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The Killing Dance

(Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #6)

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4.12  ·  Rating details ·  63,788 ratings  ·  1,226 reviews
Dating both a vampire and a werewolf isn't easy. But just to complicate Anita's already messy life, someone has put a price on her head. Love cannot save her this time, so she turns to Edward, hitman extraordinaire, for help. But finding the person behind the threat won't be easy, because as both a vampire hunter and zombie reanimator, Anita has made a lot of enemies-both ...more
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published April 4th 2006 by Berkley Hardcover (first published June 1st 1997)
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4.12  · 
Rating details
 ·  63,788 ratings  ·  1,226 reviews


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Damecatoe
Aug 02, 2007 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
WARNING: SPOILERS AFOOT

Okay, so these books are marketed like steamy romance vampire lover novels, right? Well, The Killing Dance is the seventh book in this series that I have read, but the first where she sleeps with Jean-Claude, the vamp. I'm a little miffed cause if she was gonna sleep with either of them, I was hoping for Richard, the wolf. Or, at least hoping she would sleep with him before giving it up to Jean-Claude.

Now, here's the thing: in books 1-4, Anita is painted as taking the high
...more
HFK
Jun 21, 2016 rated it it was ok  ·  review of another edition
Recommended to HFK by: Jessica
Shelves: paidkindle, fantasies
Our Anita Blake marathon and buddy read with Jessica continues with the sixth installment in the series. I would have given this a one star, but I really want to save them for the really bad installments, which I by now know will come in a form I never really expected them to. Oh the fuckers again.

Let's start by saying that this is a first installment that actually felt as if Hamilton tried to write like an proper, caring author who appreciates and respects her language. Or maybe this is a first
...more
Grace
Jul 25, 2012 rated it did not like it
I haaaate Anita Blake.

She is rude. She is arrogant. She is pushy, bitchy, violent, frequently obstinate, has incredibly poor impulse control, and she does not strike me as particularly smart. Unfortunately, I think the author thinks Anita is smart, and so I end up reading passages that are meant to show Anita getting some sort of insight, when no. There's nothing there, sometimes literally the author will insert the idea that Anita's picked up on some nuance that is not there. That's not valid -
...more
Jilly
Anita Blake has a hit out on her in this book. And, the person who put the contract on her is offering a half a million dollars. Hell, I'd do it for a candy bar and a bottle of wine. It could even be a box of wine. Really, she's pretty unlikable.

She finds out about this through Edward, one of my favorite characters, a professional hitman. He was offered the contract first, but didn't take it. As a matter of fact, he even decides to protect her from the hitman who does try to kill her. Anita asks
...more
Büşra Öztürk
Jul 05, 2017 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Richard'ı okumadan önce kurtadamlar gözümde gayet sağlam heriflerdi. Ancak bu meymenetsiz , gereksiz adam ile birlikte aşırı minnoş , aşk kuşlarına dönüştüler.

Eh sonuç olarak ben her zaman vampir hayranıydım zaten. Yaşasın VAMPİRLER düşmanım size minnoş kurt adamlar!

Ölüm Dansı şu güne kadar okuduğum en iyi Anita kitabı olmakla birlikte , seriyi bitirsem dahi gözümde değerini bir an bile kaybetmeyecek kitaplardan . En iyisi , benim için en özeliydi.

Bunu içindir ki devam kitaplarını okumaktan de
...more
Silent_count
Apr 02, 2012 rated it it was ok
Shelves: commented, fiction
My public service announcement for the day is this:

If you read 'Anita Blake' books beyond this one, you've only got yourself to blame.

I've put a little effort into putting my finger on where this series went wrong. Somewhere along the line it went from being 'Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter' to 'Anita Blake: Supernatural Porn Star'. It was either this one or the next ('Burnt Offerings') where it all went penis-shaped.

Don't get me wrong. I like sex, and I also like porn.

However, when I buy a book abo
...more
Lena
Jul 06, 2018 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
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“There was a look on Jean Claude’s face that was hard to describe. The devil must look like that after you’ve signed on the dotted line and given away your soul. Pleased, eager, and a little hungry.”

Turning point!
There’s a hit out on Anita Blake.
Who could hate her that much?
Edward’s back in town to play bodyguard. Everything’s better with Edward.

The sexual détente between Jean Claude, Richard, and Anita will escalate... and explode.

*The audiobook narrator is the best I’ve ever had.

Here are s
...more
Jordan
Dec 02, 2008 rated it it was amazing
Again another great book in the Anita Blake series, and this one is probably one of my favorite in the series. Finally in this book we see a conclusion to head battle between Jean-Claude and Richard. Vampire or Werewolf? Which one will Anita pick? Can one woman successful be with two men and not lose herself? I found "The Killing Dance" to be one of the sexier books in the series, not because there is sex in the book, but because of all the sexual tension that is built throughout the book betwee ...more
VampireNovelFan
This is probably my favorite book of the whole series. It cuts out all of the BS and we get to the meat of what everybody wants to see. There is so much focus on Anita, Jean-Claude, and Richard and by book 6 it was needed. Of course, she's got a half-million dollar bounty on her head that she needs to figure out in the process of trying not to get dead. Richard's dealing with his own pack issues; he isn't seeing eye to eye with his co-alpha, Marcus. That climaxes in an unbelievable scene.

