Bloody Bones (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #5)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Bloody Bones (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #5)

4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 · rating details · 36,825 ratings · 667 reviews

In Laurell K. Hamilton's New York Times bestselling novels, Anita Blake, vampire hunter and animator, takes a bite out of crime-of the supernatural kind. But even someone who deals with death on a daily basis can be unnerved by its power...

When Branson, Missouri, is hit with a death wave-four unsolved murders-it doesn't take an expert to realize that all is not well. But...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published November 1st 2005 by Berkley Hardcover (first published 1996)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Best Adult Vampire Romance Books

63rd out of 673 books — 2,035 voters

Best Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

53rd out of 687 books — 977 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jan 01, 2012 Tilly Slaton rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews-completed

The creativity that seeps into Laurell Hamilton’s book is astonishing.

With that said, Bloody Bones is one of her books in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series that really doesn’t do it for me.

There are parts of this book that make you read super fast in anticipation of how a scene will turn out! Unfortunately, those scenes are few and far between in this book.

Bloody Bones is a wonderful book filled with profound imagination and lingering betrayal. The twists in this book are interesting, but...more

like 10 likes · see review

Jun 12, 2012 Crystal Starr Light rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, audiobook, hello-my-name-is-mary-sue

"Why do I put up with you? You insult me at every turn."

Well, LKH broke the formula with this book. Anita actually TAKES a client and leaves St. Louis to head to Branson, Missouri, where she is being paid to raise an entire graveyard to see who owns the property (because, of course, Anita is the only one in this entire world who can do anything). While she is there, she learns that something is killing young boys AND a vampire is on the loose.

This book, more than any of the earlier books, set my...more

like 10 likes · see review

Jul 09, 2009 Abigail rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Vampire/Paranormal Fiction Fans...

Shelves: fantasy-sf, vampires-werewolves

Review Temporarily Removed.

like 3 likes · see review

Apr 16, 2012 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal

Again more like a 3.5. Good but a bit gory at times. I do feel that Hamilton is beginning to shift her 'world rules' a little here to facilitate more books. Anita feels weaker than in her last book. I liked the 'twist' in the final 'escape' but Anita's final 'position' seems a little dubious. I would have felt that her experience with Seraphina might have left her a little more hostile-especially as she understands her own power more. Larry is good - and we see a lot of him - as are the police....more

like 1 like · see review

Nov 22, 2011 Myvampfiction rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

review by Ciara

*Warning: possible spoilers ahead.*

Bloody Bones follows quickly on from the action of The Lunatic Café. Fans of the French vampire Jean Claude, as wells as fans of the murder and crime and investigation that characterized the first few installments in the series, will love this book.

Anita travels to Branson, Missouri to raise an entire cemetery in order to settle a dispute about the ownership of the land. A property developer wants to build a high-class resort, while a local man,...more review by Ciara

*Warning: possible spoilers ahead.*

Bloody Bones follows quickly on from the action of The Lunatic Café. Fans of the French vampire Jean Claude, as wells as fans of the murder and crime and investigation that characterized the first few installments in the series, will love this book.

Anita travels to Branson, Missouri to raise an entire cemetery in order to settle a dispute about the ownership of the land. A property developer wants to build a high-class resort, while a local man, Magnus Bouvier, is very insistent that the land must not be disturbed, but is vague on the reasons why.

Anita doesn’t want to travel, but in her own opinion, she is the only person in the country who might be capable of doing it.

While in Branson, Anita and Larry are asked to help investigate a local vamp kill. While hunting for the vampire responsible, Anita finds that he was able to shapeshift into a dog and enter a house through the dog door.

She calls Jean Claude for help, who explains that the vampire is called Xavier, and is an “exotic” type of vampire that humans don’t know about. Not only that, but he is a pedophile, which makes Anita even more determined to hunt him down.

This book is an important one in the overall series. Jean Claude begins to play more and more of a role. He comes out to Branson and provides Anita with all sorts of information that make her job a little easier. He’s obviously becoming a more important character, and the impression is that Laurell K. Hamilton has big plans for him.

Richard appears only briefly at the start of the book, and I’m sorry to tell his fans, but I think that’s one of the reasons this book can be so hard- hitting and brutal. Jean- Claude is just better with the violence, and is a lot more three- dimensional than Richard. This book finally lets the reader truly examine the relationship between Jean- Claude and Anita. For the last four books, Anita has been running from Jean- Claude, so it’s refreshing to see them finally spend some time together and talk.

