Bloody Bones (novel)

Bloody Bones is a horror/mystery novel by American writer Laurell K. Hamilton, the fifth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series.

Bloody Bones

First edition (Ace)
Author	Laurell K. Hamilton
Cover artist	Lee McLeod (Ace edition)
Language	English
Series	Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter
Genre	Mystery, horror
Publisher	Ace Books
Publication date	1996 (Ace edition)
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	370 (Ace edition)
ISBN	0-441-00374-5 (Ace edition)
OCLC	35453173
Preceded by	The Lunatic Cafe
Followed by	The Killing Dance

Plot

The peace in St. Louis is shattered by a series of gruesome murders. The victims are all wealthy and influential, their bodies drained of blood, their bones meticulously arranged in macabre displays. The city's elite, terrified and consumed by fear, turn to Anita Blake, the only one who can stop the carnage.

Anita, juggling her duties as an executioner with her own personal struggles, finds herself drawn into a complex investigation. She is joined by the enigmatic Dolph Storr, a vampire with a dark past and a mysterious connection to the killings. Together, they delve into the underbelly of St. Louis, navigating a labyrinth of secrets and conspiracies.

Their search for the killer leads them to Jean-Claude, the powerful vampire master of the city, who suspects the involvement of a rogue faction within his own kind. Jean-Claude, wary of the growing chaos, offers his resources and expertise, but his motives remain shrouded in suspicion.

As Anita and Dolph dig deeper, they uncover a conspiracy that runs far deeper than they could have imagined. At the heart of this plot lies a hidden order, the Order of the Bloody Bones, a secret society dedicated to the resurrection of a powerful ancient entity. This entity, fueled by blood sacrifice, promises to usher in a new era of darkness and domination.

The Order's leader, Richard Zeeman, a calculating and ruthless businessman, manipulates the city's elite, using their greed and ambition to further his own twisted goals. He has recruited Jason Schuyler, a charismatic but unstable young man, to act as his puppet, unaware of the true extent of the Order's agenda.

Meanwhile, Larry Kirkland, a struggling artist obsessed with the macabre, becomes entangled in the conspiracy. He believes he is assisting the Order in their noble cause, oblivious to the true nature of their intentions.

Bradley Bradford, a private investigator with his own secrets, is hired to protect one of Zeeman's targets, a young woman named Sarah, who holds the key to the Order's plans. But Sarah, haunted by a dark past and a growing sense of unease, finds herself drawn to Jason, who promises her a life beyond her wildest dreams.

As Anita races against time to stop the Order and their sinister plans, she must confront her own vulnerabilities and navigate the treacherous alliances that threaten to engulf her. She must choose her side, knowing that failure will bring about a world ruled by darkness and fueled by blood.

A grand cathedral, the chosen site for the Order's final ritual. Anita, along with her allies, must infiltrate the ceremony and prevent the resurrection of the ancient entity. A fierce battle erupts, pitting the forces of good against the forces of evil, as Anita faces off against Zeeman and his followers.

The story concludes with a bittersweet victory. Anita manages to stop the Order and prevent the resurrection, but the price is high. She loses someone she cares deeply about, a reminder of the sacrifices that must be made to defend humanity. The city of St. Louis, scarred by the events, begins the long process of healing and rebuilding, but the threat of darkness remains, a constant reminder that the struggle for good is never truly over.

Characters

Major characters

Bloody Bones features the following major characters.

• Anita Blake: In Bloody Bones, Anita further develops her role as Larry's mentor, and is forced to ask Jean-Claude for substantial help for the first time. She also relives the trauma of her mother's death. According to Hamilton's notes in the afterword, writing the novel was also traumatic for Hamilton herself, because it required Hamilton to reexperience her own mother's death, the event that served as a model for Anita's childhood experience).
• Jean-Claude: Jean-Claude's admission that the Vampire Council has divided his territory, together with his conflict with Serephina and Janos, further underscores the difficulty he is having as the newly installed Master of the City, a conflict that appear in several of the early novels. In addition, the appearance of vampires from Jean-Claude's past allows Anita to learn more about the circumstances that have made him into the vampire she knows.
• Richard Zeeman: Richard appears only in the beginning of the novel, when Anita visits to tell him that she's going out of town, and is mentioned in the epilogue.

Other characters

• Recurring characters in Bloody Bones include:
  • Anita's co-workers Bert Vaughn and Larry Kirkland;
  • police officer Dolph Storr; and
  • Jean-Claude's pomme de sang Jason Schuyler.
• Non-recurring characters in Bloody Bones include:
  • Raymond Stirling;
  • Lionel Bayard;
  • Ms Harrison;
  • Mr and Mrs Quinlan, and their children Ellie and Jeff;
  • Dorcas Bouvier;
  • Sergeant Freemont;
  • Beau;
  • Lisa and her unnamed friend, two college girls who agree to visit Seraphina's lair;
  • David St. John
  • Officer Wallace, a police officer that accompanies Anita on her vampire hunt;
  • Federal agents Elwood and Bradford (Although Bradford does appear in Obsidian Butterfly and at least one other subsequent novel.)
• The death toll in Bloody Bones includes:
  • Three unnamed murdered teenaged boys, killed by Bloody Bones;
  • A teenaged boyfriend and girlfriend, killed before the novel begins by Bloody Bones;
  • Andy, presumably killed by Anita in an early firefight;
  • Deputy Zack Coltrain nearly decapitated by a vampire in an early firefight;
  • Officer Granger, killed by Anita to prevent him from shooting Larry.
  • Beth St. John, killed by an unnamed brown haired female vampire.
  • The brown haired female vampire herself, killed by Beth's husband, David St. John;
  • Bruce, shot by Larry at Seraphina's house
  • Lionel Bayard, shot by Stirling
  • Ivy, killed by Anita in self-defense;
  • Ms Harrison, was severely injured after Anita ordered a zombie to attack her, later drained by Ellie and Xavier
  • Raymond Stirling, drained by Pallas and Bettina
  • Rawhead and Bloody Bones, killed by Anita and Xavier;
  • Ellie, turned into a vampire by Andy and killed when Magnus dragged her into sunlight;
  • Magnus Bouvier, burned to death when Anita forced Ellie to hold onto his waist as he ran out into sunlight;
  • Seraphina, Xavier, Janos, Pallas, Bettina, (presumably) Kissa, and Jeff Quinlan, burned when authorities set fire to the Bloody Bones.

References

External links

• Bloody Bones title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database