I’ve read the entire Anita Blake series up to date including all of the short stories. It’s a very long series and the character and storytelling has changed throughout that time. This is the newest book in the series.
I still love the character. I have no plans to stop reading the series. The case in this book was intriguing as ever and it featured one of my favorite occasionally occurring characters in the series, Edward a.k.a. Ted Forrester.
All of that said, this book continued a trend from the last few books in the series. A trend I am not fond of. Anita and her consorts discuss sex and their relationships extensively. EXTENSIVELY. So much with the discussing.
It’s a lot of discussing.
There is more discussing of their relationships than their is discussing of the case the book is supposed to be about. Which is unfortunate because it is an interesting case.
I don’t want to give anything away regardless of the small amount of time spent on the case. So, I won’t give details.
If you like the series it is worth a read. It missed the opportunity to be better than it was but that doesn’t make it not worth reading.
If you’ve never read any of this series, though, don’t start with this book. It would be an awful starting point. If you can’t start at the beginning of the series at least start ten or so books earlier than this one. I’d recommend starting at the beginning, though, if possible.
If you’d like to read Crimson Death it’s been out for a little while. It took me a little bit to buy it. So, you can buy it from your favorite book seller.
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