This is by far the best in the series, so far. Hamilton has returned to her style in the first book or two; fast- paced action with great characterization. Anita begins to develop into a fuller character, helped along by Larry. His tender- hearted and innocent approach to life sparks some compassion and empathy in Anita, but not enough for her to lose the no- nonsense, sarcastic aspect of her personality.

The action is every bit as enticing as the characters. The violence is gorey, the monsters are scary, the romance is complicated, and all the subplots weave together perfectly. A fine return to classic form for Laurell K. Hamilton and Anita Blake.(less)

like 2 likes · see review

Aug 02, 2011 Jody Mena rated it 5 of 5 stars

My favorite in the series so far! Hamilton's take on fairie lore made for some intriguing twists. Serephina was an intriguing villain, I really enjoyed the imagery of her and her powers really made things interesting. The character development was exciting for me, especially Anita's internal struggle with her mother's death, as wel as learning more about Jean Claude's past. The only thing that tripped me up a bit was that Jason seemed different than in the previous book; this may be because he w...more

like 2 likes · see review

May 06, 2009 mlady_rebecca rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: series__anita_blake, author__laurell_k_hamilton, genre__urban_fantasy, genre_sub__vamps, genre_sub__lycanthropes_and_shifter, 2002, read_more_than_once, 2009, abvh__us_pb_v2__bodyparts, fiction__part_of_a_series, pov__first_person_female, genre_sub__necromancers_or_reapers, fiction__speculative, troupe__mindlink_mates, genre_sub__incubus_succubus, in_retrospect__favorite

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. "Bloody Bones" was the first of the out of town books. The key with the out of town books is who comes along for the ride. In this case, Jean-Claude, Jason, and Larry came along. Enough of the core people to keep it from feeling like one of the books that could be removed from the series without damaging the flow. (I'd argue that "Obsidian Butterfly" could be removed in that way. Maybe "Micah", as well.)

We also got a little bit of Richard before Anita left town, so we got both of our leading me...more "Bloody Bones" was the first of the out of town books. The key with the out of town books is who comes along for the ride. In this case, Jean-Claude, Jason, and Larry came along. Enough of the core people to keep it from feeling like one of the books that could be removed from the series without damaging the flow. (I'd argue that "Obsidian Butterfly" could be removed in that way. Maybe "Micah", as well.)

We also got a little bit of Richard before Anita left town, so we got both of our leading men. (From "Circus of the Damned" through "Obsidian Butterfly" we clearly had two leading men. After that? It's up for debate.)

Besides, you can't resist the appeal of "Bloody Bones" for humanizing Jean-Claude in Anita's eyes. The vulnerability of Jean-Claude sleeping in a hotel room with only curtains as protection from the sun. Anita willingly opening a vein to save his life. Anita learning that Jean-Claude was a whipping boy in his youth and seeing the scars on his back. Ending with Somehow Jean-Claude had crossed that line that a handful of other vampires had crossed. I don't think of him as a monster anymore.

"Bloody Bones" is also the first book where Anita learns of the vampire council.

Of all the vamps that have tried to "take" Anita by marking her, I think Seraphina was the first to try to change her into a vampire instead. Granted the only books where Anita held no vampire marks were the previous book, "The Lunatic Cafe", and this one. Necromancers and vampires really are drawn together, huh? *g*

I also loved learning more about Jason in this book. I think I half fell in love with him the moment he came on screen, but he too was at times scary and at times vulnerable here. Humanizing him the way Jean-Claude was humanized. Nothing demonstrated that more than when Anita feared that Jean-Claude drained Jason, killing him. First she fears for his safety, then she draws a gun on him, then she protects him from Jean-Claude's discipline.

Richard was the opposite. I mean Jean-Claude and Jason were both humanized after being seen as other. Richard started out as human and his otherness crept in along the way.

(Reviewed 05/06/2009.) (less)

like 3 likes · see review

Apr 17, 2008 Katie Kenig rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: husbands-books, horror, mystery

This book was my least favourite of this series so far.

It isn't that the writing itself was bad; in fact I can see a great improvement both in style and technique here from the beginning of the series. I just didn't enjoy the subject matter, the characters, the conflicts... it all seemed to rub me the wrong way.

