For me the Anita series is built like a mystery series, which means that as much as possible each book stands alone, so you have a mystery to solve from the beginning to the end of the book.

Hamilton is describing the structural principle behind her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels: they are designed to function like classic mystery installments, with a self-contained case that begins early and is resolved by the end. The remark also signals a reader-friendly approach to series fiction—newcomers can enter at many points without needing exhaustive backstory—while still allowing ongoing character arcs and world-building to accumulate across volumes. Implicitly, she distinguishes “case-of-the-book” plotting from heavily serialized narratives, framing the series’ appeal as the satisfaction of investigation, clues, and closure even within a long-running paranormal universe.