The Lunatic Cafe

Christmas is almost here and Anita Blake is trying to figure out what to get her boyfriend Richard, the school teacher and lycanthrope. They've been dating for a couple months and things seem to be going well, but the more she learns about the local lycanthrope pack, the less sure she is. And, of course, Jean Claude is very invested in making sure she fully considers all her doubts. It seems that Richard is in the midst of a dominance battle with his pack's Alpha and has been keeping it from her.

And unfortunately, the local Alpha needs Anita's help. It seems that eight shifters have gone missing recently. To further complicate matters, Edward is in town on a hunt of his own. It seems Anita is going to get a crash course in werewolf show more politics. What she learns will make her wonder if her ill-considered proposal from Richard is really a good idea. Even if he wasn't a werewolf, Anita's not sure if she's ready for that sort of commitment. And now Jean Claude is insisting upon equal time. He wants to date Anita too and if she doesn't agree he might declare war on Richard.

This installment definitely has it's share of cringe, but is generally entertaining. I do like how quickly Anita's relationships develop. The insanity of accepting a proposal after two months actually makes Jean Claude's proposed throuple seem downright reasonable. It all just unravels so quickly. show less

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 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 show more 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. show less

First read: 2005
Re-read: October-November 2015

The plot: Anita is called to help investigate two different cases, the first is murder case with the police and the second is a missing persons case she reluctantly agrees to help with. This book is the first in the series to go into detail about the werewolves and other shapeshifters in Anita's world and we find out more about Richard and the pack structure as well as learning more about the different types of weres that exist.

What I liked:
- The emerging love triangle between Anita, Richard and Jean-Claude. When I first read this series, the love triangle was a plot device I hadn't really encountered before and I loved not knowing who Anita would end up with.
- Anita's strong independent show more streak. This is very well-written, in particular the scene where Anita comes back to her apartment to find Richard there cooking dinner for her. The tension and her struggle with how she thinks she should feel versus how she actually feels is very well done.
- The variety of myths, legends and fairy tales Hamilton draws upon for her supernatural characters is brilliant. I learned so much about different mythical creatures from reading the Anita Blake series the first time around.
- Edward :)
- The characters I love to hate - Raina, Marcus and Gabriel. They are sinister and scary and the sub-plot of the werewolf/human snuff pornography served to show just how sociopathic and inhuman they were.
- The characters of Sheriff Titus and his deputy Aikensen were so good to read about. In every interaction with Anita they never failed to show themselves up with their misogyny and generally unpleasant demeanour. There was always a real undertone of menace surrounding them which meant that as a reader you couldn't just dismiss them as a threat to Anita.
- The reasoning behind the missing shapeshifters they were being kidnapped and held in order to be hunted by human hunters who paid thousands for the privilege of killing a shapeshifter. I thought this was very imaginative and given the world Anita lives in, also very realistic that humans would want to pit themselves against the monsters (in a heavily rigged situation that they were almost certain to win) - it reminds me of the big game hunting in Africa and the recent outrage over the unlawful killing of Cecil the lion.

What I disliked:
- I'm just not a Richard fan. I don't like the way he pushes himself into Anita's life and tries to make her feel guilty about having a dangerous job, I don't like how weak and overly emotional he is. He cant do the tough jobs so he gets Anita to do them for him, then makes her feel bad for being 'the real monster.' Urgh.

Rating: 5/5 stars. show less

Another quick, fun read in the Anita Blake series. This book we learn more about werewolves when Anita helps the police investigate lycanthropes who have gone missing. Once again, she proves what a badass she is. And that while she has a certain code she lives by, she isn't above killing in cold blood when she tells someone she will kill them if she gets the chance.

She also has some decisions to make. She's been dating a werewolf, but can she handle his monstrous side? he is any better than the vampire who wants to woo her? The werewolf only hunts things like deer, but apparently under the right (wrong?) conditions, he can lose control of his beast.

I guess future books let us know what she decides.

In this fourth Anita Blake novel our heroine no longer bears the marks of Jean-Claude or any other master vampire and is exploring a relationship with Richard, the middle school teacher. Of course there are problems: Richard is a werewolf whose pack leader is threatening to kill him, Jean-Claude will not take "no" for an answer and has a female vampire who wants to kill Anita, and Dolph wants help identifying the something that is killing lycanthropes (shapeshifters). Other than that, life is normal in Anita's world. Hamilton has created an alternative reality where monsters have legal rights, and she explores this world with creativity and intelligence. Her heroine endures a lot of physical damage in these books and the mysteries she show more investigates are always complex. This is a first rate horror series that deserves its reputation. show less

I enjoyed reading this addition to the series. The plot was good, and action-packed, and the author did a great job building the tension between Anita and her two love interests. The world-building was as good as usual, too. The only flaw that was serious enough (in my opinion) to affect my review is that I didn't buy into the love between Anita and Richard as much as I wish I could have. It seemed that they didn't have enough experiences together and affection for each other for the relationship to progress as deeply and as quickly as it did. Even with less page-time, I bought into Anita's love for Jean-Claude much more easily. I don't know why, but I did, and the "flatness" of Anita and Richard's relationship impacted my enjoyment of show more the story somewhat. Other than that, this was well worth the read and I look forward to reading the next book in the series. show less

I like the Anita Blake series. I love Anita's boldness, her brashness, the blood-soaked encounters, and the way Hamilton skilfully blends horror and urban fantasy. What doesn't work so well for me in these novels is the romance, if we can call it that. I didn't mind Jean-Claude lusting after Anita in previous instalments, or even her struggle to resist his otherworldly magnetism. But with the introduction of Richard and the resulting bizarre love triangle, I started to lose patience. I mean, sex is one thing. I'm all for steamy sex and well-written erotic exploits. But Anita wanting to save herself for marriage felt hollow; like an author's contrivance to make sure the tension remains high. Will they or won't they? (We all know they show more will!) It's like watching a TV show with leads who are clearly hot for each other, but who are kept apart by ridiculous scenarios to ensure people keep tuning in.

I will continue with the series for now, but I'm not a fan of being strung along. (And hopefully, neither are Richard and Jean-Claude.) show less