In particular there seemed to be a turn for the worse in the character of Richard that bothers me. I don't like it when a character seems to be growing in one direction and abruptly chang...more

like 1 like · see review

May 08, 2011 Debora rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, fisicamente_posseduto

Uno dei migliori capitoli di questa saga, sono tutti belli ma questo... Non ci sono parole per definirlo! Finalmente vediamo un'Anita più 'umana', comincia ad avere dei cedimenti, si vede e si percepisce... perfino dalla sua ammissione a proposito della paura di volare! Inoltre la nostra Risvegliante inizia fare sfoggio dei suoi poteri da Negromante che fino ad allora aveva temuro e, sì, nascosto. Vediamo una giovane donna che inizia a prendere consapevolezza di sè, che non si affida solo alle s...more

like · see review

Feb 12, 2009 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars

For all the Anita Blake books - I started this series with my then friend, Meredith - she actually got me hooked that fateful summer of 2000 when I was living on her wooden floor in Brooklyn. We were both unemployed and bored and got hooked into this series. I loved Anita Blake because it was before I discovered the new genre - what I like to call "badass chicks who kick ass!" written in first person - and so she was all empowering and of course there were hot vampires and werewolves in it.

Unfo

...more

like 3 likes · see review

Feb 04, 2013 Arianna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Spettacolare! La Hamilton non delude mai. Tutti i primi cinque libri (compreso questo, s'intende) ti tengono incollato alle pagine e non puoi fare a meno di pensare: "Solo un altro capitolo" e poi invece ne diventano sei.
Questa volta gli omicidi sono stati descritti nei minimi particolari tanto da farti rivoltare lo stomaco, così da rendere ancora più lugubre il tutto. Mi è piaciuto molto. Se dovessi scegliere un preferito sarebbe dura.
Per non parlare delle numerose scene con Jean-Claude che a...more

like · see review

Oct 19, 2012 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anita Blake Fans

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, mystery, novels, horror, romance

My and Anita Blake came to a parting of the ways after Flirt, Book 18. Although really I lost the love after Narcissus in Chains, Book 10. That I lasted as long as I did is a tribute to how much I did enjoy the earlier books and hoped they might get back on track. It's been several years since I read the Anita Blake books. About five years, I think, since I remember Harlequin had already come out and I gobbled them up one after another. Yet I still remember the vividly that scene in the graveyar...more

like · see review

Aug 15, 2012 İlkim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-book, fantasy, paranormal

Bu yorumu Kitap Esintisi sayfasında bulabilirsiniz.

Bu kitapta ve aslında serinin genelinde beni rahatsız eden birkaç şey var. Birincisi, Anita'nın gittiği gibi katili tahmin etmesi, yani tamam türünü bulsun da, seri katil bir vampiri nasıl tahmin edersin anlamadım. Her defasında böyle.

İkincisi yıllardır öldürülemeyen garip yaratıkların hep Anita tarafından öldürülmesi. Ya da bir şekil yok olmaları işte. Kimse yüzyıllarca bu kitaptaki canavarla yüzleşememiş, Anita yanlışlıkla İskoç canavarını sal...more

like 1 like · see review

Jul 11, 2012 *~Sammy~* rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was so happy to get back into Anita's life and see what crazy thing is going to try to kill her next! It was really cool to see her taken out of her element and thrown into a new situation, new town, new monsters, and new problems. In the last book I kept thinking it was the same as the one before it, there is no change, its the same murder, different murderer. But this book definitely mixed everything up again and I am so happy! It was cool getting to see Larry grow into a better vampire hunt...more

like · see review

Jun 21, 2012 Cathy rated it 2 of 5 stars

The best thing I can say about this series so far is that they are entertaining books that move fast. Unfortunately, despite the addition of new characters (and usually new or different races of beings), I am already having trouble discerning one installment from the next. Also, I am finding Anita more and more unlikable. Here, she is stuck dating two men: an alpha werewolf and a Master vampire, and yet I don't think she appreciates either one. I think that somebody like her should be alone, exc...more

like · see review

May 12, 2012 Fangs for the Fantasy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Anita Blake has been called out to an animating job in Branson, far away from her usual connections. But she’s the only one in the country who may be able to do it – raise an entire graveyard full of 200 year old bodies, preferably in one night.

