Image Source: Anita Blake Marvel Comics
Anita and Jean-Claude both have major transitions in this book. Anita becomes an official federal marshal and takes on all the responsibility that entails as well as becoming a partner in her job firm Animator’s Inc. Jean-Claude becomes a sourde de sang, French for fountain of blood. This comes with its own benefits and headaches.
The government makes the decision to make already established vampire executioners federal marshals to save time and lives. As a vampire executioner Anita would have to get a new warrant for each vampire in each new jurisdiction if the vampires fled. Now with federal marshal status she can cross borders with a single warrant and still be legal. In her job, there is what Anita calls a coup and Bert was forced to step down as boss or everyone would walk. So Anita, along with a few others, were made full partners. Bert is now the office manager.
Jean-Claude goes through a major power up in this novel. He becomes a sourde de sang or fountain of blood. Which means he is now his own blood line and no longer answers to Belle Morte as Master. There is no real rhyme or reason it happens. It just does. We are unsure of what the power up completely entails but we are finding out.
To make things even better, Belle Morte sends an advance party of vampires to ST. Louis in an attempt to find a way that Jean-Claude and his followers are “misbehaving” so she can capture and punish him. She also seems to want Anita as a human servant. The icing on the cake is that The Mother of All Darkness seems to be waking from her millennia long sleep and finds Anita to her liking. For what, we have yet to find out.
The cherry on top here is that there seems to a shapeshifting sexual predator on the loose and assassins are looking real hard at Anita. Anita’s reputation precedes her and word has gotten around that she makes life like zombies climb from the grave. Unfortunately not enough of her reputation has gotten around that people (“monsters”) still do evil deeds in her town.
What does the power up mean? Will the assassins tell Anita why they want her? What is Belle Morte up to? Read the book and let me know what you think below.
I’m so behind in the Anita Blake series. I really need to catch back up.