Skin Trade

At last a book where its not all about feeding the ardeur and sex.
This book puts the focus not on Anita and her men of St. Louis, but rather her and her team of US Marshals tracking down a killer vampire in Las Vegas. This book was like a breath of fresh air, entertaining and fast paced, I came away able to say I really enjoyed it. I loved the interaction between Anita and her Marshals, the banter back and forth between her and the Las Vegas police and finally that we were able to see her a bit vulnerable. All that and a bit of magic!

I love Hamilton's Anita Blake series but this latest book wasn't my favorite. I enjoy the paranormal characters like Jean-Claude, Micah, Nathaniel etc... Olaf, Bernado and Ted just didn't keep me entertained. There wasn't enough of the paranormal in this book for me.

It was a good read, I read it in a couple of days, couldnt put it down. It tied lots of loose ends up, showed you a different side of Anita without her main group of men. I was happy that the entire book wasnt based on sex, it was a nice change from the previous, as the 1st 5 chapters were just that...sex...lol. I am starting to wonder though, where is this all leading, or is their no end? Im cool with either, Im just curious is all. Great read though, I recommend it!

Skin Trade is the 17th book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novels.

Anita travels to Las Vegas hunting down Vittorio who sends her a decapitated head from an executioner by mail.

Anita heads to Vegas to attempt to solve the murders and Edward, Bernard and Olaf are there as Marshals and help her try to solve the murders. Many officers and an executioner were killed.

Vittorio is trying to make Anita his human servant for her powers. He is also gaining powers himself and we realize that he is extremely old.

Max, the Master of the City is married to a weretiger. She is their Queen and Anita senses the tigers very strongly and attempts to do her job and ignore it. She is also a Human Servant to Jean-Claude and needs to be careful how she acts with them.

While they attempt to find Vittorio Anita is fighting against, Merme Noir and her constant attempt to take Anita. They discover that Merme Noir used to be a necromancer and wants to take over Anita's body.

This book was amazing. There was more police work but also had a lot of vamp/were politics and less sex. This book reminded me of the older Anita books. There was less of the "usual" men in it, and very little Jean-Claude. I miss him and I miss most of the secondary characters. Anita is getting tired of all the police work and I am wondering if this is a clue to the coming of the ending of the series. I hope not. 5 stars! Can't wait for the next book.

I keep buying LKH's books becuase the first few were so good, but have been really disappointed in the last few releases. I picked up Skin Trade becuase of the reviews saying she had returned to form and dropped most of the crappy sex scenes. Let me save you a few dollars. Here's a synopsis of the entire book:

First 300 Pages: Pointless dick measuring
Rest of Book: Pointless sex scenes

I want to start off by saying I liked this book. For me it was what I call a bridge/plateau or filler book. These are books in an ongoing saga, that tie up loose ends, flesh out secondary charcaters, introduce some new ones. Yes there was "more of the same", but that is what you get with an ongoing saga, the previous reveiwer should perhaps not read books that are part of a long line of books about the same characters. I feel the material that repeats is for the bennifit of those readers new to the saga, if you start in on this series with this book, then without some explanation, much of the book wouldn't make much sense. I also found it interesting that some aspects were not commente upon at all. I found it interesting that Las Vegas had a preternatual law enforcement group with "powers" of such varied types. As for the sexual nature of the story, Anita has become a succubus, due to the way Jean Claude's powers have impacted her, so of course people are atracted to her in a sexual way. As for the reaction of men to her, as a proffesional, her reputation precedes her, most men can't wrap their heads around the reputation when they see how Anita looks. They equate power with big and can't believe that some one of her size can actually live up to her "press", so they test those boundaries. Those of you familiar with this series, know that usually leads to unfortunate consequenses, at the least opportune time. Marmee Noir make another appearance, with a possible conclusion to her role, though I am not convinced this is her end.
In conclusion, I found this installment of the ongoing saga of "Anita Blake" an enjoyable read. After all this is entertainment and excapism for the reader. It is why I read fantasy. I enjoy ongoing sagas because they give the author a chance to build their characters and the world they inhabit. So I agree with the previous reviewer, in so much that there is more of the same and yes it is all about Anita, she is after all the main character, the reason for the book.

