Besides one very questionable scene, this instalment was quite nice.
We get back to investigating and also get a bit of setting change, leaving Richard and Jean-Claude mostly out of this book. Instead, this book focuses a lot on Edward. As this series is slowly turning into a reverse harem, I find Anita's relationship with Edward really refreshing. ( )

Vampires

Synopsis: 'Anita killed one of Edward’s backups – which means she owes him a favour and he has finally called to collect. Or his alter ego has – reassuring Anita that what he wants in New Mexico is nice and legal. And a holiday away from her love life is probably not a bad idea.
Little did she imagine she’d be plunged into Edwards and that the cold, lethal assassin has a fiancée and she has 2 children – all of which have no idea about the man she’s going to marry.
And while the job may be legal – it’s brutal. Dozens of people have been killed or mutilated – and the deaths are some of the worst Anita has ever seen. Worse, it’s been done in a way neither she nor Edward’s erstwhile and experienced back up have ever seen.
Anita has to find and stop the murderer even as the death toll rises. That means facing Aztec gods, a fellow necromancer, ancient vampires and a prejudiced police force – even before she gets to the monster itself, which can feel her looking for it, and is watching her.'
Review: Edward's back-up, Ottis, is creepy! I was rooting for Anita to kill him. This book also opens the door for Obsidian Butterfly to re-appear, or at least her powers, at some future time. ( )

I really loved Laurell K. Hamilton's early Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series books but I did feel like she lost the thread a bit in the middle of the series. I am glad to say that it seems like she is focusing more on the story line and less on the sex of late which makes the books better in my opinion. I think Anita is a great character and Laurell K. Hamilton can write a great plot but her overly complicated sex scenes can somewhat take away from the book. ( )

I think this may be the best book in the series so far, with some caveats. The book has a lot of things in it that could trigger people. Children in danger to name just one. So choose to read this with care.

This book has a lot more horror elements than previous books.

This book features Edward, so you get to know more about him and his relationship with Anita. I thought it started slow. It could have used some editing to tighten things up a bit. I thought it was a bit repetitious about Edward and how Anita sees him.

But once things got going, I found it to be a real page turner. Horror, supernatural creatures, Aztec mythology, and black ops. Something for everyone. ( )