A brutal murder, a suspect in jail, and an execution planned—but what if the wrong person is about to be killed? When a fellow U.S. Marshal asks Anita Blake to fly to a tiny community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on an emergency consult, she knows time is running short. When she arrives, there is plenty of proof that a young wereleopard killed his uncle in the most gruesome and bloody way … bloody way possible. As the mounting evidence points to him, a warrant of execution is already under way.
But something seems off about the murder, and Anita has been asked for her expert opinion on the crime scene. Despite escalating pressure from local cops and the family’s cries for justice for their dead patriarch, Anita quickly realizes that the evidence doesn’t quite add up.
Time is against Anita, as the tight-knit community is up in arms and its fear of supernaturals is growing. She races to uncover the truth and determine whether the Marshals have caught the killer or are about to execute an innocent man—all in the name of justice.
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I always eagerly await the next Anita Blake novel and this one doesn’t disappoint (except no Jean Claude! *sob*). I was sad how it ended and wished things would have turned out different. But I was more than happy the villain got what they deserved in the end.
I absolutely love this series and this book just reminded me why I do.
Anita is off on her own in this one or at least she thought she would be. She is off to help another Marshall with a murder.
What she doesn’t know is Marshall Jeffries is nearby so she calls in Edward.
Once meeting the person – wereleopard who is to be executed Anita has to call Micah for help. He sends help her way for a few reasons.
Can the Three Horseman figure this one out and keep Anita in one piece? Will Otto finally give up on Anita?
We get more cop work and some deeper talking in this one.
Can’t wait for the next one.
First off, can we talk about this cover? If this is a new art direction for the Anita Blake series I am all about it. The tools were ok, but a little too heavy on the horror side, and the original covers sometimes made me hesitant to read the books in public places (side note: don’t be). This one finally seems to strike the right gothic-paranormal-horror vibe.
Second, if you haven’t read any Anita Blake yet, I do not recommend you start with this, book 27 in the series. Go back and start at the beginning if you like the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter, the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, the Nevernight Chronicle by Jay Kristoff or the Cassie Palmer series by Karen Chance.
Now to the content.
I felt like Sucker Punch was a throwback novel in so many ways. It starts immediately with Anita on a case. There is no chapters-long introduction to each and every character, their status as human/vampire/shifter- ehhem, I mean therianthrope- and their relationship backstory to Anita. As a reader of past books, I might need a little refresher but not a full re-introduction to every person in Anita’s life (and you know there are a lot of them at this point). Twenty-six books of backstory is too much to try and catch readers up to. So. It was great not to have that.
The police work is the main plot and drives the story. Sucker Punch opens with Anita by herself, arriving in Michigan after being called as backup for another marshal. Yes, by herself on a plane. You know she loved that. But even deeper into the book, the cast of characters remains limited. Did that bother me? Not at all. It was a welcome change from some of the previous books, even though it meant not getting to see some of my favorite characters appear in this one. And for those of you who read Serpentine, don’t worry. That Sherlockian plot continues (*cackles evilly*).
I also got a chuckle out of the vocabulary struggles from some of our favorite preternatural branch marshals. It is no longer politically correct to say lycanthropy, because that implies wolf, and indicates a bias against all other shifter groups. The lesson here is to use inclusive language, which is something everyone should work towards, but I admit I found it funny to see this lesson applied to were-animals.
With the limited cast of characters, the amount of relationship drama is low, if you go by how many people that drama involves. It is deep, but not tedious. The relationship talk is sprinkled throughout the book, during car rides and over meals, instead of being one continuous scene that takes many chapters. I thought it was a more natural and more engaging way to read it. I stayed interested in the personal developments instead of being bored and wanting to throw things at the characters having these conversations. I thought Anita’s introspection was well done in this book. It fit with her character development arc and also the evolution of the story.