Of cour
...more
Bark (Has Atrocious Taste)
In The Killing Dance Anita Blake discovers someone has put out a serious hit on her life, she’s still torn between Richard the werewolf and Jean Claude the vampire and she’s drawn deeply into the tangled politics of the were-pack. There’s isn’t much in the way of police work, just a lot of pack power struggles, increased sensual tension and a visit from Edward. Ahhh, Edward’s here so I can deal with the lack of Anita working. She needs a bit of a break after Bloody Bones anyway.

If Bloody Bones
...more
Tilly Slaton
Oct 27, 2011 rated it liked it

Anita Blake, vampire hunter and animator. A fiercely loyal friend with survival instincts that would make your blood freeze and coil. There is so much rage in this woman, she makes the Hulk look like Stawberry Shortcake!

I went for the hallway and the sound of screams.

As always, the murder scenes in the Anita Blake series are impressive and stunningly delicious. I find myself anticipating certain aspects of these books. Am I looking forward to the lust triangle moments or the brains dripping from
...more
Crystal Starr Light
Sabin and his human servant, Dominic, approach Anita with a problem. Sabin tried to go vegetarian for the love of his life, but now he's rotting. Can Anita help?

Sure, no problem! Only...Anita promptly drops that thread, and it's only a sheer coincidence (though a rather clever one, I'll admit) that it ever comes back into the story.

Anita is dating both Jean-Claude and Richard--supposedly because "She was forced to date Jean-Claude", but honestly, we all know she actually wanted to, because she's
...more
Ann aka Iftcan
Oct 02, 2007 rated it did not like it
Recommends it for: they need to add a zero
Ok, they need to add a zero to the selection so that you can warn others to not bother with a book. Sorry to say, but after the 5th of the Anita Blake books, Laurel just totally gives up on being an AUTHOR and goes over to porno. If the smut were removed from the rest of the books, then all of them together might make a single novel. Otherwise they are short (very short) stories with lots of sex, sex scenes, people talking about sex and thinking about sex. . .

Sorry, but if I wanted all that sex
...more
Renee
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Jessica
May 11, 2008 rated it liked it
Is it sad that at this point I'm more interested in the mysterious Edward's backstory than I am in Anita's romantic travails? After a while, Anita's dithering and trust issues get stale - at least this one involves some progress on this front.
Jammin Jenny
Loved this installment in the Anita Blake series. Finally some action between our heroine and her two paramours. Go Team Jean-Claude! I really enjoyed the fight between the werewolf alphas. Great story ARC.
Anna 'Bookbuyer' call me bookbuyer. ^-^
So much happened in this book. Anita is almost killed many times. Edward wasn't even able to keep her safe all the time.

She was almost killed in the john. O.o What a way to go!

She went to the premier of the club and now her family knows she's dating Jean Claude. I don't see the issue but obviously she is uncomfortable with that.

Raina, Marcus, and Gabriel are dead. Good. They deserved it. I do almost feel bad for Marcus though as the stupid shit actually love Raina. :/
İlkim
Bu yorumu Kitap Esintisi adresinde bulabilirsiniz.

Bu kitap benim bir süredir beklediğim kısmı nihayet içeriyordu. Şu kısım tabi ki: JC ve Anita yakınlaşması. Kitapta Anita'nın başına bir ödül konuluyor ve peşine seri katiller takılıyor. Tabi bunu Edward haber veriyor, çünkü ilk önce teklif ona gidiyor ama kabul etmiyor. Anita'yı önemsiyor kendince, romantik bir ilişki değil de iş arkadaşlığı gibi.

Bu kitap da Anita ve Richard bol bol tartışıyor. Richard'ın saflığı beni de Anita'yı da sinir ediyor
...more
Karen McCluskey
Mar 09, 2012 rated it it was ok
I bought Laurell K. Hamilton's first Anita Blake novel, Guilty Pleasures, because a friend told me the first few books in the series are good. Apparently after that, they shift from mystery to erotica. I found the first book entertaining, although Anita feels a bit two-dimensional. Clearly, there is enough intrigue to keep me reading, as I've quickly made my way through six books thanks to the ease of Kindle ordering. But all the time I am reading, I keep wondering why.

The love triangle between
...more
aprille
May 17, 2010 rated it did not like it
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Alice Bye
Jul 17, 2018 rated it it was amazing
5/5 ⭐
This book was a bit slow at the beginning but it picked up quickly. I so want to jump right into the next book with that ending!
...more
Xochiquetzalli
Jan 20, 2014 rated it it was ok
Ugh! I'm going against my rule and talking specifics (a.k.a., spoilers), because I just... I.... Agh! I'm having a hard time with words. So just to make things clear: since I'm at the tablet and I can't hide my review from here... you've been warned: SPOILERS AHEAD.



