The best Anita Blake novel to date - Rated 
A realy great addition to the series perhaps the best so far. By taking Anita away from the love interests a more robust supernatural detective story can unfold.
Edward, "Death", has called in the favour Anita owes him for killing one of his backups. He asks her to help solve a series of gruesome murders in Santa Fe, so gruesome they have even Edward rattled. She finds herself embroiled with bigoted police lieutenant, a pair of scary backups, and some very surprising revelations about Edward's cover life.
More characterisation here than earlier, as Anita yet again has to re-evaluate her feelings about things, and yet more agonising over her descent into monsterhood. The action is as exciting as usual, and the finale, where she finds herself in a kind of fight completely outside her experience, is great.
Chilled me to the bone. - Rated
I'm up at 02:31 because I've just finshed this book. Believe me when I tell you that not only is this book harrowing, it is shocking and chilling.
I have a tendency to be unnerved of what goes bump in the night. The fact that I had to wait at the bottom of the stairs, come up and decide the hallway to my bedroom freaked me out, go back downstairs, turn the light on to the landing and then run to my room and smack the light switch to make sure there was nothing in my room, should tell you how much this book got to me. Even now, all the lights are on, and I find myself looking behind my shoulder to make sure there are no monsters. I'm 20. Writing this makes me feel a little ridiculous, but I suppose procrastination makes us all tick.
Now, to the actual review.
Laurell K. Hamilton has done it again, once more only with relish. The amount of imagery this novel is steeped in is incredible. She has outdone herself with the plot and made it genuinely creepy, exhilerating and most importantly, human.
Anita goes to New Mexico to meet Edward for a favour she owes him for killing one of his back ups. There she meets some people that give us and her more insight on this previously enigmatic character. I myself was as shocked as Anita was when some of the personal revelations were discovered. Hamilton cleverly incorporates these people creatively into the fray and I have no idea how she does it. She creates believeable characters, people that you or I might know, and charges the book with emotions. You can completely understand how Anita is willing to pull a trigger for people she has just met. Now, that is scary.
I have to say, this review is more of an exorcism for me, so it probably hasn't made much sense. There are more detailed plot reviews below. But because I am failing to be fully conherent, let me leave you with this.
It is by far the best Anita Blake book I have read. Unlike one of the reviewers, I was glad from the break of Jean-Claude and Richard - I've read a later book and all there is sex and very little plot and as much as I hate to disparage an Anita book, I can't shy away from it either.
Be glad of Anita without ardeur. Be glad her conscience is so prominent, her story still about her life as an Executioner and all the other gory bits and horrors that befit her life. It is a fantastic book that will stay with you for a long time and if you're anything like me, glad for dawn to break so that some of the monsters will be hampered for the day.
Meeting Edward/Ted - Rated
"Obsidian Butterfly" is book 9 in the Anita Blake series. It is very well written, full of suspense and mystery. Even though we have already met Edward, we never actually got to know more about him, except that he is a scary character who kills monsters and has no remorse. He usually just appears and disappears without trace. But in this particular book we are invited in to his world......
Edward invites Anita to his home town, for her to help him solve an unusually messy crime. We meet his girlfriend and her kids. While Anita is in absolute shock after seeing the "new" Edward/Ted, or more like Edward's alter ego, she is working on solving the mysteries together with him.....
By far the best.... - Rated
Showing that Anita is Anita no matter where she goes, Hamilton takes the Vampire Hunter our of St. Louis and into New Mexico, to repay the debt she owes Edward. Not that she had a choice. There she finds a gruesome, challenging series of murders, which, as usual, seem to be the work of a super badguy, unreleased sexual tension, between herself and one of Edward's other 'backups' as well as a FBI agent, and Edwars (surprise) fiancee.
This book is entertaining, intriuging and my favorite of all the books. the books after it just don't compare. Momentary cameos by Richard and Jean Claude add depth and give the reader more to think about, as does as the added insight into Edwards life. With this book we definitely get to see what makes Edward tick, so to speak. I reccomend this book to everyone aand anyone.
The last book worth reading - Rated
After this book her writing slowly goes down hill, with the latest book being pretty much unreadable Danse Macabre. But lets talk about this book, I love the story in this book, its like it goes back to Anita's roots, with crime solving. With the added bonus of Edward in the series its fantastic.
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