Incubus Dreams
Book Twelve, Anita Blake Series
Laurell K. Hamilton

As a consultant to the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team, Anita's called in on what appears to be a case involving a vampire serial killer who is preying on strippers. But her professional judgement may be clouded by a conflict of interest. For she is, after all, the consort of vampire Jean-Claude, the ever intoxicating Master of the City. Surrounded by suspicion, overwhelmed by her attempts to control the primal lusts that continue to wrack her as a result of her passionate contact with vampire, werewolf, and the shapeshifter Micah, Anita is pushed to her limits - and beyond.

The sub-plot in this novel is a good one. A new Master vampire has come to town with his lackeys in tow, and this pack seems to be murdering strippers. They've been through two other cities and are now attacking St. Louis. Anita and the police work to solve these crimes and in the end, while some of the vampires are killed, the true bad guy gets away. If this were the main plot of the book, I'd say it was good. But, alas, it is not. This plot only appears at the very beginning and the very end of the novel.

The rest of the book is Anita dealing with her lusts by sleeping with every supernatural man that she can. It's not enough that she has her man harem of the vampire Jean-Claude, the vampire Asher, the werewolf Richard, the vampire Damian, the wereleopard Micah, and the wereleopard Nathanial (and even on occasion the werewolf Jason). No, these are not enough and there are times when she just has to jump any supernatural male that's near her, even if she's just met them.

This book is extremely descriptive when it comes to her sexual acts and it it were presented as an erotic novel, or if an erotic novel is what you're looking for, then I will admit it is very well done. However, these are supposed to be supernatural mysteries - but that all takes a back seat to the sex scenes.

From chapter to chapter, Anita has sex with almost every male she comes into contact with - as long as they are not a mere human. And, of course, she's growing in power again.

If you're looking for a well written supernatural erotic novel, then this might be a good read for you. If you're hoping for the traditional Anita Blake supernatural mystery, well, then you might want to skip this or just read the first and last parts of the book.

Once again, something that could have been great was disappointing. I've heard that these books go back to their roots eventually, but this is not the novel in which that happens.

My rating: Three out of five snails. (While I'm not into the erotic aspect, I will admit it's well written and the sub-plot was decent.)