As if that weren’t a big enough problem, the motivations of the parties involved is far from clear – and the presence of fae magic in the graveyard, and faeries willing to guard it, raises many more questions.

And there are vampires running amok – as the n...more Anita Blake has been called out to an animating job in Branson, far away from her usual connections. But she’s the only one in the country who may be able to do it – raise an entire graveyard full of 200 year old bodies, preferably in one night.

As if that weren’t a big enough problem, the motivations of the parties involved is far from clear – and the presence of fae magic in the graveyard, and faeries willing to guard it, raises many more questions.

And there are vampires running amok – as the neighbourhood vampire expert, Anita is called in but the local police are far from welcoming. The resulting lack of communication is beyond difficult when there seems to be 2 separate vampire killers.

Negotiating with the local vampires, of course, requires getting further involved with Jean-Claude and he never keeps anything simple

Like in previous books, this has several storylines intertwined – but also like the previous books, they all come together. From her original job to raise the graveyard, to the vampire death, to the serial killer all three plot lines are paced really well. If I had a slight criticism, it would be that her job to raise the zombies was put too far on the backburner. It was her actual reason for being in Branson in the first place and it seemed extremely low in her priority list. I can understand that since she was dealing with serial killer cases, but I’d have least expected Sterling or someone to ask where she was and what she was actually doing while they were paying her to complete a time sensitive project. Still, it was understandable given the circumstances and doesn’t bog down the story. I really like how all three storylines come together, how they’re all linked and make up important aspects of the whole – and can all be handled in one big finale that doesn’t feel contrived.

Having read both the books before and the books after this one, I’m left with the feeling that this book is vaguely filler. Because they’re pulled out of St. Louis we’re not advancing a lot of the plot or relationships. And the creatures in this book are fae. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like fae in a book, they’re some of my favourite supernatural beings. But the fae here appear briefly, with precious little foreshadowing or depth, do some shiny stuff then disappear again, never to be heard of again. Short of giving Anita an extra-special shiny vampire to kill, I’m not sure what the point of the fae even were – and a powerful master vampire could probably have filled Xavier’s spot just as well. Because of that, I don’t think this book added anything to the world building – while technically introducing whole new creatures, it just doesn’t fit the overall theme and shape of the series.

We had some development of her relationship with Jean-Claude, but it was mainly her letting him closer to her more than anything. Still there’s closer connections and we also see some more fleshing out of Jason as he grows further into the full character he will become. But largely that’s all it is, we don’t get especially new insights into either characters and they’re mainly around more to show that, yeah, they’re around more.

I’m still all kinds of uncomfortable with how the relationship between Jean-Claude and Anita began. He constantly ignores her “no” and keeps pushing. Then she forces her to date him by threatening Richard’s life (because she has to give him a fair chance to seduce him? Why does she?) and then we continue with the constant boundary pushing regardless

Finally, there’s an ongoing issue with how Anita relates to other women. Other than villains and victims, Anita deals with 2 women in this book – Dorcas Bouvier and Sergeant Freemont. And in both cases Anita strikes sparks. It’s like strong willed, independent women have territories that need to be defended against other women like them. She had a similar worry in Lunatic Café when she saw Deputy Holmes – she could be a friend or, equally as much, they’d hate each other and this is before she even spoke.

Both women were also aggressive and hostile for little reason – or they overreacted in an aggressive manner with little provocation in a way that made Anita seem almost clam. It’s a strong case of Keillie Independence.

Read More (less)

like 2 likes · see review

Jan 12, 2012 Eneya Vorodecky rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: guilty-pleasure

Oh, damn...
Really?
Such a disappointment.
Once, Anita is this huge Mary Sue, which is utterly ridiculous.
Second... enough with the idiotic sex scenes already... I picked the series because of the "the vampire hunter part, this should be changed to - the vampire boner).

Don't get me wrong. I am interested in the fact that we are seeing a complicated polygamous relationship and that we see BDSM and the like, but... something is rubbing me the wrong way about this.

Also... seriously, in every friggin...more

like 1 like · see review

Oct 27, 2011 Naomi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Bloody Bones is the fifth instalment in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton.

