[sent this before, not sure if did it properly!]
Having just read the latest Laurell K. Hamilton, Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novel, ‘Cerulean sins’ I was at a loss to explain where the plot line mentioned on the back had disappeared to. Having last read a Blake novel when the tenth in the series was published I found the constant back tracking useful if not a little over used for those of us who have started at the beginning of the series, though understandable for those who have not. I also found it almost disappointing, sure there were the reasons I my self read the books for, the wit of Anita, the werewolves/vampires/witches relationships that seem to get even more complicated as the series develops. Theres also the varied characters, murders and plot lines that usually rarely fail to enthrall me. however, I’m beginning to wonder if Hamilton forgot about the plot in the writing of this latest book, and focused more on the many [many] relationships that Blake is building around herself. Even though the first few books of the series seemed to test our own inhibitions and ideas of morality on the subject of sex and sexuality, this time it seems to go on for too long and strangely enough, it gets a little boring. Moreover, the murders and mystery side of the plot that always mixed so well with the world of vampires and werewolves that Anita has to deal with, seems to take second place to anything else that happens in the book. The ending was almost an after thought and the intrigue and ‘secret to an ancient crime’ mentioned on the back of the book wasn’t alluded to once. Most disappointing however, was the loss of personality of most of the characters, I couldn’t begin to describe Micah as a character, and Blake herself seems to be loosing the wit and sarcasm she had at the beginning of the series that kept me reading on. Overall, I would recommend that any die-hard fans really shouldn’t miss another glimpse of the world that Hamilton has created. I would still go on to read it having read this review as should anyone else, however I hope that in the next one, Hamilton develops the plot line and that the book actually lives up to the preface!