Compared to previous books, Sucker Punch has less shooting and less sex, and reminded me more of the early books when Anita primarily raised zombies for a living. It also highlights certain threads that will clearly be brought up in future novels: the wedding, children, Anita’s job as a marshal, and her relationship with other marshals.
Overall I really enjoyed Sucker Punch. I think fans of the older Anita Blake will find it a refreshing palate cleanser and I am curious where the story will go next. A solid entry into a great series. 4 stars.
Book 27 in the series!! And the only read book I read was book 26!!
I don’t think you need to read the others, it stands alone pretty well, but you get the feeling some of the jokes or meanings are “in house” so if you’ve read them all, you’ll probably get them. And of course it explains her background and livers in more detail.
So …….
Anita is our main character in all the books. It’s told in her perspective (not a big fan, but it’s not a biggie)
We start with Anita getting off a tiny plane, not her idea of fun, but it gets her to her destination of Michigan.
She thinks it’s better not to get involved with the locals and the guy they have locked up. But chatting to him, Anita can’t distance herself, but is that a bad thing? She thinks he’s innocent, and the more time she spends poking around the small town, the more she’s convinced he didn’t do it. But if he didn’t do it, then who did? And why?
There is lots of technical jargon, some of it explained and some of it gets really explained (page filling? You do have to wonder) there is lots of internal monologue (some of it pretty funny) there is also the fact she’s seeing seven other people (from lovers, to fiancées) the group texting made me chuckle, her griping at the fact she needs to text and talk more to the people in her life. She doesn’t mind, but she does feel a little resentment at being told what to do! (Did we need to know that?)
She likes her weapons, there is lots of weapons, there is lots of talking about the weapons.
As we get further into the book, there are a few red herrings to try to catch you out, there are the usual suspects, but only one in jail. My money was on the family members that tried to rob their dead relative.
And what was with one of the deputies, chip on his shoulder or what!!
The marshal Anita teams up with is a great character, Marshal Newman is an old friend of hers, so it was great to read that interaction. The Sheriff in charge was a bit of an idiot, very singleminded and not open to change. It was fun to watch him squirm under Anita’s stare.
Oh and Anita is trying to get married…. she’s marrying Jean-Claude (a six hundred year old vampire) she’d marry Nathaniel and Micah if she could (shifters) but the alternate universe frowns on multiple people marrying!
Then we have Edward “Ted” not a sexual partner at all (In fact he got married in the last book and Anita was his “best man”)
And what about this Marshall Otto “Olaf” Jeffries?! Creepy guy if you ask me. It goes into a little detail, but I’m assuming there is past history there (don’t think sexual, but you never know with Anita)
So….. a murder mystery story basically.
Well written, very descriptive, and a fast paced read. I didn’t read any characters that didn’t seem unnecessary, they were all well thought out, and I grew to dislike a few of them.
We spend time getting to know the killer, and I really didn’t think he did it. But you’ll have to read it to find out
And I really liked it. The author drew me in and kept me there until I was done.
I received this book for an honest review. All thoughts are my own
There is no doubt in my mind that Laurell K. Hamilton could write almost any genre of book, not just the supernatural romantic suspense / paranormal and urban fantasy novels that she is well known for. Sucker Punch is more of a supernatural suspense police procedural blended with a very uncomfortable romantic suspense story. It is the twenty-seventh book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. This time, the main setting is in the fictional town of Hanuman, Michigan. U.S. Marshal Winston Newman has asked for Anita’s help. Both are U.S. Marshals with the Preternatural Branch. Bobby Marchand, a cat-based lycanthrope, is accused of killing his uncle Ray, the only father he has ever known. While the evidence points to Bobby and a warrant of execution is already under way, something seems off about the murder.
This book focuses on the investigations of the marshalls, the state police, and the local sheriff’s department for a large part of the book. However when Anita’s long term friend, Marshall Ted Forrester and another marshall, Otto Jeffries show up, the story gets blended with several agonizing interactions between Anita and Otto.