Anita, is yet again thrust into a job, out of town, by her boss that pushes her capabilities as an animator just so he can reap the benefits, i.e. lots of money. Larry gets to go along for the ride and learns more about being a vampire hunter. This trip causes a lot of tension between Anita and Larry. Larry is the young protégé and Anita is the overprotective master who is unwilling to let her p...more Bloody Bones is the fifth instalment in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton.

Anita, is yet again thrust into a job, out of town, by her boss that pushes her capabilities as an animator just so he can reap the benefits, i.e. lots of money. Larry gets to go along for the ride and learns more about being a vampire hunter. This trip causes a lot of tension between Anita and Larry. Larry is the young protégé and Anita is the overprotective master who is unwilling to let her pupil get into harms way even if it prevents him from learning to save his own butt and puts her in the firing line. Anita needs to learn that Larry needs to learn some things on his own.

We see a lot more of Jean Claude in this book and I am really happy about this. I have been wanting to learn more about Jean Claude since Guilty Pleasures as we only see him in books in short bursts and the majority of the time, Anita and him are surrounded by other characters and are rarely alone. I loved the interaction between the two in this book. I can see Anita slowly coming around to the idea of properly dating Jean Claude. We also get a glimpse into the life of Jean Claude as a human and it’s great but damn those bubble!

I think this is my favourite book of the series and it has made me fall more in love with the series. Purely because of the Anita and Jean Claude action. It’s great to have a series that is full of in-depth plots and hidden twists and turns but it’s also nice to see Anita having more scenes with her love interests. My favourite moment in the book was when Anita and Jean Claude are alone and Anita gets to learn more about Jean Claude’s past. Also, Jason, I think his character is hilarious in this book. Some of his witty come backs had me giggling away to myself.

Overall, I think this book is great and I can’t wait to get further on in the series to see how Anita’s love life pans out. I also can’t wait to see how Anita’s necromancer powers develop and how this affects her life.

Disclaimer: I do not own this book, I borrowed it from the library. I have not been paid to review this book and everything I have said is of my own honest opinion.(less)

like 1 like · see review

Jul 20, 2011 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

BLOODY BONES
Laurell K. Hamilton
Kindle Edition: 730 KB
Print Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Jove (December 29, 2002)
Sold by: Penguin Publishing
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Jove (September 26, 2002)
Blogger Purchase

In this fifth entry in the Anita Blake franchise LKH demonstrates her ability to plot truly intricate and horrific stories and stay consistent. She also continues to develop Anita’s character growth as she continues learning to love “the monsters” and coming to grips with not being entire...more

like 1 like · see review

Jul 13, 2011 Redclause rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book loses a whole star just because I’m getting sick and tired of villains always dying in such sucky ways. Yes sucky isn’t very articulate but neither are these so called larger than life inhuman badguys.

I think this book had a lot more going for it in the long run, but Hamilton just took it to a place that wasn’t as interesting as I thought it was going to be. I thought the side plot with the teenage girls death and her parents wish to ‘kill her’ before she rose as a vampire was more int...more This book loses a whole star just because I’m getting sick and tired of villains always dying in such sucky ways. Yes sucky isn’t very articulate but neither are these so called larger than life inhuman badguys.

I think this book had a lot more going for it in the long run, but Hamilton just took it to a place that wasn’t as interesting as I thought it was going to be. I thought the side plot with the teenage girls death and her parents wish to ‘kill her’ before she rose as a vampire was more interesting then the main story. The introduction of fae was pretty interesting; expect Hamilton doesn’t explain anything about all the fairy folklore she uses. Yes, the same woman who copy and pastes her clothing descriptions and recaps the same things in every book doesn’t bother to give us any real information on the fae, we’re just supposed to go with it. No wonder she re-conned this in later books.

Jason was a little more interesting, I'm rather interested in where this character is going.

Also Anita makes friends with soon to be vampire girls little brother; he is then kidnapped by a paedophile vampire who entered the house threw a doggy door. (Yes I just said that) Anita is understandably scared for the boy and tries to find him before he’s sired. How does this all end? There’s a scene where the kid is held as a hostage and watches his feral vampire sister kill a canon fodder villian. Then a couple of scenes later the kids corpse is burnt in said pedo vamps coffin. Yeh I know the boy was dead and wouldn’t have raised for another two nights but Anita hardly comments on this! Every single book just feels so freaking rushed near the end and I’m being put off by it. Not to mention you can tell who will be a badguy just by the way Anita treats them.

