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Jan 26, 2012

Tilly rated it:

Skin Trade is a phenomenal book! The story, the plot, the characters and the relationships .. everything about this book just flat-out does it for me.

Blake received a package that contained a human head. Eww, right? I mean .. who does that?

I’d worked my share of serial killer cases, but none of the killers had ever mailed me a human head. That was new, I looked down at the head, ghostly through the plastic bag it was wrapped in.

Rushing home to pack for the tr More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 09, 2010

Wealhtheow rated it:

Hamilton burst into my awareness with Guilty Pleasures, a book that introduced us to a world where vampires were legal citizens, raising the dead was a viable career, and small women who collected penguin-themed tchotchkes could nevertheless be respected police consultants. Anita Blake was a young woman who just wanted to do the right thing, and although she could not deny her attraction to the sensuous vampire Jean-Claude (ahahahahahahah), she never let her personal life interfere with her job More...

8 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jun 02, 2011

mlady_rebecca rated it:

Given that this was an "out of town" book, with none of the primary male characters accompanying Anita to Las Vegas, I was expecting a stark police procedural, most similar to "Obsidian Butterfly". That wasn't what this book was, in the least. It had plenty of vamp politics, furry politics, and interpersonal character growth.

Yes, the police case took up more of the page count, but this was one of the books where the police case and the preternatural events were a More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 16, 2009

♥Tricia♥ rated it:

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8 comments like (6 people liked it)

May 23, 2010

El rated it:

I felt like book #17 was a big improvement from the previous three. (In my own opinion everything past Narcissus in Chains was almost complete ~~shite~~). My bones about the book are that one: Anita is up to her "I can piss farther than you even though I'm a girl," even when she denies being the one twisting arms. Two: We all know her catch phrases so please limit their use. Three: Edward has gone a bit soft. And lastly, the ending was so rushed.

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT
More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 21, 2009

Megan rated it:

This is book 17 in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. It starts out feeling very much like her first six novels in that Anita will be The Executioner tracking down a serial-killer Vampire, Vittorio. Anita is joined by long-time friend and vampire hunter rival Death (aka Edward, who is masquerading as his good alter-ego Ted), and two other vampire hunters: Bernardo and Olaf. Anita is mailed a human head at her job Animators Inc. from Las Vegas. So, she immediately flies out there to meet More...

0 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jul 21, 2009

Hilda rated it:

This was a great book. What I really loved about it was that we are taken back to Anita doing her Federal Marshal job and investigating a crime scene. Previously, the books had moved away from Anita and her job and had focused more on her relationships. Not that there is anything wrong with focusing on Anita's relationships, but it is nice to have a good mixture of both.

The book starts off at a fantastic start and assures that you won't put it down for a good amount of chapters. Edwa More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 16, 2009

Cindee added it

How amazing... I am about 80 pages into it. And Anita still has her clothes on! There's PLOT. So far... WOOT.

Why, you might ask, would I continue to subject myself to mediocre smut? Laurell K is a pusher and the tiny kernel of actual plotline she puts into these books is crack. I HAVE to have it. I do think that her fans have complained and that she's heard it where it counts... in the pocketbook. It appears that she is making an effort to create a story and a plot with action More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 11, 2011

Swimmingurl17 added it

I am incredibly pleased and surprised by this book. It was a wonderful return to form for Hamilton. I have always loved her writing but the thing that has kept me glued to this series is the main character. Anita's voice in this book has come back strong as ever. I am so glad to see the return of major plot instead of major smut. The sex had gotten to a level in the past books where it barley moved the story. In this book however the story flows and uses smut sparingly.
I am quite pleased More...

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Aug 05, 2011

Andy added it

Ever started your day by receiving a severed head in the mail? This is how Anita Blake's day at the office starts in Skin Trade. Anita is lead into an obvious trap by a frighteningly powerful vampire serial killer that she has run into in the past, but she can't risk not taking the bait, too many people will die if she... hides at home. She is joined on the ground in Las Vegas by US Marshals Ted Forrester, Bernardo Spotted Horse, and Otto Jefferies. Now, Anita knows that they are also killers fo More...

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Mar 01, 2011

Laura rated it:

I really loved this book. I love how Ms. Hamilton has a such a way with moving a story along. I have to admit that I love an author who can make me actually gasp aloud and laugh out loud in the same book. I love Anita's spunky attitude! She doesn't take crap from anyone. I am really, really sad to be missing alone time with Jean-Claude though. Besides Anita, he is probably my favorite character. I like to go back to that scene in I think Book 6 where he finally seduces Anita, it is just so damn More...

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Jan 30, 2011

Angie rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 11, 2011

Ithlilian rated it:

I was seriously considering not reading this series anymore after Blood Noir. I decided to continue since I heard good things about Skin Trade. It didn't hurt that Edward and Olaf, two of my favorite characters, made an appearance. However, this book falls into the same trap that Obsidian Butterfly fell into. The characters are interesting but there isn't much for them to do. In Skin Trade we have Vittorio sending Anita a head, killing strippers and mutilating cops. I guess there is a bit of mys More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 29, 2010

Jimyanni rated it:

I understand the point of view of the people who dislike the direction this series has taken; the initial few books were very much detective novels, in which the hard-boiled detective character was played by a tough-as-nails Anita Blake, a relatively normal human who nonetheless was able to kill super-tough vampires through skill, grit and determination. Gradually, she has become less and less normal-human, and more and more psychically powerful, and while the violence and blood-and-gore rating More...

