Thursday Book Report: Blood Noir

I wanted to like Blood Noir. I had given her last three books (between this series and the Meredith Gentry series) fair-to-middling reviews and honestly thought Ms. Hamilton was challenging herself with the Anita Blake of old.

Not so.

The first four chapters were basically an argument on who got to have sex with Anita and in what positions. The whole books spanned about five days, two of which were mystical black-outs during which Anita and her partners couldn't remember who did what to whom but they were all pretty sore. And then there was the requisite Richard gets really angry scene because Anita won't have him and him alone.

The thing is, the story wasn't without merit. Jason's father, with whom Jason has a rocky relationship, is dying of cancer and so Jason and Anita travel back to his hometown to see him. They run smack dab into familial obligations, mistaken identities, and some amusing anecdotes of what Jason was like in high school. And then there is the fact that half the town looks just like Jason, a genetic legacy from a religious wingnut relative who apparently did a lot more than preaching to the town. All of these things could have been built into a much stronger storyline - but they aren't and the interesting bits all sort of fizzle out.

Oh well. Add it to the total of books I have read in 2008 (it's #55, by the way). I remember back when Andrew and I were living in Boulder and I first heard about these books. I was still waiting for my social security card to come so I could actually work in this country. I had found out about the series and ordered the first 5 or so books from Amazon and read them in quick succession and then clamoured for more - even buying them in hardcover when they started to come out that way. When this year is over and I can actually start re-reading books again, I think I am going to pull my old, early Anita Blake books off the shelf and enjoy them again and hope for a resurrection.