I'm not sure why, but I don't like Richard all that much, he never made me swoon, he didn't seem "right" for Anita and, heck! I've been rooting for Jean-Claude since book 1. So believe me when I say, I don't care that Anita slept with
...more
Scott
Sep 20, 2015 rated it liked it  ·  review of another edition
3.5 *stars . I know eventually this series plunges more into eroticism than anything else (but finally in newer books starts to revert back towards the horror mystery feel of these earlier ones), but here it is very easy to see Hamilton shifting her narrative from that of the noir-laden horror mystery (with some romantic entanglements) into a full blown paranormal romance. The book starts out strong with Anita being hunted down by an assassin, but about midway through we lose part of that story ...more
Sercan Vatansever
Anita Blake serisi hiçbir zaman benim istediğim şekilde şekillenerek ilerlemeyecek. Devam kitaplarını bunu kabullenerek okursam daha da çok seveceğim sanırım. Laurell'in tarzı daha şimdiden oturdu kafamda. Daha 56154 okunacak kitap var seride. Ara vermeden okusam bu kadar sevmezdim diye düşünüyorum. 6 kitaptır kitabın başında bir anlaşma yapılıyor, başka bir olay ortaya çıkıyor, en baştaki olay rafa kaldırılıyor ve iki olay da kitabın sonunda birbirine bağlanıyor. Şaşırtmıyor artık. Bazı olaylar ...more
Diane Ehrlich
Jan 08, 2008 rated it really liked it
Shelves: horror
The first several novels in the Anita Blake series are great. Funny, scary, a touch gory and a touch sexy. As you read each book, you can really see the character development as Anita becomes more sure of herself and more comfortable with the "monsters". However, some the later books have deteriorated into little more than soft porn for women. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

However, I feel it cheapens the series, which features a great role model in Anita as a women who has accepted
...more
Celine
The Killing Dance is the sixth book in the controversial Anita Blake series. There are different camps in the ongoing discussion whether the books get better later on, or complete crap. I'm not sure yet which side I'm on.

What I do know is that I had a great time reading The Killing Dance. In this book Anita is in danger. That's nothing new. But now someone is hiring professionals to kill her. She has a price of about half a million above her head. It's just a matter of time until someone takes h
...more
Carrie
Mar 26, 2009 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: 2009, calibre-library
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Bunnycore
This one wasn't one of my favorites and I'll explain.

In this book, things are still going well between the three, and I felt that LKH had done a subpar job on this book. It was one big circle with a bunch of mini circles thrown in. So much information to get to the point of the book and that just felt forced. Most of this book felt forced. I wanted to see a little more growth with Richard, Jean-Claud and Anita. (view spoiler)
...more
Sarah (A Weebish Book Blog)
This review publishes on A Weebish Book Blog on 11/08/2017.

In THE KILLING DANCE by Laurell K. Hamilton, Anita Blake continues to explore her relationship with her two very different romantic interests—Jean-Claude, Master of the City and the sexiest vampire around, and Richard Zeeman, the werewolf that hates himself almost as much as I hate him—while also juggling werewolf politics and investigating unsolved murders.

As usual, Blake is a busy bee, which keeps her from having to think to hard about
...more
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Play Book Tag: The Killing Dance / Laurel K. Hamilton. 3.5 stars 1 8 Sep 28, 2016 07:36PM  
A Million More Pages: 6 - The Killing Dance (Anita Blake): May 3 23 18 May 07, 2015 10:25AM  
Anita Blake Vampi...: The Killing Dance (Book 6) 12 42 Jul 04, 2014 02:18PM  
dancee 1 23 Feb 16, 2014 03:32AM  
Goodreads Librari...: ISBN 1841490512 3 23 Apr 29, 2013 11:34PM  
Madison Mega-Mara...: The Killing Dance 1 3 May 15, 2012 07:38AM  
Goodreads Librari...: Please add page numbers to entry 3 21 Apr 07, 2012 10:39AM  
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Laurell K. Hamilton is one of the leading writers of paranormal fiction. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Hamilton writes the popular Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels and the Meredith Gentry series. She is also the creator of a bestselling comic book series based on her Anita Blake novels and published by Marvel Comics. Hamilton is a full-time writer and lives in the suburbs of St. Louis ...more

Other books in the series

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter (1 - 10 of 26 books)
  • Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #1)
  • The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #2)
  • Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #3)
  • The Lunatic Cafe (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #4)
  • Bloody Bones (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #5)
  • Burnt Offerings (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #7)
  • Blue Moon (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #8)
  • Obsidian Butterfly (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #9)
  • Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #10)
  • Cerulean Sins (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #11)
“I was just offered a contract on your life, for enough money to make it worth my while." It was my turn to be quiet.
Did you take it?"
Would I be calling you if I had?"
Maybe," I said. He laughed.
True, but I'm not going to take it."
Why not?"
Friendship."
Try again," I said.
I figure I'll get to kill more people guarding you. If I take the contract, I only get to kill you."
Comforting...”
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“I'd never met coffee that wasn't wonderful. It was just a matter of how
wonderful it was.”
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