Well I have heard other people say that this book is better than before and that Laurell is getting back to the things that she was doing before and I would have to say that I do not agree one little bit. It is not so much the ammount of sex in the books that make them bad, it is the way that she goes about it. It is the way that EVERYTHING has to be about Anita and how EVERYONE has to want her sooooo bad, and how EVERY conversation has to be about her proving herself or her sex life. I mean really, this is just plain stupid. Is it really anyones business? HELL NO!!! And sorry to say but i doubt people really care and would talk about it in the proffesional environments that they arein. Here we are at an autopsy, hey so i hear you sleep around alot, mind explaining that to me? REALLY??!!!! It is just so beyond itself at this point that i am beginning to loose hope, something i never thought i would do.
So this book starts out with Anita receiving a severed head in the mail. Woo Hoo, road trip. So Anita jumps in the plane and heads down to Las Vegas to meet up with Edward (made me cringe cuz I thought something would happen between him and Anita and by the way his character sucks now as Laurell has pretty much castrated ANOTHER great male character), Bernardo and Olaf. There they try to solve the crime while there is the usual tiger business everyone loving Anita and needing to have sex with her and all the ususal CRAP that Laurell stuffs into her book. The bulk of the book is the usual stuff stated above such as the endless talking about her sex life, yadda yadda yadda. The ending of the book i found was also a bit of a let down. They have this huge thing like ohhhh Vittorio, so big and bad and then the way he is 'resolved' is just too much of a let down. Again, big lead up and then crappy finish.
As for the whole Olaf thing, that was just plain RETARDED!!!! Wanting to date her? Give me a break. That was the stupidist thing I have ever read in my entire life and no I am not exaggerating. And as for Bernardo being all down because she didn't "like" him, PUL EZE, what is with these men (and i use that term loosly)? Really they are going to get all sulky when this woman is not tripping over herself to have sex with them, PLEASE Laurell, i'm begging you, LET IT GO.
As usual I would say that if Laurell took out all the CRAP that is the same in this book that is in all the others and also took out all the stupid talk about Anita's sex life then you would have an OK book. Sure it would be 10 pages, but it would be quality 10 pages. So i would say that if you still enjoy the last few books that Laurell has put out in this series then you will probably enjoy this one as most of it is exactly the same. And i mean THE SAME. SAME conversations, SAME drama, SAME everything. it's a major cut and paste. Also, personally the whole 100 kinds of animals in her is getting tiring. The whole tiger running up the path inside of her. Yeah heard it 10000 times, get new material.

Skin Trade was fabulous! We're back to really great STORY telling. I couldn't put it down. I really hope all of Ms Hamiltons future novels will be like this. Some of the reoccuring characters grew so much & we even get to know some of the new characters & their backgrounds. It was great!

Ok in small words, great, wonderful, loved it buy it, page turner and all those good things about her books. If you are me and turned off by the sex as it takes over some of her works, then this is a great read cause there is hardly any. My lady friend thinks the sex scenes are the hottest in fiction, i offer to show her my picture collect but she declines... i degress... This is a gothic murder myster where there is no mystery and thus therein lies the mystery. You think you have all the answers, all time until you reach the end and wam right in the kisser you get a totally new version of what you thought was a straight forward story. This is a novel without the normal St Louis people, Richard, Jean Paul and all the rest are not in this book, except one phone call but we can accept that. Simply put, Anita, All Anita, oh yea Ted is there too. Look if the last book Blood Noir turned you off, then this is the book to turn you back on to Anita Blakes work. If you have never read any books in the series, soon to be on TV no less, then you can start with this one and then go back to the rest of the story. It really, really, is a great work. Loved it now i can hardly wait for the next in the series just so i can read it and get back in touch with Anita.

