Laurell K. Hamilton’s Vampire Hunter series continues with book 7, as the vampire council arrives in town for retribution. Burnt Offerings is available on Amazon in hardcover, paperback, Kindle, and audiobook. The audiobook, read by Kimberly Alexis, is highly recommended. She brings Anita to life, and the audio effects heighten the tension at just the right moments.

“You can’t trust anyone who sleeps with the monsters.” Anita has always said this, but now she shares a bed with the city’s master vampire. What has Hamilton done to her tough, no-nonsense protagonist? Anita still has a sharp tongue that gets her into trouble, but she lacks her usual edge when dealing with the supernatural. She can no longer see things in black and white as Jean-Claude’s lover, the lupa of the Thornnos Rokke Clan, and now the wereleopard pard calls her the leopard lionne, meaning protector of their group. Readers used to the judgmental Anita will find this a surprising change of pace.

Her relationship with Jean-Claude causes friction with Dolph, but he still recommends her to a friend to solve arson fires around town. The targeted businesses are all vampire-owned, so it’s up to the Executioner to save the vampires from the inferno. As if that weren’t enough, the vampire council arrives, ready for retribution because they fear Jean-Claude wants his own council. Everyone is in danger, and Richard, an alpha werewolf, is acting like a wuss.

Yes, we get it, Hamilton, no one likes rejection, but Richard’s behavior is like a woman scorned. His pettiness, cruelty, and attitude toward Anita are harsh. Readers already unsure about Richard because of his jealous tantrums will not find him redeemed here and may even prefer Jean-Claude. His negativity creates issues in problem-solving. By the end of the novel, Anita cements her place as the lupa of the pack, and the wereleopard pard upgrades her title to Nimir-Ra, meaning ‘queen of a pard’. How did she accomplish that?

Anita took in the ‘munin’, the mix of energy and memories of Raina, the previous lupa who hated Anita and was a masochist. This energy lets Anita manipulate flesh to heal or harm, resisting Raina’s sadistic need for pain. Anita uses this power to heal Nathaniel, a wereleopard who is emotionally and mentally a ‘pet’ in S&M terms, unable to function without an owner. With this power, Anita almost kills a council member, but instead convinces him to give up his only son to face justice for raping several members of the lycanthrope community.

An exhilarating book with plenty of plot, keeping readers turning pages until the end. There are some steamy, though not full-on erotica, sections. Hamilton delivers drama, a grand narrative, a fantastic world, metaphysical world-building, and engaging character development filled with emotion. Anita’s smart-mouth attitude shines as she tells the bad guys she’s out of patience and only has silver ammo left. It’s a 5-star read or listen.