The Harlequin by Laurell K Hamilton

The Harlequin is Book 15 in the Anita Blake series.  It reads pretty similar to the last several installments of the series.  So, don’t expect the Anita of Guilty Pleasures or Burnt Offerings.   I don’t mind the sexually intense writing.  I just miss the plots of the earlier books.  I miss the mystery and crime solving.  I am not one to jump ship though.  I tend to stay true to my favorite characters and I do so love Anita and Jean Claude.  So, I will keep reading the series until Ms. Hamilton decides to not write any more.  However, I will hope with each one that she goes back to the butt-kicking, crime-solving Anita of the first handful of books.  With all that being said, I love Jean-Claude and want more of him that we have gotten in these last couple books.  I truly miss the intimate relational moments that he and Anita had in the beginning of their love affair.  I think that Jean Claude gets pushed aside too much during the fury of Anita’s many lovers.   I absolutely love Edward and am glad to see him back in the fray.  I was terribly disappointed in the direction Ms. Hamilton took Raphael, the RatKing.  I was impressed with the scenes at the end in Malcolm’s church.  I thought the part with Richard says it all and I am glad that it happened that way. (Don’t want to spoil the book for all those who haven’t read it yet.)   I thought there was a major plot point that was left hanging in regards to Mommie Dearest and the fourth mark.  All in all I would say it is pretty much the same as the last three or four books.