Meet Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, in the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series that “blends the genres of romance, horror and adventure with stunning panache”(Diana Gabaldon). Laurell K. Hamilton’s bestselling series has captured readers’ wildest imaginations and addicted them to a seductive world where supernatural hungers collide with the desires of the human heart, starring a heroine like no other... Anita Blake is small, dark, and dangerous. Her turf is the city of St. Louis. Her job: re-animating the dead and killing the undead who take things too far. But when the city’s most powerful vampire asks her to solve a series of vicious slayings, Anita must confront her greatest fear—her undeniable attraction to master vampire Jean-Claude, one of the creatures she is sworn to destroy... “What The Da Vinci Code did for the religious thriller, the Anita Blake series has done for the vampire novel.”—USA Today
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"I actually liked this book a lot more than I expected to! A friend referred it to me, and it sounded vaguely Buffy/Twilight-esque, but it was definitely not like Twilight thank goodness. More like a Buffy/Blade mash-up with a female, cop-version of Dean Winchester thrown in, which is MUCH more my style. I saw that a lot of people tagged this as romance which doesn't describe this book by any means, but the farther I get in the series I suppose will tell. The reason I give it a 4-star not 5-star, is because the ending was one of those "happens-really-quickly" ones, and that's a slight pet-peeve of mine. Other than that, I would recommend this book!"
— Nicky (4 out of 5 stars)
" If I met the Anita character in real life, I'd be intimidated at first and then be intrigued by her forays out of the black-and-white and into the grey. Hamilton's balance of conversation, description, repartee and action exactly suits me. Hopefully the next book will be as much of a pleasure to listen to. "
— AllForStrongFemaleLeads, 8/12/2024" I was informed about this book by a friend and must say the violence, blood and gore was everything that I was told about. The description of the characters either wanted me to hate or love them I mainly listen to audio books driving to and from work, but once I started I was listening at work, while I was cooking. It is the best supernatural book that I have ever listened to and because of that I'm now on my 4th book and will be getting everyone of the 20 odd books available in the series. "
— Kovlin, 7/7/2024" Some of the sound effects/background music seems like a bit to much. Maybe it should be a bit more subtle "
— jmju, 5/14/2024" Enjoy the series but honestly ? Hate listening to the sound effects and the awful triangle that periodically occurs . "
— Paula, 7/14/2021" I loved this series, at least the first 8-10 books. "
— Suzette, 2/26/2019" I had this book in paperback and lost it. I am rediscovering it again. This is the book that started it all. Anita is such a strong female character. The by play between her and Jean Claude is entertaining. The master of the city makes me glad that vampires aren't real. She's downright scary. "
— Marybeth, 8/30/2017" I adore this series, especially the first half a dozen books. The plot is full of believable characters, without being overly obvious as to the ending or how the mystery will be solved, and it pulls you right in (without much of a struggle in my case). "
— HonoRaven, 4/14/2016" I have never heard of this author or read any of her books. If you liked the True Blood series you will like the Anita Blake series. I just can't get enough of the books, thank goodness there are 21 of them to read!!!! "
— Magan, 2/20/2014" This book was kind of scary. In a good way, I mean. And not really what I expected at all. I knew it was contemporary horror, so I figured it was something resembling The Dresden Files or Buffy. Which it was. Except I didn't expect it to be so...dark. From what I'd heard, I'd expected Hamilton's book to be the kind of horror that's so sex-drenched it takes the edge off things that *should* be scary to anyone that's sane. And with one of those wise-cracking snarky protagonists like Harry Dresden or Buffy. Only I didn't find it particularly sexy at all, and Anita Blake doesn't do much snarking. None of this is in the way of criticism, mind you. I like a heroine who takes her situation seriously and is intelligently frightened by it and keeps her head and gets the job done. And having her be genuinely menaced by "friend" and foe every other page doesn't inure you to the dangers she's in. The book's not long enough for that. Plus, the main character is herself pretty dark. Re-animating the dead for a living? How icky is that? In an intriguing way, I mean. The one thing I was not fond of in the Blake-o-verse: the fact that everyone's aware of vampires and other supernatural creatures. When it comes to my fictional "kinks", I want a world where the supernatural is considered debunked and its dangers lurk in the shadows, only known to a select few. In other words, I want a fictional word that by all appearances is the scientifically skeptical world we all live in. Because I read these kinds of books (fantasy, horror) so I can imagine that the supernatural exists around me in the world I see everyday. And I don't live in Anita Blake's America. I know that for certain. "
— Nancy, 2/1/2014Laurell K. Hamilton is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels, as well as the Meredith Gentry series.
Kimberly Alexis is well known for her reading of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, including The Laughing Corpse, Skin Trade, and Guilty Pleasures.