Narcissus in chains. (Anita Blake : Vampire Hunter #10). (Pbk.)

"I've never read a writer with a more fertile imagination - and fewer inhibitions about using it." (Diana Gabaldon) Six months of celibacy have made Anita crave the two men in her life like never before. But merging their powers together will give this mortal woman a taste of immortal hunger that she'll never be able to forget... Publishers Weekly Bestseller Hamilton's Anita Blake, police consultant, executioner, necromancer, private eye and wereleopard protector, returns in her amorous 10th adventure, driven more by conflicting desires for the lovers she neglected in her last outing, Obsidian Butterfly (2000), than by the urge to solve any mystery. Once again, in a world where vampires and werecreatures are protected by law, Blake attempts to resolve her libido's constant crisis. Plunged into the netherworld of a leather D/S (dominant/submissive) bar, Narcissus in Chains, by the abduction of one of her inherited wereleopards, Blake finds herself deep into shapeshifter politics and a were creature power struggle that is all a metaphor for her own inner struggle. Whom should she choose werewolf Richard or vampire Jean-Claude? Or should she take a new lover? Who cares? Blake is eventually infected by the "ardeur" from the vampire clan and tinged with shapeshifting abilities from the were clan. As she becomes more like the fantastic creatures she protects or kills, she, alas, doesn't get any more interesting as a character. Her obsessions with lust serve mainly to overwhelm a rickety plot. Blake needs to put her clothes back on and get back to work. Too much flesh and not enough plot leads to the old but so true saying, "Less is more." (Oct. 9) Forecast: With a 15-city author tour and 100,000 first printing, this should be as successful saleswise as previous books in the series. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. Hamilton's vampire-hunting Anita Blake faces a plethora of foes in her tenth outing. Just returned to St. Louis after six months away, Anita is still no closer to choosing between her loversJean-Claude, a vampire, and Richard, a werewolf. But she has to rely on both for help after two of the wereleopards that she has been watching are abducted at a seedy club called Narcissus in Chains. Anita and her boyfriends rescue the wereleopards from the sinister people holding them, but Anita is wounded in the fight and put at risk of becoming a wereleopard herself. Richard angrily captures the wereleopard he believes is responsible and threatens to execute him. Anita must now rescue that wereleopard from Richard and the werewolves he leads, even as she mourns the apparent end of her relationship with him. Then she realizes that those who kidnapped the first two wereleopards are targeting other lycanthropes. Maybe she will be next. With plenty of steamy sex and graphic violence, this is engaging reading for vampire cultists. From the back cover: AND I SAW SOMETHING LIKE HUMAN FEAR CROSS HIS REPTILIAN FACE. I'm Anita Blake and I kill monsters. The last thing I want to think about though when I get home after a night out is work. But someone has abducted a wereleopard from the Narcissus in Chains club. It's a dark world out there with shapeshifter crime and were-creature struggles. I may not have seen Jean-Claude, the Vampire Master of the City, for six months, but I need his help now, whatever the consequences. Someone is targeting the lycanthropes and we have to save them. I'm Anita Blake and I kill monsters. The last thing I want to think about through when I to think about though when I get home after a night out is work. But someone has abducted a wereleopard from the Narcissus in Chains club. It's a dark world out there with shapeshifter crime and were-creature struggles. I may not have seen Jean-Claude, the Vampire Master of the City, for six months, but I need his help now, whatever the consequences. Someone is targeting the lycanthropes and we have to save them. --- back cover When a wereleopard is abducted from a seedy club, Anita is plunged once more into the dark world of shapeshifter crime and werecreature power struggles. A sinister force seems to be targeting the lycanthropes and Anita may be their only hope - but only if she can survive herself. "Six months of celibacy have made Anita crave the two men in her life like never before. But merging their powers together will give this mortal woman a taste of immortal hunger that she'll never be able to forget..."--Amazon. Anita Blake finds herself caught in a deadly triangle between the two men in her life, men whose immortal powers of werewolf and vampire can give her the strength she needs to overcome a deadly enemy or destroy her soul June had come in like its usual hot, sweaty self, but a freak cold front had moved in during the night and the car radio had been full of the record low temperatures. In her tenth adventure, nothing can save vampire hunter Anita Blake from a twist of fate that draws her ever closer to the brink of humanity. When a wereleopard is abducted form a seedy club, Anita is plunged into the dark world of shapeshifter crime and werecreature power struggles