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Nov 19, 2010

Carmel (Rabid Reads) rated it:

This book was exactly what I have come to expect from the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. It didn't blow my socks off but it was a good read with plenty of action and paranormal goodies. However, Skin Trade did stray slightly from the typical pattern of a book in this series. Mostly because Anita was in Las Vegas the whole time helping the police with an investigation and for once she didn't have her men in tow. She intentionally left them at home. So the usual Jean-Claude, Micah, Nathaniel a More...

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Oct 28, 2010

Chibineko rated it:

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Oct 27, 2010

Ana rated it:

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Jul 06, 2010

DDog rated it:

Much better! Edward and Olaf are back, there's a new city to explore, new wereanimal politics to learn, and Anita actually has a case to solve. Tiger problem that started in the last book was more interesting this time. I didn't remember the baddie from Incubus Dreams which probably would have helped. And again, Edward felt wasted because most of his action is off-screen while Anita is otherwise occupied. More blackout sex.

It seemed like every new character they met referenced the " More...

0 comments like

Jan 05, 2010

Wealhtheow rated it:

Hamilton burst into my awareness with Guilty Pleasures, a book that introduced us to a world where vampires were legal citizens, raising the dead was a viable career, and small women who collected penguin-themed tchotchkes could nevertheless be respected police consultants. Anita Blake was a young reanimator who just wanted to do the right thing, and although she could not deny her attraction to the sensuous vampire Jean-Claude (ahahahahahahah), she never let her personal life interfere with her More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 16, 2009

Shelley rated it:

All I can say is wow, what has this writer become? This is probably my last attempt to read any of Hamilton's work. Her first books in this series were entertaining, and I have stuck with her and Anita even after Anita started losing herself, and my interest. This book is nothing but the same few sentances of dialog repeated over and over in a different way. Nothing new is ever said. The cops all think Anita is a traitor/monster/slut, Anita is constantly trying to prove that just because she's a More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 25, 2009

Kayez rated it:

I recently read Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton and I have to say overall not bad. If I had a number system I'd give it a four out of five. Anita gets a head in the mail from a serial killer, she decides to rush of the Vegas to confront the vamp in question. Now we get to the interesting parts. Lots of Edward in this book, and that's always good. A lot of Olaf too, which oddly is also good. And to top off all the testosterone Bernardo's sexy self, just for the eye candy. Anita's finally gett More...

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Aug 17, 2009

Jenn rated it:

Yay, yay, yay! Anita's back and this is a fun one! I am sure (after reading the comments, news and reviews on the Internet) that Ms. Hamilton was extremely disgruntled over fan and critic reception of her most recent additions to the Anita Blake series, however I am glad that she took some of it to heart! She has returned to what made this series so fun to read: twisty-turny murder mysteries, lots of interesting magical details to add to her so-creative world-building, and lots of interesting ne More...

0 comments like

Jul 28, 2009

Gothmom rated it:

I have mixed feelings about LKH's work these past few years. She's gotten to write hardcover fiction and I'm sure gotten some of the money and prestige that goes along with it. But Anita Blake spun way out of control a few books back - it turned into porn first, plot second. But I loved the characters and am familiar with the world so much that I just kept on reading.

In this book, the porn takes a second place to plot FINALLY - however, because two giant orgy scenes conveniently a More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jul 24, 2009

Lori rated it:

I was 71st on the on-hold list for this at the Norman Public Library. *71st*. That's a lot of supernatural love for Norman.

But while I waited for my turn, I found a way to cheat. I have half an hour or so to kill three days a week between getting off work and picking up my kid at gymnastics, so I started spending it at the bookstore, reading as much Skin Trade as I could and putting it back. I read the first quarter or so that way, so it was a tad disjointed but still worth it. I was More...

0 comments like

Jul 22, 2009

Darcy rated it:

I really liked this book. I think it is because the first Anita Blake book I read was Obsidian Butterfly, and this one is like it in many ways even with the cast of characters. I always love reading about Edward / Ted, and even was happy to see Bernardo and Olaf. Also it was nice to see her work with the police and a small slice of Animators. I liked how she was back to being classic ball busting Anita who does her work no matter what.

Edward and Anita's interactions always make m More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 14, 2009

JoAnna rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 25, 2009

Charity rated it:

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Jun 25, 2009

Alice rated it:

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Jun 18, 2009

Tez rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 14, 2009

Simone rated it:

I swore I wasn't going to read any more of these, but I gave in and bought the Kindle version, since I definitely can't justify the shelf space for the actual hardcover books in this series anymore. First, the good stuff: relative to the last couple of books, anyway, this book actually had a PLOT, i.e., a mystery for Anita to solve. And as a result, she didn't actually have sex with anyone for at least the first half of the book, which means that some other stuff actually happened outside of More...

8 comments like (18 people liked it)