Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Ace (1996), Edition: 1st, 384 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Mystery. Romance. HTML:First time in trade paperback: the fourth novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series. Vampire hunter and zombie animator Anita Blake is an expert at sniffing out the bad from the good. But in The Lunatic Cafe-now in trade paperback for the first time-she's about to learn that nothing is ever as it seems, especially in matters of the not-so-human heart. Dating a werewolf with self-esteem issues is stressing Anita out. Especially when something-or someone-starts taking out the city's shapeshifters.
User reviews
LibraryThing member AbundanceofBooks
Anita sees George Smitz, a man who is looking for his missing wife who is also a werewolf. Anita is furious with Bert for referring a missing persons case to her when she was unqualified for the job. She was able to convince Mr. Smitz to see her friend Ronnie who was a private investigator with
"'You either share this problem, or we don't date anymore.'
He looked shocked. 'Why?'
'Either you kept me out to protect me, which I'm going to hate. Or you have some other reason. It better be a damn good reason and not just some male ego shit.'"
That's right, if Anita doesn't agree with someone's reasons, it must be bullshit. I am left to wonder what it is that Jean-Claude and Richard see in her, because she's a cow. The above argument is interrupted by constant pages from Dolph, who needs her to book it to a murder scene in the middle of nowhere. As Anita leaves, she runs into Gretchen, a powerful vampire who is in love with Jean-Claude. Gretchen doesn't understand that Anita doesn't want Jean-Claude, and threatens Anita if she doesn't stay away from him. There's a little scuffle (J-C's first scene in every book results in Anita fighting with someone) and then Jean-Claude says that he didn't mean "for this to happen". He says that every time, and I'm glad Anita called him on it. Anita finally makes it to Dolph's crime scene to fight with racist and hick cops over jurisdiction and weather the victim was attacked by a bear or not. I liked this storyline, nice and twisty, didn't see the end coming. The next day Anita is asked by Marcus to help the pack. She goes to a meeting at The Lunatic Cafe that does not go well, but she ends up getting strong armed into helping look for missing shifters. Edward makes an appearance in this book, he's always fun. These different story lines came together very nicely, great action, but Anita is still a problem for me. She is so unforgiving of others and so violent, that I saw her as similar to the monsters she hates so much. I really liked that Anita had this same realization, I'm hoping that her character will change in future books.
Verdict:
Anita, Anita, Anita, you are such an unlikeable character, I think you might be ruining the story for me. I enjoyed the the story itself, but...grrr! I feel so bad for Richard, why is he still with her? She can take his shirt off but if he touches her but she considers it groping? She can't abide explaining her actions, but if others don't hop to and explain everything to her she blows up. I was prepared for this to be the last Anita Blake book I ever read, but she had the whole maybe-I'm-just-as-bad-as-the-monsters-I-hate revelation. And the story was good, I will read the fifth book, but I'll get it from the library, I just can't spend money on Anita.
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missing persons experience. Shortly thereafter Anita has a theater date with her "sweetie" Richard. Afterwards, they run into Jean-Claude who reveals that Richard had something of a showdown with the current werewolf Alfa, Marcus, but refused to kill him. This has caused some big problems within the pack. Anita was furious that she hadn't been told, how dare Richard not tell her what was going on. He explained that he was trying to protect her, then she's mad that he tried to do that."'You either share this problem, or we don't date anymore.'
He looked shocked. 'Why?'
'Either you kept me out to protect me, which I'm going to hate. Or you have some other reason. It better be a damn good reason and not just some male ego shit.'"
That's right, if Anita doesn't agree with someone's reasons, it must be bullshit. I am left to wonder what it is that Jean-Claude and Richard see in her, because she's a cow. The above argument is interrupted by constant pages from Dolph, who needs her to book it to a murder scene in the middle of nowhere. As Anita leaves, she runs into Gretchen, a powerful vampire who is in love with Jean-Claude. Gretchen doesn't understand that Anita doesn't want Jean-Claude, and threatens Anita if she doesn't stay away from him. There's a little scuffle (J-C's first scene in every book results in Anita fighting with someone) and then Jean-Claude says that he didn't mean "for this to happen". He says that every time, and I'm glad Anita called him on it. Anita finally makes it to Dolph's crime scene to fight with racist and hick cops over jurisdiction and weather the victim was attacked by a bear or not. I liked this storyline, nice and twisty, didn't see the end coming. The next day Anita is asked by Marcus to help the pack. She goes to a meeting at The Lunatic Cafe that does not go well, but she ends up getting strong armed into helping look for missing shifters. Edward makes an appearance in this book, he's always fun. These different story lines came together very nicely, great action, but Anita is still a problem for me. She is so unforgiving of others and so violent, that I saw her as similar to the monsters she hates so much. I really liked that Anita had this same realization, I'm hoping that her character will change in future books.