Whether it is Anita’s relationships with the many men and women in her life, the relationships between Anita and her co-workers, or relationships between the local police and the U.S. Marshals; there is a lot of drama. This is not like most of the books in the series where there are a lot of steamy scenes. Besides the specific murder case, this novel is about how Anita is struggling personally with metaphysical changes that are affecting her ability to do her job effectively, and how she is struggling with all of the various types of relationships she has at the moment. It was interesting to see some additional character development with Otto; scary though it was.
There are a lot of themes running through this novel including anger management, various phobias, verbal abuse, racism, gender bias, lies, deception, the paranormal justice system, and much more. There is also a look at what can happen when police know both the victim and the accused.
Overall, this book was a study of paranormal police investigation and complicated relationships with suspense and occasional action intermixed.
I have read all of the books in this series up to this point and can’t wait to start the next one. They are best read in order as there is a lot of background and character development that builds over time. This novel is definitely a departure from the previous books in this series. However, the author continues to bring great characters, entertaining and unique story lines, action, suspense, and romance together in her novels.
I own a digital copy of this novel. This is my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and are not biased in any way. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
This is the 27th book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. I have enjoyed following Anita and her crew but this one was hard for me to get into at first. I felt like there was too much dialogue going on but I do think she was giving us the readers, more insight into Otto Jefferies. The book did redeem itself some once the action picked up and Anita was off to try and save the day. It is possible the ending will shock you. You will have no idea what it is that is coming and it will for sure Sucker Punch you! I am looking forward to reading her next Anita Blake Novel.
I’ve read all the books in the series and they all drew you in one way or another. Some in the series are super steamy, others are much more paranormal/supernatural. This one is the latter kind so not as many explicit sex scenes…perhaps a plus for some and minus for others. Regardless, the story is always adventurous, interesting and with lots of action.
I have been a fan of Laurell K. Hamilton for a very long time. I live in the same area as the author so I have been lucky enough to go to quite a few bookish events and have waited hours to get my book signed more than once. Over the years, I have been distracted by other books and authors and have missed some of the books in this series but I would still consider myself to be a fan. It pains me to say that I didn’t enjoy this book.
This book takes Anita out of town to help deal with shifter involved murder case. I will say that I have had mixed feelings about some of the books that take Anita away from the cast of characters that are a part of her world at home. That being said, I tend to love books that include Edward, which this one does, so I was hopeful. Unfortunately, it felt like next to nothing happened in this entire book. There is a lot of talking but that is about it. The case seemed really easy to figure out and I had hoped that there would be some kind of surprise that would change everything but that never happened.
So what did they talk about? They overexplained a lot of things through different conversations but it seemed like the bulk of the discussions focused on Olaf/Otto. Olaf is a U.S. Marshal, like Anita, but in his free time, he is a serial killer. He has his sights set on Anita and wants to have a relationship with her instead of just wanting to kill her. Anita is not quite as eager but instead of saying no and moving on, they go on and on about what he would need to do to date her. It was agonizing.
I thought that Kimberly Alexis did a great job with the narration. I do think that her narration was one of the reasons that I was able to finish this book. She did a great job with all of the character voices and I found her voice to be very pleasant to listen to.
I wouldn’t recommend this book to others. I am not throwing in the towel with this series just yet but I wish that I had skipped this book. I found this book to be rather slow and lacking any real excitement. I do have hope for the next installment in the series.
I received a digital review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley and purchased a copy of the audiobook.
Wow! 27 books in this series! Some parts make it seem like so much less and others make it seem like it should be more. That’s been my feeling about this series for a few books now. I’ve loved some parts and could’ve done without others, but I’ve read them all and am thoroughly invested in these characters, at least most of these characters. Sucker Punch was pretty much the same – I loved some parts, and others… well, not so much.
I’ll start with the length of the book. This thing is massive. I read it on my Kindle, but I think the retail listing has it at over 600 pages. I’ll just be honest here, this book could’ve easily been cut in half, and it would’ve benefitted from the cut. A whole lot of this one was a rehashing of almost the same conversations or discussing those conversations or planning a conversation. Seriously, pages and pages of that along with tediously lengthy descriptions of everything. Those, I could’ve done without.
