In Review: The Killing Dance by Laurell K. Hamilton

Released: 1997                 387  pages                          

Publisher: Ace Books

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 0-441-00452-0

After the last novel was almost devoid of Richard, this one is full of him, which makes me a happy girl. Again we start with a job for Anita, but this time it’s to save a vampire. The master vampire Sabin, has developed a condition where he is irreversibly rotting away, and he wants Anita’s help to stop it.

The ongoing struggle between Anita, Richard and Jean-Claude continues. Jean-claude slaughtering his way to power, and Richard refraining. And Edward is back, which to me is always a good thing. Edward’s received a contract to kill Anita, and although he refused it, he wanted to warn her someone else won’t.

And as if that wasn’t enough on her plate Raina is acting up again, forcing poor Weres to star in her pornographic movies. As always more is going on than meets the eye, and bad goes to worse pretty quickly as Anita, and Richard are constantly tested. Anita sticks her big foot in her mouth, and inadvertently challenges the Lupa before she can semi-save the day.

Anita comes to some hard realizations where Richard is concerns and it nearly breaks my heart. Anita uses herself as bait to draw the killer, but finds herself in additional trouble until a vampire is staked in an unusual fashion.

Relationships and power positions are greatly changed in this one, and Anita does eventually get to address Sabin’s problem. While the story moved along, this was not one of my favorites. There was action and emotion, but all of Jean-Claude’s manipulations of Anita and her letting him fill her with doubts grate on my nerves. Richard is overly noble, and Anita comes across as selfish very often, but we do finally see Richard as a wolf, though I wish it were under better circumstances.

There are a few steamy almost moments, which are well written, and one very complete one. I need more. Blood, lust and magic are a powerful and seductive combination that are surely to show up in future novels, as well as the bond that Anita formed under duress.