Verdict:
Anita, Anita, Anita, you are such an unlikeable character, I think you might be ruining the story for me. I enjoyed the the story itself, but...grrr! I feel so bad for Richard, why is he still with her? She can take his shirt off but if he touches her but she considers it groping? She can't abide explaining her actions, but if others don't hop to and explain everything to her she blows up. I was prepared for this to be the last Anita Blake book I ever read, but she had the whole maybe-I'm-just-as-bad-as-the-monsters-I-hate revelation. And the story was good, I will read the fifth book, but I'll get it from the library, I just can't spend money on Anita.
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LibraryThing member verenka
I'm up to book four in the series now and there still isn't any sex. On the contrary, she wants to wait until she is married (?!!), especially after reading book 13 or so of the series this makes her look like a complete hypocrite. But maybe that's just me. I also don't like how she doesn't seem to
I still don't think the writing is very good. The author has a few things she likes to repeat throughout the book. In an earlier book it was "Bully for me", in this one it's "what of it?". It happens so oftern that it just looks like sloppy writing.
But I'm still continuing reading, so it can't be all that bad, can it? ;-)
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be able to judge people for things they have no influence over. She considers shapeshifters monsters, and will only make exceptions for the people she knows and loves. The storyline is as usual completely over the top and she doesn't get to sleep or eat at all throughout the book that span several days. And you know what kills me? How incredibly badly dressed she must be, judging from the descriptions.I still don't think the writing is very good. The author has a few things she likes to repeat throughout the book. In an earlier book it was "Bully for me", in this one it's "what of it?". It happens so oftern that it just looks like sloppy writing.
But I'm still continuing reading, so it can't be all that bad, can it? ;-)
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LibraryThing member Joybee
It's Christmas time, so the Zombie raising business is slow. But Anita still has plenty to keep her busy. A client asks for her help with a missing person case. The police need her help with a body found mauled my a bear or other creature. The alpha wolf of her boyfriend, Richard's werewolf pack
The action in this book was great, and exciting as usual, but who would have thought tough Anita is really a goodie goodie when it comes to sex. She want's to wait till marriage (which is perfectly ok, but not what I expected from a romance novel). Besides the lack of sex and the indecision of how she really feels about Richard, I liked this book. Anita is a bad ass as usual, and I'm interested to see how her relationships develop.
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needs her help finding the cause of 8 missing lycanthropes. And to top it all Anita has to decide if she really loves Richard (and Jean Claude is not making it easy). The action in this book was great, and exciting as usual, but who would have thought tough Anita is really a goodie goodie when it comes to sex. She want's to wait till marriage (which is perfectly ok, but not what I expected from a romance novel). Besides the lack of sex and the indecision of how she really feels about Richard, I liked this book. Anita is a bad ass as usual, and I'm interested to see how her relationships develop.
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LibraryThing member la_librarian
Lycenthropes are going missing...Anita is on the hunt.
Anita Blake is getting better and better. I didn't like Jean Claude in this one though...he was too cold and mean. Still, Anita is getting more developed as a character and I'm not really caring about her relationships with these people. The
Anita Blake is getting better and better. I didn't like Jean Claude in this one though...he was too cold and mean. Still, Anita is getting more developed as a character and I'm not really caring about her relationships with these people. The
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whole always do what's right thing, even at her own peril, was getting on my nerves and in this novel she does more of what needs to be done. Show Less
LibraryThing member LibraryCin
Vampire hunter, Anita Blake, is dating werewolf Richard. While they try to sort out their relationship, Anita is called to alpha werewolf, Marcus, to help find out about some missing werewolves.
I am really enjoying this series (at least for now – I know that will change later). It does remind me
I am really enjoying this series (at least for now – I know that will change later). It does remind me
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a lot of Sookie Stackhouse (though I know Anita Blake actually came first). This book didn't seem as dark (that is, gory) as the others have been (to be honest, I don't remember them real well, but I took a look back at my reviews for a reminder), but there was plenty of action (especially at the end) and I am enjoying Anita and Richard trying to figure out where they are going. Show Less
LibraryThing member coralsiren
I've read this book many times and I still love it as much as I did the first time. The Anita Blake series is one of my favorites and I especially love these earlier novels.