Speaking of, you’ll be doing without Jean-Claude in this one. There is a noticeable lack of the sexy vampire, and I missed him. What we do get is an interesting case for Anita and company. That case was a little too easy to solve since the who behind the whodunit was glaringly obvious, but it was still interesting and I did want to see how that all played out. I don’t want to spoil it, but I will say that the title makes perfect sense.
Another very noticeable missing element was the sexy time. There was lots and lots and lots of talk about it, but no actual steam was generated, which was a shock with such a long book. That didn’t bother me, especially since nearly all of Anita’s inner circle was absent, but it is worth noting with the direction these last several books have gone.
As far as favorite characters from the series, a couple of mine are front and center through much of this one. Edward/Ted has always been a favorite. He loses his cool in this one – only a bit, but it was still an interesting turn. Then we have one more of the horsemen, the creepiest – Olaf/Otto. Now., I won’t pretend to like Olaf, but he does add a little spice to things. And that’s the beauty of fiction. It’s fun to have that character who is completely corrupt, completely broken, and to watch things play out. To see what he’ll do next. That’s Olaf for me.
The ending of this one surprised me, but looking back at everything that happened, a lot of it makes sense for this storyline. I will add that there was one thing in particular that happened at the conclusion that has me curious. Okay, there were a couple of things, but one of those was pretty much a given when you consider the people involved. The other thing is what I will be anxiously waiting to see play out.
To sum it up, Sucker Punch was a bit of a mixed bag for me, but when it was all said and done, I came away liking more than I disliked. Either way. I’m this far in, so I kind of feel like I know this nutty bunch of people, and I’ll keep going because I enjoy visiting them from time to time, and I want to see where their stories go.
I absolutely love the Anita series, but this one just seemed to drag on, I have read every book that was written in this series. and it seems that Laurell has strayed from what Anita used to be and has made her seem to be needier and scared instead of the total B.A. that we are used to reading about.
I was surprised by the ending of the book and how it ended, but also felt a little flat and drawn out this go around. I miss the monsters and the release of all her metaphysical that in previous books were full of. Has she abandoned her Necromancy for good, or should this series finally end?
I will patiently wait for the next one to come out and see where else we will be taken
Audiobook review:
Story- 3 stars
Narration- 5 stars
Sucker Punch had an interesting storyline but the execution could have been much better. Loved the earlier books but the polyamory talk really takes up a lot of real estate in this book. I want action, action, action as with the first 10 or so books in the series. When the action occurred in Sucker Punch, it was very well written.
I’m really surprised with this book. I had almost given up on the series. This is a great story. While it talks about her life this book isn’t sex. It’s a mystery and it was great reading it. The last several books don’t have much story because they’re all sex but this one is like the first couple.
United States Marshals, Preternatural Branch, we kill monsters! Anita Blake is called in to execute a death warrant on Bobby a were-leopard who is accused of killing his Uncle. Time starts running out to prove his innocence amongst overwhelming evidence. Most of Anita’s coalition of supernaturals turn up to protect her. She is in a Poly group relationship with most of them but is having problems with her inner beasts attraction to Olaf a fellow Marshal and serial killer. This is my first taste of a long running series Anita is an engaging character that you can relate to with her inner struggle to have to execute a fellow were-leopard. She is walking a tightrope between the world of supernaturals who many humans think of as monsters and her job as a executioner for the State Marshals.
Anita Blake is back without most of her large cast of vampires and were-creatures. A wereleopard is about to be executed for killing his uncle, but the marshal in charge is not certain that he’s guilty. Anita agrees to help him find the truth but they have a problem—the warrant of execution has already been signed and there is a clock ticking on their investigation. If they can’t prove he’s innocent before the clock runs out they will be compelled to execute him anyway.
