Blood Noir
By Laurell K. Hamilton

I bought this book Tuesday afternoon and finished it Wednesday. This in between working, being a mum and an evening meeting and dinner. Yes, I enjoyed it.

Anita travels with Jason - her best friend and a werewolf - to visit his dying father in Asheville. They get caught up in a case of mistaken identify - as has happened all his life, Jason is mistaken for his cousin Keith Summerland, bad apple of the Summerland clan, and mixed up in things that make it dangerous for Anita and Jason to be in town. Not too much sex, not too many vampire politics, not too much paranormal weirdness. The positives are a meaningful storyline that is interesting, a father-son story that is handled pretty well, and the potential for some good books to come.

This book reminded me of the early Anita Blake books. Anita is actually doing things rather than worrying about her multiple-partner sex life. There are humans in the story, with very human feelings, and all the silliness that wraps itself around a wedding. Jean-Claude is barely in the story at all, and although I really like Jean-Claude, it was refreshing to just deal with Jason and some weretigers, strange magic with Marmee Noir, the Mother of All Darkness, and Richard, who tries to bespell Anita.

Worth a read. Especially if you enjoyed the rest of the Anita Blake novels.