title: Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 10)
author:  Laurell K. Hamilton 
description: Bestseller Hamilton's Anita Blake, police consultant, executioner, necromancer, private eye and wereleopard protector, returns in her amorous 10th adventure, driven more by conflicting desires for the lovers she neglected in her last outing, Obsidian Butterfly (2000), than by the urge to solve any mystery. Once again, in a world where vampires and werecreatures are protected by law, Blake attempts to resolve her libido's constant crisis. Plunged into the netherworld of a leather D/S (dominant/submissive) bar, Narcissus in Chains, by the abduction of one of her inherited wereleopards, Blake finds herself deep into shapeshifter politics and a were creature power struggle that is all a metaphor for her own inner struggle. Whom should she choose werewolf Richard or vampire Jean-Claude? Or should she take a new lover? Who cares? Blake is eventually infected by the "ardeur" from the vampire clan and tinged with shapeshifting abilities from the were clan. As she becomes more like the fantastic creatures she protects or kills, she, alas, doesn't get any more interesting as a character. Her obsessions with lust serve mainly to overwhelm a rickety plot. Blake needs to put her clothes back on and get back to work. Too much flesh and not enough plot leads to the old but so true saying, "Less is more." (Oct. 9) Forecast: With a 15-city author tour and 100,000 first printing, this should be as successful saleswise as previous books in the series. <br />Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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  ![Cover](images/cover.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Narcissus in Chains
  
  
    
  
  
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  _( Anita Blake - 10 )_
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Laurell Hamilton
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Laurell Hamilton
  
  
  ## Narcissus in Chains
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 1
  
  
  
  
  
  JUNE HAD COME in like its usual hot, sweaty self, but a freak cold front had
  moved in during the night and the car radio had been full of the record low
  temperatures. It was only in the low sixties, not that cold, but after weeks
  of eighty- and ninety-plus, it felt downright frigid. My best friend, Ronnie
  Sims, and I were sitting in my Jeep with the windows down, letting the
  unseasonably cool air drift in on us. Ronnie had turned thirty tonight. We
  were talking about how she felt about the big 3-0 and other girl talk.
  Considering that she's a private detective and I raise the dead for a living
  it was pretty ordinary talk. Sex, guys, turning thirty, vampires, werewolves.
  You know, the usual.
  
  
  We could have gone inside the house, but there is something about