LibraryThing member teharhynn
I liked this one better than the last, because it developed Anita’s character a little more than the last couple. Needless to say, I’ve already started the next one. Sorry that it took so long to finish it, but it really was good. I read the entire second half of the book in one day. I just got
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distracted somewhere in the middle. Show Less
LibraryThing member susanbevans
This one's basically about the werewolves. Fabulous! I really love the Richard & Anita story.
LibraryThing member tooimpurenangel
As the Coffin turns....Anita wants to date Richard, but this makes Jean-Claude pathetic and whiny. Anita is upset because RZ gets aroused by a snuff film. Tedward joins in the shenanigans as the crew fights against corrupt cops, avian shape-shifters, witches, and Richard and Jean-Claude's bruised
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egoes. Show Less
LibraryThing member JohnMunsch
A good book in the series that feels significantly different than the third one (which is important because the third read like a rehash of the second). I would say this one marks a significant improvement in the series.
LibraryThing member readingrat
I'm still enjoying this series. I enjoy the local St. Louis references. Being familiar with the actual real-life settings of many of the scenes in the book really helps to make them all the more vivid. And I especially appreciate that the monsters still sometimes behave like monsters instead of
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just charming romantic male leads. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookwormteri
The beginning of Anita and Richard and the beginning of the end of Anita and Richard. I loved Richard, but maybe he is a tad to "good" for Anita. She is tough and will do what must be done while Richard cringes for it.
In this volume, shapeshifters are disappearing and Anita (as well as Dolph and
In this volume, shapeshifters are disappearing and Anita (as well as Dolph and
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Zerbowski) are searching for a shifter that may have killed a backwoods man. The bloodiest volume to this point, but also notable for the start of the eroticism the series is known for. Show Less
LibraryThing member boxlady
Series is starting to get good but i hope that it doesn't become predictable. What monster will she end up dating?
LibraryThing member nicholas
The fourth Anita Blake urban fantasy novel. The first three were primarily in the "crime thriller with vampires and werewolves" camp, but this one represents the beginning of a migration into the "grim dysfunctional relationship angst-fest with vampires and werewolves" subgenre - a shift which I
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understand continues and accelerates in subsequent books in the series. So I think I'll stop reading them at this point. Show Less
LibraryThing member jbemrose
Book #4 Anita was looking into the missing 8 shapeshifter. Marcus the Alfa of the werewolves wanting her to find them. The Luunatic Cafe is the werewolves hang out. Richard asked Anita to marry him. Gretchen is jelius of Anita and don't under stand what Jean Claude sees in Anita. Gretchen attacked
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Anita because Gretchen wanted Jean Claude. Show Less
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
I find it funny that Anita is trying to live by some kind of rules regarding her interaction with non-humans. The problem is that her logic is based on things that don't seem to hold up ... I liked getting to know Richard better and the mystery was good.
LibraryThing member betheamichael
Vampire hunter and zombie animator Anita Blake is an expert at sniffing out the bad from the good. But in The Lunatic Café, she's about to learn that nothing is ever as it seems, especially in matters of the not-so-human heart.
Jayne Ann Krentz
Jayne Ann Krentz
LibraryThing member TheSolitaryBookworm
As I said in the first three reviews, Laurell K. Hamilton creates a new world of supernatural that keeps everybody hooked and enthrall new reader to picking a book and reading the series. I never get tired or bored of reading this series and I just keep on wanting more. This story continues with
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Anita's adventure as Executioner and a part of the RIPIT. What I also love about this story is the continuing struggle in the love department as Jean Claude and Richard fights over Anita's affection. Anita will be engaged in this book but there's a huge twist that you will love when you read it. Anita still continues to be dominant among the supernatural in spite the fact that she is still human. A combination of sarcasm, love affairs, brilliance and equality is what makes me stick to the series. If you love hardcore action with a little romance juggled in a supernatural creatures in the human world, Hamilton's series is the right choice for you! Show Less
LibraryThing member Ceysa
Learning about lycanthropy of all kinds and meeting the evil Marcus and Raina is just the tip of the iceberg in this book. Add in witches and cops hunting were's of all kind and you are on a never ending roller coaster of ups and downs. What a wonderful way to learn about some of the darker sides
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of world of the furry and feathered. Show Less
LibraryThing member janersm
As with Circus of the Damned, I enjoyed the book. Also, as with the 3rd Anita Blake novel, I felt that it was not as well written as it could be.
The stories are very intriguing and, despite their flaws, help keep the reader interested in reading. They have a very intense nature that keeps you
That being said, I really disliked in some places where entire lines (even paragraphs) were lifted from previous novels and placed in The Lunatic Cafe. I understand that this story is supposed to be narrated by the same character as the other books, but it seems like other phrasing could have been used. The repetition was a bit unnerving. The over-describing that was done in previous books seemed to be kept in a minimum in this book, but there were some parts where it seemed that too many lines were being used to describe meaningless aspects of the book.
