Books like Obsidian Butterfly

This was the last Anita Blake novel worth reading, primarily because of Edward. The rest of the series has been garbage (including Edwards' return. Seriously, what was his body count in the Harlequin, one? Maybe?). I don't have a problem with the sex, but Hamilton has sacrificed that literary device thingy called 'plot' in order to pack the pages with smut. Something happens, they have sex for five hundred pages, then the Ardeur snaps it's fingers and kills the badguy.In terms of characters it's obvious that Richard is Hamilton's personal dumping ground from everything she's ever felt about her ex-husband, turning the interesting power dynamic present in the first few books into something sad. Also, despite the legions of evil creatures (including the oldest and strongest vampires on the planet) that attack her at every turn, nobody close to Anita ever dies. Hamilton has stated that she loves her characters and will never kill them off, and that childish petulance combined with the almighty Ardeur robs her books of any sense of danger.Now Blood Noir is out, and though I will reserve judgment until I hear something more specific about it I'm not holding my breath expecting Hamilton to grow up again.