Oh and Jean-Claude shows little specs of a real personality, but nothing to really make me give a crap about him. Seriously people read these books for this guy alone? *sigh* I miss Willie Mccoy and his amusing ties.
(less)

like · see review

Mar 04, 2011 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, audiobook

Book 5 of the Anita Blake series. Anita is called in to raise a graveyard full of zombies and gets called off to investigate murders.

This was a solid urban fantasy, but had a couple tropes that I find increasingly annoying.

For one, the whole, "Oh no! I could date you, except you are immortal, supernaturally beautiful, strong and powerful! That makes you not human enough" thing. I understand the need for character conflict. And, xenophobia would even make sense for a new character. But, at some p...more

like 1 like · see review

Jul 22, 2010 Katherine Madison rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like 3 likes · see review

Sep 21, 2009 Megan rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires, urban-fantasy, not-mine-library, zombies

Although I never really learned to like Anita Blake, she was always tolerable ~ until Bloody Bones. Didn't Anita complain about all of the Were's alpha fight/dominance nonsense in Lunatic Cafe? Really, she is no better than the Were's here. If you take out all of the "I'm a bigger badass than you are" scenes & descriptions of corny outfits, you are left with nothing more than a short story. Granted.... I do like Hamilton's story telling. But at this point I feel as if I am wading through the...more Although I never really learned to like Anita Blake, she was always tolerable ~ until Bloody Bones. Didn't Anita complain about all of the Were's alpha fight/dominance nonsense in Lunatic Cafe? Really, she is no better than the Were's here. If you take out all of the "I'm a bigger badass than you are" scenes & descriptions of corny outfits, you are left with nothing more than a short story. Granted.... I do like Hamilton's story telling. But at this point I feel as if I am wading through the same crap I have read over and over again in every other Anita Blake novel.

Hamilton should give her fans some credit ~ by now we know Anita sleeps with guns surrounding her, and oversize clothes hide her multiple weapons in custom made holsters. We know she wears polo shirts, black jeans, Nike's and sleeps in oversize t-shirts. Must we continue to read this in every chapter? Really?! Furthermore, how does Anita always win every stupid ass contest she begins? I'm not talking about showdowns with the bad guys/monsters. I mean every other character she encounters. The woman has no humility, no shame, no reflection on her actions. Why is Larry so loyal to her? Why do Jean-Claude and Richard love her? She is an asshole. Outwardly and even in her private thoughts.

Solidifying my disgust with the entire series was the afterward to the novel. Hamilton gave Anita Blake full Mary Sue status by pointing out all of the similarities between the two of them. I don't know why it irritated me so much, but it did. Perhaps, because in Bloody Bones I realized that despite being so self-righteous, Anita is also a hypocrite. Or maybe it is because I had a crappy weekend and only slept four hours last night? Whatever the reason, I am done with this series for a long time ~ possibly for good. If Anita's boss were to fire her, or Larry turned his back on her... leaving Anita to do some soul searching and change her ways a little... that would be an interesting novel. Really, story line to make her change her attitude. But to know that she will continue to have the last word and solve all problems with guns ... well, I have read that already. No need to read it again. (less)

like 7 likes · see review

Apr 13, 2009 A.M. rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, vampires-werewolves

I keep giving the series only 2 stars, yet keep reading. Why? Because I like the plot. However, Hamilton's writing style just makes me skim through large chunks of the story until I get to the interesting bits, so it's a love-hate relationship.
I like the love triangle between Richard, Anita, and Jean Claude. The introduction of the fey was interesting as well.
Also, finally Anita is behaving like a religious person (or at least more so than before), although as yet she still hasn't been to church...more

like 3 likes · see review

Jul 02, 2012 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, sci-fi-fantasy, vampire

“Bloody Bones” continues the Anita Blake series. In this novel, Blake is given the job of resurrecting a cemetery of 200 year old corpses to figure out what family owns the land on which a developer would like to build. While out on assignment, Blake is called in by the local police to investigate a murder scene. Much to the local authority’s dismay, Blake believes that there is a serial killing vampire on the loose. Blake must utilize all of her vampire hunting techniques and sources to figure...more

like · see review

Apr 17, 2013 Ela rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Ela by: Anna

