Customer Reviews

The Watcher (Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles, Book 3)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Anna Strong's a bounty hunter. She's gotten a lot better at her job since a failed takedown and her erstwhile pickup turned her into a vampire. She just hasn't told her business partner, David, her family, or her boyfriend Max, the undercover DEA agent.

She is not alone, though. Culebre, the shapeshifter, who runs a bar in Besos de la Muerte, Mexico for vampires in need of a human blood donor. Seems that position is quite in demand--the rush is about as good as crack cocaine.

Also, Chief Williams of the San Diego Police Department knows who she is. He's also one of The Watchers, an organization of supernaturals created with the goal of keeping peace with the humans.

As a matter of fact, Chief Williams is the one who orders Anna to disappear after she inadvertantly shows her vamp face to two terrified mortals. If that information gets around, The Revengers, the human nemesis of The Watchers will be after her.

Anna's not just hiding, though. She's going after self described 'wiccan' Belinda Burke, who will set loose a demon in two days if she's not stopped.

I forgot to mention Anna's also seeking Max, who's gone into hiding and is wanted by Foley, an FBI agent she suspects is crooked and threatening her.

There's more--trust me, and you'll keep reading with interest and perhaps a bit of confusion. Ms. Stein's done a good job developing Anna. She's gaining control of her vampire and she understands what she has to be--and give up--because of her blood drive. Her secondary characters are still paper tigers, but I have hopes to see more of them and gain more knowledge as the series goes on.

The plotting is good. For the most part, Ms. Stein has tied up the major problems put forth in this novel, but left us with enough unresolved overlying issues to continue with in the next books.

"The Watchers" has one serious deficit. Just too much goes on for a 291 page book. Ms. Stein could have produced a juicy thriller with just one of her villains and really done some superior character development too. Still, I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

It's a vampire novel. The blood is inevitable. But I love the way the blood issues don't overwhelm Anna Strong. And it's really the Anna character that makes this series so compelling. She's grounded, tough, sardonic, sharp, resourceful, and keenly observant. And, she's motivated by her own hungers and needs as well as doing her job well. Yes, there will be blood but when the end comes for two of Anna's adversaries in this tale the end is swift and pure strength, nothing more. The Anna Strong character has to work hard to keep her secrets and some ultimately are spilled. Readers relate because her world is complex and challenging and she moves from the streets to the bars to the big chief's office with a mission. There's a wonderful shock at the end. I don't disagree with another reviewer that there is lots of plot for 291 pages, but the upside is no downtime for Anna. This is fast-paced and built for speed. The bloodwork is all Type A.

I'm one of those people that love to read and can tear through a book in a day, two at the most and that is with a busy schedule. Over the last couple of years my tastes have moved over to Urban Paranormal and although there are a great many authors and books out there, I've managed to get through most of them and its a real chore for me to find new authors or a series in which to get interested in.

Jeanne Stein was a new author to me and as is my want, I picked up all three of her books immediately, particularly when I saw that Charlene Harris had given her a good review. I wasn't disappointed in the least and as is typical when I get a good book, I've read all three this last week.

Stein has a new take on Vampires and Supernaturals in general and I have to admit I rather like it. I'm not all that impressed with the sexual overtones that come with being a Vampire in Stein's universe, but that being said, she does it in a mostly tasteful manner and she certainly doesn't go the wrong route by turning it into an Anita Blake situation. That being said, she is playing pillow bites with several individuals which isn't exactly to my liking.

These books (all three of them) are a good combination of action, suspense and who-dunnit though some of it is pretty transparent. That having been said though, they really are page grabbers and Stein has put a lot of thought into the background and I for one am very much anticipating future additions to the series and seeing just how Anna Strong develops. She's definitely one tough lady!

This is the third book in the Anna Strong Chronicles. It was written in a style consistent with the first two. It was a pretty good book and I think if you liked the first two, you would also like this book.

Anna is signed on to be a Watcher. As normal things get out of control. A lot happens in this book. Anna is involved in everything from helping seek down a witch bent on summoning demons into the world, to retrieving her lost boyfriend Max from what are thought to be more typical enemies.

So much happens in this book that it is almost dizzying. That would be one complaint I have with this book; there is just too much going on. Another complaint I have would be that Anna is *still* making the same mistakes and vowing to correct them. Will the girl ever learn? Her character really needs to start changing and growing. My last complaint is that the secondary characters are not getting enough plot time to develop them into characters you know and love. Maybe there was just too much packed into this novel to be able to do that?