As has been the case for most of the books since the phenomenal Obsidian Butterfly, Hamilton has only a lukewarm interest in the mystery. (That’s a shame because it’s a good mystery.) Her primary focus is on the many complicated relationships that make up Anita’s life. In this book, that does not lead her into the typical overabundance of sex scenes, but I think the book would have been stronger if she’d cut maybe thirty-percent of the relationship talk out. It’s not that these discussions are not interesting and important to understanding Anita, I just think there was too much of it.
One relationship that is the exception to the above statement is the moral conundrum Marshal Newman finds himself in. He’s a relatively new preternatural marshal (two years on the job) but that makes him one of the most experienced of the traditional preternatural marshals (not the vampire executioners and bounty hunters who were grandfathered into the new branch of the marshal’s service). The higher-ups would like to squeeze the bounty-hunter types out because they are not real cops, but marshals like Newman are not ready to pick up the slack. Newman is especially troubled that his orders could require him to execute (without due process) the wereleopard even though there are serious questions as to whether or not he committed the crime he is accused of. And a local sheriff is angry enough that he hasn’t already killed him that I suspected the entire book that he was involved in the murder.
On the downside, most of the relationship talk revolves around Anita and Marshall Otto Jeffries. Otto was a bounty hunter who is also a horrific serial murderer and Anita fits his victim profile. His idea of a relationship in the past always ends with the death of his “love interest”. It is difficult to understand why Anita would even consider having a relationship with Otto, but in fact she is negotiating the terms under which she will have physical relations with him and it is obvious that on some level she is attracted to him. I found that highly disturbing and frankly implausible. Yes, Anita sleeps with many dangerous men and women but this is so over the top it soured an otherwise good novel.
Well fans definitely better than last book by far… Hamilton has brought back all of Anita Blake spit fire spunk attitude “suker punching ” all around bad a$$ in tiny package….
We FINALLY got some of the heat in mild PDA & talking about sex life… Alas nothing like before as in the previous novels . In my opinion I love the action , sex, thrill of the hunt that is what I miss.. story line was strong brought out some odd /different behaviors from at least one. That may or may not shock you… So we know the next book is about the rat king Raphael of which I am looking forward to. My question is what ever happened to Merry Gentry series? I love Anita don’t get me wrong but what ever happened to the other characters you fall for too?
I loved the way Laurel K Hamilton wove the story so the ending was a complete surprise.
Not as good as some of her other ones but still a good read!
Sucker punch is the 27th book in the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton. I’ve been reading this series since hight school and always looking foward to read another one in the serie.
A bit different then the other book. No hot sex scene. Barely mention of Jean-Claude, Nathaniel and Micah.
She’s helping a fellow U.S. Marshall for a case for a gruesome murder and everything point to a wereleopoard but this one doesn’t remember what happens and he’s sure that he would’nt have hurt is uncle. Anita finds that the evidence doesn’t add up. She will need to work quickly cause a warrant for the execution of the shifter is made and times running out.
I like this book. Maybe not my faves one in the serie cause of the others characters I like aren’t there and also Anita doesn’t quick no asses. At least Olaf and Edward were there.
I can’t choose any of the offered things of why I like this book, because I didn’t see Yawn, Snooze, Bored, etc..
I’ve liked the characters since the first book, but the overly dramatic crap, page after page, between Olaf and Anita are just too distracting. I mean really, we have two characters here with short fuses and violent tendencies, yet both continue to let the other needle and dig without ending the drama.
I think I’ve read my last Anita Blake book until one of them comes out with a recommendation that finally, the byplay that added a few hundred pages to this book without improving the story even a little, is over because the Olaf / Otto character has been killed off and won’t come back as a spirit, zombie, etc..
Wow. She did it again. Another great Anita Blake novel. Full of twists and turns. I am especially intregued by the new relationship between Anita and Olaf. As well as Edward possibly catching on of Anita’s strains of lycanthropy. I can’t waif for the next one.