Circus of the Damned
Book Three of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series
Laurell K. Hamilton

When a powerful centuries old vampire hits town, a battle of the undead ensues, with the soul of the city - and Anita's life - at stake.

This book goes back to the theme of the original - vampires, or I should say, extremely powerful, sadistic, evil vampires. I have to say, I liked that book two of this series changed things up by focusing more on zombies and Voodoo. It would be a bit more interesting to me if each of the books focused on a different monster, but considering Anita is a vampire hunter as well as an animator, it does make sense to focus on the vampires once more.

The introduction of more lycanthrope creatures keeps this book fresh, which is a good thing because the "I want him/oh no I can't have him because he's a vampire" thing between Anita and Jean-Claude (now the master of the city) gets a bit tired after a while. I read this book for it's mystery and suspense, not for the potential it has to become a bodice ripper. It's walking the line in this book.

Edward the supernatural assassin (Death) is also back in this book and I think he also keeps things interesting. The addition of a group of humans bent on the destruction of vampires is a nice and somewhat realistic touch.

Unfortunately, Sigmund the Penguin does not make an appearance in this installment.

Overall, the book kept me interested in it, had a lot of twists and turns that I did not see coming (and that I will not spoil for you), and was still a good read.

If you've read the others in this series, it's worth continuing on with this one.

My rating: Four out of five snails.