Sucker Punch (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #27) by Laurell K Hamilton-Review,Excerpt & Giveaway
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 4, 2020.
A brutal murder, a suspect in jail, and an execution planned, but what if the wrong person is about to be killed?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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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 possible. As the mounting evidence points to him, a warrant of execution is already under way.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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But something seems off about the murder, and Anita has been asked for her expert opinion on the crime scene. Despite the 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.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Time is against Anita, as the tight-knit community is up in arms and fear against 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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REVIEW: Book 27 in the series!! And the only previous 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.
? Reviewed by Julie
Copy supplied by the publisher
Posted by arrangement with Berkley Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © Laurell K. Hamilton, 2020.
Newman dropped Bobby and let him fall to his knees and one hand. The other hand was still chained to the bed and couldn’t touch the floor. Newman went for the door, but I could tell that the heat wasn’t enough yet. Bobby was still fighting his beast, still trying to win control back. I let myself glance at the door. Anthony had her shotgun to her shoulder like she knew how to use it. Leduc had opened the cell door for Newman. He barked an order at the deputy, telling her to put the barrel through the bars, not to hold it outside them. As soon as Newman was in the open doorway, Leduc drew his side‑ arm and aimed it at the fallen man. They had no idea that Bobby was still fighting to stay human. They couldn’t feel it. If I left the cell, they’d just shoot him, and I couldn’t even blame them.
I went to my knees beside Bobby and spoke low. “I’m here, Bobby. I’m right here.”
His yellow leopard eyes stared at me from inches away. His voice came out as a growl. “Get out. Can’t . . . hold it.”
“Get out of there, Blake!” Leduc yelled.
“He’s still fighting not to shift,” I said, but I never looked away from those bright yellow eyes. I touched Bobby’s arm, and his power jumped from him to me. It called my own inner leopard like I knew it would, but I trusted my control. I’d played this game before on both sides of the problem. My energy made his stumble, for lack of a better word.
“Anita, get out of there!” Newman’s voice was urgent. I didn’t look at him. I knew he’d have a gun in his hand by now, too. If I stopped blocking their aim, Bobby Marchand would die.
The man kneeling beside me blinked, his human face showing that he was already losing his words, because leopards don’t think in words.
“Your name is Bobby Marchand. You live in Hanuman, Michigan.”
He stared at me, frowning, as if he knew I was talking to him but in a foreign language that he couldn’t understand.
“Come on, Bobby, I know you’re in there. Talk to me.”
“If he shifts with the door open, we will have to shoot, and friendly fire is a bitch, Blake,” Leduc said from behind me.
“Then close the door.”
“Anita, no!” Newman said.
I just kept looking into Bobby’s face and willed him to answer me. “Bobby is still in there. He’s still fighting to stay human. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Do you, Bobby?”
He gave the smallest shake of his head; it was a start. I was so happy that he’d responded that I added my jolt of joy to the energy. It jumped down my hand into him. He shivered and then gripped my arm back where I still held on to him. The energy of our beasts swirled across each other’s skin, and when he blinked at me next, I saw his eyes widen in surprise. He didn’t whisper it, more breathed it out with his lips barely moving. None of the humans at the door heard him say, “Your eyes.”
I blinked and knew that if I’d had a mirror at that moment, my own eyes wouldn’t have been human either. My eyes were the only thing that ever changed for me. To save himself, he couldn’t find his words, but to warn me of danger, to save me, he’d found his human half.
I leaned in close to him, using his body to hide my eyes from the door, because if they saw us both with inhuman eyes, I didn’t know what would happen. No, I did know: They’d shoot us both. Maybe Newman would try to save me, but Leduc would shoot first and sort it out later, and his deputy would follow his lead. I hugged Bobby, resting my face in the bend of his neck on the side opposite the door. It gave him a perfect opportunity to tear my throat out, but I could feel the heat of his beast withdrawing like we’d finally found the knob to turn the oven off. From the doorway, people were yelling just my name or demanding to know what I was doing. But in that second, I knew if I looked back at my fellow officers with leopard eyes, they’d kill us both.
Laurell K. Hamilton’s publisher PENGUIN /RANDOM HOUSE / BERKLEY is offering an Netgalley ARC of SUCKER PUNCH to one lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.
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