Anita is back at work in this, the 18th book in the series, doing what we first met her doing – raising zombies.  All the vampire and lycanthrope powers take a back seat to her necromancy in this book, and she needs to save herself, her men and the rest of St. Louis from a deranged client and his hired lions. 

Laurell K. Hamilton is one of the first in her genre to make it big. With two best-selling story-lines, she basically created the paranormal thriller. Others have cited her as their inspiration – Charlaine Harris, Mary Janice Davidson and Christine Feehan all list Hamilton as the one who paved the way for their stories of vampires and werewolves, faeries and all things that used to live only in fairytales. 

Anita Blake is not your average heroine. She can raise the dead, feed her powers through blood and sex and, by book 18, she’s not a shy wallflower anymore and takes what she needs from her lovers without the guilt that plagued her the first eight or so books. She has contracted several strains of lycanthropy – when she needs them, she can call lions, panthers, tigers, rats, wolves and more – the “big bads” of the changeable world answer to her –  whether they know it or not.   

When a client comes to her agency, it is because she’s known as the best – if anyone can raise the zombie, Anita can. Let’s say you need to clear up a question in the deceased’s will – get a necromancer to raise them, ask your question, and the necromancer will put the dead back to sleep forever in their grave.  Some people, though, need to stay dead.  When Tony Bennington wants Anita to raise his wife who’s died in an accidental explosion, she turns him down.  He insists, and when she still turns him down, he hires mercenary lions to force her hand.  

Though “Flirt” is more a novella than novel, she adds another several chapters that detail her inspirations, her writing process and a cartoon strip. If you follow Anita, “Flirt” is a must-have book, and the insight into Hamilton is well worth the read. 

Lori Kinnard is the owner of Winding Roads Books & More and reviews a new book each week for the Joshua Star.