Despite the description issue and the repetition, I still plan on continuing on with the series. Hopefully, it will either get better or I will grow accustomed to the writing style.
The stories are very intriguing and, despite their flaws, help keep the reader interested in reading. They have a very intense nature that keeps you
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entertained and wanting more. Reading them almost becomes an addiction.That being said, I really disliked in some places where entire lines (even paragraphs) were lifted from previous novels and placed in The Lunatic Cafe. I understand that this story is supposed to be narrated by the same character as the other books, but it seems like other phrasing could have been used. The repetition was a bit unnerving. The over-describing that was done in previous books seemed to be kept in a minimum in this book, but there were some parts where it seemed that too many lines were being used to describe meaningless aspects of the book.
Despite the description issue and the repetition, I still plan on continuing on with the series. Hopefully, it will either get better or I will grow accustomed to the writing style.
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LibraryThing member averitasm
as always a very good read.
LibraryThing member miyurose
I really like this series.
LibraryThing member sdtaylor555
This is one of my favorites in the series. I really like Anita and Richard together. The werewolves in this one are fantastic!
LibraryThing member LJT
The first five (maybe seven) books in the Anita Blake series, of which this is the fourth, were interesting and fun, though way more gory than I generally care for. This was the goriest thus far. The sex scenes do not over-dominate these earlier books. and Anita Blake is still a strong female
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figure, not yet being forced by some sort of vampire-induced condition to act slutty. The later books are just soft porn with a supernatural twist and not my thing at all. This one at least has a plot. Show Less
LibraryThing member tanyaferrell
He laughed, and even now the sound curled along my skin like velvet. A joyous sociopath.
I love the way Hamilton writes about my husband.
This was a such a good time and my love for Jean-Claude continues to deepen. Best vampire ever written. In this book we're dealing with a shapeshifter mystery
As in earlier books, we're watching Anita begin to recognize and reckon with the fact that she's a bit of a monster herself. She loves Richard the werewolf because he appears more human than Jean-Claude and gets a little skeeved when Richard goes all powerful wolf on her, but at her core Anita is more like Jean-Claude than Richard. Richard is a good guy who thinks the best of people and would only kill in pure self-defense. Anita is a killer and Jean-Claude is a sociopath. Even though Anita is repelled by how Jean-Claude manages his duties as a Master Vampire, she admires that he actually manages them. Richard is so much of a pacifist that he ain't managing shit.
From this book it's really easy to see how the Anita Blake series eventually turned into a poly story. Hamilton is so good at writing attractive men that it always begs the question, why choose? I wasn't a fan of Richard in the last book, but he grew on me a lot in this one. His passivity gets people killed but he's very hot while doing it, so it's forgivable. Very much looking forward to the next book where hopefully Anita gives Jean-Claude a real chance.
I love the way Hamilton writes about my husband.
This was a such a good time and my love for Jean-Claude continues to deepen. Best vampire ever written. In this book we're dealing with a shapeshifter mystery
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which was very compelling, but there's also a lot of time spent on the love triangle between, Anita, Richard, and Jean-Claude. I thought it was so masterfully done and by the end you have a pretty clear idea of how it will go, though in the afterward the author admits that she wasn't sure as she wrote it.As in earlier books, we're watching Anita begin to recognize and reckon with the fact that she's a bit of a monster herself. She loves Richard the werewolf because he appears more human than Jean-Claude and gets a little skeeved when Richard goes all powerful wolf on her, but at her core Anita is more like Jean-Claude than Richard. Richard is a good guy who thinks the best of people and would only kill in pure self-defense. Anita is a killer and Jean-Claude is a sociopath. Even though Anita is repelled by how Jean-Claude manages his duties as a Master Vampire, she admires that he actually manages them. Richard is so much of a pacifist that he ain't managing shit.
From this book it's really easy to see how the Anita Blake series eventually turned into a poly story. Hamilton is so good at writing attractive men that it always begs the question, why choose? I wasn't a fan of Richard in the last book, but he grew on me a lot in this one. His passivity gets people killed but he's very hot while doing it, so it's forgivable. Very much looking forward to the next book where hopefully Anita gives Jean-Claude a real chance.
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Subjects
Awards
Otherwise Award (Long list — 1996)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1996
Physical description
384 p.; 4.36 inches
ISBN
0441002935 / 9780441002931