Kiss the Dead (Anita Blake # 21) by Laurell K. Hamilton

I was so excited to get a chance to read Kiss the Dead over the weekend!  I used to rush out on every Anita Blake book's release date for my copy but alas, with the kids getting older and me having an ever growing To Read List, I haven't run right out my the last two Anita books.  But that doesn't mean that I love them any less.  I also recently found a treasure trove of the Anita Blake comic books in the $2.00 boxes at my local comic shop.  I got one of each of the titles that he had.  It was an epic find and the art in them is gorgeous!  I was introduced to the world of Anita Blake in college by one of my roommates who was always broadening my horizons (she also got me to read Harry Potter and The Black Jewels books and she convinced me that Sailor Moon is better in Japanese with subtitles- and it is).  Anita Blake has been one of my favorite Series for years and while it is one of the ones that my husband can't read- he tried one of the later books... Danse Macabre, and couldn't finish it.  He says it was "too much" for him.  I don't get that because he reads The Black Dagger Brotherhood books but whatever- different strokes for different folks, I guess.  Here's the Goodreads blurb and the cover for Kiss the Dead:

When a fifteen-year-old girl is abducted by vampires, it’s up to U.S. Marshal Anita Blake to find her. And when she does, she’s faced with something she’s never seen before: a terrifyingly ordinary group of people—kids, grandparents, soccer moms—all recently turned and willing to die to avoid serving a master. And where there’s one martyr, there will be more… But even vampires have monsters that they’re afraid of. And Anita is one of them…

It looks like the covers have changed again.  Hit List, Kiss the Dead and the e-special "Beauty" all feature covers like this as opposed to the minimalist covers that they did on Bullet and the others and the pretty covers that came before that.  I have almost a complete set of the books but some of them were destroyed in our last move so I need to replace books and it's going to add to the hodge podge of covers, I'm sure.  I read this one over the course of a day or so.  I tend to tear through the Anita books because they are so fun to read.  This book has a lot of great things going on.  We get to see Marshall Blake without Edward.  (Edward is growing on me but he still is not one of my favorite characters.)  We also get to see how Anita is balancing her work as a Marshall and her life as a preternatural.  There is little to no necromancy in this one- no zombies anyway.  There are plenty of shapeshifters and vampires though.  We get to see who Anita is living with and how her world functions which is kinda fun.  She is a great leader who does plenty for the people who follow her.  I was especially glad to see Cynric get plenty of character development in this one.  I was missing some things but Anita's world is so full and complex that not every character or aspect of her life will get to be shown in every book. I really enjoyed seeing Anita finally pretty comfortable in her own skin and with her life.  She has a life that isn't for everyone but it is what she needs and what has brought her plenty happiness even with the trials and tribulations.  And really, isn't that how it is for everyone?  We all just want to find our place in the world.  Somewhere to belong where the good things outweigh the bad.  I hope the next book will show Anita finally coming to terms with Cynric's place in her life.  It would be nice to see her animating as well, that used to be a huge part of her character.  I guess we'll see, since Laurell K. Hamilton has said that there is no end in sight for Anita.

You can find this book on Goodreads by clicking here.  You can find the rest of the books by Laurell K. Hamilton by clicking here.  You can also follow her on Facebook, on Twitter and on her blog.  Kiss the Dead earns 3 Fairies.