to his small home town of Asheville, N.C. to visit his dying father at the request of his mother. Anita, Vampire Executioner and Federal Marshall, decided to accompany him on this trip for moral support and to imply that she is his girlfriend due to misconceptions of his family thinking Jason is gay. Upon arrival to Jason’s home town, Anita observes a lot of suspicious activities going on around them. She quickly notices that the towns’ inhabitants seem to favor one another. The majority of the population has the same genetic traits; blond hair, blue eyes and pale skin. Anita wonders what kind of secrets this town must be harboring.

Unfortunately, the same weekend Jason and Anita arrive to Asheville, there happens to be a wedding going on and the media coverage is horrendous. The media is considering this as "The Event of the Year" because Governor Summerland is running for President. Keith Summerland, which is one of the Governor’s sons, is getting married. This poses as a big problem for Jason and Anita. Jason bears a strong resemblance to Keith and everyone thinks that he is Keith Summerland (which has been going on since they were in high school.) Now the media has recognized Jason and Anita as being connected with Jean-Claude, Master Vampire of St. Louis. Due to this event, Anita realizes that she has made Jean-Claude appear weak to the other Master Vampires. When they return back to Jean-Claude, they will have to be punished for their indiscreetness.

Jason finally makes it to the hospital to visit his father, which turns out to be a disaster. His father’s accusations of him being gay and a worthless son devastated him. But, being the unselfish person that he is, Jason decided to stay and try to make amends to his father before he passed away. On their way to the hotel, Anita is suspicious of the increased numbers of bodyguards that was sent to protect them from the media. She knows that something else is going on and sets out to find information. Through details given by Detective Peterson, Anita’s theories are correct. Someone has put a "HIT" on Keith Summerland, probably related to the mistress he has been seen with. Now Jason’s life is in danger.

It couldn't happen at a worse time for Anita. When things were going wrong and all she wanted to do was go back home, the ardeur decided to rise. She was flung into a whirlwind of sexual lust and the need to feed on the height of orgasm after orgasm. This time the ardeur felt different. Something was wrong, her charm to keep Marmee Noir away is glowing, alerting Anita to the Mother of All Darkness’s presence. Anita needs to be on guard through this new power struggle. She needs to find out why the Mother of All Darkness is pursuing her. What is it she wants from them? Why she is putting out a call for all the available male were-tigers to find Anita? Among all the questions that Anita wants answers to, she still has to deal with her present situation. Now she is running out of time, she has to find out who put the "HIT" on Keith Summerland before they make a mistake and Jason is the one who pays for it.

Laurell K. Hamilton has outdone herself on this one. Blood Noir is the 18th book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. I personally enjoyed reading this book. Blood Noir reminded me of Laurell K. Hamilton’s earlier editions in the series. The plot was present and it followed through nicely. The readers will be amazed in the continuing development of the characters and additional background history for Jason and Anita.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is an Anita Blake fan and adores reading about the paranormal, shape shifting, vampires and erotic fantasy genres. I definitely enjoyed my time reading this novel and impatiently waiting for her next release.
For more information about upcoming releases and news, visit Laurell K. Hamilton's web site at www.laurellkhamilton.org.

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