Shelves: series, paranormal-romance-urban-fantasy

Almost a four but not quite
This is my favourite Anita Blake book so far, I felt it was funnier and much more developed. I liked the fact that she: worked with other characters much for in this book rather than just trying to kill everyone, we learned more about Jean-Claude and I think Larry is really sweet.
One thing I am sad about is that Dolph and the other cops aren't really in this book. Also I thought that the whole issue with Xavier never really amounted to anything.

like 2 likes · see review

Jul 15, 2011 Regina Martinez rated it 3 of 5 stars

had started to read this book about a year ago and I kept putting it down and had finished the first 8 chapters and just put it away on the top shelf of my room. I picked up countless other books and decided that Anita Blake was not for me...then I ran into a problem, I had finished all the Night Huntress series, and for some reason had picked up Black Dagger Brotherhood books 1, 3 and 4 and not picked up #2!! I had read #1 and wanted to read #2 and was told I must read them all in sequence...n...more had started to read this book about a year ago and I kept putting it down and had finished the first 8 chapters and just put it away on the top shelf of my room. I picked up countless other books and decided that Anita Blake was not for me...then I ran into a problem, I had finished all the Night Huntress series, and for some reason had picked up Black Dagger Brotherhood books 1, 3 and 4 and not picked up #2!! I had read #1 and wanted to read #2 and was told I must read them all in sequence...normally I would have gone right to the book store or download it onto my Nook but I was low on funds, (saddddd) so I decided after some gentle urging by my fellow book club friend Melissa to pick up Bloody Bones again...I had to dust off the cover and of course start it all over because I can't even remember what I did yesterday let alone 8 chapters of a book I read 12 months ago...I must say I was pleasantly surprised...I actually enjoyed this one and yes there were so many other questions that come up, however, there are what 19, 20 books in the series, I'm sure they will be addressed by then (fingers crossed)...of course I missed the usual suspects like Dolph and Edward, and Richard...I found it interesting how Anita was/is starting to see JC as not so much a monster since there are scarier ones than him out there...speaking of JC although I do like his wit and charm, I find his description to be too feminine for my taste, (thigh high boots) really??? I know that is the French period he is from but with his long curly locks, form fitting clothes with all the ruffles it just smells too foo-foo for me, I'm thinking I'm def a Richard girl in this series...Although I was honestly hoping Anita would break down in the hotel and just give it up already, he did sound pretty yummy all wet but dang girl has bigger morals and self control then I do…because I probably would have jumped on that! Lol…Phewwww it’s hot in here!! I did feel for him in that he was used by every and all vamps in his centuries on earth, and maybe he’s not sooo bad after all....Moving right along…I was glad more time was dedicated to Larry and Anita's relationship, I liked how she is supposed to be his mentor/teacher and yet he seemed to be the one giving her lessons and chastising her...his innocence was annoying for me at times, but I understand he is learning and he has to grow up sometime….Anita's attitude was somewhat monstrous at times but she didn't deny it or try and hide it, I liked that because she is cool and calculating but there were also times she was scared and admitted it, if not out loud, I enjoy the fact that she dresses so comfortably and not all sexy and leathery…it’s more practical and I like that! lol I did feel however, that there was toooo much going on here….I think LKH was trying to bring it all together and have the stories connect neatly but it didn’t work…I was confused how Anita was called in to raise the dead, then she was at a murder scene of the kids, then the body of Ellie (??) then a whole lot of other people were killed and then Jeff was kidnapped….ok so we find out that Xavier had something to do with it and there are some other vamps involved as well so then Jeff is moved to the back burner and at first it seemed that Larry and Anita were concerned for him but it kind of got lost in the story line…I didn’t get how Rawhead Bloody Bones was the one who actually murdered the children, I thought he had not escaped until Anita had felt him escape…I know when she went to the mound with Dorrie that she felt some other magic there and if Magnus was there at the mound wouldn’t Rawhead be there too or was he already somewhere else?? I missed that part maybe….So obviously there is more to the story of Anita’s mother and how is it that Seraphina knew that unless she reads minds as well?? Or did Magnus tell her that when he touched Anita he discovered about her past??? Then poor Jeff, he was brought back into the story for all of what 5 minutes and then the next thing we know he is dead, that was hard to accept because the whole darn story was basically about them trying to save Jeff from becoming a vamp and they didn’t succeed at all…all that happened was more story was added to prolong the series maybe??? I was also surprised that Dolph and his team didn’t come out the moment it was discovered that Anita was taken by Seraphina, she is such an asset to their team and yet I don’t recall any of them coming in…All in all to me the book was a refreshing change considering we actually see vamps as monsters and not so much as romanticized as in our other reads and we see a heroine who is not perfect and has her flaws but is actually sticking to her guns when it comes to falling to the desires of JC… a lot of questions come up, parts of the book wasn’t cohesive but I think the book is a pretty good read, it actually makes me care about what happens next to Anita and hoping that she gets some action with Richard ;o) Sorry if it’s random and run-on.(less)

