When Richard, the perpetual Boy Scout, gets himself thrown in jail on rape charges just a few days before the full moon, something doesn’t quite add up – and it’s Anita to the rescue. Another pack of werewolves and a hostile Master of the City in Richard’s college town don’t exactly simplify the situation, and when an endangered species of mountain troll joins the fun, this book has all the elements of a quality Anita mystery. Fans of the series should expect the usual sexual tension permeating the atmosphere as Anita begins to realize that denial is more than a river in Eqypt.
Blue Moon begins an exploration into Anita’s magical side. Between raising the dead, which she has pretty much had under control, and the new powers brought by the vampire marks of Jean-Claude and her status as lupa to the werewolves, Nimir-Ra to the wereleopards, Anita has a lot of unresolved issues on her plate. Her trip to Tennessee to save Richard’s reputation from being permanently furred will force her to confront her feelings for him as well.
The end result is that Blue Moon is a book of beginnings. The series is changing directions, as evidenced in later books, and the change begins here but is not consummated (so to speak) until later on. Anita is placed in the middle of a monster-politics crisis, and forced to rely on her own strengths and powers, rather than acting as a powerful second fiddle to Jean-Claude or Richard.
Unfortunately, the writing maintains a sense of distance from the characters, making it difficult for the reader to become emotionally involved in their trials. Important choices are being made, but the choices seem pushed by the authorial hand rather than freely chosen.
If it were not for the plot development that occurs, this book could be safely skipped. As it is, fans of the series should definitely read through it at least once. Casual readers need not do so.
