Realm of the Elderlings
epic fantasy
Series · urban fantasy
Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
The Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton has 31 known books (31 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Guilty Pleasures (1993). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Slay.
- Books
- 31 known books (28 novels + 2 novellas + 1 collection)
- Published
- 31
- First published
- 1993
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Fantasy
- Last checked
Start here: Guilty Pleasures (1993) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Guilty Pleasures
Guilty Pleasures, the first book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, precedes The Laughing Corpse in publication order. It came out in 1993 at 272 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Guilty Pleasures - Book 2:
The Laughing Corpse
The Laughing Corpse (1994, 293 pages) is book 2 of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, from the early run that plays as noir-tinged supernatural procedural -- Anita raising zombies and staking vampires as St. Louis's licensed executioner, investigating murders and lycanthrope pack politics with a gun in one hand and necromancy in the other.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Laughing Corpse - Book 3:
Circus of the Damned
Book 3 in the Anita Blake series, Circus of the Damned (1995) runs 329 pages and belongs to the hardboiled-detective phase of the series, published before Narcissus in Chains (2001) pushed the books toward Anita's expanding romantic life -- here the mystery plotting still leads.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Circus of the Damned - Book 4:
The Lunatic Cafe
In the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter reading order, The Lunatic Cafe sits between Circus of the Damned and Bloody Bones as the fourth book. By Laurell K. Hamilton, it runs 369 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Lunatic Cafe - Book 5:
Bloody Bones
Credited to Laurell K. Hamilton, Bloody Bones holds the fifth spot in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter sequence across 349 pages. It follows The Lunatic Cafe in publication order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Bloody Bones - Book 6:
The Killing Dance
The Killing Dance, the sixth book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, precedes Burnt Offerings in publication order. It came out in 1997 at 394 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Killing Dance - Book 7:
Burnt Offerings
Burnt Offerings , published in 1998 at 392 pages, is the 7th Anita Blake novel, part of the early supernatural-noir stretch where Anita's cases as vampire executioner and animator for hire drive the plot, in a world where vampires won legal personhood decades before.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Burnt Offerings - Book 8:
Blue Moon
In the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter reading order, Blue Moon sits between Burnt Offerings and Obsidian Butterfly as the eighth book. By Laurell K. Hamilton, it runs 432 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blue Moon - Book 9:
Obsidian Butterfly
Obsidian Butterfly, the ninth book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, precedes Narcissus in Chains in publication order. It came out in 2000 at 386 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Obsidian Butterfly - Book 10:
Narcissus in Chains
Credited to Laurell K. Hamilton, Narcissus in Chains holds the tenth spot in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter sequence across 540 pages. It follows Obsidian Butterfly in publication order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Narcissus in Chains - Book 11:
Cerulean Sins
In the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter reading order, Cerulean Sins sits between Narcissus in Chains and Incubus Dreams as the eleventh book. By Laurell K. Hamilton, it runs 464 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cerulean Sins - Book 12:
Incubus Dreams
Incubus Dreams (2004, 658 pages) is book 12 of the Anita Blake series, published well into the run that follows Narcissus in Chains (2001) -- the stretch where the ardeur, the succubus-like power forcing Anita to feed on sex or lust to survive, drives an ever-expanding, deliberately unconventional romantic life alongside the mystery plotting.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Incubus Dreams - Book 13:
Micah
Laurell K. Hamilton placed Micah thirteenth in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series and was published in 2006. It is a novella rather than a full-length novel.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Micah - Book 14:
Danse Macabre
Book 14 in Laurell K. Hamilton's thirty-book Anita Blake series, Danse Macabre (2006) runs 471 pages and belongs to the post- Narcissus in Chains era, where Anita's sprawling web of vampire, werewolf, and wereleopard partners shares the page with the supernatural-procedural plotting.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Danse Macabre - Book 15:
Strange Candy
Strange Candy is an Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter story collection: Short-story collection of largely non-Anita-Blake Hamilton fiction; not part of the main numbered sequence. It was published in 2006 and runs 265 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Strange Candy - Book 16:
The Harlequin
In the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter reading order, The Harlequin sits between Strange Candy and Blood Noir as the fifteenth book. By Laurell K. Hamilton, it runs 432 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Harlequin - Book 17:
Blood Noir
Blood Noir , at 340 pages and published in 2008, is the 16th entry in the Anita Blake series -- part of the ardeur-driven stretch of the series that split fans between readers who followed Anita into her expanding relationships and those who preferred the earlier mystery-forward books.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blood Noir - Book 18:
Skin Trade
Published in 2009, Skin Trade (523 pages) is book 17 of Anita Blake, continuing the series' long-running escalation of Anita's power and her ever-growing ensemble of vampire and shapeshifter partners across St. Louis's regulated supernatural underworld.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Skin Trade - Book 19:
Flirt
Credited to Laurell K. Hamilton, Flirt holds the eighteenth spot in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter sequence across 171 pages. It follows Skin Trade in publication order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Flirt - Book 20:
