I had a really hard time reading the first half of this book. As a Anita Blake fan I'm starting to feel like Anita and Merry are merging into one person and I'm not sure that I like that. I really liked the murder investigation and am looking forward to finding out how things progress for Merry, her babies, and her men in the next book. I just hope that LKH doesn't spend chapters describing clothes and scenery because for me it's getting old and feels like she's just trying to fill out her book and make it longer.