Circus of the Damned is the third book in the
Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by
Laurell K. Hamilton. It was published by
Ace Books in
1995.
Anita Blake, an Animator and the local licensed vampire hunter, called "The Executioner" by the vampires, is being wooed by Jean-Claude, the Master of the City in St. Louis. Jean-Claude wants to make Anita his human servant, which while having some tempting side-effects Anita refuses because she doesn't not want to be owned by anyone especial one of the monsters. Enter Alejandro an ancient vampire with some very powerful friends. He want's to make Anita his human servant. A war of the undead is erupting and Anita is right in the thick of it.
In the book Circus of the Damned is an actual circus that is open year round near the St. Louis riverfront. It is run by the vampires and other preternatural creatures. It is also plays a major role in the story line as with most of the rest of the series (every book's title is the name of a place where something happens in the book).
While this series of books start getting a little predictable with this one they are still very entertaining stories. With this book we see a begin to see a bigger presence of lycanthropes. It also introduces the character Richard Zeeman who becomes a regular character as the series proceed. Laurell K. Hamilton keeps us enthralled with cool preternatural creatures and powers, Anita's personal life, and new interesting characters.