Anita Blake is the somewhat warped, but altogether interesting heroine created by Laurell K Hamilton. Hamilton is an American who lives in St Louis, Missouri with her family. Blake lives there too, although her reality is somewhat different. Hamilton writes about a parallel universe, in which history is history as we know it, with paranormal and/or fantastical things such as elves, trolls, were-animals and vampires added in for good measure.

The character is first introduced in a book called Guilty Pleasures, from which some ten more have spawned. She is first described as a 24-year-old Christian good girl. Oh, and she's an animator. Not the cartoon sort, the raising zombies sort. In this universe animating isn't a job, it's a calling. You either are, or you aren't. The series manages to stay faithful to its own ideology and logic as it evolves, fitting each new element into the previous map of the world and its history.

Rip It

Ms Blake works for a company called Animators Inc where her boss can squeeze a buck out of stone. Usually, this benefits Ms Blake since she gets a percentage of the fees. However, since she is also an unofficial member of the 'spook squad' (Regional Paranormal Investigative Team, or RPIT, pronounced 'Rip-It'), a police task force that specialises in the otherworldly, her two roles quite frequently clash. And royally so; if not in ethics, then simply for demands on her time.

Ms Blake is the task force expert on all things paranormal, and she is on-call all hours of the day, whereas with her 'day' job (which is actually performed at night) she has scheduled assignments raising the dead for all sorts of reasons. There's that matter of two wildly dissimilar wills, or the witness that died just before the big court case. Somehow Ms Blake manages to merge these two demanding roles and fulfil all that is required of her, but then as luck (luck, also known as the author) would have it, her personal life usually interferes. The character gets a bit more warped - or more interesting, depending on your tastes - with every case. Consider yourself warned: these books are not for the faint of heart.

Anita is a strong heroine and it's fun to follow her adventures, of which there are plenty. She's loyal to her friends, says grace over meals, and isn't too afraid of things that go bump in the night. She's no wilting lily and she's not for everyone to read. In fact, in bookstores and libraries Ms Blake falls into the horror category, which says something about the level of violence and gore that goes on in the books. This is a heroine for the people that like Harry Potter, James Bond and Lara Croft¹.

A Long List

Here are the books of the series, up to mid-2002, and a short synopsis of the story in each:

• Guilty Pleasures is the first book, where Anita and Jean-Claude the vampire are both introduced. Jean-Claude is the male antagonist/protagonist who will follow Anita through the series. They are unlikely, and reluctant, partners in crime as they battle against the Master of the City. The Master is the head vampire in the area. The whole world is split up into areas, where they are responsible for the vampires in their area. Edward, the bounty-hunter, is involved.

• The Laughing Corpse is the second book, and Anita begins to suspect that being an animator is more than just being a zombie queen, as she so ungracefully has been referred to. She proves that her stubborn streak is mile-wide.

• Circus of the Damned is the third, where Anita becomes the bone of contention among warring master vampires. Richard is introduced. He is Jean-Claude's pet, his werewolf.

• The Lunatic Café involves werewolves and other were-beasts in a fierce and bloody power struggle.

• Bloody Bones works on the premise that some children's fairy tales are true, and not just the nice ones.

• The Killing Dance is the sixth book in the series and now Anita herself is the one that is hunted. We see more of Edward, the bounty hunter/assassin.

• Burnt Offerings is a gruesome power struggle, with some seriously twisted beings.

• Blue Moon explains the whole thing about 'Once in a blue moon' and what that means for werewolves. Anita goes to the 'dark side' in a way, but makes peace with her God in the end.

• Obsidian Butterfly is about Incan vampires and what happens when Death needs a hand from a friend.

• Narcissus in Chains is the latest book. Unfortunately, this researcher has not had access to this data and cannot evaluate it for the readers benefit.