There were a couple things I really like. I liked that we finally got to spend some time with Max; he seems like he is an interesting character and I liked what happened between him and Anna. I also like the inclusion of the witches as another sub species in this book; it is nice to get some new fun things in there.

Will I read the next book? Probably. I do think there are better series out there. But these books are a quick read, fast-paced, and draw me in; so I will keep reading them. I just hope that Anna starts to get herself together a little bit better and grow some as a person.

Bounty hunter Anna Strong never knew vampires existed until she was bitten by one and was turned. Now she is taken under the wings of two different kinds of men. The San Diego Chief of Police is a century old vampire who formed the Watchers; vampires who police the supernatural community keeping humans safe from the ones that are evil. She gets her human drug supply in a small desert Mexican town when the local bar is run by Culebra. It is the meeting place for vampires who need to drink human blood and humans who want to donate it.

She sees her lover Max there but he looks frazzled because of the bounty on his head by a Mexican drug lord. When she returns to San Diego, a FBI agent tells her that Max, a DEA agent, has gone rogue. She believes the agent is lying; and assumes the agent has a personal and evil vendetta. She intends to find Max but when she returns to Beso dela Muerte she discovers the witch Ms. Burke and her coven are going to summon a demon in the one minute window of opportunity on Halloween. She has to stop her not only because the demon will kill all the good supernaturals and because she intends to sacrifice Culebra. While she is battling the forces of darkness the drug lord kidnaps Max and intends to abduct Anna in order to torture her in front of him.

Everyone has plans for Anna but she has her own ideas of what she wants to do with her life and she is strong enough and independent enough to choose her own destiny. No human, including Max, knows Anna is a vampire and she fears if Max finds out he will leave her. This action paranormal thriller is full of unexpected twists, red herrings and the occasional wild goose chase. Jeanne C. Stein writes an enthralling vampiric mystery that has a lot of suspense, a touch of magic and a bit of romance so that readers of multiple genres are satisfied.

Harriet Klausner

I really liked he two first books of Ana Strong, but these one... I found it utterly boring and with some stupid developments, as the one with the witch: tehre's a megapowerrful witch who's been planning to raise a demon for some time, and she has all planned to succed. Then appears Ana and all is thrown off balance and the demon is not summoned, and the witch does a little of a tantrum, but not too much, because Ana manages to run away with his friend Frey, who also is conveniently there for her to find.

And that's all. No more witch, at least not in this book. I found it very disappointing, because it was just there one moment, and in the following one she's not there. But Foley, human, is able to follow Ana and her friends to make a bargain for her in exchange for Max That makes you wonder why the witch doesn't go after Ana thinking about killing her for having ruined their calling to the demon.

O, of course, Culebra, Ana's friend, also escapes the clutches of the evil witch despite of the fact that she was stunned just moments before! And also he's not followed!

I don't know why this thing with the witch bothers me so much... well, maybe because I was expeting something more because it looked like a nice, compelling and strong story, and was left behind in order to have the writter focus more in Ana and her stalker. Not a bad story this one, either, but I didn't enjoy it so much.

I don't know, I suppose I'll still be reading the following books of Ana Strong, but this one has let me down. OR I had let her down not liking it, who knows.

I recommend reading this series in order as it will make more sense and they are good reads.

Anna is a Bail Enforcement Agent (AKA skip tracer) and bounty hunter who has been turned into a vampire. She is still coming to grips with it and has not told her partner David. Her boyfriend Max has infiltrated a drug cartel but has now been fingered by the drug lord, Martinez's mole in the FBI. Several complex intertwined plots and god action. Character development and humor are a little thin but still good.

Anna's relationship with the Watchers (an organization of supes who protect humans from others), is never really explained.

But overall a very good read.

This series, fast and fun, just keeps getting better and better. You don't really have to have read the first two to "get" this, though the reading experience is richer if you have. "The Watcher" answers some key questions, but the story is great fun and leaves you wanting more Anna. I particularly love the way Anna's humanity keeps tugging at her, though her vampire self is getting stronger... What next? Can't wait.

picked up on series through short story collection called "Chicks Kick Butt" that sounded like the editor of the series had a sense of humor ... then read "Becoming" and now "Watcher" ... decent series idea but Anna Strong is presented by the author as being too unbelievably stupid (and getter worse as series goes along), that it's hard to get much out of the storyline ... there's so much good urban fantasy out there, like Briggs or Butcher, why waste time with this crap

There are 6 books total in this series, so far (I hope there will be more!). As with most series the books will read the best if you start at the beginning rather than picking one up about 1/2 way thru. You miss alot of character development and references to previous events may be confusing if you haven't read the earlier books.

Very enjoyable, a great escape, and fun.