Bullet
Bullet (2010, 368 pages) is book 19 of the Anita Blake series, published well into the run that follows Narcissus in Chains (2001) -- the stretch where the ardeur, the succubus-like power forcing Anita to feed on sex or lust to survive, drives an ever-expanding, deliberately unconventional romantic life alongside the mystery plotting.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Bullet - Book 21:
Hit List
Book 20 in Laurell K. Hamilton's thirty-book Anita Blake series, Hit List (2011) runs 310 pages and belongs to the post- Narcissus in Chains era, where Anita's sprawling web of vampire, werewolf, and wereleopard partners shares the page with the supernatural-procedural plotting.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hit List - Book 22:
Kiss the Dead
Kiss the Dead , at 359 pages and published in 2012, is the 21th entry in the Anita Blake series -- part of the ardeur-driven stretch of the series that split fans between readers who followed Anita into her expanding relationships and those who preferred the earlier mystery-forward books.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Kiss the Dead - Book 23:
Affliction
In the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter reading order, Affliction sits between Kiss the Dead and Jason as the twenty-second book. By Laurell K. Hamilton, it runs 570 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Affliction - Book 24:
Jason
Published in 2014, Jason (292 pages) is book 23 of Anita Blake, continuing the series' long-running escalation of Anita's power and her ever-growing ensemble of vampire and shapeshifter partners across St. Louis's regulated supernatural underworld.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Jason - Book 25:
Dead Ice
Dead Ice (2015, 587 pages) is book 24 of the Anita Blake series, published well into the run that follows Narcissus in Chains (2001) -- the stretch where the ardeur, the succubus-like power forcing Anita to feed on sex or lust to survive, drives an ever-expanding, deliberately unconventional romantic life alongside the mystery plotting.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead Ice - Book 26:
Crimson Death
Book 25 in Laurell K. Hamilton's thirty-book Anita Blake series, Crimson Death (2016) runs 708 pages and belongs to the post- Narcissus in Chains era, where Anita's sprawling web of vampire, werewolf, and wereleopard partners shares the page with the supernatural-procedural plotting.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Crimson Death - Book 27:
Serpentine
Serpentine, the twenty-sixth book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, precedes Sucker Punch in publication order. It came out in 2018 at 486 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Serpentine - Book 28:
Sucker Punch
At 512 pages, Sucker Punch marks the twenty-seventh installment of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series and was published in 2020.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sucker Punch - Book 29:
Rafael
Credited to Laurell K. Hamilton, Rafael holds the twenty-eighth spot in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter sequence across 288 pages. It follows Sucker Punch in publication order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Rafael - Book 30:
Smolder
Smolder , at 384 pages and published in 2023, is the 29th entry in the Anita Blake series -- part of the ardeur-driven stretch of the series that split fans between readers who followed Anita into her expanding relationships and those who preferred the earlier mystery-forward books.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Smolder - Book 31:
Slay
Credited to Laurell K. Hamilton, Slay holds the thirtieth spot in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter sequence across 416 pages. It follows Smolder in publication order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Slay
About the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series
Anita Blake raises zombies for a living and stakes vampires as a licensed executioner for the city of St. Louis, in a world where vampires won legal personhood decades ago and the undead, werewolves, and other shapeshifters live in uneasy, regulated coexistence with humans. The early novels play as noir-tinged supernatural procedurals -- Anita investigating murders, rogue vampires, and lycanthrope pack politics with a gun in one hand and necromancy in the other. From the middle of the series onward, the books shift decisively toward Anita's expanding, deliberately unconventional romantic and sexual life, driven by the ardeur, a succubus-like power she gains that forces her to feed on sex or lust to survive -- a plot engine that reshapes both the tone and structure of the series.
Laurell K. Hamilton is one of the founding voices of modern urban fantasy -- Anita Blake predates most of the genre's now-standard tropes -- and the series is known equally for its early hardboiled-detective energy and for the explicit, polyamorous direction it took starting around Narcissus in Chains (2001), which split the fandom sharply between readers who followed Anita into that territory and those who preferred the earlier mystery-forward books. Thirty books deep and still one of the longest-running series in the genre, it rewards readers looking for a heroine whose power and relationships keep escalating, with a sprawling ensemble cast of vampires, werewolves, and wereleopards accumulated over three decades.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series?
There are 30 novels, from Guilty Pleasures (1993) through Slay (2023), plus the short-story collection Strange Candy.
What order should I read the Anita Blake books in?
Publication order, starting with Guilty Pleasures. The plot, cast, and Anita's own powers build continuously across all 30 books.
Is the Anita Blake series finished?
Not formally declared complete, but no new novel has been announced since Slay (November 2023) as of mid-2026.
Why do the later Anita Blake books feel so different from the early ones?
Starting around Narcissus in Chains (2001), Anita gains the ardeur, a power that requires her to feed on sex/lust, which shifts the series from noir-style vampire mysteries toward a far more explicit, relationship-driven focus. It's a well-known turning point for readers.
Do I need to read Strange Candy?
No. It's a short-story collection of largely unrelated Hamilton fiction from early in her career; only a small portion touches the Anita Blake world, and it isn't necessary to follow the main series.
If you like the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series
Reading order last verified .