So I'm doing the happy dance (picture whichever one you think of!) because this book ROCKS!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this book has it all. The excitement and darker elements of the firsts in the series, a return to cop work and bounty hunting, and an Anita that understands herself better and better. It's the best of the latest bunch.

Spine tingling, new mysteries, bad-and badder-guys and gals, oh, and lets not forget sex! Basically, Anita at her best.

This one's got my two thumbs up, and if my toes could curl down enough, I'd add a few digits more!

My request: Ms. Hamilton? More like this, please!

This book had so much going on throughout it that I just could not put it down until I reached the end. The only hint of a problem that I found was that the ending felt a bit rushed to me, there was more of a build up to the ending than there was an ending. And I totally did not mind that not all the characters were in this book, it's nice to see Anita away from home and having to work with the resources.

All around, a solid book.

I really enjoy the Anita Blake series sex and all! This book was very good I liked how the story unfolded. Edward and was great, Olaf was creepy and mommy dearest was evil as ever. I was however disapointed in the fact that Jean-Cluade was barely in this book and no mention of Richard. But all in all a very good read for the Anita Blake fans.

98% plot instead of sex...not that the se isn't great but is't not why i sarted reading the Blake novels. And Edward's back! could it getg any better?

I thought the story line was very very good; it was nice to see Edward and interesting to watch his and Anita’s relationship change into a family sort of thing. Otto still creeps me out, and I learned Bernardo is not a very good team player. I like how Anita has to work for respect and isn’t given it just “because”, although there were a few cops I would have liked to drop kick for the fun of it, they simply wouldn’t listen. Like a few other readers I’m sure, I missed Anita’s main men, I hope in the next novel we get to see more of them, I think she will need them to help her through some of her personal dilemmas soon. I found some things interesting and surprising, not going to say much don’t want to ruin the book for others, but I wonder if she will start up a type of SWAT team of her own in the future. All in all I thought the novel was a very good read, suspenseful, exciting, surprising at times and interesting.

I have just finished reading the latest book in the Anita Blake series and I have one thing to say - WOW! It has got to be one of the best books in the series. Fans of Anita Blake the Vampire Hunter, will be happy that the focus of this book is just that, vampire hunting, rather than Vampire politics or Anita's out of control metaphysical powers.

After receiving a rather gruesome 'gift' from Vittorio, the vampire serial killer that got away (Incubus Dreams), Anita finds herself in Vegas. Far from home and the protection Jean-Claude can provide, Anita luckily has Edward and the gang from New Mexico - scary Olaf and horndog Bernardo (from Obsidian Butterfly) to watch her back. She also has a team of paranormal SWAT operators and the Vegas Sheriff's Department to deal with, which is not necessarily a good thing.

The story is action packed and nicely paced. I think I have said before that I really like Edward and how his relationship with Anita has developed and we get to see more of it in this book. There is also a creepy development with Olaf and Anita is still under threat by Marmee Noir, the Mother of all Darkness. At the end of the last book (Blood Noir), Anita had discovered her powers over the tigers. While all her other weres are back in St.Louis, the tigers are front and centre, including Crispin her tiger to call. Several new characters are introduced and will probably play roles in upcoming books.

The only complaint I have with this book is that I missed Anita's 'boys'. Jean Claude is a voice over the phone and Micah and Nathaniel only mentioned in passing (I don't think I missed Richard). One other thing, I think there may have been a short story published between this book and the last because there seems to have been some story development with Haven, the new Rex of the Werelions that I seemed to have missed out on.

This was a truly great read. I had to force myself to put it down rather than read all night long. Fans of Anita Blake will not be disappointed.

Book 17 (wow) in the Anita Blake series truly doesn't disappoint. Most noticeable is Ms. Hamilton's return to the meat of her earlier stories without as much erotica, with the first sex scene on page 378. Also noticiable is the lack of any of her key characters from earlier books in the series and few interactions with them when they do appear.

Read more at http://wickedlilpixie.com/2009/06/04/skin-trade-by-laurell-k-hamilton/