like 1 like · see review

Jan 31, 2010 Bookworms rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is a little better in my opinion again than volume 4. Larry Kirkland, animator and vampire’s hangman in education, plays a stronger role in this tape. This is very positive from my view, because Larry is a small brother a sort of Anitas and the dialogues between the both break up whole a little. He also creates a little the balance to Anita becoming nevertheless slowly colder and colder.

Also Jean-Claude receives more place in this book again and one gets to know more about him and his...more

like 1 like · see review

Aug 16, 2012 Sian Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, mystery, first-person-narrator

I usually reserve four stars for books that achieve some kind of prose lushness. This one doesn't have that, but I'm still giving it four stars because Hamilton does so well what she does. The language in which she tells it remains a bit too flatly noir for my tastes, but the narrative does make that aspect -- the way in which the narrator seems to be looking on violence unmoved -- a concern, so that makes me cut it a little slack. A little. More emotional range for Anita would be a nice develop...more

like · see review

Jul 14, 2012 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fae, ghosts, magic, vampires, werewolves

Another great read from the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton! This series is the real deal, ladies and gentlemen! Vampires, werewolves and magic are as supposed to be: dark, scary and sensual. The truth is that “Bloody Bones” is the scariest book in the series so far. The story takes place in another place where Anita has a job to do as an animator. Soon things are out of control and too many dead bodies make their appearance.

Anita is as always amazing. In this book, we can understand...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Totally in Love with Jean-Claude!!!	59	195	Feb 24, 2013 12:15pm
laurell	7	50	Aug 22, 2012 04:49am
Goodreads Librari...: Please add page numbers to entry	3	32	Feb 05, 2012 06:43am
Anita Blake Vampi...: Bloody Bones (Book 5)	14	20	Mar 11, 2011 10:45am

combine
Other Editions (30)

More editions...

Genres

Paranormal > Vampires

708 users

Fantasy > Urban Fantasy

691 users

Fantasy > Paranormal

589 users

Fantasy

542 users

Horror

276 users

Romance > Paranormal Romance

248 users

Romance

244 users

Fantasy > Supernatural

177 users

Mystery

123 users

Shapeshifters > Werewolves

118 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

A Fistful of Charms
by Kim Harrison
Tempting Evil
by Keri Arthur
Claimed By Shadow
by Karen Chance
Blood Pact
by Tanya Huff
Kitty Goes to Washington
by Carrie Vaughn

About Laurell K. Hamilton

Laurell K. Hamilton is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two series that mix mystery, fantasy, magic, horror and romance. Her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels from Berkley Books began with GUILTY PLEASURES and continues to thrive with over sixteen volumes to the series and an comic adaptation. There are now more than 6 million copies of Anita in print worldwide, in 16 languages. Hamilt...more

More about Laurell K. Hamilton...

Books by Laurell K. Hamilton

Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #1)

Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #3)

The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #2)

The Lunatic Cafe (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #4)

The Killing Dance (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #6)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Bloody Bones

11 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Bloody Bones

“One thing I've learned about vampires--they keep pulling new rabbits out of their cloaks. Big, fanged, carnivorous bunnies that'll eat your eyeballs if you're not paying attention.” — 232 people liked it

“There had to be a circle of Hell where you were eternally fourteen, eternally in junior high. One of the lower circles.” — 60 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Bloody Bones
avg rating	preview: Bloody Bones Goodreads rating: 4.07 (36825 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30241.Bloody_Bones?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1304126691l/30241.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30241.Bloody_Bones?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Bloody Bones by Laurell K. Hamilton[/url]

Bloody Bones (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #5)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website